the last hurrah

and what a hurrah it was.

i'm sure almost anyone reading this has no idea who the band jump, little children (aka, jump or j,lc) is and has never heard their music. first of all, it is totally unique and...really really good. anyway, if you don't know who they are, then you wouldn't know that they are breaking up at the end of this tour, which is in charleston on october 1st. hence the tour, "the last hurrah". of course, they aren't saying that they are breaking up because they are annoyed with how many artists, like cher, go on so-called "final tours" for years. but its very unlikely that they'll tour again.

i've been looking forward to this concert ever since i found out about it in august. i've never seen them in concert and this would be my last chance. it was now or never.

i tried to find some people to go with...but no one was really interested. worried that they might sell out, i bought one...taking a leap of faith that someone i know would go. a concert wouldn't be the same without someone there to share it with. i was still going solo until about a week ago when anna found out her twin brother, tristan (who goes to school in pittsburgh), wanted to come down for the show. i finally had companions.

stoked for the concert, we got to the georgia theatre 1 hour and 15 minutes before the show started so we could stand in line to pick up our tickets. getting there 15 minutes before doors opened put us at the end of a long line, which was wrapped around the building.

they tacked on another $2 surcharge on those of us who weren't 21, which made me mad. anyway, we managed to get a spot front and center to the stage...only the third row back. i could reach out and touch the stage if i tried. beautiful. the first gig started around 10 pm...jump didn't go on until about midnight. thats a lot of standing...especially because i'm still sore from my football game (sadly). i actually saw my political science ta again...that’s the second time i've seen him at a concert, which is pretty funny.

as the second pre-show band left the stage, these two girls shoved their way to the front and begged for the guy's pick. i moved for them to reach it (since i was so close to the stage and all), expecting them to go back to where they came from. but no. they stood there, ponytails in my mouth, wedged into the 6 inches of breathing room i had allowed myself. they kept waving their arms in the air and stepping on my feet...being really annoying in other words. after about ten minutes of this madness, i politely (and really, i was) asked if they could move behind me or make their way back to where they were before. one girl snobbishly replied "its a concert." really? like i didn't know. as if that’s not the reason why i got there an hour and a half early to make sure i was close to the stage. and i wouldn’t have minded if they weren't being so obnoxious and taking up all the room i had. they didn't get there early enough to deserve that spot. it took a lot of grace to hold my tongue and just let go of all the frustration i felt toward them. man that was hard because there’s a perfect word for them....and i'm sure you know what it is.

anyway, things got much better once jump took the stage. oh, words cannot describe. i belted out the words along with them and loved every minute of it. the guy with the accordion and various other instruments was an interesting character. he had on black fingernail polish and what looked like eye shadow of some sort. when he played his accordion, it looked like he was a small child curled up with his pillow dreaming about christmas morning. so happy and elated. when he shut his eyes, they didn't really shut all the way, so all you could see were the whites of his eyes that had a blue glow from the lights. it was kinda creepy looking, actually. but he was entertaining to say the least. i think ward, the cello player on the right of the stage, was pretty awesome and down to earth. he actually shared some of his water by squirting out of the bottle it into a guy's mouth at the front of the stage saying "you can't have my water, but i'll share it"...twice.

around 1 am, they finished playing, put their instruments down, and exited the stage. everyone made so much noise and chanted for an encore that they came back out and played again. they did this a total of five times. the encore performances lasted about 45 minutes...it was crazy.

obviously, the concert was amazing. so worth everything i spent on it and more. its a shame they're stopping...i'd definitely go to another one.