~this girl goes to eleven...~

Saturday. My God, SATURDAY. I have no idea where to begin, there is just so much to write about.

I will just bypass the importance of PMB to me, and save that for another blog when I have nothing else to right about and I am actually caught up. But for now...time to hit the road :-)

Aurora and I hit up Wawa for the usual. She also picked up some Wawa tea because apparently she thought it sounded like it would mix well with whatever clear liquid was in the water bottle. After she bought the tea, we smelled the bottle and it was definitely apple vodka. This will prove interesting. Time to hit up 896 to Amish country!

En route we listened to Johnathan Rice, Akiva, Lloyd Dobler Effect, and some other stuff that I can't remember. As well as my swearing at the Mack truck in front of us and the horse and buggies. So cruel. We laughed the entire time and sped up for the huge railroad crossing hump and flew. I almost took out a clan of Amish girls and we nearly peed ourselves. Literally, I thought our bladders were going to burst.

A few detours later and we get to the Chameleon Club. We stand outside in the freezing cold drinking our not so good apple vodka tea as I chatter away on Mark's voicemail. Sidenote: Ok, lets talk about what a small world this is. YEARS ago I saw this awesome band called the Excentrics open up for PMB. It was actually one of the first bands I searched for when I first started working at Rainbow. So when I met Mark, we were talking about music and that band came up and months later they played with the Excentrics, or The Getaway Car, as they are now named. So Sept 21 (I remember dates) I saw Juliana Hatfield then went to see the Jonasay/Getaway Car show. Mark introduced me to Todd Wright, the frontman for the Getaway Car. Todd informs me that if we got married, my name would be Miranda Wright. And that has stuck everytime he has seen me. Ok, so yeah, back to the present. Todd is now touring with PMB (talk about a perfect show!) on keys and backup vocals. Mark visited me on Thursday and was talking to Todd while at my store. Back to the Chameleon Club, I called Mark to see if Todd was going to be there in Lancaster and if he was if I could meet up with him to say hi. So yeah, instead I just blabbered on Mark's v-mail outside in the cold.

We get inside and realize that its 18+ on the second floor and 21+ on the main floor. What the hell. So for the most part Aurora and I tried to scheme on how to get her down on the main level so we can sing and dance. You have no idea. So I text Morgan (Morgan is way cool and from Boston, he is mentioned in the Oct 8 blog. We have known each other for like 5 years, but just met in person in October) to see if he has any ideas, because just like us, he is the master of being devious in venues. He tells me he is drunk and the drunk bus will be arriving shortly from the hotel. geez! So I meet him and Ben and Katie downstairs and we drink. 22oz Yuengling bottles means that you are in heaven. I think Morgan shed a tear at the bartender and told him that Lancaster was great.

Michael Tolcher opened and though I didn't feel him in the beginning the show grew on me and by the end of his performance, I really dug him. Throughout the show I kept running up between the two levels and the guy in the kilt at the door kept laughing at me. We deduced that the only way we could get her down was to grab someone with the band. She saw J-Mo earlier, but he was doing guitar tech stuff on stage, so he was out. I spotted Chardy so Morgan and I talked to him to see what he could do, but he couldn't do anything at this point. Oh well, we have to respect that. The Chameleon had an awesome sound system and a great setup. And they had their shit together and at least Aurora and I can admire that after so many shitty venues we have dealt with while videotaping. Ah, it was worth a try. And I love Aurora because she understands my desire to be on the floor sometimes.

I was so elated and the show was just what I needed to compliment a great weekend. The guys were on par and went beyond what I expected. Not the greatest PMB show ever, but it satisfied my fix. I think I was beaming the entire time, and it was amazing to see Todd play with them. He is so freaking talented and its crazy how everything ties in together. Morgan and I make our way closer to the stage. We go nuts, singing louder than anyone else and exuding such passion and energy. We pump our arms higher and harder and shout the loudest, because we have been there for years and we know what lies ahead and we couldn't be happier. We yelled out "straight curve" (one of my favorite old school songs) and got "You & I" instead (my favorite new song) and I don't think my smile could have been larger. Ecstaticness.

After the show I tell Aurora I will meet up with her outside and we chill on the floor waiting to hear what's next. We took some pictures and hung out and I drank water. Literally smacked into Pat, talked to John, and tried to find Todd through Chardy, but he had already left for Virginia. Argh! I didn't want to leave Aurora out there for too long, so it was decided that we would all reconvene at the hotel. Here is what I had to go on:
Morgan: you go down 30
Me: right or left
Morgan: I don't know, 30. And go 5 or 7 miles. Green sign.
Sounds like Miranda directions!

Aurora and I head out and find a convenience mart. I think I pulled an illegal turn, I have no idea, I have no idea how I was even driving at this point. We go in and of course I am saddened that it is not a Wawa. We order food, and I think Aurora had to even order it for me because I couldn't handle the touch screen ordering since I couldn't see straight. I also dragged her back in to show her this monkey thing riding a horse thing and it looked so scandalous. So we eat in the car and I lose half of my egg salad sandwich in my car. Aurora ate the nastiest thing ever. Chili cheese potato wedges. So the night before I think I mentioned how Tim informed me of all these sexual terms. One was called the "cleveland steamer". I had no idea what that was, so I told Aurora it on the way down. What she ordered looked like the Cleveland Steamer. This is what you do not order. We leave and I am followed by the police and I am scared.

If you recall Morgan's directions, you will realize that I have no idea where the hell I am going. But alas, I navigated our way to a Wawa. And we find the hotel. So we sit in the parking lot in the back of the hotel at 2:45 in the morning. Then we see the silver wonderfulness that is the PMB bus. Ahhhhh.

We get on the bus and walk in on Pat serenading Morgan, Ben, Bones, J-Mo, John, Brian, Katie, Chardy, and now Aurora and me, and playing his acoustic guitar before busting a string. I sober down on the bus while Aurora is still reveling in the vodka that she downed. Pat shares with us most of the DVD that will be released on the new CD, it looks AMAZING. I think a rubix cube was busted out. We talk of Todd and Ghegan. Lots of things on the DL that will not be blogged. Sorry kids. Funny, Bones (new PMB sound man, well newish, I know of the Paul days) tells me I look familiar, and he was from VA, so we talk about what we have in common in that area, and he mentions he thinks he knows of me from Jonasay. Aw. Blah blah blah, fun on the bus, then off the bus to head home.

We go to Wawa yet again because I definitely needed coffee since I haven't slept in a while and those back roads can be treacherous. Aurora and I put on some bad radio and sing away, though I had already lost my voice. And we smile because we're us. "all about the passion..."