I really should have written about everything that happened the weekend of October 11, but I’ve been pretty busy and lazy.
I saw The Cab, Plain White T’s, Dashboard Confessional, and Panic at the Disco. Then I took the train to San Diego and went to Sea World and the San Diego Zoo!
It was a really awesome weekend.
On Friday the 10th I went to the Rock Band Live Tour with gem, Gabby, and Jon. Gabby surprised Jon with the tickets for his birthday, which is coming up. Jon wanted to drive, and we ended up being late for our reservation at a particular pizza place that gemma heard was good. He really wanted food so was driving around trying to get to a good place, but we were pressed for time. Gabby kept saying things like “I think we should eat in *that* direction” in an attempt to steer us towards the convention center where the concert was. At this time, Jon still didn’t know about the concert. I thought we should just tell him, but Gabby really didn’t want him to know. Eventually we stopped at Versaille’s, which is a delicious place. Jon was on the phone outside so Gabby ordered everyone flan really quickly. When Jon entered, Gabby claimed that we were so hungry that we ordered already. She told him she ordered him chicken, and he was annoyed. Then the flan came, they sang, and Gabby presented him what she thought were the tickets with a card. She ended up giving him the wrong thing which sort of blew the surprise in her mind, but I think it was still find. Then Jon was quite angry to find out that there actually was no chicken.
Soon after we arrived the convention center and waited for the concert to start. It was pretty fun. I hadn’t heard of The Cab, but they were entertaining. Between each band’s set, audience members who tried out beforehand earned the right to play Rock Band 2 on stage. It was pretty dumb. I guess I’m okay with them doing it while the other bands set up, but Rock Band isn’t the same as listening to real music. Also, they didn’t turn on the mode that prevents failing. The lead singer for a band that I forget (a professional group but not one playing this night) who was apparently “the best at Rock Band” failed a song because he didn’t seem to know what to do during the parts in which you tap the microphone.
The Plain White T’s were pretty good fun too, with some nice background lights and such. It was annoying that everyone freaked out when they played “Hey There Delilah.” I realize it’s their most well known song, but it doesn’t really lend itself to a big concert. Everyone in the band just stood there while one guy got to play a song. Anyways, after that Dashboard played. I don’t usually like Dashboard. They’re very… poppy and acoustic. However, they actually did a great job. I’m sure this has a lot to do with the fact their instruments were electric though. They also played videos in the background that went great with the songs. It was fun! They also covered a Weezer song, mentioning that they toured with them before. Lastly Panic played. They were fun, but they weren’t as good as their recorded music. That’s interesting because I love Nightwish and their live music was superb. I think it might be due to the amount of post-production work that goes into Panic’s albums that you of course don’t get during the live show. The show ended with Panic covering the Isley Brothers’ “Shout.” It was a really awesome way to close I think!
After the show we stopped at Carl’s Jr. for dinner. It was probably around midnight at this point. Coincidentally, I think Jackie Lemus was there. We weren’t sure if it was her, and she left pretty quickly without talking to us.
Saturday morning, October 11, we took the Amtrak to San Diego! It was my first time on a train, and the ride was a lot of fun! I had a tasty hot dog on the way. After we got there, we left our baggage at the hotel (it was too early to check in) and took the light rail system and bus to Sea World. Wow, it was a lot of fun! We saw all sorts of animals. I wish there was more to talk about here, but frankly a list of animals isn’t entertaining to read. Trust me though, I had a blast. I think the pilot whales might have been my favorite!
That night we had a relaxing evening in the hotel to prepare for the zoo the next day, the 12th! I love the San Diego Zoo! I think we saw everything that we wanted. We even “zot zot zot”ed at the anteater, but he didn’t seem to care. I guess he didn’t have any anteater pride. The hippos were less stupid this time than last time I went to the zoo 🙁 I really enjoyed seeing all the cute animals though such as the koalas, pandas, and bears! It was so much fun! At the end of the day we took a taxi back to the hotel, walked to the Amtrak station, and watched “Pushing Daisies” on an iPod during the train ride. It was a wonderful weekend!