Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface (July 28, 2017) Album • Page 229

I was listening to an album while reading this thread and this post made me put my phone away so thank you for this. I love ONLY listening, but this was like a little nudge for me to do it while I had some free time in my day.

 

I need to do this

 

I went to Mayday Parade the other day in England on my own as it was in my hometown and none of my fiends live there anymore (or are even that bothered by Mayday). It was a bit weird, def prefer going to a show with a friend (even though I would barely talk to them during the songs).

Side note, a group of guys got thrown out for fighting. Who the fuck fights at a Mayday Parade show. Also All Get Out were one of the supports and Nathan remembered me from their recent LA show so that was cool. Can I be friends with him now?

First time I saw MO was in Islington in a tiny tiny venue after they'd just put out ILAV and during the quiet songs people were actively sssssh-ing anyone talking. It was amazing. At one point you could hear a pin drop

 

yeah, that's a thing that'll just happen sometimes. but i figure it's like thirty minutes maybe of that and then music starts so it seems negligible. it's a good opportunity to make friends, if that's your bag. if you go to shows a lot you start recognizing people and know you have something in common. people have recognized me from college when i go to a show, for example

this seems like a different beast entirely. i was alone for a bit during a fest and it was fun, but i also knew i'd eventually reconvene with the group, no idea how it'd feel if i was alone for an entire day. i might try it sometime but that's an expensive gamble haha

 

If you go to festivals with friends its awesome if everyone is cool with going and seeing whoever they want, and if you end up at the same show, great, if not, no big deal. If you go with a group that insists on staying together though, that can get AWFUL.

 

Worth noting I did it at Pitchfork, which is much smaller (and cheaper) than something like Lollapalooza, so it wasn't as intense. At Lolla my friends are usually not ready to leave when I am, so I hang with them in the morning, head down myself, and meet up with them throughout the day. But I actually find it even more suitable to be alone at a festival, because when multiple people are playing at once, and people are trying to get food, get drinks, go to the bathroom, check out other things, it's too much to keep up with for someone like me who has a schedule planned well in advance of who I want to see. And I'm not usually too flexible about who I want to see.

The group I go to Lolla with is the latter, and it becomes a shit show because it literally takes 30 minutes to get anywhere and they're always trying to find other people and it doesn't bother them to be late to a set or whatever. Way too frustrating for me.

I have one friend I go to Riot Fest with every year, and we have a great time, because she's pretty passive about who we see and knows what to expect from me.

One or two friends is ideal at a festival if you're on the same page. More than that is too much for me.

 

oh for sure, we separated for some sets but have enough overlapping tastes that we'd reconvene for most. like i went to go see foxing and my friend went to go see sorority noise at wrecking ball and i think we met back up for dinosaur jr or american football or something haha

 

oh hey, i was there. Yeah, i think my buds went to MCS or something while i went inside to see foxing. I have one friend who's more into punk, and another friend thats into the indie stuff, and i fall somewhere in between. It usually works out well.

 

Well I hate to have to be the one to tell you, but you absolutely made the wrong decision.

 

oh shit, what else did you see? we may have unknowingly crossed paths multiple times haha. I had my first crowd surf at that Foxing set, probably won't do it again even though it was thrilling in every way

i didn't go see them either bc i don't listen to them but i considered it knowing they were breaking up

 

eh, I was never a big fan, and Dealer was close to the top of my AOTY for 2015, so I stand by my decision.

Um lets see, Touche Amore, Tigers Jaw, Joyce Manor (my personal highlight), Menzingers, and Microwave, then i was around for most of the headliners, Thursday, Quicksand, and American Football. It was good but i preferred the 2015 lineup overall.

 

i was at all of those damn we just followed each other around for a day huh. I was so sad I couldn't go to the 2015 one :/ but i saw Thursday so w/e

 

2015 ruled, but I'm also a Coheed fanboy, so them closing everything out was icing on the cake. Coheed, Thrice, Title Fight, Basement, PBTT, Turnover, Make Do and Mend, Superheaven and TWIABP (I was a dummy and missed this), yeah it was sweet. Really hoping they come back stronger than ever in 2018.

 

Shake my head, very upset with you, very poor decision (jk I don't care glad you got to see who you liked)

 

my friends i went with both went to MCS, so i know i was the weirdo of the group, haha. i caught the end of the set and it looked like people were having a blast.

 

Haha at least you saw a tiny bit. This is still too painful for me to talk about.

 

yeah, Pianos, Title Fight, and TWIABP were big draws and I also wanted to see Desaparecidos really bad

 

I'll check those out for sure!

 

I think this is true. Even in cultures where music is the focus and people can sit down and listen to an album (ie. this website), I'm personally often shocked by how many people say that they skip songs or "I skip this song when it gets to point X". I know people are still more dedicated but that filters in to people being unable to experience an album as a whole, attention spans and being unable to listen to a track from a band they enjoy but isn't their favourite.

In a "Black Mirror" scenario, I wonder how many people would press skip when a live band played a song they didn't like!

I almost exclusively go to see bands by myself these days - particularly for the heavier artists. I've seen mewithoutYou, Underoath, As Cities Burn, Listener and The Chariot alone. I've enjoyed all the experiences.

I think I was the first time but now I'm used to it.

I think this is a great insight into society. I love being alone and now that I've realised it I celebrate it. Cinema and shows are both things I don't mind doing by myself but felt shame to begin with. Glad I got over that and can be myself.

You're making me worried for seeing Manchester Orchestra on their UK tour. I'm bringing along my wife. She likes the new album but I'm wondering if she'll enjoy the more 'rockier' aspect of some of the older tracks. Fingers crossed!

With bands that are really heavy I usually go by myself (as I wrote above) but we love seeing live bands together where possible because she knows I love it. Our favourite gig together was when The Oh Hellos came over here. We caught them in Manchester and it was insane - they were so talented and Kath (my wife) really appreciated the music and the whole performance. I love when that happens. We don't get to many gigs as there aren't many bands that I like that come over here hence me jumping at the Manchester Orchestra opportunity which will be our first show together this year, ha... I'm sure it'll be fine!

Those were the days. Think I had a similar experience around that time in Nottingham.

 

I love going to shows alone. I started doing this when I was 22 with my first alone show being Portugal.The Man.
It ended up being one of the best concerts of my life because i enjoyed the music, met some cool fans, and then ended up running into the band at the bar afterwards!

i feel like that's an added bonus of going alone too. It's cool to make friends with people at the show.
You already have something in common with all the "strangers" at the venue, so it should be easy to strike up a general conversation in between sets.

It's also nice not having to schedule anything with another person and being free to do whatever feels right in the moment. You don't have to coordinate with another person or worry about their interests or hesitations. You can just move about the venue & the evening as you see fit. Very freeing.

 

Not trying to be mean, but I think it's all in your head.
Everyone is staring at their phones between sets these days.
People are actually paying less attention to you than you think. Good life motto in general. haha.

 

Another good point on why it makes sense to go by yourself.
Don't let the (poor) taste of your friends or your lady hold you back from seeing a great show!

 

You're Not As (noticeable) As You Think

 

The first show I ever went to by myself was by accident, actually. In 2010 (I was 25), Jimmy Eat World played in Columbus (2 1/2 hours away from me) so my friend from Columbus and I both went to go by GA tickets online at the same time and I was able to get one, and he got shut out because it sold out.

My other buddy drove down to Columbus with me and he met up with some Columbus friends while I went to the show by myself then I met up with them. It was a great night. Never once thought it was weird to go to a show by myself and have gone to about 10 of them alone. Have another one in October (Front Bottoms) that as of now, will be going alone.

 

We need to get The Alien-The Grocery Music videos stitched together so I don't get interrupted by Youtube Ads each time