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AFI DS Roadtrip Tour 2007

2007-05-19

So I'm back. From what was to be the biggest and scariest thing I've ever done. It turned out to be not so big and scary in the end. It was amazing but somehow, it was easy to get into the whole traveling and visiting new places and getting accustomed to new surroundings.

I am pretty miserable right now though it's not nearly as bad as I feared it would be. Still, I thought I thought write some sort of summary here since I'm hardly ever using this place anymore and it's crying for improvement. But since summarizing three weeks in normal diary writing would be too long, I decided, I'd do something else. So here is what needs to be said about it:

Favorite moments / aspects of the tour:
xx Getting to meet Jade in Wiesbaden. I didn't really come up with anything to say because I was so stunned. So I just asked for a hug and received one. Still, it was absolutely amazing.
xx Jade holding up our tour banner in Amsterdam. In retrospective, I have to say that the tour banner means absolutely nothing to me anymore. Or what it stood for. But back then, I still loved its meaning. But that's not even why I'm cherishing this moment so much. It's because Jade bent down to us and asked for the banner. Which was about the first time I really witnessed him even noticing certain people in the crowd. Usually, he's so wrapped up in playing, that he seems kind of lost in his own music. I'm not saying he doesn't appreciate people being there but right there on stage, it often seems like he doesn't even notice. So that was special.
xx Having a really nice and quiet talk with J. in Milan. We had just checked into the hostel and found it to be a horrible place without electricity, privacy or any other comfort. For one reason or another, I had a little breakdown. I wanted to call Maja but it was way late. So I just sat in my car and cried and then J. came out. He listened to me bitch and moan and then had a little whining session of his own. Basically, we just listened to each other and then hugged. It really gave me a lot of strength and comfort that moment. I just love him. <3
xx Venting to J. and K. in Vienna. I pretty much told them everything about how I feel and why. Part of me wishes I hadn't but it was a real relief at the time and I think it was a good thing to do it. I really needed to get it off my chest because I've never been as miserable as I was right that day.
xx Hunter coming out to talk to us in Zurich. I still don't know if he really came to talk to fans or if he wanted to check the location and found us there. But the point is that he stayed with us for a good 20 minutes, just talking leisurely. He was really adorable and seemed a little off track because of a lack of sleep. Still, he seemed to really enjoy talking to us. It impressed me how easygoing he was. Probably more than us staying calm impressed me. I don't know why but somehow I always think that celebrities (though I hate referring to AFI as that) must find "normal" people pretty boring but he didn't seem to think that at all. I love him.
xx Hanging out at Alice's place after the Vienna gig. I had never been there before but it really felt like home and I was totally comfortable there.
xx Witnessing Smith in the moshpit during Death By Stereo's set at the Vienna gig. I didn't even see how it happened and what was going on but suddenly he was there, moshing and screaming like a lunatic. It was awesome!
xx Getting to hear Just Like Heaven live almost every night. I'm so in love with the song, it's not even funny anymore. I think I never even managed to record it because I was just stunned each time, singing and dancing along. It was amazing. I think I fell more in love with AFI each time they played it.
xx Having the first talk with Maja after ages in Stockholm. I had called her because I felt rotten but she had no time. So she called back later and we talked for quite a while. Afterwards, I felt a little bad about just ranting to her but I intend to make up for it.
xx T.'s spontaneous decision to join us in Stockholm. She's nothing short of amazing.

Horrible moments / aspects of the tour:
xx Discovering that our little group wasn't even a group. It was just a bunch of individuals traveling together. I don't even know if there was a certain moment where I realized this. I think there were many little things that made it obvious. I can't really blame anyone, maybe I just expected to much. It turned out we were all in it for different reasons and didn't have that much in common after all. Which isn't the worst thing ever but it really made me sad and left me feeling somewhat excluded at times.
xx Not getting to meet Davey at all. I get his reasons and I would probably do the same but saying thanks to him would have been nice.
xx Telling my mom about hugging Jade and her going "So what?!" I should have expected it and I shouldn't have been surprised but it really killed me right there. I wish she was at least able to say she's happy for me, even if she has no idea what it means to me.
xx Saying goodbye to K. after I dropped her off at home. Worst crying session ever!

Soundtrack of the tour

AFI
File 13
Kill Caustic
Leaving Song
Love Like Winter
Malleus Maleficarum
Midnight Sun
No Poetic Device
The Interview
The Missing Frame
Wester

Others
The Cure - Just Like Heaven
Hellogoodbye - Here (In Your Arms)
Jimmy Eat World - A Praise Chorus
Amber Pacific - If I Fall
Taking Back Sunday - MakeDamnSure
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Blaqk Audio - Bitter For Sweet
Avenue Q - If You Were Gay

Visuals Eventually you'll be able to see some of my pictures here . Most of my videos will be uploaded here.

Sidenote
Today it's exactly one year since my first real AFI gig. 18 times in one year. 19 times including the festival gig in '03. Not bad.

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