I don't wanna waste my days worryin what they'll say

[exsequar]

I just got back from seeing Gold Motel, and it was SUCH a blast! I'm a big fan of the EP, and obviously Greta is the most amazingest, and they're a fantastic experience live.


I picked up angel726 at her house in Detroit and we headed for The Factory! The doors were super late, 9 PM, we figured because there was a festival going on that evening in Rochester. It was kind of nice to have a full day beforehand, but poor Jennifer has to be at work at 4 AM! :( Anywho, we found the venue just fine and got to park for free. \o/ Awesome. We got inside and it was decently full, but it was also FREEEEZING. I mean. This was a small concrete room WITHOUT HEAT. Ahahahhaha um. Within 20 minutes I legit could not feel my toes. But whatever! GRETA!

So the first act was this precious little ginger boy with a guitar. He had some lovely little ditties and cute stage banter. I was pleased. His name was Jeff something according to Jennifer, but he didn't introduce himself!



Next up was a truly boggling duo. They didn't play instruments - they had pre-recorded synth stuff on an iPod, a fake "synth" and "keyboard" made out of duct tape that they "played", and all they did was sing and dance around. They flailed and writhed and played huge fake instruments and took off layer after layer of clothes and were generally bizarre and kind of hilarious. The music was pretty good - electronica, but with good melodies and not too loud, so I didn't feel assaulted or anything. Their local fanbase was apparently comprised of fourteen year old girls, who jumped around enthusiastically for the whole half hour. It was pretty nutty and Jennifer and I kept making hilarious faces at each other. I wondered how on earth they hooked up with Gold Motel, but we'll get to that later. :)


Zany!

Then it was time for GOLD MOTEL!!! :DDD One of their techs actually had the crowd move back five feet so the band could set up some stuff OFF the stage - it was that tiny. Seriously, just this little CORNER. But me and Jennifer snagged spots front and center, which was awesome, and we watched them set up. Greta came in and set up her keyboard literally at our feet, and we talked to her a little bit. She was wearing only stockings, so I asked if her feet were cold, and she said "Well I've been homeless and carless for four days, so..." and I missed the second half, but. She's been roughin it, the darling! I also received clarification on that later - stay tuned! Anyway, we watched the band set up and eventually they actually fit Greta on the stage, so that was nice, not being RIGHT in her face. The band bantered and was cute and precious and I adore them. Dan and Eric warming up with their guitars, back and forth, was REALLY hot. I kind of love guitarists, you guys. *chinhands* I also asked Greta if she was going to play Hurricane, cause I couldn't see the set list well enough, and she said yes. :D Favorite!

Then it was GOLD MOTEL TIME YAAAAAAAAY!!! They were so very very on, and that intimate space was really quite breathtakingly wonderful. I got sang directly to by Greta several times, and the drummer (Adam) smiled at me twice (he's so cute! how often do you get a good view of the drummer?). Watching Dan at work on the guitar was great - he's obviously very talented. They played the whole EP, Hurricane, a cover of You Can't Hurry Love, and about three other songs that will be on the full length. So basically the same as Chicago, but this time I knew the EP songs really well. They're all so great live! Make Me Stay might be my favorite, but it's so hard to choose. :D

Photos!





Eric The Hot Guitarist


Dan and Adam smiling! Aww. Dan was out for a while due to emergency appendix removal, so I was really glad to see him back. :)





I love her hair so much. And I love that she leaves it so natural!





Adaaaam! New favorite.


This is how CLOSE we were, wow. Hiii Greta! Hi!



After the fantastic show was over, I ran out to my car to get my poster from the Chicago debut show so they could sign it. I ran into Dan on the way back in but I didn't have anything on me to write with, haha. I told him the show was great and that I was glad he was feeling better and back with the band (I think he was a little bit ?!? that I knew about that, it was pretty funny). He was very sweet and told me he'd be back inside so I'd see him then. :)

I went back in and Jennifer and I went to the merch table and found Gretaaaa! I had such a lovely conversation with her. I told her that I'm a long time fan of The Hush Sound but I love what she's doing with Gold Motel as much if not more. I also told her that I was really glad she still plays Hurricane because it got me through a really difficult time in my life (when I left Dublin, it was pretty much my anthem - about leaving something so consuming that it will never leave you, "the hurricane I'll never outrun". Very bittersweet.) and she seemed really touched by that. She said "Let me give you a hug!" and gave me the sweetest big hug ever. She is just - SUCH a doll, and I would love to be BFFs with her because she just seems like an amazing, lovely person. She also talked about how in awe she is that her music touches people, and how it's sometimes overwhelming to realize that, and she's so grateful and happy. It was so adorable and genuine! *draws huge hearts around her* I asked her to sign my poster and she was happy to see I had been at the Chicago show. She asked me my name and when I said Anne with an E she said oh good that's how my mom spells it! Hee! I didn't want to leave but we were holding people up, so we got photos with her and went elsewhere. I'm SO glad I finally got to meet her. She's amazing.


Me and Gretaaa! I love this photo so much. The creeper in the background is one of the dudes from the zany opener. :P

I stopped at the merch table to ask to borrow a sharpie for the other guys to sign with, because Eric was right there. The merch gal, Emily, saw my poster and went "Ooh I made that!" and was really pleased that I had it! She gave me a sharpie and got Eric's (hot guitarist) attention for me. He strikes me as kind of an odd dude, sweet but a little weird too, in a hilarious way. I said I didn't want to interrupt because he was talking to two girls, but I'd like if he signed my poster. He said "If you sign my hand!" and I was like o.O haha okay! So he signed my poster - and then held his hand out expectantly! Ahahahaha. So I scrawled my name on the back of his hand! Tonight, Eric is walking around with my name on his hand! SO FUNNY. I walked away because he really was talking to other girls, so it didn't really sink in, but LOLWHUT. <333

Then we went back up near the stage to hunt down more Gold Motel boys. Adam, Dan, and Matt were hanging out in there, taking down equipment. I gathered all of their autographs, completing my set, and then I started talking to Adam while Jennifer talked to Dan, because Adam had stealth become my favorite, he's so adorable. We had a great conversation! I told him I loved the show, obviously, and that the EP is amazing. I can't remember the order in which we talked about things, but I asked him about Greta's "carless" comment and he said she busted up her car a few days ago, so it's getting fixed up! Oops! :( Obviously she's okay, but that sucks! We talked about Mark Rose and Empires - he said that Mark Rose is a great guy (duh! :D) and that they had just played with both of them recently, which I obviously knew. I would have killed to be at that show! I told him I'm seeing both of them in the next couple weeks, haha. I asked how Gold Motel got hooked up with the crazy opener dudes, and he loled and said he thinks a couple of the Hush Sound guys were totally into them. HILARIOUS. I'm betting it was Darren and Chris, those nutters. <33333 He said that he and two of the other guys in Gold Motel (not sure which) are in a different band called "This is Me Smiling" which I'm obvs going to have to check out! They're opening for Empires in Chicago in a couple weeks! I wish I lived in Chicago, boo. :P I asked him what he thinks Greta's plans are, in terms of keeping Gold Motel going or going back to The Hush Sound or what. He obviously doesn't really know, but that he knows Greta's working really hard on this and trying to make it work. He said that the Hushies were just working so, so hard that they needed a break, which makes sense. So obviously you take a break by starting a new band and touring, right? ;) I mentioned that I'm from Ann Arbor, and he asked how far away that is, and I said an hour and a half. He said, "And you drove here??" and I laughed and said "I went to Chicago to see you!" and he just looked so boggled, it was adorable. Baaaaby band boys. <3333 (Though baby isn't really applicable in this case - he looks like he's in his late twenties.) Jennifer joined our conversation later, and the topic of employment came up, because I mentioned Jennifer had to be at work in 4 hours (poor darling! *pats*). I mentioned that I'm doing my PhD in Chembio - not gonna lie, I kind of love dropping that, cause I'm proud, right? Adam gave me the raised eyebrows and "wow", hee. Jennifer says she has a useless liberal arts degree (Art History) and Adam said that's why he never got a degree, because it would be for something like that and he doesn't want to go way into debt for something that won't get him a job! Sound logic, I must say. I said it's good he's doing what he loves (music), and he was like "haha well kinda!" because obviously they're not getting paid much! And he said he's really hoping Greta makes this explode because that would be pretty great for him, clearly. :)

I got a photo with him, because he was SO SWEET and I totally had a new crush, haha. Then we went on our merry to let him finish packing up his drums.



This is my poster with all the autographs! Greta's, of course, is so sweet. To Anne with a smiley face and a heart, awwww. I LOVE HER.





So let's recap. Tonight I:

• Watched Gold Motel from literally five feet away
  
• Got a hug from Greta, which SHE offered
  
• Signed Eric's hand because he asked
  
• Chatted for a good 15 minutes with Adam, the drummer
  
• Almost lost all my toes to frostbite

And that was our Gold Motel experience! It was SO WONDERFUL. I'm really glad I got to meet all the guys, and especially Greta herself. Adam is my new faaaavorite. One of my fave concerts ever, for sure! I have a couple lovely up close videos, so I'll hopefully share those soon. :)

Comments

[thediane.livejournal.com]

GRETA *________* That show sounds amazing and the band boys plus Greta sounds ADORABLE! So glad you had a great time :D!