Disturbed at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.

Tuesday, December 20th, 2005

My Adventure

(Pictures)

Let's see, where to begin.  My adventure began on Monday when I went to Delaware to pick up my little brother for the concert we were going to go see together.  The trip there was uneventful, I rocked to some music.  The return trip was when things began to get interesting.  Crossing the Bay Bridge (in Maryland) we encountered a traffic jam.  After moving three inches in forty-five minutes, we turned around.  Our attempt to find an alternate route resulted in driving around for an hour-ish before returning to the Bay Bridge.  Thankfully, the traffic was crawling across the bridge.  What was a four hour trip, took us six and a half hours.

Tuesday, We leave my house at One thirty.  We had a few stops before we headed for the club - mundane stuff - getting the disposable camera (just in case :-D), getting gas, etc.  Just after two, we were on our way!  Lil bro was handling the radio, I got to listen to some of his favorite music.  Which, I felt was fair because we listened to my stuff on the way to my house. LOL.  None of it was so horrible I'd never want to hear it again, but some of it wouldn't be my first pick for listening pleasure.  Listened to Kotton-Mouth Kings (I think that's how it's spelled), Chimaira, Korn, and a few others.

As we follow the directions that I printed out, we still got lost.  Both of us were looking for our exit, but neither of us saw it.  Oh well, just made the trip more of an adventure, right?  We got off the Interstate and asked for directions.  The only directions we understood, were still sketchy at best.  So, we headed in that direction.  We had about two to two and a half hours until the doors opened.  After a while, when the name of the road did not change like the woman told us, we stopped again.  After two more enquiries, we managed to find our way to one of the streets on my directions.  From there it was very easy to find the club.  A line was already forming.  T-minus one hour forty-five minutes until the doors opened.

We go to the Will Call window to pick up tickets, and with much luck everything moved smoothly.  We go back to the car and listened to music for an hour and some change.  When we returned to the club, the line was huge.  Thankfully, there was a separate - much smaller line for the Meet and Greet.  On the bad side, our names weren't on the list, but after proving we were supposed to be there, we were allowed in.  Downstairs in the bar, I met and chatted with two other guys, who were really awesome.  Really great fellows.

The band's manager (I assume he was the manager) came in to announce the band would be in shortly, but there was more bad news.  David Draiman - the lead singer - is sick.  He's very contagious and will be unable to make the Meet & Greet.  I was a little bummed, but meeting the rest of the band was awesome.  First Mike came along - the Drummer - and he gave me his autograph and took a picture.  Then it was Dan - the guitarist.  The person working my camera however, couldn't seem to work the flash for Dan.  After a signature, and possible failed picture, I was going to give up hope about having a picture with him, but he shook his head and said "let's try again."  Again, the flash failed to go off.  At this point, I was embarrassed for holding up the line.  But Dan was really cool about it and he chuckled, and finally, after one more picture, the flash went off.  No sooner than Dan walk to the next in line than John (aka J-Mo) the newest member of the Disturbed family and bassist -- formerly of Union Underground -- jumped next to me and said "Me next!"  It was so cute, I couldn't help laugh.  He gave me his autograph as well.

I did not get to hear the cover band Dog Fashion Disco, so I can't really comment on them, but the next band (I want to say they called themselves Ten Thousand Furies -- but I think that's wrong.  I know part of it was Fury or Furies though) rocked!  As I make my way onto the floor - losing my brother in the process, I found the two guys I'd chatted with downstairs.  One was cool to let me follow him to their spot, then with a smile he pulled me in front of him.  Girls, it seems, has an easier time of creating a path through the crowd.  We got to the spot, and joined two other guys that they were hanging with.

They were really cool, helping me get as close as they could so I could see, one guy even giving me his spot because I was shorter than him.  They also helped shield me slightly from some of the rough stuff.  I cannot say enough about how cool they were.  They let me just jump into their group and participate in conversations, even explaining something to me if I didn't know what they were talking about.

When Disturbed came on, the crowd - myself included - went crazy!  As he spoke/sang, you could hear in his voice that David was sick, but he did not let that mar the show!  Some of the songs I remember them playing (in no particular order) were: Liberate - they led with that one! - Remember, Just Stop, Deify, Bound, Voices, The Game, Stupify and Fear.  I will fully admit that I'm sure I have forgotten a few of the songs.  Every few songs, David gave the band a break and spoke very eloquently.  He asked the crowd if he could be honest, and there was a roar!  He admitted to being sick as a 'fucking' dog, but he was gonna put on a show.  He asked the crowd for some of their strength, and there was another roar louder than before!

During the second break, the talk turned political, encouraging the people to fight for what they want because the government was created for the people's interests.  Through the small discussions, some of the crowd went crazy, and some - a much smaller group - complained they just wanted to hear the music.  I loved hearing all of it!  When the end came, they played a final song and exited the stage.  The crowd roared yet again, and began chanting "we want more!"  With a smile, David and the band returned to stage.  He told the crowd no matter how bad he felt, no matter how bad things were, there was nothing - nothing that could compare to hearing a crowd that wants more!  A group in the crowd chanted "Ten Thousand Fists" but with a sad smile and shake of the head he explained that he could not sing that while sick, and he didn't want to mess up the song.  Instead, he gave the audience two songs "for the price of one".  Their encores were Stricken - and Much to my delight - Down with the Sickness.

As the crowd dispersed, I saw my little brother, and taking leave of that group of guys, with thanks.  The drive to Dad's was uneventful.  And the adrenaline rush was amazing.  My brother has been to more than a couple concerts, so he laughed as I gushed over my first concert experience.  The feeling was amazing - if you get the chance to see a band you love in concert, I recommend  that you seize the opportunity!  I know it was something I'll never forget.  He was patient with me as I told him that I wanted to listen to more Disturbed on the 2 hour drive back to Dad's.  We chatted and I truly hope that was not my only concert experience.  The rush was like no other, and I'm still feeling it almost twenty-four hours later!

Ok, so my experience is a wee bit long winded, but I hope you can tell just how much fun, how memorable an experience it was for me, since words seem to fall short when I attempt to explain my experience.  I will be sure to post pictures as soon as I have the chance to have the film developed.