We were 3rd row center(ish) for the MOE, there were about 75 of us (give or take). When we first got into the venue, David Ryan Harris was finishing his sound check, so we got to watch that for a few minutes before the guys came out.
First off, I just have to say (and I’ve wanted to say this since Portland) that anyone calling Taylor fat or complaining about him cutting his hair is crazy, IMO. He has looked GORGEOUS at all the Pacific North West shows, his hair isn’t too short, it looks great. Yes, it’s beautiful a little longer, but it’s not the end of the damn world that he had a freaking trim.
If this is your idea of fat, or a bad haircut, then I guess we have very different ideas about what those things look like!
They played “On and On” first, which was beautiful, and at the very end Taylor suggested they do the campfire version, so they all stepped to the edge of the stage, crouched down in front of us and sang the last few lines of the song to us without mics. <3 After they were done, Taylor mentioned how the “can’t quit you” line at the end of the song seemed very Brokeback Mountain. That led to him clarifying that he “likes the ladies”, while Zac said something about dudes alone on a mountain with some sheep…
The next song was “No Sleep For Banditos”. Zac said that people tell him he sings the song with a Mexican accent… and then he proceeded to sing a few lines of it with a very deliberate Mexican accent. I think Taylor said something to him about it, I don’t remember what. I just know they were teasing each other, because when the song started, Zac turned to Tay (who was on drums) and was like “you were supposed to play the snare”, and Tay hit the snare. And then a second later Tay was like “that felt good!” and he hit it again really hard. My memory is a little fuzzy about exactly what happened next, but I think Zac was taking forever to start playing the guitar or something, or he was playing the intro repeatedly and Taylor was waiting for his cue to start playing drums. And when Zac turned around to look at him, Tay gave him this playful “anytime you’re ready, dude” look and nod, which cracked everyone up. Throughout the song, I noticed Zac kind of glance very briefly over his shoulder at Tay, or kind of smile and nod approvingly to himself over Tay’s drumming. It was cute.
Next they played “Best of Times”, and Ike messed up the very beginning of the first verse and started laughing. After the song he said that, in songs where he sings lead, the second verse always changes a little. He said he was so focused on getting the second verse right this time that it made him mess up the first verse instead.
They played “Get Out Of My Heart” after that, which was a VERY nice surprise. Tay sounded UH-mazing.
After that they played “Sound Of Light”, and they rocked it so hard that Ike broke a guitar string and Zac broke a drumstick. Then they offered the string and the broken drumstick to random fans after the song.
For the last song, they asked us if there was anything we wanted to here. A few people immediately yelled “Cried”, and the guys were like “why is it always ‘Cried’?!” Then someone said “Ever Lonely”, and they debated for a moment if they even remembered how to play that. Someone yelled “Down”, and they said they’d never performed that one together live and wouldn’t know where to start. They ended up playing the chorus of “Cried” and then playing all of “Ever Lonely” for us, and both were awesome.
Once the performance part of the MOE was done, they did a Q&A. Tay came back to the front of the stage and crouched down in front of us and said he was being creepy. Then Ike and Zac came over and sat down. Zac said he was going to sit “criss-cross applesauce”, and Tay was like “why can’t you just say Indian style?” and Zac said it wasn’t “P.C.” Then he said something about scalping, and Tay just dropped his head into his hands. He and Ike told Tay he should sit down rather than squatting, but Tay said he preferred to squat because it made him feel “more in control”…
I don’t remember EVERY question/answer we heard. But I know someone asked Ike if he’d ever considered doing a blues album or more blues songs, and he said yes. Tay said Ike thinks about doing that kind of thing all the time, but then he can’t be bothered to practice and so it never actually happens, and Ike agreed that his lack of drive to work on it is the reason it hasn’t happened. But he did say “You Can’t Stop Us” started out MUCH more bluesy. Then he got up and got a guitar and started playing the slower, bluesy version for us, and Zac got up and started singing/making noises along with him. Then Zac started doing his stripper dance and hiking his t-shirt up a little so we saw his tummy for a second. Tay watched them, and afterwards he said that he had a whole new perspective on what it’s like to be in our position (in the audience while they’re up on stage).
"That’s a whole lot of crotch."
They were asked if they ever disagree over who sings lead, but they said it’s usually pretty obvious. They said Zac had a hard time letting go of singing all of “You Can’t Stop Us”, because he loved every verse, but the song was more powerful with each other them taking the lead on a verse because it was “You Can’t Stop US”. They also said that Ike originally sang a verse on “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’”, but again it didn’t work with the message of the song, because it was from one person’s perspective. They said that when they took out Tay’s vocal track, the sound of the drums totally changed and it wasn’t as good (at least, I think it was TBS they were talking about. Not 100% on that one).
Someone asked if they would tour Australia soon, and they said hopefully next year. Because of the exchange rate between the USA and Australia, they can’t afford to tour there right now, they wouldn’t get paid enough. They were like “You’re gonna pay us HOW much? Who’s gonna have to stay behind?” lol Then I think Zac said “Ike”, and Ike totally cracked up and said that was fine by him.
They were asked if they were still doing Fools Banquet, and they said they hadn’t for a few years because of touring and putting the new studio together, but they are trying to organize something for next year. They said they are into the idea of trying to put together a project with other artists that they will actually release in some form. They love the idea of doing a cover album where they record with the artists whose songs they are covering.
I think Zac said something at this point that was unintentionally insulting to transgender people. I can’t remember what was being said, but he was joking around about something and mentioned the fact that transgender people can use whichever bathroom they prefer in California. It was one of those word vomit moments where he wasn’t putting a lot of thought into what he was saying. Tay once again just shook his head in amazement and then pretty much face-palmed, then he turned to us and was like “Is there anyone else, any group that he hasn’t offended yet? Any race, sex, religion?” Zac joked that he was just trying to get on TMZ again.
On the subject of beer, they said that hopefully next month you should be able to mail order MMMHops if you live in a state that allows you to have beer mailed to you. They’re working on other options, but because of stupid laws in every state, they are having trouble with it. They compared it to the music industry. They said imagine if music had been outlawed at one time, and now there are a bunch of laws left over from that period.
Someone asked them what they would be if they weren’t musicians. Tay said Zac would have gone into the military, and Zac agreed. Then Tay said he wouldn’t have gone any higher than Drill Sergeant, though, and Zac agreed again. He said he just wants to yell at people and tell them what to do, and that his tour pass says “Serg” on it instead of his name. Someone in the audience said he’d have to cut his hair to be in the military, and he was like “not in special forces”. He said he’d just sit around with his buddies playing video games and getting a tan, and then sometimes he’s snap people’s necks. Tay also said that Zac would have been an incredible artist as well as a Drill Sergeant.
Ike said he would have been a motivational speaker, and Tay agreed and said that he would get up every morning and look in the mirror and start with himself. Then he (or maybe it was Zac, I forget) said that Ike would actually have been a therapist, because he loves to sit and listen to people talk and analyze their problems. Tay said that creativity was in the blood and he loves to cook and take photos, so maybe he would have done something in those fields.
Once they were done with questions, they did group pictures. Each group had about 8 fans in it, and we all got to go over and say hi to them, shake hands (and ask for a hug if you had the guts, which I didn’t), and then we got pictures taken. They let us stay in the venue after the MOE, so we were 2nd/3rd row for the show, which was AMAZING. Best of the 3 I was lucky enough to see this week!
I don’t have the time (or brain power) to go into the shows right now, I’m running on very little sleep and I have to get to work. But I wanted to write the MOE memories down before they started to fade. <3
ETA
Sorry for all the spelling mistakes in the original post. I obviously shouldn’t post on barely any sleep. :psource: http://bloodflowsred.tumblr.com
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