December 2, 1994 Aerosmith
I left school and came home. I got ready and threw some things in a bag. I went to Ali Rogers and Nikki Hanners apartment and waited for them to get ready. Around 3pm or so we left, stopping at McDonalds. We took 96 out of Shelby to Ashland. We stopped and got batteries and then hit 71 North to Cleveland. When we got to Cleveland I got off on the wrong exit. I went around in a circle several times before stopping at a BP station for directions. Finally we found the Gund Arena. Then we looked for a place near by to stay the night. We didn’t see any cheap motels, just the Sheraton. Nikki suggested that we check it out. It was $99 a night, but we figured between the three of us we could afford it. After parking the car in the garage for an additional $6 we went to our room on the 9th floor. The view was great!
When we got to the huge packed Arena, we bought T-Shirts and put them on. Ali bought a beer—since she was the only one of us that was 21 years old. We found our seats in the nosebleed section. Jakyl played first, chainsaws in all. The lead singer got pissed off and threatened to kick the technician’s ass because the speaker wasn’t working right. There was a long break and then the lights went out and Aerosmith came on stage. The crowd went wild. The room was filled with an electric energy. Thousands of people were lost in it. We were the music. Anything goes was the attitude. I felt important and bigger than life. I couldn’t believe I was in the same room at Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. I looked from the TV screen to the band below. I’d seen them on TV before, but seeing them in person was just awesome.
July 13, 1995
I invited Jason to go to Lallapollusa with me. Nikki had mentioned going, which gave me the idea to call invite Jason. It was my way of paying Jason back for taking me to Cedar Point last month. I got up at 8am and got ready. I picked Jason up and then got my check at Interim. We headed to Columbus in my car. We stopped for lunch at Subway and got to Polaris at 1pm. We were only allowed to take in a water bottle and whatever you could fit in your pockets. We sat down on the grass once inside. It was crowded and we saw all kinds of people there. There were people with bright red, yellow, green and purple hair. I saw noses, ears, eyebrows, navels and nipples pierced. There were guys and girls with short hair and long hair. I saw lots of tattoos too. There was slam dancing and mosh pits. I saw people smoking cigarettes and pot both. We heard the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, Jesus Lizard, Sinead O’Connor, Pavement, Cyprus Hill, Beck and Hole. I bought a bead necklace, Peace and Question Reality bumper stickers. I bought a T-Shirt. Almost bought some Ecstasy. On the side stage we saw Cocktails and then Geraldine Fibers. There was also a hickey and spanking contest! We got cooled off in the mist tents and drank lots of water since it was over 100 degrees that day! Despite my splitting headache, I never felt so alive! And Jason was great company.
May 18, 1996
I got up early and got ready. Jason picked me up and we left for the Buzzardfest. We got lost, so we were an hour late arriving at the Blossom Music Center outside of Akron. It was bigger than Polaris and there were lots of Punks there. Jason was happy that he got a copy of Dr. Judy’s book and got it signed by her and Jagger (From Love Phone’s Radio Show!) I was happy I got my T-Shirt. We saw Goldfinger, Dash Rip Rock, Holy Barbarians, Tragically Hip, Universal Honey, Fast Action, Pati Rothburg, The Nixons and, best of all, No Doubt. I read Dr. Judy’s book between bands. Missed Poe and Candlebox because we were both so tired and I had a splitting headache. We sat away from the music for a while, that is when we were lying against the tree. Then we drove home after that.(Stayed 2pm to 9pm). I felt sick and couldn’t eat. I came home, showered, threw up and crawled into bed to sleep.
July 3, 1996
We left at 5:15pm and stopped at McDonalds to eat. Jason took 61 South to 71 North, which took us about 25 miles out of our way. We hauled ass up to Cleveland and Jason drove like 100 miles an hour. We got to the Gund Arena about 8pm. Traffic was bad between the Indians Game and the concert. We searched for a parking spot and hurried inside. We only caught the last song or so of Garbage. There was a break and so we wandered around. We bought T-Shirts and found our seats to watch The Smashing Pumpkins. They had cool music and a psychedelic background. The crowd was wild and we really enjoyed the concert. We left about 10:10pm. Traffic was horrendous. We waited 20 minutes in line just to get out of the area. Jason and I had a great talk on the way home about love, fears, cars, dreams, sex and kids.
August 23, 1996
Friday I got up and went to Jason’s again. We got directions to Blossom Music Center and then laid down. Later, we cooked dinner—pasta. Then we left for the concert. We got there, parked and bought a T-shirt and poster and then sat down. Cracker came on. They were pretty cool. Then the Cranberries came on and the crowd went wild. I hopped and bopped around. Jason and I sang and kissed. We really got into the music. They did 4 encores. We left at 10:30pm, but didn’t even leave the parking lot until 11:15am. Stopped for pizza in Akron. Large Peperoni for $6.00! Gas station for pop. Took 77 to 76 to 224 to 598 home. Because we were both tired the drive seem to take longer than the drive to Iowa. Got home at 2:30am.
August 23, 1997
Strolling among the vendors, listening the DJ and signing petitions, dirty dancing while watching the stage and kissing on the grassy knoll. The day at Lollapalooza was wonderful and the week that followed pretty cool too. It was very much a change from the week before it. Sunday I picked Jason up and we went to Paula’s baby shower. We talked and ate and left after about 45 minutes. Then we went to the concert. We saw the Eels, then walked around and shopped. We ate and then watched Korn. Up on the hill Jason and I made out. Then we watched Tool and Prodigy. The Prodigy were weird, but kicked ass nonetheless. They had lights and smoke to an awesome beat. Jason and I dirty danced to them. Then we left Polaris. We came home and got ready for bed.
August 15, 1997
I picked Jason up at 5:30. We went to his house and then Blossom Music Center. We walked around and listened to Mandrake and Luscious Jackson. Then we sat in our seats for LIVE. They had a cool temple set. There was lights and smoke. We knew most of the songs. It was a cool show, all except for beer being dumped on us. We kissed and hugged and danced a little together. Tired, we left. We ran out of gas between Ashland and Mansfield at 12:30am. Had to call a tow truck. The tow truck came at 1:10am and we had to pay $70 for 2 gallons of gas. We had to pay him once we got back to Jason’s house at 1:45am. I got to my house at 2:15 and fell asleep.
carilynn27 