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Too true, too true. So I got to see JET in concert, again, Sunday night. It was, to say the least, AWESOME! I got up at the un-Godly hour of 5.30 Sunday morning and got dressed and ready and I was thinking, “Should I take my rare JET vinyl record (Dirty Sweet EP) and a marker in the unlikely event that I get it signed?...No…Ehh why not…yeah go ‘head take it…” So I did. And I am SOOO glad I did. I left the house around 9.20 and floored it all the way to Amarillo, didn’t stop once, and I made it in a very quick 5 and a half hours. Good on me. I got to this “warehouse” looking place, the Azteca Music Hall, just before 3 pm and holy Moses! It was so cold outside. Couldn’t have been more than 50 degrees…probably less as the afternoon went on. I met some people out front (the doors were still locked and weren’t to open until 6 pm) and we sat outside and chilled out…pun entirely intended. It was that cold, I mean really, the wind was just awful! I had to go sit in the car a few times just to warm up because I couldn’t feel my toes. We sat out there until 6 pm, by which time there was a massive line forming, mostly people to see Papa Roach. At 5 past 6 one of the event staff came out to say the doors wouldn’t open till 7 and there was nothing they could do about it. Groan. I had to get my ticket from will call still, which I got immediately after we were let in (4 hours in the cold and I could barely stand to walk inside haha!) and headed into this HUGE room which did look like a warehouse…with a stage. I mean this place could’ve held 2,000 people. And there was bar! I didn’t drink though because I knew I had to drive.


I got up towards the front and slightly to the right, as always and was in about the 3rd row of people, just off of the barrier. It was good spot. The first band on were called Aranda, and they only did like 5 songs but they were pretty good. Then on came Kill Hannah who were really good, I was surprised. So good that I actually bought their new CD from the merch table. I listened to it on the drive home. I don’t really know how to describe their music but it was a sort of Rock-Dance fusion. People were dancing to it so I suppose it was alright. As I said most of the people were there to see Papa Roach, which is fair enough, so I knew I’d be in the minority of JET fans there, but nevertheless, when they came on I could’ve broken a glass I screamed so loud.


I kid you not, this was probably the single best show I’ve seen them do. They’re always good, but I think because they knew they were going to be playing to a bunch of hardcore rock fans they only did 1 or 2 “ballads” and the rest of the set was full on rock. Which was good. Better than good. I was certainly sweating hahaha. There were a couple trees in front of me who were just sort of nodding their heads, but that’s to be expected I suppose. I didn’t let that stop me from singing and dancing my heart out. And I did…sing. Every song. When they did ‘Get What You Need,’ about half way through, I knew the clapping bit in the middle of the song was coming up and I started clapping a few second before everyone else did and Nic sort of looked in my direction and pointed and goes “Yeah you got it!” They really outdid themselves performance wise, no sound problems, no hiccups or anything. Mark and Cam were sort of quiet through the whole show, whilst Nic and Chris had most of the banter with the crowd..yes even when I shouted “Go The Crows!” Chris laughed and said “That’s right buddy!” And I was like, “buddy? Did he just call me buddy?” HAHAHAH! No encore this time around, but after they went offstage the security guy right in front of me behind the barrier asked if I wanted a set list if he could get one. “Yes please!” I said, and he goes, “Well you were the only one singing all their songs.” So yay! My first set list!!


By that time I was already ecstatic, however I left the building before Papa Roach came on and went outside for a smoke. I decided to go to the car and grab my record just in case. I knew it would be a futile effort but I figured I’d give it my best shot since I’d driven so far and waited so long for the chance. I sat on the curb near one of the tour buses, which turned out to be theirs, and a nice staffer politely asked me to move because the roadies were about to start loading the gear into the trailer. So I went and stood back by the front of the building just smoking my ciggy and clutching my record. It was empty outside as by that time Papa Roach had started their set and it was bloody cold. Finally after a good half hour the same staffer came over and said he’d try and get the tour manager over and see if I could get a photo and my record signed ‘cause I’d been standing out there so long. I was so psyched! I couldn’t stop smiling. Then about ten minutes later, I saw the tour bus start up and pull out like they were about to leave, but I wasn’t really paying attention because I wasn’t sure who was in it. Just then the staffer came over and said he was sorry, but he asked a couple of them and they didn’t want to come off of the bus. I was like “WHAT???” He was like “Yeah that’s them leaving now.” He told me where they might have been staying that night and then he said, “Or just follow the bus…” DING! I flew to the car and yeah I followed them. I was determined frankly, and wasn’t gonna give up till I got me an autograph. :P Unfortunately I had to follow them down the highway 50 miles, praying they weren’t going all the way to Denver without stopping.


So finally they did, an hour later, stop at a gas station in a little town. I pulled into the gas station behind them and sat there for a second until I saw Nic and couple crew guys walk in front of me and I just got the guts to step out of my car and ask for an autograph. It was funny, the bus driver came out too and asked if I’d been behind them on the highway, and I said, “Yeah, sorry, I know you guys must be so tired and I didn’t mean to like stalk you, but I was just so determined and I drove 5 hours this morning just to see you guys…” I said hi to Nic, who was the only one of the band who had come off the bus, and I showed him my Dirty Sweet EP and said I had one of the original thousand pressings and he goes, “Oh wow you do too!” He signed it and went onto the bus and got the rest of the guys to sign it and I said, “Thank you so much, you just made my night!” And that was that. Although I think I was probably way more tired than him at that point, it was 12.30 then, Nic looked absolutely knackered so I didn’t bother him about getting a photo. Poo. Oh well I was more than excited…I was…well you know. Anyway it was a great show and I’m so happy I finally got to meet one of them, (wish I’d gotten to see Mark of course, but no matter, Nic was so polite) and got me an autograph! Woo!


Here’s the set list:


Cold Hard Bitch

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Take It Or Leave It

She’s A Genius

Hey Kids

Black Hearts (On Fire)

Last Chance

Get What You Need

Shine On

Seventeen

Walk

Are You Gonna Be My Girl?

Rip It Up

Start The Show

Get Me Outta Here


The photos aren’t great (due to the not-so-great camera I had) but I do have to thank Becca, one of the girls I was hanging out with, for taking them. I would have taken them myself, but I was too busy dancing like a fool.