Fallen Thoughts

:: 1.05.2003 ::

once again, I'm back in douglas. christmas went well and I got some wonderful presents: dvd player, sleeping bag, cash, gas card, some good music, a couple of great books.. I suppose opening presents may never get old. I also received a special present in the form of great company. I'm still not really sure who of you guys & gals read this (you can drop a comment any time), but for those who are it was so nice for us to all be together in douglas celebrating the holidays. don't forget the "back there pact"!

a couple of days before new year's, me & kayla took off for athens. we got to take it easy before the big night - watched tv, saw the two towers again, slept late, and stocked up for the afterparty. chris, amanda, courtney, and kate joined us the next day and then tuesday finally crept up on us. I still hadn't heard from josh, but I got in touch with him that afternoon and everything ended up working out. speaking of, our planning for the trip to atlanta was less than that - no real planning at all. nevertheless, we threw on some bowie, got our shit together, and packed in "the nub" for the haul.

we gracefully motored into atlanta about 15 minutes into rush hour in pouring rain. nice. it wasn't so bad, especially since we got to pull off an early exit a little way before downtown to meet a couple of kayla's friends. we redistributed the load and made our way to philips (thanks for leading us in, libby). I pulled into a lot and almost swallowed my tongue when the little haitian guy said "fortee bucks". forty bucks? "yeess, fortee bucks." FORTY bucks? "you can have uppah lot spot for chirty." obviously, I thought it was a bit insane to be charging so much for parking, but then again it was new year's in downtown atlanta. thankfully, a nice girl knocked on my passenger window and told us there was a deck just across the street that was only ten dollars, so I bid the haitians a good night and made my way to the deck.

instead of going down and diving into the lot crowd, we grabbed a spot about 5 or 6 stories up in the deck and took in the view. somehow I was able to spot josh a couple of blocks away in the crowd and he made his way up to join the rest of us. in spite of everything, we actually managed to make it a little early so we hung out at the deck before we finally decided it was time to panic.. so far the day had gone amazingly smooth and it seemed as if the trend was continuing. after a short walk to the arena, a little navigation through the maze of a building known as the cnn center, and a couple of stops in the hall, we were in the mix. we made it down to our seats just in time (again) as the lights dropped and the boys took the stage.

I don't have the will or the time to go into complete detail about the show. for one, it was almost 5 hours long and two, it's too nice outside to sit here typing all day. I can definitely give a few highlights, though. this was my first panic show since bonnaroo, which also made it my first time seeing them since mikey passed away. it was sad, but at the same time really comforting to see all the guys smiling and pressing on as they know he wanted them to do. george mcconnell was well-received by the crowd, and rightfully so. he smokes. we also missed the presence of kevin & mary ellen, but we were smiling and dancing for you both..

the opening set was acoustic, another treat, especially seeing the big man spinning around his upright while slapping away and long-time panic producer john keane sitting in on lap steel. from the first notes of the opener 'city of dreams' to the final strums of 'porch song', the boys gave us a warm acoustic welcome.

the second set brought a little pickup to the show, as well as two first-time played songs ('and when I die' & 'blind') featuring an energetic brass section. after the set and a little kiss cam fun, a great slideshow was put up on the screens of the band throughout the years. the opening image of mikey seated with his guitar brought the entire arena to their feet for a standing ovation and one of the most moving moments I've been a part of at a show. as the slides came to an end, jojo and schools took the stage and addressed the crowd as the seconds counted down. at midnight, the place erupted with cheers and clapping as confetti and balloons descended upon us all. the band had a little party of their own on stage and soon came back out ready to jam the third set.

and they did just that, segueing most all of the set. 'greta > I'm not alone > jam > drums > pilgrims' and 'chilly water > imitation leather shoes > chilly water' brought the set to a close. schools' impromptu 'little drummer boy' during the drums left a big grin on many faces, as it did mine. after one more short break, they graciously came out for an encore after over four hours of music already played. the encore brought keane, bramblett, and the rest of the brass section back on stage and opened with another new song, 'I wish'. they followed and closed with 'climb to safety' and happily wished the crowd a good night and a great new year as we thanked them with a roaring applause for another amazing show.

we made it out of atlanta pretty easy and made the drive back to athens. we were all pretty beat from the ride and such a long show, but we managed to have a little afterparty anyway. the next couple of days were spent relaxing and enjoying the rest of our mini-vacation. we made it back thursday night and now the weekend has passed..

..and once again, I'm back in douglas.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year's celebration and here's to all good things in 2003!

:: posted by Michael at 1:31 PM [+] ::

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