"I fell in love with the girl at The Rock show"

**Couple of notes here. This is an old piece. The events described took place well before I met Mrs. GF. Also, despite the title of this post, we most certainly DID NOT fall in love. It is just a clever song lyric that fit this post pretty well. Overall, I was young and stupid and immature and whatever other appropriate disclosures need to be disclosed before we go any further. Ok, on with the story**

On a steamy summer day not unlike every other day this time of year in Florida the Warped Tour rolled through Vinoy Park. Given that the lineup was by far the strongest the Tour had offered in years and my overwhelming dislike for work on Fridays, attendance was imperative. I pulled into down town St. Pete about 1:00 p.m. and after an arduous search for a parking spot, took a short walk over to my friend Gina’s house where we met up with Tom and Ken, who would be rounding out our foursome for the day. It should be noted that I was wearing a plain white Hane’s t-shirt, khaki shorts, 12 year old Chuck Taylor’s (white), and very preppy, un-punk sun glasses. I bring this up because it will be important later. We walked down to Vinoy and arrived just in time to catch the last song of the Drop Kick Murphy’s set. This was a disappointment in that they are always a highlight not to be missed. The first full show we saw was the Street Dogs out of Boston. Fantastic! Full of energy and encouraging the kids in the crowd to create their destiny and be accountable for their own actions. Intense and angry without being depressing and apathetic. Very refreshing for this type of concert. After that set ended (all sets on the Warped Tour are 30 minutes regardless of how big the act is) we walked around for a while, got some beers, and headed back up to the main stage. Over the next couple of increasingly hot hours a few more bands played including The Transplants, Fall Out Boy, Hawthorn Heights, and MxPx. All were pretty good, but none stood out as show stoppers. It should be noted that Fall Out Boy is not as strong live as they are on the radio while Hawthorn Heights’ CD doesn’t do their stage show justice. After MxPx, and more beers, we decided to walk back over to one of the small stages and check out the Riverboat Gamblers. The lead singer of Street Dogs had urged us to do so and given that it looked as if he would take it personally if we didn’t, we obviously felt obliged. Great, great show. Perhaps the most charismatic front man I have ever seen live not named Springsteen. Looking like the love child of Iggy Pop and the Black Crow’s Chris Robinson, he worked the crowd with an array of slithering, shimying, microphone swinging, head banging, and eventually dancing off stage and out into the crowd to sing directly to members of the audience. Good tunes, high energy, and exceptional execution. Well done Riverboat Gamblers, well done. Early in the set a young lady walked up behind me, pinched my butt and said “nice game”. Not having any idea what she may be referring to, I asked her. Again she said “Nice game, you’re the only one here not trying too hard”. Then she walked away. I appreciated that very much. After the show we had a few minutes to spare to get a beer and make our way back to the main stage for the most anticipated band of the day, My Chemical Romance. As we were walking Tom saw a guy he knew from high school and a couple of people with him. One of these people was Rachel, a feisty blonde with very pretty blue eyes. And that my friends was GAME OVER. All of us hung out together for My Chemical Romance, which more than lived up to the hype. The only regret with their set was that, just like everyone else, they only had a half hour to play. In a moment of joking Rachel told me that I would propose to her by the end of the set, so as they wrapped up “Helena”, I got down on one knee and made a fairly ridiculous yet thoroughly amusing proposal. As I did this, quite a little crowd gathered around, most of whom, despite my obvious joking, thought it was serious. Thus the rest of the afternoon we got quite a few congratulations and one offer to buy our next beers. I really should get fake engaged more often. I was supposed to leave after MCR due to obligations the following day. I did not. The last three bands were The Starting Line, Story of the Year, and The Offspring. I heard all these bands in a passing sense from down by the water where I was taking in some good conversation and continuing my long standing tradition of getting drunk and making out with girls. Overall, it was a fantastic day.