I got to see and meet one of my all-time favorite bands Tuesday night, as well as another band I like a lot! ^.=.^

If you know me you've probably heard me mention Starfucker at least a couple of times. Starfucker is one of my all-time favorite groups and I absolutely freaked out when they first posted Reno as a stop on their tour a few months ago, and I got tickets for my birthday shortly after that. I didn't know who Wampire was other than they'd signed onto the same record label as Starfucker, but I decided to check them out as well and I ended up liking them quite a bit -- enough to preorder their album "Curiosity" on vinyl, which turned out to be great! So I was happy to know I'd not only be getting to see one of my very favorite groups, but that their tourmates were also awesome! I also got a friend and my sister to attend the show with me, and when last night finally came I was SUPER excited.

After finally getting into the building, I decided to hang around by the merchandise counter for my friend to show up, and who should walk by but WAMPIRE? So I got excited and was like "IT'S WAMPIRE" and I talked to them and shook their hands and they signed a piece of paper I brought just in case I had that opportunity. I even had my own Sharpie, and Rocky told me it was "very smart" because "we keep losing ours." I asked how they liked Reno, and he said something like they'd just gotten in but they planned on drinking and wandering around XD So I was feeling very happy with getting to meet them when  rhythmicmrraccoon walked in, and he and my sister and I just hung out for a while and chatted about music. Rocky was working the merchandise counter for a bit, so since I was still there I took the opportunity to thank him for introducing me to Kraftwerk, my latest musical obsession, since it was their cover of "The Model" that made me look them up. He told me his favorite track was "Metropolis," if I remember correctly. I decided since I was there that I'd buy a copy of Starfucker's first album on CD since I didn't own it yet, and if nothing else it'd be a good concert souvenir.

Feelings played first. I hadn't heard of him until a few days before the show, but he was pretty good -- I'm definitely gonna check him out. Then came Wampire, and they played the entirety of Curiosity, though in a different order. They sounded awesome and had great stage presence, Rocky told a story about smoking weed with someone who turned out to be a cop, and at the end of their set he broke all the strings on his guitar. It was kickass! XD

Then came Starfucker. They were half an hour behind schedule, but they stayed and played an extra half hour to make up for it -- and what a show it was! Absolutely amazing performance that was full of energy and fun, and they took full advantage of the lighting technology and a giant light display behind them to show pictures and animations, making for a highly immersive and psychedelic show that grabbed you, drew you in, and wouldn't let you go. A mosh pit almost formed a few times, and being on the floor in front of the stage my sister and I were right in the midst of it, but they didn't last long. There were also girls on both sides of me lighting up what must have been some really shitty weed because it smelled like burning hair.

They played material from every one of their albums and the setlist was full of amazing tracks, including most of my very favorites by them. They really engaged the audience and had them join in on the experience of the music! People in costumes came on stage and danced, and at the end of their set there were a bunch of people in animal and astronaut costumes, Gumby, and a guy in one of those latex horse heads, plus Wampire, all dancing on the stage, they dropped a bunch of balloons from the ceiling, people were crowdsurfing, there were lasers and fog... it was absolutely insane and it was amazing. After they left the stage, the crowd begin chanting "ONE MORE SONG, ONE MORE SONG" which eventually turned into "USA, USA," and they came back out -- the crowd went nuts. The band wondered why we were chanting that and why a few of them were doing a soccer chant (prompting one of the band members, though I don't remember which, to chant "Uraguay, Uraguay!"), but they geared up again and played not just one more song, but FOUR. Absolutely amazing.

After the show Rocky was working the merchandise counter again and my sister and Mister Raccoon and I all got to talk with him -- he wished me luck on my EMT carreer :3 He and Eric then both signed a poster that he gave to my sister and I because we were "such sweethearts," and my sister told me I could keep it for myself as a late birthday gift (since the concert tickets were a gift from my parents for my birthday), so I hugged her and gave her the autographs I'd gotten earlier. I saved one of the balloons from when they were dropped from the ceiling, and Rocky stabbed it with his Sharpie and it popped XD It was about this point that I began tracking down the members of Starfucker, shaking their hands, telling them how much I loved the show and their music, and they were more than happy to sign the CD I bought! Josh Hodges was especially eager -- he had some fun drawing on it for a bit before he said something like "oh yeah, I should probably sign this" and put his name on it X3 He really appreciated the fact I enjoyed their music so much and was so psyched to be able to see them live -- he said it meant a lot! -- and he directed me to go up onstage to meet the other two guys, so I got to see some of their equipment up close as well! Keil Corcoran liked my sister's boots too, and he thanked us for coming to see them! All four of them were really nice, and I'm still super stoked I actually got to meet them all and let them know how much I enjoyed them. I'm really thankful I had that opportunity. And on the way out of the venue, we ran the bassist Wampire brought with them and he drew a skull on my poster.

Things could NOT have gone better. By far one of the best birthday gifts I've ever received!

Have some pictures!