Last weekend was a 5 day weekend of awesomeness! Mark and I started out the weekend by going to Bamboozle on April 5th and 6th. The show was at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Mark picked me up and after playing video games for a little bit we got a hearty breakfast at Jack in the Box. We arrived in Irvine about 1130am or so. We almost hit some emo kids on the way in. It would have been sad if we did but they were already sad anyways so maybe it wouldn't have been a big deal. Thankfully we didn't hit them so we didn't have to see if broken legs make emo kids even more morose. We paid our 10 bucks to park and then... well, parked. We walked towards the front and saw there was a line. We headed towards the end of the line and the line just kept going and going and going and going. A mile and a half later we finally find the end of the line and unfortunately get ourselves stuck between two beefy, "preppy but wanna-be hip" , annoying chicks ("Like, Oh my god, that bitch! I told her to talk to the hand" UGH! Kill me now!) and several young Asian emo girls who have no idea what "personal space" means. Mark threatened to fart on them.


We finally made it to the gates, we were briefly searched and then we were ready to rock and/or roll. The first band we happened to catch was Van Stone. LOL! I wish I had had my real camera on this day because these guys were so messed up. Let me just say that I saw way more of that man's ass and bloody butthole stain than I ever needed to. I think that about sums up Van Stone. I wish I had the paper that we used to make out our schedule so I could remember which bands we saw when. I'm pretty sure on this day we saw Streetlight Manifesto, Reel Big Fish, RX Bandits, Bouncing Souls, New Found Glory and Alkaline Trio. I'm probably missing a few in there as well. They were all a lot of fun. We also visited the port-a-potties a lot. I only used them once because every time after that they were all out of TP and super stinky. So I just held it. Mark got a Streetlight shirt and I looked around to see what I might want to buy the next day. We headed out after Alkaline Trio and then realized we lost the car. Thank goodness for  automatic door locks that make your car beep.

 

After the show, Matt called and wanted to get dinner. After getting lost we met up with him at Denny's. Ugh... Stupid stupid chicken sandwich. It hated me and my tummy hated it and they were fighting. I think the damn chicken was trying to peck its way out of my stomach. Denny's Ranch Chicken Sandwich shall never pass these lips again!! Somewhere in here Mark and Matt made a joke about a "flatbread" truck called a "Matza-bishi" but seeing as how I was about to die from chicken poisoning I don't recall it well.

Mark met me again early the next day for more Bamboozle! This time I took my real camera so I got some good pictures. We ate breakfast again... except it was lunch because Wendy's stops serving breakfast early. I'll have you know, Denny's, that Wendy's chicken sandwich happened to love my belly and did not make me sick! Anyway we waited in the mile long line again and then headed in. Unfortunately we had to mis MXPX because they were playing the same time as Dead To Me and Mark really wanted to see them. It was ok because I've seen MXPX before and I'm really glad we went to see Dead To Me. They were so good! It was awesome to hear them totally rip into some of the "Myspace Bands" that were there and about how lame they were. Thank Buddha there were a lot of great punk and ska bands to make up for it. Also freakin' awesome was the fact that we got to see #2 from Anti-Flag just hanging out and listening to Dead To Me. I wish we would have gotten our picture with him. Oh, also we found the best thing ever in this area... REAL bathrooms! No more port-a-potties for us. Since Mark and I are both tinkle-a-holics we quickly found the "hidden" bathrooms that no one else seemed to know about and were nice and clean. YEAH! I didn't have to hold it all day!!

Next we headed over to see New Tomorrow. Mark and I were both injured here due to angst-filled youth and testosterone and beer filled douche bags with a capital DOUCHE. Mark got a hand in his stomach and I has a dude fall on me and scrape up my foot. I didn't think it was THAT bad, although the scrape hurt pretty good. But through the day my foot began to swell and now I have some pretty scabs and a green bruise. Oh well... I guess injuries can be expected. So New Tomorrow was good. Not my favorite at all but they did what they did well. Plus the lead singer had a crazy viking beard!

After the mad circle pit of New Tomorrow it was time for some hip-hop of sorts by 3OH!3. They were pretty hilarious and of course they won my heart by dressing up as the Hamburgler and Winnie the Pooh!

We decided to eat after 3OH!3. We headed back up to the CLEAN bathrooms and found some delicious teriyaki. It was quite yummy and it was a lot of food for the price. Also... this chicken and my  little tum-tum got along just fine. I HATE YOU, DENNY'S! (Except for your tasty burger with egg and hashbrowns. I still love that.) I cleaned my foot injury with some bottled water. Also we had another #2 sighting while on our way to using the good bathrooms. (#2 as in the bassist for Anti-Flag... not poop.)


After lunch we caught some Hot Water Music where I saw the cutest little boy. He was maybe 5 years old. I think his dad knew one of the dudes in Hot Water Music. He had his mohawk and he had his fist in the air and he was head banging. Totally melted my heart. Maybe the youth of America isn't totally screwed after all.  After Hot Water Music we mosey'd on over to the Anti-Flag booth and I got a t-shirt. Then we went to catch Street Dogs. They were really good AND there was another little punk rocker there. He was 3 and Street Dogs are his favorite band. 

Mark and I grabbed some roasted corn (YEAH! Punk music and roasted corn... seriously... has there ever been a better combo?) and headed down to the other stages. It was getting time for Anti-Flag. I was super excited to see them. I never have before and was really looking forward to seeing them with Marffy since he introduced me to their music almost 5 years ago and I fell in love with them too. While we were walking and munching on our corn we heard a dad tell his kid "Punk is the only culture where is is socially acceptable to be ugly." LOL! While I suppose that's true on the surface I think the deeper truth is that Punk allows you to be who you truly are and accepts you for what you are on the inside as opposed to getting all worked up about the outside. Maybe that's why I like it so much. Its kind of my mantra..."Be who you are and fuck anyone who doesn't like it. The people who matter will like you how you are."

Well now I got all distracted by that tangent... Where was I? Oh right... we were walking to the other stages to get a spot for Anti-Flag. We found one and I could see so I was excited! And the show was really good. I was not disappointed. I'd really like to see a full show of their's some time. If only they'd hurry up and come back to California!

The Bravery played next on the other stage. We stayed where we were because Goldfinger was up next but I could still see the Bravery. Not really my usual style I like to listen to but they were very talented and I liked listening to them.  And then... OMG! GOLDFINGER! Mark and I love us some Goldfinger. I mean... Mable is named after one of their songs. And they did not disappoint. They were amazing! Charlie was back in the band, they played some great songs, the wall of death, a man ate a hot dog from Darrin's ass and they set the drums on fire! w00t! It was truly a great show. They closed with 99 Red Balloons. Mark and I decided nothing could top Goldfinger and anything else would just be a disappointment so we didn't stay to catch My Chemical Romance. We found our car with ease this time (we're quick learners... we parked next to an easily spottable landmark this time) and headed home to unwind a bit.

On Monday, I got up early and finished packing. Matt texted me and said he was on his way over and I told him I needed to go to a Coinstar to deposit Mark's and my coinage. I checked the internet tubes and found that the closest one was a Stater Bros. So Matt arrived and we drove on over only to find that their Coinstar machine was broken and they did not have the chapstick I wanted. Bah! Matt called the Von's right across the street from the apartments and found that they had one. Well actually it was a "Coin Master" but it worked even if the crazy old man there came to check up after we left to see if we left any coins behind. We did not!

Mark and Brian were there when we got back to the apartment. Mark and I said goodbye to our precious kitty and we headed out. Viva Las Vegas! We stopped at Mark's parents house for a moment and he came back with treats for us. Yeah! He got me Apple Jacks. He knows me well!
We played Simpsons Trivia. Well actually I read the cards because my nerdieness doesn't extend super far into Simpson-dom. We tried to get the iPod set up but Mark's car was being mean and wouldn't let it work. Oh well... we entertained ourselves quite well. We stopped in Baker because I REALLY wanted to eat at the Mad Greek. I'm so glad we did. It was YUMMY! So sad that Brian didn't get to experience it. He doesn't eat anything unless its hot dogs, pizza or pasta (marinara sauce ONLY, thank you very much!). As we're sitting and eating, Brian whispers in a worried tone, "There are naked guys here..." Uh... That's Michelangelo's David. LOL! Anyway, if you enjoy a good gyro I highly suggest the Mad Greek.

More driving after Baker. But finally we got to Las Vegas. Hurrah! Mark and Brian went and amused themselves while Matt and I stood in the worlds LONGEST line ever to check in at the Sahara. But we watched a little Sweeny Todd on Matt's iPhone as well as found out that he is "Liberace-curious". Hmmm. Finally we could check in! The lady was very nice and gave us two beds. We found Mark and Brian and went up to the room. It wasn't anything amazing but it was very cheap and clean and the beds were very comfortable. Plus we had a pretty view at night.

We relaxed for a bit and then headed out for the evening. We got out monorail pass and then we were ready to go. We were hungry and got McDonalds... except for Brian who got pizza. We decided to check out the Venetian. Mark and Matt got some cigars and Matt found Whoopi Goldberg. Oh and Brian found his beloved Blue Man Group!


We stopped at Fat Tuesdays and got drinks there... Extra shots of course. We talked Brian out of getting the SUPER-DUPER-BIG-ASS Gulp size. Then we headed to the Bellagio for the fountain show. I love that show! Its so pretty.

After the lovely fountain show we decided to go to the Planet Hollywood (Formerly the Aladdin) hotel. Matt and Brian played the slots while Mark and I took a potty trip. On the way back we found a Karaoke lounge in the middle of the hotel. Yay! Mark and I got a table and texted Matt and Brian to come find us. I told Mark "I bet you Matt will sing." Mark said "No way." Too bad we didn't bet money because Matt DID sing! It was a country song (shudder) but we were all proud none the less. Unfortunately, he wouldn't go sing a lesbian love song with the hostess (even though I KNOW he knows it by heart!) so she said she wouldn't be meeting him in his room later. That's probably for the best... I imagine that could have been very awkward for the rest of us. LOL! Also we found out that iPhones work well when ordering a drink that the bartender doesn't know what's in it.

We headed out after we had our fill of bad singers (not you Matt!). It was a lot of fun. Back at the hotel we all drank lots of water and Mark and I split a mini-pizza before hitting the sack at 2ish. (While waiting for our pizza, Mark tells me "You're the best!" Awe!) For some reason, Brian insisted on sleeping on the floor instead of the bed with Matt. Maybe he was worried about the fact that Matt is "Liberace-Curious" and didn't want to get "Van Stoned". LOL!

When we woke up the next morning, Brian was no where to be found. Matt got a text from him that he couldn't sleep (well, duh! He was on the floor. LOL!) and to text him when we got up. Mark and Matt both texted him and called him but no answer. We all got ready. Mark and I had our daily conversation about the previous days activities and other random stuff while he was in the shower and I was drying my hair. When we were all ready and STILL hadn't heard from Brian, Matt and I were convinced he was arrested for taking pictures in the Casino. But we all finally found him playing video blackjack with a Jamaican dealer with a case of the shakes (the dealer... not Brian).

We were all starving so we went to a buffet (Of course! We're in Vegas!) It was called the Spice Market but I can't remember which hotel it was in. But it was really good. They had Asian and Indian food as well as the usuals. Yummy! We all tried but we couldn't get Brian to try anything new. He just ate his huge plate full of raviolis. Not even one TINY bite of chicken!!! *sigh* While we were there the Miss America contestants were also there. I'm not sure why they chose a buffet to eat at. They were all walking around with about 5 pieces of lettuce and a tomato on their plates. What a waste.

After breakfast we stopped and got Brian his first cigar and then went to New York New York so Brian could ride Man-HURTIN Express. None of the rest of us would go on it with him as we have all experienced the pain and bruising it causes. We also took some time to explore Mandalay Bay. We had a lot of fun taking pictures there and checking out their stores. They had a Urban Outfitters there. Mark got an awesome "St Otto" car freshener and Matt bought Dirty MadLibs which kept us entertained for HOURS!

We headed back to the hotel (after a coffee stop) to get ready for the evening. We spiffied up and then stopped by the Hilton so the Trekkies among us (ie. Not Mark and myself) could do some shopping at the Star Trek Experience. We were starving since we hadn't eaten since breakfast. We all opted for Earl of Sandwich (except for Brian because sandwiches are neither hot dogs, pizza nor pasta). Then we decided to go back to the Planet Hollywood to check out their other lounge. It was nice but I liked the Karaoke one better. Poor Matt and Brian both had slot machines eat their money and had to wait for help to get their tickets. we meandered our way back to the hotel and took pictures along the way. And then amused ourselves with Dirty MadLibs until we were too exhausted to think of anything dirty. Brian decided the floor was too hard and opted to share the bed with Matt this time.

The next morning we had to check out. Sadness! We all got ready and Brian chugged his Romulan Ale at 1030am. We packed up the car and headed to the Mirage for some CPK. Brian was happy as this meant Pizza. I got a Greek pizza, Mark got carne asada pizza, Matt got a BLT pizza and Brian... Brian got CHEESE! Thats it! Just a cheese pizza! Good lord, its an uphill battle with that boy. We all enjoyed wandering around the Mirage and we also learned that I can make a damn good Elephant sound. I had no idea but I'm really good. If I had an elephant farm... I bet those elephants would really like me. I can even make the sound of multiple elephants at once. Its truly an amazing talent.

By this time Marffy and I were in dire need of coffee and the Trekkies were in dire need of some Star Trek. Matt And Brian headed off to do the Star Trek Experience and Mark and I were on a quest for a Starbucks. It took us forever and a day to find one but we finally did. We had a great time just sitting, sipping our caramel machiatto's and talking. After resting for a while (my shoes were KILLING me feet) we headed over to the Hilton to wait for Matt and Brian. I told Mark to tell me if he saw these really fun Video Blackjack machines we played when we went to Morongo and not two seconds after I said that he found them! So we played about 20 bucks and walked away with $15 by the time the other guys were done being beamed up and whatnot.

We decided it was time to head home. We got news that there was a serious accident on the freeway and that we may be delayed a long time. We took some time to look for pens that when you turned them the showgirl's clothing came off but we couldn't find any. We stopped for Sonic and gas and then headed home. Besides a speeding ticket (Really?! For going 80 in the desert?!), a creepy rest stop potty where I made Mark stand outside until I hollered to him that it was all clear in there and Matt going crazy and suddenly becoming British it was a smooth ride home with none of the feared traffic problems. It was good times!

I have about a million more pictures on my flickr.Check it out if you'd like!