Meeting Panic! At the Disco

(Again, just posting this because I'm a bamf or something, don't worry about it)

It was 3:20pm on a lovely Saturday afternoon in Tinley Park, Illinois. I had a meet & greet with my favourite band ever, Panic! At the Disco. I'd seen photos of the experience on the internet but I didn't know what to expect. To say the least, I was scared shitless, but I was uuber excited. The one and only Zack Hall came out to greet our group of 14 Northern Downpour fansite meet & greet contest winners. He went through his list on his black iPhone and confirmed the people that were permitted to go in.

Zack wouldn't let me take a picture with him because he told me that he doesn't take pictures with females (He doesn't want to get in trouble with his girl) but he let me take one of him. He was exactly what I expected of him. No surprises. He's a real genuine guy.

After waiting 7 minutes for a no-show for the meet & greet named Megan, Zack decided to take us in. He told us that we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the backstage-area. He didn't want us taking pics of any of blink's kids or anything creepy. As we walked towards the place where the meet & greet would take place we walked past Andy Hurley, the drummer of FOB. It was sooooo weird. He was just playin' football with a girl. No shirt. He was just like, 'hey'. It was epic.

We got to the room which was kind of like an outdoor balcony with a roof. It was hot outside with a really nice breeze. I felt like I was going to throw up. There was a guy with curly orange hair. I assumed it was Chester French. Nobody else noticed- they didn't know who he was. He just asked Zack, "Are the meet & greets always only girls?" Zack said, "No, we've had two boys." It was weird. Then, after another speech from Zack about not hugging and how things would work out, he went inside to get the boys. We were all standing in a line, I was in the middle. Brendon would start on one end and Spencer would start on the other and they would criss-cross.

When the boys came out, I was speechless. I'm shaking just thinking of it. It was one of the most nerve-racking moments of my life. But soon after seeing how chill and nice and relaxed they were with everyone else, I calmed down a little.

I always thought Spencer was a little pudgy. I loved him for the way he was and it suited him. When I met them, he was so thin! It was mind-boggling. He was about 3 inches taller than me and I'm 5'7 so he was around 5'10 or 5'11. He had really white teeth and one in the front was slightly crooked. It was cute.

Brendon was surprisingly shorter than I imagined. He was about an inch taller than me, so about 5'8-5'9. It was weird because is all of the pictures you see of him you can't really imagine what they'll look like right in front of you. He was pale, like me. I felt less left-out. He was a happy person and his hair looked nice.

I was dieing. No joke. I was about to hurl and die at the same time. But I didn't.

Brendon slowly made his way to me first. He was very sweet and was obviously used to this. He knew everyone was nervous so he played it cool and started conversations instead of having it be an awkward silence. I love him for that. He asked me how I was doing and I was like, 'really good'. He laughed. I melted. I asked him to sign my Pretty. Odd. booklet.

I also asked him to sign something for my friend Sara who lives in Minnesota. She had to sell her ticket that was her birthday present because she didn't have anyone to go with. It was the least I could do, she's my friend. He thought it was nice.

Then I met Spencer. He asked me how I was doing and I was like, 'good'. I asked him to sign my Pretty. Odd. booklet.

Then I said, "Could I ask you a question about a track on the album?" Spencer was like, "Sure." He casually flipped through the pages in the booklet which I later would rub on my face. "In 'Do You Know What I'm Seeing' it sounds like someone's walking through your headphones, is it actually someone walking?" He said, "Yea, that was actually me, it's cool that you picked up on that." *die*. "I had these shoes that when ever I walked in a room they knew it was me so we decided to put it on the track. We had two microphones on the floor and I just walked in between them." (That was me para-phrasing I don't know EXACTLY what he said, it was along the lines of that- he definitely said the 'cool that you picked up on that part' though) It was great. I had him sign my friend's paper and he was on his way to the next person.

In the line, I heard them talking about some other things. Brendon is still dating Sarah, which I'm happy to hear. She bought him the shirt he was wearing. It's a Kenny Powers shirt, baseball player. Who Brendon has quoted before.

"Found out it's not called cheating if you're Mormon, which is why I'm wondering if my fans know some good online baptism shit" -KP

It was cute :)

Spencer uses whatever conditioner that they have in Hotel Rooms. He just takes it out of there. I thought it was kind of a strange question to ask him. But, now we know. He said he doesn't condition a ton but, yea, that's what he uses.

Brendon isn't really thinking of adding to his tattoo arm, he doesn't have any ideas of what to put on there.

Oh yea, and Zack uses the term, "Brencer." It was hilarious.

After they did signing, Zack took individual pictures. I was one of the last to go up so I took pictures while they were with other people. A girl wanted to be able to photo shop her friend in so they took a picture with their arms around an imaginary person, I didn't get the picture. *smacks fingers with ruler* I did get a picture of them with a set list, it was funny.

Then, the moment of truth, I got to take my photo with them. Everyone else was just taking smile pictures. I thought those were cute, but not awesome. I had always imagined myself taking a picture with them doing the Sins-Not-Tragedies face, so that's exactly what we did. :)

I love this moment. Thank you Zack for taking this picture. I made it my computer desktop. I'm also going to put on up in my room, in my locker when school starts, and in my nightstand. I want to remember the best day of my life.

After that we took group pictures. Zack took it with one of the other member's cameras and she'll post it on Northern Downpour and I'll post it when I get it. Zack told everyone to group together and everyone went to the sides of the boys and since no one else was, I went in the middle. It was epic to no limit. We took two pictures. In the first, Brendon had his hands to his sides. In the second, he brought them up to do a thumbs-up. His hand grazed my butt. It. Was. Awesome. Ha ha. It was nothing. An accident. Sarah Orzechowski, if you're reading this, DO NOT GET MAD AT HIM. So yea, that was the highlight of my life.

After that, I met back up with my cousin Amanda and we waited in line to get into the theatre for an hour and a half. It was an outdoor concert but it had poles to support the upper levels and the stage. It's called The First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre.

We decided to buy tickets right before the concert because they're usually cheaper. I wanted pit tickets. It cost more than 500 dollars for two tickets together. It was so worth it. We were really close to the stage, in the center of the pit.

Chester French was first. Nobody liked him. I felt bad. People wanted to see the bands they came there for. A lot of people swore and they got so bored to the point that they brought out some pot and started smoking. It was gross. But I loved it. It felt like I was at an actual rock gig. I felt bad ass.

Then Panic! came out. I was so excited. I found the set list on the internet and they preformed the songs in order as suspected. Time to Dance, But It's Better If You Do, The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage, That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed), Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off, Camisado, New Perspective, Nine In the Afternoon, and lastly I Write Sins Not Tragedies. Unlike in past concerts, they had the parts they couldn't play with their instruments playing in the background such as the intro to Time to Dance or the Cello in I Write Sins Not Tragedies. It was cool to hear the songs like they were on the album live. It was great. Brendon introduced Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off with, "So who likes fucking here? I, myself, enjoy a good fucking now and then. This next song is basically about fucking." *sigh* Just like the good'ol days. Right before they started New Perspective, Brendon dedicated the song to his girlfriend Sarah. It was sooooooo sweet. I melted onto the floor. It explains why I was so dirty after the concert. They were great. The vocals were outstanding. The instruments were right on the dot with everything. Ian, Ryan's replacement, sang Ryan's parts in the songs and it was cool seeing him again. Dallon, Jon's replacement, was just kind of there. He sang some back up but not enough to really hear him. Panic! was great. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage's chorus, the moshing began. I looped arms with my cousin and we stayed together. She lost a flip flop/ got her butt grabbed 3 times and I got my feet stepped on multiple occasions. It was great. The moshing continued during other songs at high-energy parts where the tempo quickened and what not. I loved every minute of it.

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz was watching from the right side of the stage (by Dallon). It was pretty exciting.

Then Fall Out Boy came out next. I always thought that they were mediocre in their live performances. I had never seen them live but I had on television and I didn't expect much. I don't know if they just wanted to do their hometown proud or maybe television doesn't do them justice but they were fantastic. So much energy. I was feeding off their enthusiasm and everyone was jumping to the beat. It was great. I knew most of the songs- I'm no FOB expert. And I loved it.

Then , as I suspected, they covered Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. Also, as I knew would happen, Brendon came out and sang it with them. He was wearing his Sarah shirt. Too cute. He was great, his vocals always sound amazing, even if they're not on key, it's crazy.

Then, Fall Out Boy was over and I was in so much pain. All I had eaten that day was a bowl of Cheerios and a banana with some peanut butter. My lower back hurt like hell. I was hot and dehydrated. I like blink, but they're not my favourite band. I really wanted to stay and see them but I didn't think I could take anymore. I told my cousin we should wait for one song that we knew and then we could leave. We waited about 20 grueling minutes for the stage to be re-set-up and we made our way to the back of the pit because there was no way that we could've gotten through during the set. Finally they came on and opened with a song we didn't know, I believe it was called Dumpweed. It was really cool. I wish I had known some of their songs- I'm sure I would've enjoyed this experience more. I'm sad I didn't stay longer but I knew my body couldn't take anymore.

The next song they played was Rock Show. We knew that and I thought we'd leave after that but I was feeling so horrible that we just left during the song. We were both physically spent. I had been standing up for 6 hours straight and I had consumed probably 300 calories and it was 10 pm. I'm sorry blink. :(

We went to the merchandise stand and they had the cutest Panic! shirt. I saw it on the way in but we decided to do shopping after.

I ! PATD. It's so genius, I wanna die. They didn't have my size so I got a Medium. It's too big but that's okay. I didn't want any other shirt. It was perfect.

We walked out of the theatre. The security told us, "No re-entries." We understood and gladly walked our way to my mother's car. For the first time in 6 hours of hot, sweaty, pot scented, routy hours, we sat down. It felt so good. We went to Friday's for dinner and then we went home. It had been the best day of my life and I wouldn't have changed it for anything. I love that day. There was supposed to be a FOB/ Panic! after-party at Angels & Kings but we assumed you'd have to be 21 to enter and my mom wanted to go to bed. Another day Panic!, another day....