Monday, November 14, 2011
this photo is in response to the current love affair i am having with a band from my sort-of recent past (though, god, really, this is from more than nine years ago). last week i listened to four minute mile at top volume in my car on this gorgeous fall day—this is one of those albums that seems perfectly suited for cooler weather and leaves on the ground. i started listening to the get-up kids after something to write home about blew up and i remember being pretty excited to see them in 2002—though i was actually way more excited to see the band that wasn’t headlining: superchunk, who i had loved for years before i knew who the get-up kids were. things i remember about this show: it being sweltering outside; watching superchunk roll out some of their gear while we were standing in the outside part of the norva (we were separated by a fence and a few hundred feet) and me yelling at laura “slack motherfucker!!!”; the get-up kids taking the stage and watching all of these frat boys screaming out the words to “don’t hate me”; buying this red get-up kids t-shirt that said something about band camp (or something?!) on it; and making fun of the band hot rod circuit and wondering why all of these emo bands had three words in their band names (like taking back sunday and further seems forever). i’m almost certain i bought that ticket from farm fresh. fifteen bucks seems like such a bargain now. i felt like my life came full circle when i got to see the get-up kids play live here in lawrence on march 13, 2009, when they did the reunion show and played something to write home about from start to finish. it was the first night of spring break that year, and i was getting sick with the flu, but i went anyway with my friend jessie and i ran into a couple of my students at the show and it was one of the best nights i can remember from my first couple of years here.

this photo is in response to the current love affair i am having with a band from my sort-of recent past (though, god, really, this is from more than nine years ago). last week i listened to four minute mile at top volume in my car on this gorgeous fall day—this is one of those albums that seems perfectly suited for cooler weather and leaves on the ground. i started listening to the get-up kids after something to write home about blew up and i remember being pretty excited to see them in 2002—though i was actually way more excited to see the band that wasn’t headlining: superchunk, who i had loved for years before i knew who the get-up kids were. things i remember about this show: it being sweltering outside; watching superchunk roll out some of their gear while we were standing in the outside part of the norva (we were separated by a fence and a few hundred feet) and me yelling at laura “slack motherfucker!!!”; the get-up kids taking the stage and watching all of these frat boys screaming out the words to “don’t hate me”; buying this red get-up kids t-shirt that said something about band camp (or something?!) on it; and making fun of the band hot rod circuit and wondering why all of these emo bands had three words in their band names (like taking back sunday and further seems forever). i’m almost certain i bought that ticket from farm fresh. fifteen bucks seems like such a bargain now.

i felt like my life came full circle when i got to see the get-up kids play live here in lawrence on march 13, 2009, when they did the reunion show and played something to write home about from start to finish. it was the first night of spring break that year, and i was getting sick with the flu, but i went anyway with my friend jessie and i ran into a couple of my students at the show and it was one of the best nights i can remember from my first couple of years here.

Posted at 2:11 AM 4 notes Tags: the get-up kids 2002 this band could be my life kansas lawrence norfolk virginia

Notes

  1. indywasthedog said: i share a love of the get up kids, too. just mentioned them in a post the other day actually! not too long ago i went on a long road trip alone and was listening to my ipod on shuffle. they came up and i ended up singing along at the top of my lungs.
  2. beethousand posted this