Give It A Name 2008 on 2008-05-13
I went to GIVE IT A NAME on sunday, which was really, really good. Really good.
I went with my college friend, Jess, and her boyfriend, Mike. It was alright- but it was really awkward for me. Got to the venue by car, walked around for a bit then went to line up.
When we got inside I put my Oyster card in Jess' bag and she put it in the cloakroom. We went to the main stage and smaller stage (which were next to each other) and sat down away form the stage. After about ten minutes I noticed Ashley and his friend Tom, who I've been to gigs with before, and waved at them. They noticed and came over and I talked to them for a bit. We all sat though The Mexicolas, which were pretty good. Ashley asked me if I wanted to see Four Year Strong with them, so I agreed. In between the sets I went off with Jess and Mike because they wanted to get pizza. Four Year Strong's set started and I decided to bite the bullet and go without them. I really enjoyed them, even if I was by myself. After the set I wandered back to where Jess and Mike were and Jess was complaining about having a headache. I didn't really have much sympathy, to be honest, because she always complains about the smallest thing.
So anyway, I went (again by myself) to watch The Color Fred and Envy On The Coast and had a great time. I went to find Jess again and she decided that she was going home. I was sort of shocked by her decision because she spent �40 on this ticket and went home after doing NOTHING. There were people walking around nursing black eyes and scratched faces- but still having a great time. To be honest, I'm kind of glad she left because at least she wasn't holding me back from having a good time. I didn't care much for her hypercondriact behavior, so I just told her that I wasn't leaving (jn the nicest possible way). I didn't know if it was the right thing to do- but she was sort of being selfish and so she made Mike go home with her. I was slightly annoyed that she did that to him- but really, I didn't know why he was there as he doesn't have an interest in the music genre and I have my suspicions he was there because of his possessive nature towards Jess.
Anyway. Again. I watched them leave during State Radio and went to the toilets to phone my mum- who was a bit concerned about how i'd get home, but I told her that I saw other friends about. I went back to watch a couple more sets from You Me At Six and The Blackout. I decided to text Ashley after these sets because I knew he really wanted to see them. I like to think it's things like that, which might make me a better friend. I texted him saying that my friends left and that I was wondering if he would mind if I found him for a bit. I got a reply and went to find him and Tom somewhere in Earl's Court. When I found them they bought me a drink and we sent to sit down to watch Armor For Sleep, which I really enjoyed. They asked me what sets I wanted to watch, so they knew where I was- whenever. The hour and a half went quite quickly. I went to see Silverstein, Anti-Flag and Glassjaw with Ashley- although I think he went into the circle pits for most of it. Anti-Flag was incredible, they had this HUGE (and I mean HUGE) circle pit open, which took up about a third of the crowd. That was amazing. Also during the set, they talked about community and was like "I want everyone to extend their hand and greet the stranger next to you" (or something to that effect) and so I shook hands with this perhaps fourteen/ fifthteen year old boy.
After those sets I wandered back to find Ashley and Tom, who were waiting to see the Guitar Hero competition and we talked about Anti-Flag. The GH competition was fun to watch and they were hoping to set the world record for the most amount of people watching a video game. After that we made our way into the crowd to get a good place for Billy Talent. BILLY TALENT!
That set was amazing. I know I throw 'amazing' about so it's hard to differentiate it when I actually mean it. It was pretty easy finding the others after their set and so we stayed in the crowd. At this point Ashley decided to sit on the floor because I think he was in pain and after a bit these men were walking through the crowd, when they saw Ashley and offered him the rest of their drink. We shared this amongst us and that really made my day. It's nice to see everyone sharing- although come to think of it, all my life I've been told to not accept open drinks. Oh well! I really went for it during Billy Talent, throwing myself around and using the full extent of my voice. It's a great release. We talked aimlessly for a while about the music videos showing and watching 30 Seconds To Mars' crew set up their stage. When they came on, it was like seeing them last. There was a track playing the background, it was something classical or theatrical- if you heard it, you would know it. Their set was great, although Jared Leto didn't sing much and swore a lot. It was more of an experience rather than a set, but fun nevertheless.
It was difficult trying to find Ashley and Tom after the set because we got separated, but we all found each other in the end. We then went to go and sit by the sound desk for a while, before being made to move out. The policemen made me laugh - "can you all hurry up? I want to get home." We went to the newsagents to buy some drinks and then we took the district line home.
It was great. Really great.
Rosie xxxx