The Decaydance Invasion

The Decaydance Invasion - photo set

Post-dim sum wanderings in Soho with Maria and Tayo, in Sister Ray on Berwick Street, browsing vinyl neither of us can really afford, my phone rings.

"Auntie Hannah!"

That name again. Can only be one person on the other end of that phone: the one and only Alex Suarez.

The Decaydance tour is in town: Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Gym Class Heroes, The Academy Is and Cobra Starship all in London to play the Hammersmith Apollo, to the delight of emo-teens everywhere.

We arrange to meet by the tour bus entrance later on, as we did last time. Only unlike last time, when I get there, there are hordes of teens waiting there too and when Alex comes down to meet me and give me my pass, they all start screaming his name. Which weirds me out a little. He agrees to pose for a couple of quick photos then we make our escape. He has to head back in as Cobra are line-checking, I say hi to Ryland and Gabe, then once line-check is over it's back upstairs to the dressing room. Theirs is on the top floor: "We like to call it the executive suite, but really it's just the furthest from the stage..." Victoria is in there with her friends who've come for the show too, Carly and Will, and vodka tonics are poured though it's not even 6pm.

Carly, Will and I nervously stand sidestage as final preps are made for Cobra's set, careful we're not getting in the way or to accidentally pull out any wires. Although they're the first band on and the audience is still being let in to the Apollo, Cobra gets a good reaction; a lot of cheering and yelling and singing along and snakes - and bras(!) - thrown on stage.

Back upstairs, more drinks, Suarez heads to shower and I go for a wander round the Apollo. Pretty much same old, same old, so I give up and wait for Alex then we go to catering. I'm still full from dim sum but he gets food and others trickle in: Ryland, Bob McLynn, Nate, William Beckett.

There's more drink, more chat, some myspace checking, more drink, missing all of TAI's and GCH's sets, checking out Panic!'s set for like a song then hunting down more beers, more talking, sitting in the tour bus, hearing that Plain White Ts had gone on randomly to do 'Hey There Delilah', then a lot of people heading in for the remainder of FOB's set. We get in as they're in the middle of covering 'Beat It' (the MJ classic). I edge a little further out on side stage so I can see beyond the guitars and crates littering the area and find myself next to a tiny girl in a red hoodie and black hat, which makes me think 'I need to wear hats more'; the girl then turns around and I realise it's Ashlee Simpson. She is ridiculously small. I mean, most of FOB are pretty pint-sized, but she's adorably little.

After FOB finish up everyone heads out - we've lost Suarez at this point and I'm with Ryland who's clutching a bottle of Jameson that I keep eyeing and talking to Ryan (P!ATD) about the similarity of their names (of all things). A Decaydance group photo is called for.

Someone mentions the in-venue afterparty so I head up to the upstairs bar with Will where we find it's open bar on wine and beer. Somehow it gets to 12:20ish; most people I'm with have already decided to boycott the official afterparty at China Whites that Travis is DJing, and I decide, before anymore alcohol clouds my judgement, to call it a night (laaaaaame-o) so say my goodbyes and head on out, because I'm getting - ssh, say it quietly, old - and I'm just not quite rock'n'roll enough...

Pop - Punk Is Sooooo '05, part 2

Not enough sleep. A beautiful spring day. A wander and brunch down Portobello with Ryland. Get him back to the hotel for some press commitment. Go home, freshen up, wish I could nap. Head to Hammersmith Apollo to meet the boys after sound check - already looooongg lines at the Apollo to get in. Drag Ryland down the river to the Blue Anchor for drinks: Pimms for me, Fullers' London Pride (way to rep the local brewery) for him. The start of a beautiful sunset over the Thames.

We start to head back and run into Alex - Ryland goes back to the Apollo to tune up and riff with Joe Troh (note to self: I need a first name-last name rhyming combo) and Alex and I head back down the towpath. Realise Alex has to head back so back we go, meeting up with his friend Tomer as well. Alex goes back stage, Tomer and I go inside - find out the bars are cash only so plead with security to let one of us out to go to an ATM.

Miss Shiny Toy Guns, but Cobra play a really tight set and the crowd is so into it, it's awesome, and the girl they get up on stage actually knows the rap (1), unlike the night before. Head to the upstairs bar after their set where we'd arranged to meet Alex and see Gurj which makes me very happy - but feels strangely out of context, hanging with three of my NY peeps in Hammersmith. You know, the place where I was born and spent a large portion of my teenagerhood. Weird. Excuse myself to actually go watch FOB's set, by now immune to the amount of hoodie-clad teenagers.

They're pretty good. I have to admit, I'm still not blown away by the stage set (some light bars and the drum on a riser) but they're fun and man alive are the crowd loud and screaming any time Pete says anything. At all.

A small aside: I just feel (and I may be a bit biased here) that Cobra did more to get the crowd involved. Perhaps it's something to do with the fact that FOB know they have the audience eating out the palm of their hand, whereas CS have to work harder to get the audience on their side that they put on a better "show". And Gabe is always a great front man.

Back to scene: Gabe joins Patrick on stage for Grand Theft Autumn (see photo a couple above) and Pete climbs on to an amp and jumps off (see above photo) which the crowd lurrrrves. Irritated by the teens around me, I move towards the back of the theatre, where I am scared and horrified by balding fat middle aged men getting wayyyy too into Fall Out Boy. I escape to the upstairs bar again which has by now been shut off for the after party.

Tomer and I hang over the balcony transfixed by the scene at the merch stand (as above, and larger) where Cobra are doing a meet and greet. The kids mob them. Then we realise it's open bar where we are - alas, not hard liquor, but bring on the Strongbow... So it's later in the evening, a pint or two (or three...?) in and I'm talking to Ryland and this kid walks up in a green hoodie and starts chatting about where to go after (the Electric? Cuckoo?) and I suddenly realise it's Pete Wentz. Dude is teeeeeeny. Like you'd just want to make him PB&J sandwiches and hold his hand when he crosses the road. Adorable. I don't know what happened to after-after-party discussions but then somehow I'm buying whiskey shots for Alex and Ryland and I, and hanging with them and Nate (the Cobra drummer) and Ian (their tour driver and such an awesome guy), stealing sips of Nate's beer, listening to someone else come out the mens' room bragging about just getting a blow job (lovely).

Then we're back in Shepherd's Bush at the K West hotel where a bunch of teenagers are hanging outside (it's 2am! Why aren't they in bed?!) for some band or other - could be Cobra, could be My Chem who are also staying there. We head up to a kebab shop for food, someone tells me I should go to Manchester with them (it's tempting). It's freezing out. We get back to the hotel lobby and end up talking to some girls that are waiting there. Nate's not too into it and when one of the girls quizzes him as to why he's so quiet, I tell them he's Swedish. Let's just point out that I've had a few ciders and some whiskey. They ask him to teach them some Swedish. Ian jumps in and tells them he's deaf. I add that he's also a mute. We're trying not to crack up, Nate is shooting me odd looks, the girls are like, "Really? Well how does he play drums then?!" According to us, Nate the Swedish Deaf Mute plays drums by "feeling the vibrations". Something new for the Cobra Starship story...

Eventually I say my goodbyes, wait for the night bus on Bush Green for about 15 minutes, realise it's SO cold and is going to take me forever to get home at that time so go back to the hotel, crash on the boys' couch, get up at 6am, get two buses home, pass out in bed for what feels like only ten minutes, get up again and go to work.

Where I have to stay till 6pm. Where I've been pretending to do bits of filing but really hiding out in the filing rooms, wishing I could doze off, listening to music and trying to ignore my hangover...


(1) not my footage, slightly dodge quality