The Dial Up Tour

Yesterday, I went to the Dial Up Tour at the House of Blues. It was amazingly awesome and fun!!!

I met my friend at the train stop at 2:00, and we rode downtown so we could explore a bit before we went to HOB. We ended up walking around for a couple hours and then stopped at a cute patisserie that had really pretty cakes in the window.

Upon arrival at the venue at around 4:40 for the 5:00 meet and greet portion, we retrieved our tickets and were herded into a long line of fans waiting to meet the performers. The energy was really great, and I could tell that this was an older audience, not the 12-year-olds at the Triple Rainbow Awesome Tour.

When we were brought upstairs to the meet and greet, they had us pull out the things we wanted signed and told us that we could take pictures after the show. I was expecting a sort of chill, chatty time, but they had all of the performers sitting at a table. They each asked my name, shook my hand, and signed my poster. Tessa had the best handshake.

The first person was the opening comedian, Olan Rogers, and he asked everyone, "so, who are you here to see?" The only answer I could give was "everyone," and he proceeded to sass me about that because it was such a PC generic answer. I conceded that I had heard about the tour on Tessa's channel (Meekakitty), and that perked her up to my existence, and then Olan proceeded to quiz me on who each person was. Luckily, he didn't ask me about the livelavalive guys, because he and they were the ones I knew the least about.

I got to briefly chat with Tessa and Shawna, then my friend had brought his LeakyCon 2011 Yearbook to be signed, so we had a bit of a delay as Alex Carpenter took the time to write a note, and I had more of a chance to chat with him and Jason. When I got to them, I mentioned that at the last thing like this we got kicked out of Millennium Park, and he said, "wait, what show was that?" and we had a moment to remember that experience of the Triple Rainbow Awesome Tour. I think my friend and I stood out because we made a connection beyond just being fans from YouTube at a live show. Jason Munday signed my poster next, then Kyle Sibert, then Mitchell Davis.

When we were done with the signing line, we went downstairs to the performance space, and scoped out a spot from which to watch the show. There were no seats for the show, so we ended up standing for a long time throughout the day.

The show started at 7:00 with a comedy set from Olan. He did it in an anecdotal style and he talked about the scary animatronic characters at Chuck E. Cheese, having his lunch stolen in elementary school, and all of the ways he could never disobey his mother. He was pretty funny, but I was hoping for fewer poop jokes.

Next were Shawna (Nanalew) and Tessa. They opened with a number from their album Days of The Week called "Space Crustaceans." This album is basically them being random and silly, so it was just fun to watch them have fun. They did some comedy and a song about lizards. They were pretty great!!

After the girls were the livelavalive guys, Kyle and Mitchell. They had a comedy set that involved a projector, and it was silly, but I didn't like it as much. I think it would have translated better as videos, and I wanted content that a person who wasn't subscribed to them could relate to. I am not subscribed to either them or Olan, but Olan's set was at least approachable for me.

I ended up going to the bathroom during their act, and I walked right past Jason Munday, who was watching the show. I was tempted to talk to him, but he seemed to be with a friend, so I didn't want to interrupt them. Plus, I never really know what to say, and I figured I'd talk to him afterward, which I did.

Alex and Jason's set was AMAZING!! They use audience energy so well; it's really a huge transformation to see them perform live. They had a keyboard/synthesizer on which Alex put a piece of duct tape that said "BE BRILLIANT," and each artist had a guitar. They played their entire EP called Dial Up, and a few other songs, including wrock and trock.

This was my favorite performance of the night, and the one I really came to see most of all. I started paying attention to them when they went on tour with ALL CAPS, became a fan myself after seeing them live and realizing how awesome they are, and now seeing them go from a free show in a public space to a super-legit venue complete with awesome concert lighting is really amazing. It was also pretty great that I knew most of the songs :)

All of the performers came out to dance and take a bow during the closing song, and then they announced that they would be meeting fans by the merch area after the show. My friend and I waited (on stools; yay finally getting to sit!) for the younger crowd to dissipate so we could actually talk to these people, since they are our age. We had some decent conversation with Alex and Jason, and Alex remembered us as the LeakyCon/TRA people from the meet and greet. He even made a joke about remembering since it was only a couple hours ago.

We tried to meet some of the others, but the crowds around them were too huge, so we got our coats and got in the line to meet Tessa and Shawna. However, they had to run to the tour bus to get more CDs when the merch table ran out, and they got back after HOB security started to file us out of the space.

They went outside to keep signing, and rather than follow them out all the way, I took a detour to take a picture of the "BE BRILLIANT" tape on Alex's keyboard. I then had a really nice moment when we talked about the sign-off for his videos, and he said, "if there's anything I want people to be more of, it is smart. The world needs more critical thinkers." I love that.

I then found Kyle and we had a mini-conversation about Ohio, then I went downstairs to go outside and finally meet Shawna and Tessa. We talked to another girl on line who was our age, and that was kind of neat. Then we took pictures with the girls, had a moment to chat, Shawna complimented my hat (!!!), and we left to take the train home.

I got some really great photos and videos, and amazing memories.

I think the thing that makes events like these so cool and special is that I have been watching these people's videos for at least a year. They are regulars in my sub box, and I learn things about them each time I watch their work. They put a piece of themselves into the public domain, whether it is a song, a character, a joke, or who they really are. I know so much about them and respect what they do, but they have no idea who I am. But for one night, for these few hours that we were in the same place at the same time, everyone is real. I can talk to them, hug them, high five, shake hands, take pictures, and get autographs. There's the possibility that they might remember me and having them there makes me realize that I just want to be friends with them. Today, they're back on my screen, and yesterday seems totally surreal, but that's what made it so magical.

Today is awesome because I am basking in the joy of attending that wonderful show.