Trainwreck's Adventure with Live Music: Part 1

I'm not sure if you've noticed this by now but Katie and I are quite friendly.........and by friendly, I of course mean that all of our thoughts happen outside of our heads as opposed to inside of our heads, like the rest of humanity. You know it's a problem when the guy selling t-shirts (etc) mocks your way of saying 'buttons', but we'll get to that.

So a few weeks ago, Katie and I went to the Alex Goot and Secondhand Serenade concert.....of course we'll be discussing neither of those bands. For more info on Alex and his friends, go check out this post (Side note, Alex is awesomely adorable and really easy to talk to; so go tweet at him. Side side note, Katie says to Chad "You were not at this concert but we apparently need to talk BMW..not the cars...the show...heard you're a big fan, let's discuss.)

We are, however, discussing two new (to us) bands that we saw that night and absolutely adored: The Role Call and Living in Pretend. As always, we'll start at the beginning. This will be a two part post, check in next week for our post on Living in Pretend; but in the meantime go follow them on Twitter/Facebook/Youtube @LivinginPretend.

We arrived at the Bottom Lounge, where the show was talking place, and we were greeted by the most adorable (and cold) looking boys. They introduced themselves as Steve (@SteveTRC on the Twitter) and Max (@MaxTRC), and they were in band called The Role Call (@TheRoleCallMN). For those of you who don't know,  The Role Call is a pop/rock band of five young (19-22ish) guys based out of Minneapolis, who occasionally travel to promote their band, which is what they were doing here.

Anyways, Max and Steve told us that they were going to be playing some acoustic songs from their EP after show and asked if we would stick around to see them play. We of course said yes, they handed us their card (Which had their phone number on it, which you can text and get actual responses from the boys) We stayed for a bit to chat before wondering into the venue. I mostly asked why they weren't wearing gloves, did they need gloves, and that I had gloves they could use. I was slightly concerned (It was cold! They were nice, it happens). They told us we were friendly and that they hoped to see us after the show. Which of course, they did. I again offered them gloves, it was really cold out, but Max (playing guitar) refused as it's hard to play with them and Steve refused out of solidarity. See? Adorable.

You're probably wondering (and by you, I mean Mike...and Katie's mom... Katie says "Two fans? YES!") about their music. We bought their EP & got them to sign it (Katie just just made this weird finger gun-clicking mouth noise "Who knows what that'll be worth some day" thing with her face and I just had to share it with you because it was odd....Katie stands by it, we'll have to photograph it one day and let you be the judge.). It's a really fun EP, and the fact that we heard it live with part of the band standing 18in from us just makes it all the better. I'm 99.9999% positive that the memory of Steve, Max, Katie, myself and a few others singing "Won't Get Down" as loud as we could to try and out-noise the screeching El train above us will stay with me forever.  But seriously, go get their EP. It's really great & at only five dollars, you really have no excuse. Seriously, my coffee at Starbucks costs more than their EP. If you like, All Time Low or The Maine or anything like that you will love them! Trust us!

I'm so glad Katie's sitting next to me because between the two of us, we've got one functioning memory (remember the designated remember-er?...we still need one). She reminded me that another of the reasons why we loved Steve and Max so much, and why we don't mind pimping their shit out ad nauseam is because they reminded us of...well us. See, we were about to leave, and Steve was at their car and suddenly yells "I HAVE THE BEST IDEA EVER!!!" Katie turns to Max and asks if this a good thing or a bad thing, Max replys "It really depends." I'm not sure about you but that interaction describes just about half of the conversations here at #Trainwreck Headquarters (yes, I did just name my basement #Trainwreck Headquarters).

Since meeting the band, we've texted back and forth, as well as participated in a #askTRC on twitter which not only broke their twitter but got us the answers to some burning questions. Questions like, what's your guilty pleasure show (For Steve, it's How I Met Your Mother) as well as what's your favorite 90's movie (Again, Steve responded with Gremlins). I know I feel, and Katie agrees, like we've really gotten to know them and all I'd say to them if they're ever back in Chicago is....you've definitely got at least one place to stay, all you have to do is ask.


Don't forget to follow them on all platforms of social media: (Seriously, all you have to do is click. We did the hard part for you.)
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Also make sure to follow us on:

Twitter: Andimatrainwrec (Katie), npalmerco08 (Nora)

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And yes we did just re-read that and said, "Who let's us talk to people!"

Improv of Chicago: PBFs at Studio Be

No, the title does not mean Peanut Butter and Friends even though it totally looks like it does. It means something so much better, Potential Boyfriends. No, this is not a weird dating thing like many of our "friends" thought when we proposed to go and see them. They are an Improv Troupe in Chicago. They perform at Studio Be on Sheffield on Tuesday nights at 8pm for $7, but don't worry fellow broke people that $7 gets you a free beer at the Karaoke bar down the street. Where you get to drink and sing with them and possibly, if you're lucky, hang out with us.

Now, you're probably wondering why we are talking about this random Chicago Improv Group. What do you care, you live in Germany. But seriously people need to know about these guys and come down and see them. So we thought we would share our experience of seeing them with you.  So let's go back a few weeks to our first time with the Potential Boyfriends.

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012. It is just after Thanksgiving; (in America, sorry again Germany. We do like you.) and what does a person need more after a week with family than a good laugh? So after my friend Shannon (another friend! They do exist. Sorta) introduced me to this show, and I thought, Nora needs to see this and Dan can come. You'll hear more about Dan. Now I am passing the computer to Nora because she got there first and has a fun story,

I actually have many fun stories. But I'll just share this one with you, have to keep you coming back for more. Right, so Dan and I leave pretty early to head down there because we are taking mass transit, and I trust nothing to get me anywhere on time. PBFs is a BYOB (I know right, awesome) so we walk into the Studio Be with our wine and say hello, introduce ourselves, and then belatedly realize that in order to open the bottles of wine, one must have a corkscrew (Katie chimed in with "One must not be an idiot." I know, so mean.). A PBF, Pete, offers to go retrieve their corkscrew for us, and while he does, we chat and mention that our friend told us about their show and she should be coming too.  All of a sudden we hear a CRASH BANG BOOM and some sort of yell that I took as triumphant. I call back "That sounds promising." Turns out, it was. Pete returned with a corkscrew, and we were able to drink our wine. Or, we would have been had we brought cups. Poor Pete was sent on another adventure to go find us cups. (I will cut in on myself with the fun fact that we have never brought cups and last night I just looked at Pete and said in a vaguely pathetic "Pete? Cups?" His so appropriate response was "I should just hand them to you when you walk in the door." See? They are the best.) We stay to chat for a little bit longer and then as more people arrive go in to take our seats. Annd back to Katie. Oh but first, I will tell you that I had texted her "We made friends!"


I did receive that text and promptly ignored it. So, my night begins on the train trying to find Shannon. I live a little farther South than her so she was waiting at a stop ahead of me. Now we weren't trying to take the same train, but I saw her and instantly jumped out of my seat to the door, which was a bit retarded since it takes a while for the train to stop and the doors to open, so everyone on the train looked at me like I was crazy. (Nothing new) I then ran out of train to Shannon, screaming her name only to find her standing next to one of my superiors from work. Now, I did get to find Shannon so win, but I also look like a moron in front of one of my bosses, so lose. We're even though, so the night is off to a great start. I then leave Shannon to go and get her drinks at Walgreens because I think I should get to Nora, since she has never been here before. She will just be alone with Dan. As I walk into Studio Be, I talk to Nick who is handling the money and say, "I have some friends here." He then responds "Oh, you know Nora and Dan." And I am just like, seriously, you guys have been here for 5 minutes. What could you have done to already have them know your names? I am truthfully not surprised but still. It happens every time. Why? We just make friends, awkwardly, every where we go. I just start laughing, and Nick is then confused. I finish paying and getting my stamp for the show and see Nora waving obnoxiously from the Theatre.

Now onto the show. Yes, that was just the pre-show! Now the show goes as follows. There are two opening acts that are anything from a sketch group to a stand- up comedian. This week there was one sketch group and one improv troupe. Both were quite good. We had lots of laughs. One of them was even from Second City's touring company, Nicole Hastings. We thoroughly enjoyed these groups, but they did not top the PBFs. The PBFs were in top form, mainly because of Dan. Dan had the improvisers dream suggestion. The question they asked to the audience was, "It was Thanksgiving last week, did anyone do anything weird or awkward? Dan waited a moment to see if anyone would say anything, but when they didn't, he offered this gem. "I broke up with my girlfriend in a 5 hour car ride. The beginning of the car ride." One of the PBFs, Pat,  went straight to shake the Dan's hand. This led to the way they structure their set, which is by telling personal stories based on the suggestion, and then acting out scenes based on their stories.

So they took the suggestion and ran. There were too many great bits to remember, but this one stuck out for it being utterly ridiculous and hilarious. Nick talked about his last girlfriend, who was on the heavier side and loved fireworks. Fireworks was actually why they broke up. He kept talking during the fireworks, which distracted her from watching the fireworks. (Really? How can talking disrupt the loudest form of boring entertainment.) That is also what Nick thought, which led to their fight and then their break up. So the scene was then based on killing fat chicks and luring those chicks into the basement with fireworks. Machetes were mentioned. It became complete chaos, but the best part was watching Nick, who was not in the scene, turn bright red, not be able to stand because he was laughing so hard imagining his friends luring and then brutally murdering his ex-girlfirend. No one in the audience could even handle the amount of laughter that was occurring. Yes, that bit was a bit darker than their usual...sometimes, but it was amazing.

The other bit we have to mention came from the second week we went. (Yes, we have gone for 3 or 4 weeks in a row. ) Nick and Pete are playing 2 mothers in a scene and the one mother (Pete) is looking to redecorate her child's room now that they have moved out. Pete suggests sex dungeon. Nick, also a mother, starts talking about all the different things one can do in a sex dungeon. He rattles off a few and then ends it with this,"Sometimes you just want to get punched in the butt by a garden gnome." (Do you know what that means? Neither do they.) So, then the rest of the scene is played with Pete trying to get Nick to describe what that euphemism actually means. Nick, obviously having no idea, spends the scene trying not to describe what the euphemism means. The battle between the two makes this scene unbelievably funny. Then right when Nick is backed into a corner and about to explain, Pat runs across the stage and stops the scene. Everyone in the audience laughs and groans because they wanted to know. Joey then runs out and actually explains. (But sorry guys, we don't remember the explaination. Maybe that's a good thing.)

The next part of the night is our time at the bar where we obviously become best friends with the PBFs and by "best friends" we mean, we talked/hung out with them a bit. They are really nice, personable guys. (They might deny that) Okay, if you are not a big improv fan (I don't understand why you wouldn't be but to each his/her own.) there is one other major reason to come out on Tuesday night, and that is to see Nick perform karaoke. There is no one that can beat his performance of "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5. So if you go, don't sing that song. Nick will kill you. He owns the stage. That alone should get you to come and see these guys and get a FREE beer.

Now it is on a Tuesday, so that is hazardous for those of us who work because they might end up at work the next day covered with PBFs stamps all over their face and arms. The stamp ink does not come out easily and forced me (Katie) to wear long sleeves to the office in order to not have my boss ask questions. It also kinda looked like I got punched in the face because the ink smears just fine, so it looked like a little blue blotch on my face. It was very flattering.

So what should you be getting from this long convoluted post? If you are in the Chicago land area, make time on a Tuesday night to see some cheap funny theatre and get a free beer with The Potential Boyfriends. You will see us there, laughing our asses off. How will you know it's us. Just do the #trainwreck hand signal, which goes as follows. Put your arm straight out toward the person you believe is a fellow #trainwreck, and then with your palm facing them, move it in a circular motion. If they are a #trainwreck, they will respond by doing that same hand gesture but with the hand/palm facing themselves. Basically this is silently saying to them "#trainwreck" and them responding "obviously." We hope to see you there!

Check out PBFs Facebook Page Here: http://www.facebook.com/potentialbfs?fref=ts
If you like the page, you will know about all their shows and what not.

Make sure to follow us too on:

Twitter: Andimatrainwrec (Katie), npalmerco08 (Nora)

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A Very YouTube Concert!

(Sorry for poor quality. My phone is dumb)

We are aware that the title makes it seem like we are writing about Starkid, but that is not the case this time...I did meet Brian Holden...maybe that's why I have Starkid on the brain. This is actually about our adventure to see Alex Goot and Friends.

Let me tell you it was an adventure. Joliet is not Chicago and GPS should have spellcheck. Just sayin. So we'll start there. We got lost. Terribly lost, and it was mostly my fault and by mostly I mean all. I typed in Mojos thinking that's how you spell Mojoes. Well, it's not, and that took us 45 minutes past our destination. So we would have been 20 minutes early, and instead, we were 20 minutes late. Oops. So the car ride was our other friend (yes, it's true there is another but he lives a 1000 miles away so it doesn't really count.) sitting in the back ignoring the two of us yelling that the GPS is right and the GPS is wrong and neither getting anywhere but further from our destination. Finally, Nora spoke and said the address and I said that's not what is currently in the GPS. Thanks Mojoes. So we re-routed with a legal u-turn and got back on track. We finally made it! Woo!

So, that was our adventure, and now on to what you actually came here to read. Our thoughts and awards on the concert!

1.  The window. So we were on the second floor because that is where you can drink. We ended up sitting right across from this window that looked into the green room. Now there are shades there to allow the artists privacy backstage, but some artists did not want the privacy. They preferred messing with their friends who were currently on stage. And by "they" I mean Corey Gray and Alex Goot. And by "friends on stage" I mean Chad Sugg. During his set both Alex and Corey kept going to the window and causing the crowd to clap, cheer, fist pump, or whatever their puppet master wanted. It was too amusing to watch. I feel like it was a competition between Goot and Gray to see who could get the crowd to do what. Whenever the crowd played along with one of them, they would do a little cheer dance in celebration. All of which, we were able to see. Eventually, they closed the blinds because Corey had to go on stage and he was probably having the most fun with it.

2. Joliet is NOT Chicago. Every time they said, "What's up Chicago?" or "How are we feeling, tonight, Chicago?" Nora had to say, "Technically were in a different county than Chicago. This is a completely different town that is not Chicago!" She has issues. She knows it and is working on it. (Lies)

3. If you are a parent dragged to a concert where you are lucky enough to still be able to drink, don't sit anywhere you're in the way. You don't want to be there, and we don't want you there either; but you have children and have to be. So get your six Coronas and vodka tonics and sit at the bar away from everyone who wants to see the show. Don't make me play the-I-lean-forward-because-you-leaned-back to-see-game and then switch every 30 seconds. This is not a fun game because I don't win and then I don't get to see my favorite performer there which is Chad. The evil woman left after his set. At least, she didn't interrupt Corey Gray or Nora would have punched her....(Nora: Bitter? Me: Why of course not...lies).

4. All the artists ran their own merch tables. This led to many wonderful things. Mainly, it led to fun with Corey Gray! He told us all the shenanigans happening backstage like free haircuts, messing with the audience, and what not. He was really chatty and it was really nice. We bought his and Julia Sheer's CD which he immediately asked for our names so he could personalize the CDs. We then got pictures with him. Mine was normal. Nora's was awesome. While getting into the photo, she flipped her hair back, knocking her Starkid sunglasses off of her head. He then grabbed the sunglasses, put them on, and made a gangster like face for the photo. It is priceless. He is too amusing! And since the merch was run by the artists we also got to meet Luke Conard and Julia Sheer. (Photos below illustrate how Nora gets cool photos)

Katie and Julia (Normal Photo)

Nora and Corey (Awesome Photo)

5. We'll start this one with Nora almost told Chad Sugg I was Canadian. It might seem odd to you that I  can be shy and not say everything I am thinking. So when Chad came out to meet fans and take photos, he was immediately surrounded. So I patiently waited. I was twice the age of half of them which is weird enough. So I was like, I can wait, I don't have a curfew. But Nora, known for her patience (Not) was not having it. So she just kept yelling lies behind me, pushing me forward so I could then get my photo.  She yelled things as small as "We have an appointment to make at 10:30 at night" and then they just progressively got weirder to the point of "She is Canadian and came all the way down from Canada to see just you, Chad." Granted right after that, I got my photo. Luckily, he did not ask me if I was Canadian. I don't think I could lie to him. I did get to say, "Don't tell, Alex but I came to see you." Which he responded by saying, "Thank you" and giving me a big hug. So it was all worth it and it all worked out in the end. (No, thanks to Nora's lies....she says Bullshit to that)

Katie and Chad (I am not Canadian) 

AWARDS

Best Solo Performance: Alex Goot, but that's kind of a given since he is the headliner. You can't beat the headliner.

Favorite Voice: Corey Gray!!!! He could sing to us forever and ever and ever. You understand.

Best Solo Stage Presence: Luke Conard. Even though, it was just him and his red laptop (which we tweeted about), he was able to really draw the audience in and make them listen to his wonderful tunes. The Vlogmas helped. That was pretty cool.

Best Originals: Chad Sugg. C'mon no one can argue with me. He is fantastic. Everyone can relate to his songs and they all have his unique signature. You can always tell if it is a Chad song.

Best Backstage Shenanigans: A tie to Corey Gray and Alex Goot. Granted it leans more towards Corey just because when he went on stage, all the shenanigans stopped. So he was fueling the crazy.

Best Fan Interaction: Julia Sheer off stage and Alex on stage.  Juila was super personable at the merch table and gave her fans individual attention. It was really nice to see.  Alex really got the audience to play along with him at every turn. Everyone sang 1000 Miles by Vanessa Carlton and Everytime We Touch by Cascada.

Cutest Looking: Here is where Nora and I cannot agree. We're fighting. I say Chad and she says Corey. So that one is up to you. You can watch all their videos and give us feedback. You will not change our minds though. But we admire someone who accepts the challenge.

Overall we had a splendid time. We drank, we watched amazing music being performed, we laughed, we fan girl-ed out, and obviously mocked each other the whole night. And we also accidentally live tweeted the event. Granted, live tweeted poorly because we were wrong about a lot of things, tagged the wrong people and did not send thaaaat many tweets. So yeah. A usual night out with us when you add famous people we love and alcohol.

Sorry this is late. We were a bit busy and Nora broke her foot. It has been an interesting few days. But the post is here now and that is what matters!

Make sure to follow us on:

Twitter: Andimatrainwrec (Katie), npalmerco08 (Nora)

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