Category Archives: The Tea Party

These signs
this fate
takes a path you didn’t choose
Stay strong
keep faith
there’s a change that’s coming through

so as i should have known, this show was doomed. the tea party are very very VERY lucky they put on such a friggen great show.

didn’t get up to thorold until 9ish. no big deal, we knew we wouldn’t miss anything. ran into joe and rick right away. it was nice to see them again, it’s been a long long time.

as usual, for a place associated with arizonas, we waited forever and a day for an opener to bore us to death. opener didn’t start til after 10. ok fine. whatever. kate asked if tea would go on at 11, i laughed haha. not until at least 11:30…which was actually perfect – except the lighting system broke…and it was 45 more minutes until they fixed it (we hung out at the soundboard, so we watched them play with it the whole time). so tea didn’t go on til after midnight.

and as i said. they’re mighty lucky they’re such a great band haha. it really really hits me seeing them live, how much of a perfect rock band they are. they put on such a great rock show. gah. love them.

setlist:
Overload
Writing’s on the Wall
Lullaby
Psychopomp
Fire in the Head (!!yay i missed it in the falls show)
Stargazer
Oceans
Sun Going Down
Halcyon Days
Heaven Coming Down w/ all along the watchtower
Release (!!!!!! first time i’ve seen them do it)
Cathartik (!!!!!!!! sooooooo happy it’s back)
Save Me
—-
I love you/The Messenger
Temptation
Sister Awake w/ Paint it Black

they played for 2 hours. i hate hate HATE that “heaven coming down” gets to me so much hahah. jeff martin playing his guitar with a bow during “save me”…so hot. soooo so hot. men with guitars, yum.

yet another great show. i didn’t like the venue. the sound was sorta…off. the theramin worked this time for “lullaby”, and it was ever so fabulous. i want one. kate was thrilled that they did “release” cuz it’s her fav song. i was just glad, as always, for “psychopomp” haha. and “cathartik”. yay.

so exhausted. long long day. another one tomorrow. then trent. gah.

tonight was tea party show in niagara falls. james was late. first band was 8 days over or something. they weren’t bad. i don’t like vocals like they had, sound like everyone else, but better than the usual tea party opening fair. tea was great as always. they did alot off the new album, but didn’t do “luxuria”. some of the show was surprisingly a bit rough to get through, specifically “the watcher” and “oceans”. NO THERAMIN DURING “LULLABY”, it was broken. while the roadie was trying to fix it they stalled by playing part of rolling stones “miss you”. it was funny, but the theramin didn’t get fixed. “psychopomp” a highlight as always. unfortunately no “cathartik” or “fire in the head” but a great show none the less. what a rock show should be. and i gotta say the dome theatre (formerly lame nightclub the pleasuredome) is a pretty decent venue. look forward to seeing some other bands there at some point. loudest show ever though. it was almost painful at parts. and who shows up, and cuts in front of us during the first song, none other than STP kid himself. i fucking hate that kid. lol.

setlist from tea forums:
Army Ants
Overload
Certain Slant of Light
The Watcher
Psychopomp
**After this my memory gets fuzzy and i forget the order but the other songs are:
Sun Going Down
Oceans
Lullaby w/ miss you
Zahira/Rakim/Halcyon Days
Save Me w/ I Love You
Writings on the Wall
Temptations
Winter Solstice
Sister Awake w/ Paint it Black

and the messenger and stargazer somewhere in there…i hate the messenger

work was slow. i finally remembered to wear a watch, and i didn’t even need it cuz we didn’t wait on tables all night. got to work with the new kid (haha i’m not a new kid anymore since someone was hired after me). he is really beautiful. he has the most perfect face. but he’s an ass…i had to close by myself tonight and i just hope i remembered to do everything. i’m pretty sure that the guy i think is so cute is single. one of the servers was talking about how she met his mom today, and his mom was saying how all she wants is for her son to find a nice girlfriend. the server was like, “So if anyone is single, i’ll help you out with him.” but i still think there is a possibility he’s gay hahah. my gaydar doesn’t go off really, but…dunno. could be. also, the server could have been talking about someone else with his name, but i don’t think there are more than one working there. and i’m actually the only sara at work. that never happens.

i did the most beautiful parallel park today. i was very proud of myself. haha. i’m getting pretty good at parallel parking on the opposite side of the road, although that’s not what i did today.

 

well i guess i’m going to hamilton tonight to see the tea party again. joe is going up with janet and mike, and invited me. since i’m not going to vanilla ice anymore, why not hehe. good thing i didn’t tell them i’d work today if they needed me (since i called in wed). and the show is free, which is always good lol.

i forgot to mention last night, that it was so dead at work, me and the other 2 hosts played jenga with the crayons…even our manager played with us haha. and they showed the inxs “disappear” video, which i had never seen before – i’ve only seen the remix video on the greatest video hits vhs. so that was cool. hutch was so hot.

dude my throat hurts so friggen bad. it kept me up and woke me up all night. and my fucking head. i want to rip it off. i’m so tired of my headaches!!!!

 

since i haven’t really slept all week i have a bad memory. so i forgot to mention that my manager james partied with shakira last year down in columbia or someplace. haha

my mom wanted to go look at hard rock merchandise since i get a discount, so we went down there even tho it’s my day off. and she didn’t buy anything. we went in the other souvenir shops too, and one of them had a bunch of fake new york state license plates. one of them said “I <3 U2” on it. i was like wtf LOL. it was 9 bucks, when everything goes onsale in the off season i’m gonna have to invest in it cuz it’s so delightfully cheesey hahah.

my parents locked me out tonight. got home at quarter to 2, and the screen door was locked. super. so instead of ringing the doorbell and waking them up to let me in, i tried to go in through the side garage door. thankfully the garbage cans were not right up against it, so i was able to get in. of course, stuff was piled behind my dad’s car, which i proceeded to trip over. if they heard the commotion in the garage they probably thought someone was breaking in.

but anyway. tea show. it was me, joe, janet and mike. it was free as part of hamilton’s aquafest. the full 9 opened for them, again. it was funny. everyone was sitting on the grass during their set, and we were up front sitting against the barrier. when they went to start their song “coffee”, the singer dude was like “this is going to be our next single” and janet yells coffee. he’s like “yeah you’re right, i love you guys” and pointed to us. we were like um yeah we were sorta making fun of you. it’s not our fault we’ve seen you 4 times and that you haunt us like velour haha. anyway….

tea was good. this was probably the best show of the 7 i’ve seen. jeff martin sounded really good, alot more emotional than previous shows. the setlist was more or less the same – no apathy, and i think they played something else but i forget. crowd got bitchy, a girl’s pants started on fire from someone’s cigarette, assholes later started the grass on fire (which was scary cuz the whole place could have gone up it was so dry), but as soon as it got pushy VOOM joe and mike had me and janet caged in and protected hehe. so i didn’t really get touched. there was definitely more crowd interaction at this show than any other. jeff was actually making eye contact with people in the front. he made eye contact with janet during angels, and me during heaven coming down. heaven coming down was just bizzare. i was thinking before the encore that i could do without that song, but then they were playing it and it really hit me for some reason. i actually had to hold myself back from crying. i don’t know why really. the barrier sucked. anytime anyone pushed it moved, the security guards spent their time pushing it back against us so it wouldn’t break. it makes me adore the water street carpeted barrier that is indestructable haha.

so the show was good. we made good time home until the bridge where there was 1 customs lane open, and people were being complete assholes and driving up close to the booth and then trying to get over into the lane. we were there for a half hour. joe and i went to dennys for food when we got back. and now i’m home. i’m tired, but i know i won’t be able to sleep again. my throat hurts, and my voice is like an octave lower than it usually is from being sick, and the concert. haha i sound great 😛 can’t wait for work tomorrow.

oh yeah, there was this sorta cute security guard at the show. he made me realize i seem to have a thing for eyebrow rings lately. cuz he had one, and work-boy has one. haha work-boy’s one is so nice 🙂

i’m getting REAAAAALLY tired of being rained on wherever i go. it’s gone a bit too far now. graduation rehersal, the falls after graduation, new orleans 3 times, moving my car in the hailstorm, coming home in the hailstorm, and tonight at the show.

the show was good. found joe and everyone when we got there. we were up front. like that’s a shock. full nine opened, after waiting forever, like a normal Arizona’s event. after them i was really tired of standing there, so i left, and went back by myself. got some water, etc. moved around a few times before tea came on. i ended up being befriended by a group of drunk people hahah. they’re like, come join us. there was one girl sober who talked to me before tea came on, she was cool. i think they were all near like 30, which was weird. i got to watch these 2 couples be drunk…they were two fatish balding older men with their piss ass drunk girlfriends(?)…but they were way liberal with the girlfriend sharing. i was like omg ew ur so gross. the drunk people made me dance with them. lol.

so the tea played a good show. it was weird tho, cuz of the rain. after apathy they took a break so they could do what had to be done so that they didn’t get electrocuted lol. and psychopomp was so great, cuz well the song is amazing, and it didn’t rain during the song except during jeff martin’s solo. it was like that a few other times too, kinda spooky. and then temptation was great, cuz the sky just opened up and it poured. everyone was singing and jumping around in the rain. there was no encore because “it was just too dangerous in the rain”….but by then the rain had stopped – it was off and on the whole time. and if anyone saw that MTV spring break show, bush played one year in a monsoon lol. they covered their guitars in plastic bags it was so bad. but whatever. it was good.

blah, hate being wet.

and oh yeah. who did i manage to park next to? STP kid…. CANNOT GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!!!!!!! he was with 2 of his cronies – one being AIDS boy who was involved in the water street altercation lol. at least stp kid doesn’t pretend to be our friend anymore. after the whole rick wanting to kick his ass in toronto, he’s left us alone. but he’s still there, still annoying and still ugly as hell. hahah

tea party day 2. i headed out to rit around 1:30, to then head down to waterstreet. as i said before, i wasn’t really up for sitting around bored outside the hall all day to meet the band, and be first in line. eric wasn’t all that keen on it either, but we figured we’d head down there and see what was going on with joe and rick and the backstage pass bit and whatever. so we got there, and joe and rick were helping roadie for the band…well hey, whatever floats your boat. i think the only band i’d roadie for would be nin but anyway. so mary stayed with them and me and eric left to get food. stopped at record archive too, then back to waterstreet. well everyone was inside…doing whatever they were doing. and me and eric weren’t allowed in. so we’re like ok, leaving again. so hit some more cd places and thrift store, then went back to waterstreet. by then it was about 6 or so. karl and kellee and karl’s friend dave showed up, so talked to them. talked to kelley for a long time about graduating and finding jobs and stuff. i think that’s the most i’ve ever talked to her lol. doors were at 7ish, so waited, blah, got inside etc. i forgot how much i liked waterstreet for shows. because you’re really close, and their barrier has carpeting on it LOL. so it’s “comfy”. i made sure i had alot of room so later when ppl started smooshing up i’d still sorta be not totally crushed. anyway. velour..oh i’m sorry, the turnstones…played again. yay for us. we are so lucky :P. they were crap again. and this time we were at the barrier right in front of the non-talented guitarist…his amp was WAY too friggen loud, so i was deaf after 30 seconds. so all of us (9 of us i think) were so completely uninterested in velour that i think the guitarist guy was kinda irritated. lol it was like he realized we wouldn’t look at him so he’d come play closer to the front of the stage, and we’d all continue to look down or somewhere else LOL. we’re so rude. anyway. i got a velour guitar pick…i can see you are all green with envy. yeah i think he whipped it at me LOL it hit my arm and was like OW!! lol. but whatever.

so tea party played…of course, it was good. not too much to say about it. it was more or less same setlist as last night. OH except yeah, guess who was there…STP kid….oh and he had a sign, again, like at stp. and the tea actually played the song…he must have felt special. he didn’t talk to any of us tho, so that was good. lol. so the crowd was so great. no one even touched me. no crush, no annoying jumping or anything. it was so super. and yeah since we were at the barrier, jeff martin was right in front of me the entire time and i could actually see. so it was rad.

everything finishes and we hang around inside, and then head out. well manslut was there, and a bunch of his friends were there. joe had gotten 2 of tea’s set lists, and the kids were all pissed at him and were going to jump him for the setlists…..?!?!?!?!…..ok so we’re all leaving, and suddenly eric like takes off pushing people out of the way to get down the stairs. so i was like um???? wtf, is he in that much of a hurry to get outside?! well one of the kids then is all like, what the fuck…starting shit. and eric is like yeah, whatever, fuck off. the kid faked to punch him and eric is walking away. then a girl that was with all these kids starts talking shit to mary. so i’m just really trying to stay out of the way LOL. so eric comes back of course, to get mary, and he calls the girl a skank. LOL super. so then she’s all trying to start a fight with both of them. and eric is all like, fuck off, fuck off. and then rick just sorta stands between eric and mary, and the girl, all intimidating and things kinda settled. then manslut came out, and joe is all like “youre friends are fucking assholes, trying to beat me up to get a setlist” (which is when i figured out what the hell started everything). so the kids come back over and is talking to eric, rick and joe and is threatening to kill one of them (still i guess for the setlist)…and don’t put it past him to kill one of them. oh and he said some shit about racism and beating them like niggers or something. then he started saying shit about how he had AIDS, so they better be scared. at some point he broke a bottle and had it in his pants, ready to use on us i guess. ok now this kid was shorter than me, and skinny… so rick could have easily beat this kid to a pulp. but he was all ready to kill the guys with his broken off bottle…and give them AIDS LOL…..anyway. it was kinda amusing, but also quite frightening. there was a security guard who came and stood between all of us, and kinda settled things. made the ppl starting shit with us leave. and manslut said it was all bullshit, and he told the kid he’d beat the shit out of him if he tried anything with us.

so headed to denny’s after waiting around more for the band. ate, etc. yeah. came home. i am so deaf.

 

the tea shows were great. the band was great, the crowd was great, making the whole experience great. but…there’s a fun-ness factor that isn’t there with that band. there are some bands you go to the show, and it makes you hyper and you have fun. and there are bands who are great, but who don’t give that feeling to you. and i’m not totally sure what it is about the tea party that makes them lack in the fun-ness factor…but part might be what mary talked about on her blog – the lack of crowd interaction. jeff martin NEVER looks at anyone. he never makes eye contact with anyone in the front rows…nothing. and while i could care less if i got that, i know mary wanted it so bad, and i’m sure others as well. i think another part of it is the music. tea have great music, but it’s very “heavy”… not heavy in the slipknot kind of sense, but more in a….thought provoking – makes you think – emotional – mysterious…kind of way. they don’t play “fun” music. they don’t play the kind of music you’d blast on your stereo while getting ready to go out for the night. that’s not a fault, it just gives the show a different kind of atmosphere. i’m kind of biased, but i think nin is the same way. i know *I* would have an excellent fun time at a nin show, but for someone who isn’t that into nin, but is present (like me with tea party), it’s a great show, but would probably lack the fun-ness factor due to the type of music they play. but then… (trying to think of bands with the fun-ness factor)…take econoline. they’re music may be equally emotional, but the kind of music it is is alot more fun…light hearted with a deeper meaning…and it makes you hyper and you dance around and have fun. and the energy level on stage is incredible and you get swept up in it, and you have fun. i dunno.. it’s just different. neither is better, just depends on the band….tea party…APC…tool…super great bands that lack the fun-ness factor….econoline…u2….nin (for me)…stp….super great bands that have the fun-ness factor.

it’s late, i’m tired, but i wanted to write up tonight before i forget everything.

i should have known that my night was gonna be good as soon as i left my house. lol i had to go pay my credit card (eeeeek 454$!!!!!, without the plane tickets to NO.. and i have NO money left) so i left to get danielle early. had time to kill so i went to record theatre, who was there? Ian. i haven’t seen him in over a year. so we talked, he moved back home cuz he broke up with Samantha. it was good to see him. but i was thinking, dude, why can’t i ever run into Tim. i know he’s around yet i never see him ever. blah.

so headed downtown to shea’s for the concert. got in, and danielle and i were standing on a landing of the staircase (it’s a theatre, so it’s all fancy inside and has staircases lol) to avoid the huge crowd below waiting for doors to open. so we’re standing there, and who is walking up the stairs? Tim. I AM NOT KIDDING. i’m staring at him, and i’m like that looks like Tim. That IS tim. so i’m like omg danielle that kid right there is Tim (cuz she never really saw him before). he looked at me as he was walking up the stairs, but there was like no glimmer of recognition at all (well the last time i saw him i had below shoulder length hair, so i don’t blame him), so i was to afraid to go talk to him. he was with his little asian girlfriend, so didn’t wanna go talk to him for that reason either. but he was standing with people at the top of the staircase, so i was just staring at him in hopes he’d look over and recognize me. then he disappeared. but anyway…my heart was beating so fast. it was so nice just to see him, since i’ve been saying that’s all i wanted to do for so long now, just see him. i wish i could have talked to him but i didn’t want to risk him not knowing who i was. i’d rather just assume he didn’t recognize me cuz i’ve changed my hair so drastically…he is still perfect. it kinda makes me sad on one hand, that i’ll never meet someone like him again, but…when i saw him i was excited that it was him, but there was no real feeling there anymore. not sure if that’s good or not. if i had the chance to talk to him or hang out with him i’m sure it would all come back. i know for a fact it would. i am totally serious when i say that i could be married for 25 years, with kids, and if he walked back into my life i couldn’t guarantee i wouldn’t drop everything for him. i was so excited i wanted to call carolyn and be like O M G I SAW TIM! lol but i didn’t.

anyway…so we found our seats once doors opened and sat through crappy Velour who have a new name, the turnstones…and then a 2nd opener band that at least had more talent than Velour, but weren’t my thing. i forget their name. anyway. between sets they were playing U2 best of, so i was all excited lol. then before tea party they played walk on, tool’s “sober” and then “closer”…doesn’t get much better lol. so tea party came on. we had heard from aaron who had met the band earlier with joe and them, that jeff martin was sick. so we didn’t know what kind of set to expect. well it was really great. this show totally redeemed them for me, since this was the make or break show for me. i had space, people weren’t annoying, it was so great crowd wise (the band, even in my bad experiences, are always great)…they seemed to be having such a great time onstage, they were loving how the crowd was reacting. so it was really super. so they always (that i’ve seen them) close with “sister awake” and they insert “paint it black” into it… so they were doing that, and then they started doing “heroes”… by….david bowie LOL. so i’m like duuuude bowie!!!! haha it rocked. good good show, good good experience. and i saw tim.

hoping tomorrow is good as well, but i’m doubting it. not really in the mood to deal with a waterstreet crowd… the smooshed factor etc. so we’ll see. maybe i’ll hang at the bar, and let everyone else do the up front thing. depends if we get barrier. WHICH WE BETTER since i’m going up with everyone and spending the whole goddamn day there. lol.