so, the benefit concert was last night at metronome.

the show was fantastic. patterson has apparently decided that his calling in life is to be a rock star. it was neat to see him on stage, rocking out and doing little guitar-player dances while cast in stage lights. he did a great job and it was wonderful of him to help us out with the show.

and then there's averi. those little punkass creeps...alright, i can't even type that without laughing. averi was wonderful. averi is wonderful.

i was incredibly nervous all day because i'd finally be meeting the band and they'd be performing and i just wanted everything to be perfect because they did so much to help out with the show. and because i love musicians, and being able to talk to them is still a thrill for me. probably always will be.

but the guys made it incredibly easy for us. they were fun and easy-going when we met, professional and talented as can be when they performed. i knew they were good from what michelle had told me and from the mp3s i already had, but i was blown away. jon came to give senior sem support, lounging in the back at the bar, and when we talked, he mentioned that if the band gets radio play, they're going to be huge. everyone who was there left incredibly impressed. meanwhile, i stood around in amazement. the band was rocking out on stage at a club and i helped make it happen. ?!?!?!??!

they mostly played originals, but busted out with a couple of covers--phil collins "in the air tonight" and u2 "with or without you." with the latter, they asked people to sing along, so michelle, beth, becca, baz and i all stood together and sang along at the top of our lungs (hey, we got compliments on it from mike after the song). their original material was great--they were having fun with it, jamming a bit and creating absolutely phenominal music.

chad thanked me and baz for putting everything together in between two songs, we got a big ol' round of applause and it felt great. but the best moment? i'd be lying if i said it was anything besides "daffodils." after the last song, michelle ran up to the stage and asked the band to play "daffodils" because it's my favorite averi song. while most of the band got a bit of a deer-in-headlights expression on their faces, chad said he could give it a shot. so the final song of the set was an acoustic solo performance of "daffodils" that chad said was for me. michelle and i stood there and sang along, laughing as chad tried to remember the second lyric (i blanked out on it myself and felt like a tool) and made up lyrics to keep playing. he rocked out to it, and i felt special.

after the show, michelle and i headed over to meg's house for the LEAP/hey-invite-the-band-over party, and drunken revelry ensued. i learned a valuable lesson (well, ok, i already knew it, but i was reminded): do NOT play flipcup--let alone three games of flipcup--when your drink of choice that evening is raspberry schmirnoff and sprite (the quote from chad: "it's going to get ugly..."). oh goodness gracious... ;) it was good to see people and hear good things about the concert, not to mention that it was great to hang out with the averi guys a bit longer. i definitely plan on seeing them sometime soon when my schedule permits--they're talented, generous, and really cool guys.

so i've talked about the performances and the band...how about the people who came to the show, you ask? i am incredibly disappointed with people after last night. in many respects, it showed me who i can count on and who i can't. my really good friends (well, the really good legal friends) were there. a lot of people i expected to be there to support baz and me just didn't find the time or whatnot to show up. i'd like to think that if the roles were reversed, i would be at the show in a heartbeat. apparently a lot of people don't feel the same way. i felt badly for averi more than anything else--they'd come all the way up from boston and i'd been talking up the burlington crowd to chad for weeks now--but, after talking with chad and matt at the postparty, i felt better. they were happy to be playing and happy to help out a good cause.

baz told me today that she had been talking about the lack of turnout with chris at the party, and he said something along the lines that while a lot of people would obviously have been great, it wasn't a big deal because they played this show for her and me. how sweet is that?!?!?!

they had fun, so i was happy. i mean, why wouldn't i be? it was like we were able to throw a private party for good friends at a bar with really inexpensive (yet exceptionally potent) drinks with a kickass band that we didn't have to pay for out of our own pockets. and we managed to raise money for make-a-wish. reads like success in my book...and as for those who didn't go to the show, they missed out. big time. they would have had an amazing time.

i'll be mature about it--i'm not going to be a bitch or anything--but i did make one phone call, explaining that i was disappointed and hurt that the person didn't go to the show and didn't even offer a "hey, good luck" or anything. but that'll probably be it. i've got people i'm pissed off at, but what good will it do for me to bother saying anything?

they just missed out. and when averi's big and famous, who will be the sorry ones?