Spending the Night with Fall Out Boy, Paramore, and New Politics

I think everyone has a few singers or bands who have had a significant impact on them, and for me, one of those bands is Fall Out Boy. I first became a fan of them in 2005, and in 2007 after their album Infinity on High came out, they quickly took over the role as my favourite band. Throughout high school, my love for Fall Out Boy stayed strong, and if I was ever having a bad day, I knew that listening to their music would cheer me up. I even saw them in concert twice, in 2007 and 2009. (Of course, they were amazing!) I was so sad when FOB broke up in 2009, but was so excited when they got back together last year. They quickly returned to being one of my favourite bands, and I grew to love their new music just as much, if not more, than their previous albums.

So needless to say, I was so happy when my sister told me that Fall Out Boy was going on tour this summer and would be playing a show near us! And to make it even more awesome, Paramore was joining them on tour! Paramore is another band I loved since high school, but had never seen in concert. At first, we didn't think we would be able to go, since the lawn seats and cheap seats were all sold out, and the only ones left cost hundreds of dollars a piece. But then, after checking one last time on eBay, we found tickets in a great spot for $75 a piece. Score!

The concert was on June 22, which ended up being such a nice day! My sister Lexi and I headed out early to park and get some dinner before the show. Of course we jammed to my FOB CDs the whole ride! After finding parking (that was free!!), we went to a little Italian place nearby for dinner. The restaurant was having a special where pizzas were half-price that night. Everything was going perfectly for us! :)

Lexi and I all ready for the concert!

When it got closer to the time doors would open, we headed back to the concert venue and got t-shirts. (I have a Fall Out Boy t-shirt that I got seven years ago when we saw them perform for the first time, but unfortunately it doesn't fit any more!) 

The first band to perform was a newer band called New Politics, which Pete Wentz just signed to his record label. I had only known one of their songs before seeing them perform, but they were really good and I enjoyed their set a lot! I've been listening to a bunch of their songs since the concert, and definitely want to buy their CD.

Next up: Paramore! Before the concert, I hadn't bought Paramore's latest CD yet, and didn't know most of their newer songs, but I was so excited when they ended up playing a ton of their older songs! Hayley Williams has so much energy and was so great to watch. It's amazing she can run around on stage as much as she does and still sound so good singing! My favourite song they performed was probably Misery Business, because that was the song that made me originally fall in love with Paramore when I heard it on TRL. (Any other 00's girls miss that show as much as I do? ;) ) The entire crowd seemed to know that song, so the whole venue was singing along with the band. They even brought two girls up on stage to sing the end bit of the song with Hayley. Paramore is a band I had wanted to see for years, so I was so happy to finally get to experience them perform live. (And seeing them perform inspired me to buy their newest CD that I have been absolutely loving!)

And then it was time for the performance I had been anticipating most: Fall Out Boy! As I expected, they opened up with Phoenix from their latest album, and from the very beginning, their set was full of energy and excitement. It's amazing how many hit songs they have had over the years. I did not stop singing and smiling the entire time they played! Something about seeing them perform live just makes me feel happy because they have had a pretty big impact on me growing up. I can't even pick a favourite song because they were all so good, but one thing I loved was how they ended the show with their song Saturday. I know it used to be their tradition to end all of their shows with this song because it was one of the first ones they ever recorded together, but I wasn't sure if they would continue that tradition after returning form their hiatus. But they continued the tradition, and I sung along with the other die-hard fans who have been fans of theirs ever since their early years.

I had such an amazing time at the concert, and seeing the three bands perform live made me love them even more and made me so excited to (hopefully) see them again in the near future!

Some exciting things from the past month...

I'm so sorry I haven't posted in forever! I have been extremely busy with the end of the semester and graduation approaching. It's been a never-ending stream of tests, papers, presentations, applying for jobs... so much stuff! But the hardest of it is done now! I just have one more presentation and one exam, and then I'm done with school work forever! (Well at least until I eventually go for my Master's degree :) ) In exactly 10 days, I will be done with my undergraduate degree which seems so crazy to me and is a little nerve-wracking, but I'm also so excited for post-grad life. So much fun stuff has happened since my last post, so I thought I would fill you in a little on everything that's been happening.

The first thing that happened since my last post was that my friend Antonio, who I studied abroad with and who is from Mexico, came to visit Elon, which is where I go to school! It was so cool to see him because he was the first person from abroad that I've seen since returning to the US a year and a half ago (other than the girls I go to school with and my friend Anna who lives in North Carolina). Even though it had been so long since I had seen Antonio, it felt as if no time had passed at all! Seeing Antonio got me so excited to reconnect with more of my friends from my semester abroad. The next person I'll be seeing is my friend Ciela who is visiting me in Boston next month! She is Dutch and lives in London now, and has never been to the US, so it will be an exciting visit!

Then not too long after seeing Antonio, my sister Lexi and I bought tickets to see Fall Out Boy and Paramore in concert in June! We have been huge fans of both bands for years now and have already seen Fall Out Boy in concert twice. They are amazing live, so I know they'll put on a great show. And neither of us has ever seen Paramore live, so seeing them will be great too!

Next was an annual tradition that the students at my school have: Festivus. Festivus is basically a huge mud party that is probably the most fun day of the school year. I've heard from people who have never experienced it that it doesn't seem fun, but I promise you it is! This year was even bigger than ones in past years because it was the 10-year anniversary of the event, and it did not disappoint! Festivus is one thing I'll definitely miss after I graduate.
                     

so muddy!!

so you can get an idea of what Festivus looks like, this is a pic I took at my freshman year Festivus!

Then recently, I booked a flight to London in October!! My sister is going abroad to Bath, England in the fall, and my parents and I had planned to visit her there. Our plan is to fly into London, go to Bath, then London, then Paris, and a day in Lyon. Then my parents will stay a little bit longer in Paris and head to Dublin, and I'll be heading back to London for about another week! When I go back to London, I'll get to see Ciela again as well as my good friends Ben and Josh who I also studied abroad with! London is probably my favourite city in the world, and I am psyched to be back in Lyon, so I am already starting to count down the days to this trip! I don't have my flight back booked yet, and part of me wants to just stay in London for six months until it reaches the point that I would need a visa to be there haha. I know that wouldn't be possible since I will hopefully have a job in Boston at that point, and will definitely not have enough money saved to be living in London quite yet. Hopefully in a few years though!

This past weekend, my business fraternity had its annual end-of-the-year banquet where we have dinner, dance, and the president gives out awards and superlatives to the graduating seniors. My superlative was "Most Likely to be Carded", which was pretty fitting since I feel like I definitely look younger than 22! After banquet, everyone went to someone's apartment to hang out longer. I ended up playing some beer pong and slap cup, and had such a fun night. It was a really good way to bond with the other people in the fraternity one last time before I graduate.

Pre-banquet selfie :)

Sad selfie after I spilled some pasta sauce on my dress haha. It washed out ok though! :)

me with some of my family in the business fraternity! We're called the "Sexy Fam" haha

And most recently, I had my last day of classes as an undergrad student yesterday! It's such a weird feeling to be done with classes, but I definitely feel kind of relieved and like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders since I have been so stressed with school work recently.

my first day of class ever compared to my last day of class!

Next exciting thing that is coming up: graduation! I promise I will be posting much more frequently now that I am almost done with my school work and will be heading home for summer soon. When I get home in a couple weeks, I will also be purchasing a new camera and starting my own YouTube channel! I have actually had lots of ideas for blog posts over the past month, but then decided that they would be better in video form, so I have a huge list of ideas in my phone now and am planning to film lots of videos this summer.

Thanks for reading and I will talk to you again soon!    xxChristie