As everyone already knows, I love All Time Low more than anything. They've been my favorite band since I discovered them when I was 12, and I continue to fall in love with them more every day.
July 18th, 2017, was finally the day that I had been waiting for since February 27th, the St. Louis stop of All Time Low's Young Renegades Tour. I was planning this day since the second I got my tickets, and for it to all come alive yesterday put me on cloud nine and made me the happiest person ever.
Let me start off by saying that IT WAS SO HOT. We got to the Pageant around 10 in the morning yesterday, but it didn't start getting miserable until around 11:30. What made it worse was that we were sitting directly in the sun, so I got some pretty nice tan lines on my thighs from the shorts that I was wearing yesterday. But, I met a few amazing people that made everything worth it.
By commenting on a post in the Pageant's event page for All Time Low, I developed a friendship with a girl named Sammy. My best friend Mady and I sat in line with Sammy and her friends just talking and making plans on how to get to the barricade until it was time to go for the signing. Sammy had water, snacks, and popsicles for everyone who was in line, and I hardly ever see that at shows, so I thought that was really sweet of her.
This is the picture that Sammy and I took at the barricade using the Snapchat filter for the concert!
Around 11 am is when Danny, one of All Time Low's crew members, brought out two signs, one that said "VIP M&G LINE FORM HERE" and "SIGNING LINE FORM HERE" and that's when he told us that the check in for the signing would start at 1:30, and that the signing would begin around 3:00 pm. 1:30 rolled around and nobody came out to check us in, so we were starting to get a little worried and also agitated because we were starting to overheat.
They didn't send someone out to check us all in until almost 3, and the signing didn't start until almost 3:15, so it was safe to say that we were all annoyed. The signing was over around 4, there were over 300 people for the signing and it took less than 10 seconds per person, so it didn't take very long, but it started really late and it almost put them behind.
After the signing was finished, we went back outside to the venue and got into the meet and greet line because we were awarded it through their fanclub, which is called the Hustler Club.
While we were waiting in the line to be checked in by Danny, a staff member of the Pageant was telling us that we couldn't be in that line because we didn't have the green meet and greet wrist band, even though we told them over and over again that we haven't been checked in yet because we had just come from the signing. Then, they proceeded to tell us that we were in the wrong line, and it took us plus three other people to explain that we were in the right line, and everything was finally okay when Danny checked us in and the staff member left us alone.
This is the poster that we got from the signing!
Because of being hot all day and dealing with the rude staff members from the Pageant, reality didn't settle in until we went in and waited for the meet and greet to begin. I started to get really nervous that I was meeting my heroes again, and I was extremely worried that I would freeze up and not know what to say to them. My friend Mady was in the same boat that I was, although it was understandable because yesterday was her first time meeting them!
As we were waiting in line for our turn, we were discussing what we were going to say to them, where we were going to stand for the picture, and what we were going to have them sign. I was going to have them sign a lyric booklet from one of their albums, but we had gotten a rough start that morning, so I forgot it at him, but I had the next best thing for them to sign, which was the ticket!
The backdrop that your professional picture was taken in front of was turned backwards so you could have a little private time with them and not have everyone watching, which eased my nerves tremendously because I had something that I wanted to give them and I didn't want everyone to watch. Finally, when it was my turn, I was so full of emotions that I almost threw up, but thankfully, I didn't! I didn't even get to turn the corner of the back drop before Jack pulled me in for a hug and said hello! Then, I went down the line and hugged Rian, Alex and then finally Zack! Alex also said that I gave great hugs, which warmed my heart even more.
As I was hugging the rest of the boys, Jack had managed to get my phone out of my hand and take some selfies before posing for the picture with all five of us! I've had friends that attended previous dates so I knew it was coming, I was just too starstruck to care, and plus I didn't even notice that he had it until I turned around and we took the picture!
Out of the selfies, he had time to take on my phone, this one is my favorite because he looks like a model!
Before we took any pictures, though, I gave the boys a letter and had the quick second to explain that there was a flash drive attached to the third page of the letter. I quickly explained that I made a documentary as a final project for one of my classes about how they changed my life and how they reconnected me with my best friend, and Alex said that he was excited to watch it and how it was so cool that someone had made a mini movie about them! I was so thrilled that they were excited to see it.
It took us three attempts to get this picture right, but we finally got it! This is one of my favorites.
This is my ticket that I had them sign. It was the next best thing since I had left my lyric booklet at home!
This is the professional picture that we had gotten with the photographer. You can see the happiness on my face! But you can also see my phone in Jack's hand that I was too happy to worry about, too!
After my turn with the boys was over, I ran down to the barricade to save Mady and I a spot while she was meeting them. When she was done, she told me that she hugged her favorite member, Zack, tightly and didn't want to let go, which is how I felt about Jack! She also said that she was too starstruck to almost say anything, but she managed to get out a "Hi, how are you" to each of them. As we lined up at the barricade, we sat down against it, relived that we were sitting for the first time in hours!
This is the picture that Mady and I took at barricade after the meet and greet, and before all the craziness started!
Before All Time Low, there were three bands that opened, which were The Wrecks, Waterparks and SWMRS. I'm going to be completely honest, I've heard of these bands, but I've never actually listened to them before. My friend Sam is a huge fan of Waterparks, and she was texting me all throughout their set telling me how excited and happy she was. I enjoyed watching the bands that were performing, but after each one was over, I grew more and more excited because that meant we were closer to All Time Low!
Finally, 8:50 had rolled around and it was the moment we had been waiting for since February 27th, and it was incredible. The opening video was a snippet from one of their music videos as it spelled out 'Young Renegades," and after it spelled it out, All Time Low came on stage, and I had completely forgot about how my back, ankles and head were hurting!
There was so much energy throughout the show from Last Young Renegade, all the way down to Dear Maria, Count Me In. I got a little emotional during Missing You and Therapy because both of those songs were played acoustically, so all you could hear were Alex, the crowd and his guitar, and the intimacy of hearing those songs live is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Those songs mean the world to me in more ways than one, and I never get tired of hearing them live.
Seeing All Time Low live again filled me with joy, put me on cloud nine and made me the happiest person ever, even if I do go through post concert depression, where I miss them terribly and watch all the videos that I had taken from the previous night. I never get tired of seeing them live. They'll always be my favorite band and they'll always be number one on the list of concerts that I've ever attended.
Overall, the day was exactly what I had hoped for, even if it was hot, the pageant staff were rude and the signing was running behind. Even though there were some negatives, I focused on the positives like meeting a group of new friends, getting to meet my heroes again, watching my best friend meet them for the first time, and being barricade once again to experience it all up close and personal. Going to an All Time Low show never fails to put me in a good mood. I love these boys more than anything in the world, and I'm already waiting for them to announce another tour.
This is another one of my favorite pictures that Jack took because Zack isn't looking at the camera and he looks annoyed, I was probably mid sentence and have this starstruck look on my face, and Jack is just posing away.
Until next time, boys!
