FOXY [DTF!!!] or "I Opened for Dashboard Confessional and All I Got Were These Awesome Pictures!"

So here's the story. In it's entirety. Of the most amazing night I've ever had, in my entire life, basically EVER.

It all started Saturday evening, with me being at a debut practice. I get a text from my friend with the awesome Mohawk in the above picture.

Ian "Hey How You Doin'!?" Finch: Dude! Call me asap. Super ugent! Lol. Nothing bad. something super exciting. Call me!!

And sure enough, a couple hours after receiving the text, i am curious enough to call. I call around 6 or 7ish because i was in practice. He asks me what i'm doing tomorrow, Sunday the 12th. I answer the penultimate answer of boredom, "Nothing." He cracks my weekend wide open, telling me that he's got tickets to the Panic! at the Disco/Dashboard Confessional concert. Plain White T's and the Cab are also performing. Obviously, i'm a total crazy freak for Panic! and Hands Down is one of the best songs on acoustic guitar that i've heard, besides Wonderwall, Wonderwall, More Than Words, and Wonderwall. I say, "Hell Yes, Muthaeffer." I wonder if he wants to wear the outfit that we both coincidentally happened to buy at American Eagle, on the same night, complete with matching banana boxers. I also ask him if i can bring a friend, because after hearing that a certain person had fallen deeply in love with Chris Carrabba and Dashboard Confessional, i wondered if an offering of an amazing night with her future husband would allow her to spend time with me.





In the mirror at American Eagle in Natomas.
Me: This is not awkward at all.
[Borat voice]: "This suit is-a NAHHHT GAY!"





I am excited the whole night, for the next night, and bring my brother with me to my friend's house to chill till' 11, watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall drooling over Kristin Bell and Mila Kunis. I return him home at 11, as promised to my parents, and attempt to find something late night and spicy.

Ok, i got Taco Bell, and brought Bam Bam back to his house. I ended up playing Bioshock till 6, not falling asleep until 7:33. Yes, i realize that was ridiculous. At least it wasn't Call of Duty 4. ;3

I wake up to some commotion in the kitchen and everyone is cooking breakfast. I look at the clock and i had been asleep for 3 horas. Great. Bambino gets a call on his house phone, and it is BeTo, asking if Bammers could accompany him and two others for some Rock Band tournament action at Best Buy; Winner of the tournament would get a limo ride to, coincidentally, the Dashboard/Panic! concert, and would furthermore play a set on Rock Band 2 onstage, in front of thousands of people. Unfortunately Bam was unavailable to do it, by way of him not being of legal age. T_T However, i was presently very willing, despite the fact i had tickets already.

Notwithstanding, the whole previous night i attempted to send texts to the person i wanted to bring to the concert, being luckless at the attempt and receiving no texts back. Meh.

I meet up with the rock band....band(?) at 3:20 and we discuss tactics. We agree on doing flips and being really cool. That's a good tactic, i hear. We proceed to do a practice game and we do The Middle, by Jimmy Eat World. I hold back, but everyone else goes crazy getting 90s and i with a 78%. I said TONE IT DOWN! lolz. But we hang back before the competition starts and we decide on playing Linkin Park's One Step Closer. We perform as Mom's Favorite, the name created by BeTo. We get on and i am the singer, getting ready for the flips and the song. The song starts and when the drums come in, i do an aerial from stage left to stage right, which is how small the area is...Even with moving the drum set like All the way into the corner, i still almost got a foot in the big screen tv. ;D But it still felt good. And when it came time to the "Shut Up" part of the song is when we decided to set up me flipping over the guitarist's back. Yes, it was amazing. I must admit. We get a 100% a 99% a 94% and a 91%, which is great, and we get 175 style points, which i am slightly steamed about, because the maximum was 200. What!? Jumping over your bandmates and maintaining a 99% isn't good enough for awesome, huh? Our score is 562 and we have to take it. The next band is named Hoopty Doopty and the Dump Trucks. Yeesh. Their drummer looks like Dwight from The Office, their bassist looks like the illegitimate child of the 70s and Hawaii, wearing White slacks, white platform shoes, a red Hawaiian shirt, and for the piece de resistance, a black painter's hat. If he had the goatee of the singer, he'd be rocking the 50s look even HARDER. But apparently, doing well in the game and doing tricks while performing is menial compared to looking like David Bowie or Disco Stu. I was on tilt. When it was all over, we were second because Hoopty and the Dump got the maximum amount of style points. Yeesh. Ok enough of a segue, let's get to the nitty gritty.

I was pissed and left the tournament screaming at the social injustice that had just ensued. That's MY DREAM!!!
i wanted to play on the same stage as Chris Carrabba and Panic! at the Disco!!! All over some horrible looking shoes.

So i proceed to ask Bam to come, which he happy obliges to accompany me. We drive to Arco Arena around 6ish, and we meet up with Ian, and other friends, Drew and Tyler. I'm telling them the heartbreak that is life, explaining what had happened at Best Buy and the stupid 2nd place. They're like, it's ok dude, we're here and we're going to watch them anyways. Mid-sentence, i stop them and look to my right after we're all inside Arco. There's a sign that says, "Rock Band 2 Experience! Audition and get a chance to perform onstage live!"

Thank you! THANK YOU GOD!!!

I announce that God has given me a second chance and convince the guys that we can do this. Obviously, we all play Rock Band, so there was no second thought. Everyone knew that this would be an awesome thing whether we won or not. So, we signed up for a practice round first. And guess what our band name was?

DTF!!!

hehehehe.
Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking. No, you don't have a dirty mind for thinking it.

Anyways, so Ian comes up with the name and we play a few practice games. Just some boring things to get used to the game before we go for the real deal. I'm just getting my head back into playing after the devastating loss that happened earlier, still wearing the lanyard i got from best buy that said, "Rock Band - Musician." So we go up to do the actual live audition, and we get one practice song before we've got to perform the real song for them. So, i convince them that we should do Linkin Park again, because that's the only song i like to do. They're like, but dude, Lit makes a good song too. FUCK, I REALLY DON"T LIKE THAT SONG.

Anyways, before we're about to do the actual audition, the auditioner(?) comes up to me and says, "Hey you performed at Best Buy earlier didn't you?" and i just thought it was some chill comment like, hey that's cool. But actually the intent was much more sinister. I answer, yeah, how did you know? It's because i'm still wearing the lanyard and it's swinging around like an elephant trunk or a badge of honor. He says that because i auditioned earlier, i can't do another audition!

FUCK!

What the hell! No freaking way is this happening again. He's explaining that if i did audition earlier in the day, that i can't do another, because then EVERYONE who auditioned earlier should get another chance to perform. I'm begging him that this is my dream man, don't break it into thousands of pieces! So he goes away for a second while we're contemplating what the FUCK the rest of the band's going to do. They need another singer, who is as crazy as me, with the freaking passion. Unfortunately Bam STILL can't do any entertaining because he is still a minor. Freaking fracking frackcaloo. But sure enough, Mr. Rock Band Roadie comes back and tells me, "Alright, here's the deal. You hide that lanyard, make sure i don't see you wearing it, and you can audition again."

TOUCHHHHDOWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNN BROWNNNNNSSSSS!!!


Lolz. After a sigh of relief, i throw the lanyard to Bam and we continue our rampage of rock through the audition. More jumping, more screaming, more Linkin Parking. Etc. We wait in anxious expectation, because a lady will be back with the results. I'm like hopping in anticipation of what the results are going to be because after that heartbreak at Best Buy, and not being able to bring that certain someone, I'm totally down for some amazing news. Sure enough, the lady comes back with a whiteboard and some writing on it.

The Band that will play onstage is...
*flips whiteboard*
DTF!!!

*uproar from us in the crowd*
I'm jumping everywhere and running around like i'm Speedy Gonzales, or a hyperactive child that is learning that peeing in the bushes in much more fun than peeing in a toilet. Or something like that. We get briefed on what will happen later when we're going to perform. Behind us, though, Plain White T's is already doing their set. Oh well. I didn't really come to see them anyways. So we wait around for the main backstage person, while i'm breaking in the pavilions to get rid of my extra energy. Hehehehe. Plain White T's is playing a song i recognize, which is very appropriate to the situation...


FINALLY IT"S OUR TIME NOWWWWWWWWW!!!

Yeah, that's pretty funny. We can only take one person backstage with us, so we bring Ian's sister, whom he has to take care of. I say sorry Bam, but you're not meeting Chris today.
While we're waiting around for more briefing, i notice that the band that freaking beat me today is playing on the audition stage, without a singer. I motion to the band telling Ian, Drew, and Tyler, "That's Fucking Them." We're dogging on them because their singer is nowhere to be seen, the guy is STILL wearing those freaking David Bowie platforms, and Dwight still looks like Dwight. "They're horrible, dude they actually kind of suck." and etc.
Finally, the coordinator comes over and tells us to gather, both us and Hoopty Doopty. He tells us what the protocol will be; we're going to follow him to the service elevator and we're going to get even more briefing there. So we're walking and i'm excited and anxious and nervous as hell. But i don't want to betray those feelings to my bros. We get downstairs and it's really the downstairs of Arco. Wow. It's big down here. This lady has the final explanation of everything and tells us what the exact protocol and regulations that we have to follow. Just because we're backstage doesn't mean we get to go willy-nilly and greet every artist we see. We can't stop them for pictures or autographs and basically we're only backstage so that we can segue into the mainstage. Meh. So we're walking to the actual stage and we're hugging and jumping and getting all excited trying to get the butterflies out. Dude. We're going to have fun, and we're going to be rock stars. Holy jeez. We see the cab's dressing room and pass by, uneventfully. So DTF gets backstage first. They ask us what DTF stands for and obviously we say, "It stands for Drew, Tyler, and Finch. I'm just the exclamation points because i'm the energy!"

Right. ;3


We're waiting backstage while Plain White T's is finishing up their set and we're just taking it all in. The enormity of the situation is absolutely breathtaking. This is the silhouette of the backstage while we're trying to swallow our fear of choking.
i remember us just hugging and being brothers, just reveling in the moment of success, and the fact that we're here. We've made the big time. Finally it's OUR time now.


So the Plain White T's finish singing Hey There Delilah and they start to come backstage. Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to get autographs or pics so we just say, "Great Job, Guys!" They're very humble and just say, thanks guys. Wow. We just said what's up to Plain White T's. I'm already feeling like a rock star.So we finally get our chance to get on stage. Holy jeez. It's bright as hell up there. We're getting familiarized with the stage. Damn, that drum set looks CRAZY! We walk around the Rock Band Kit, and i look into the crowd.
Oh. My. Savior. Thousands of faces of people standing shoulder to shoulder on the floor and hundreds more in the seats. I'm blown away. And even more, when we've picked up our instruments and get ready to Rock Band it up, multiple girls in the crowd scream and yell, "Oh SHIT, those guys are HOT!" I oblige the comment with a wink to the girl and a wave to the crowd. The girl and the rest of the crowd screams. I feel like a Rock Star. Oh S#!7. So the announcer is talking and his name is "Ridiculous"... Meh. I've heard worse. *Cough*HooptyandtheDump*cough* So we choose One Step Closer, by Linkin Park. We choose the difficulty. Oh my God, this is really happening. [I'm shaking in my seat, right now as i'm typing this into the Blog. Even just thinking back and recalling how i felt is making me shake with nervousness and anxiety. I was living my DREAM.] And the song starts...


[Enter Awesome Pictures Mode (Thanks Megan!)]

DTF!!! *SCREAMS*

This is us getting situated. Onstage. Opening for Dashboard Confessional. Supposedly we're hot. I do a little toprock to let some butterflies loose. I get a cheer from the crowd. ;D
"I Cannot Take This Anymorrrrreeeeeeee..."
"All These Thoughts They Make No Sense..."

"Just like beforeeeeeeee."

EVERYTHING YOU SAY TO MEEEEEEEE!!!!

We're finally comfortable on stage and rocking it.

I, uh, got really into it and threw my hat. That's what happens when you're a rock star.

I Find Bliss in Ignorance!

SHUT UP WHEN I"M TALKING TO YOU!!!!!!

[/Awesome pictures mode]

All in all, our dreams came true. We saw the rest of the show. No one liked the band, Hoopty Doopty and the Dump Trucks, that came on after us. They were WACK comparative to our stature in the audience's eyes. And i felt amazing. So did the rest of DTF!!!. We walked off feeling like effing HEROES. Well, i did anyways. I gave some lucky girl my hat. And we performed in front of thousands of people. And we opened for DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL!!! OMG. I feel like a rock star just saying that.

Well, thanks to the guys in DTF!!!, Ian, Drew, and Tyler. I couldn'tve done it without you guys because then we wouldn't be DTF. We'd be something stupid.
Thanks to the auditioner guy who let me audition anyways, you're a beast.
Thanks to BeTo for calling me a couple hours before the Best Buy tournament. What a pal.
Thanks to Bam Bam for letting me play Bioshock until 7 in the morning. I got to see the sunrise.
Thanks to Arco Arena for being a "Foxy" place to be. Chris Carrabba says Foxy when describing Sacramentans.
Thanks to Rock Band 2 for making our dreams come true.
Thanks to the Cab, Plain White T's, Dashboard Confessional, and Panic! at the Disco for coming to Arco to play for everyone in the area. You guys are swell.
And Thanks God, for letting me play onstage with my friends and for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. I had fun. A whole lot of fun. This is perhaps the greatest moment of my short life and i'm going to live it UP until people forget that i opened up for Dashboard Confessional. A lot of newfound confidence and emotions have sprung up that i wouldn't have tapped into if it weren't for this. I am so amazed and blessed by what had happened that night, and i know i'll NEVER EVER forget it.

-Sincerely your Rock Star,
Matt.A [DTF!!!]






P.S.
I love you, Jo(h)n for renewing my love for Dashboard Confessional. Hands Down, you are one of the best persons I know. Besides Jesus. Jo(h)n, i don't know if you know it, but you're my hero. And i don't know if i care how you feel, because i know how i do. *sigh* Never fall in love with someone who doesn't love you.