My first experience with Blue October is something that stuck in my kind so clearly that I can picture it almost in a cinematic way. I was in my dads green pathfinder waiting while he popped into a store. I'm a fidgety person and always seem to end up searching for candy my dads stashed away in his truck. He left the radio on and a tune comes on that I listen to and think, "hey, I like this." I wrote down a few of the lyrics to what I later find out to be Blue Octobers debut radio tune, Hate Me.
Waaaay back in high school a friend and I used to exchange songs with a friend of mine. It had been a year or so since I heard Hate Me and I hadn't thought to check out any more of their tunes so he sent me the song "Angel". After a few listens I was hooked. Their lyrics are meaningful, complex and captivating and they have a violinist (in a alt rock band!) Ryan, that just adds some sort of magic. Thus began a new love for this band.
My life and experiences differ vastly against many of those sung by Blue October. Justin has openly expressed his bipolar disorder, past history of self abuse, drug use, and anxiety through his music. Many of these issues are key bases of songs throughout his albums though topics regarding infidelity, child custody battles, and schizophrenia also rein.
Now, while these specific topics don't apply to me, the emotion conveyed through many of his songs is simply amazing.
When Corey and I started dating, I introduced him to my favorite band, carefully choosing songs to best dive into first. That's the thing about Blue October, I found that I always had to listen to the song a few times before being able to fully appreciate it. That would be my suggestion to anyone who tries them out. It only took a few songs for Corey to get hooked too. Excitement would mount each time a new album would come out and we take great pleasure in simply going for a drive to escape the world while we listen to our CD's.
Every year for the past 5 years we have attended a Blue October concert together. Our first concert was at the Moore Theater in 2009. It was fantastic and we loved every moment (And stayed in the strangest hotel ever!) We have been to a Blue October concert every consecutive year since then and we have loved every show. Last year was the only time we've been able to see them in Vancouver seeing as the closest they usually only come is Seattle. It was exciting to see them in our own province and it was our first Meet and Greet! It was a small and intimate group as only about 25-30 people managed to get these extra tickets. They played a few songs for us during sound check before setting up at a table to sign and take pictures. We got to get our book signed and meet the band. It was amazing and they are all so awesome. Justin even chatted with us a tiny bit and told us that we were a stunning couple and would have beautiful kids. Too cute! I melted and we got a picture taken with them.
This year we bought tickets for their Seattle concert at the Showbox at the Market. It's a really cool venue blocks from Pike Place Market. We drove down and checked into our hotel before walking up the streets of Seattle with tickets in hand. I love visiting Seattle. Hate driving in the city but walking in it is great. Tons of cool shops and funky restaurants in cool looking buildings. Unfortunately we didn't have time to check out a cool hole in the wall establishment so we grabbed a sandwich and headed to line up at the venue.
We go meet and greet tickets again too and this time the M&G crowd was huge.Blue October played three songs for us, one of them being a really cool rendition of 'X Amount of Words" before getting us all in line to sign posters that they handed out. I could feel myself getting giddy as our turn approached.
Justin asked how we're doing and I got to tell him that we've been coming for 5 years now. He seemed genuinely thankful and thanked us for supporting them. We got another picture with the band and then had to go back outside and wait till 7 for the actual show. Being M&G ticket holders, we got to be the first ones back into the Showbox.
The first opening band was good enough to warrant us buying a copy of their debut album. Pretty snazzy. When Blue October came on everyone was on their feet screaming bloody murder. They have a small, but very enthusiastic fan base apparently. The show was simply amazing. Corey and I sung along together to every song. There's one new song in particular, Sway, that we decided that was a good contender for a 'first dance' kinda song. Nice.
There's always one song that Blue October plays that really shows how much they appreciate the support of their fans. Into the Ocean was their second song to hit the radio I believe and they always make a point of playing it. During the course of the song Justin throws out his arm and lets the audience sing the chorus. This time the whole band stopped playing and let us all sing the ending for him. It is some sort of magic right there, feeling everyone be part of that song.
We cheered so loud after they left that they came back to play three more songs for the encore. Awesome!
We walked back to our hotel with some other Canadian Blue October fans in the pouring rain and ordered a pizza at 1am. it's fun having pizza delivered right to your hotel room door.
On our way back home we stopped at some shops and checked out a store I've never been in before. Hot Topic. It gets a lot of flak for some reason but I thought it was awesome for someone who wants TV/Movie/Game related stuff. We ended up spending close to 45 minutes looking at everything. There were wicked costumes and just an endless array of stuff to look it that I won't bother listing it all.
Corey ended up buying close to 8 pairs of sunglasses because they were so damn cheap and funny looking and we ended up chatting with the cashier about the differences in Canadian vs American Thanksgiving.
I nearly gasped out loud when I saw a stand of Dr Who stuff. So many things! What do I choose?! I ended up picking up some Tardis socks and earrings. I don't even have my ears pierced. Guess what I'll be doing for an Experience Challenge one of these days....haaaa.
Now, while these specific topics don't apply to me, the emotion conveyed through many of his songs is simply amazing.
When Corey and I started dating, I introduced him to my favorite band, carefully choosing songs to best dive into first. That's the thing about Blue October, I found that I always had to listen to the song a few times before being able to fully appreciate it. That would be my suggestion to anyone who tries them out. It only took a few songs for Corey to get hooked too. Excitement would mount each time a new album would come out and we take great pleasure in simply going for a drive to escape the world while we listen to our CD's.
Every year for the past 5 years we have attended a Blue October concert together. Our first concert was at the Moore Theater in 2009. It was fantastic and we loved every moment (And stayed in the strangest hotel ever!) We have been to a Blue October concert every consecutive year since then and we have loved every show. Last year was the only time we've been able to see them in Vancouver seeing as the closest they usually only come is Seattle. It was exciting to see them in our own province and it was our first Meet and Greet! It was a small and intimate group as only about 25-30 people managed to get these extra tickets. They played a few songs for us during sound check before setting up at a table to sign and take pictures. We got to get our book signed and meet the band. It was amazing and they are all so awesome. Justin even chatted with us a tiny bit and told us that we were a stunning couple and would have beautiful kids. Too cute! I melted and we got a picture taken with them.This year we bought tickets for their Seattle concert at the Showbox at the Market. It's a really cool venue blocks from Pike Place Market. We drove down and checked into our hotel before walking up the streets of Seattle with tickets in hand. I love visiting Seattle. Hate driving in the city but walking in it is great. Tons of cool shops and funky restaurants in cool looking buildings. Unfortunately we didn't have time to check out a cool hole in the wall establishment so we grabbed a sandwich and headed to line up at the venue.
We go meet and greet tickets again too and this time the M&G crowd was huge.Blue October played three songs for us, one of them being a really cool rendition of 'X Amount of Words" before getting us all in line to sign posters that they handed out. I could feel myself getting giddy as our turn approached.
Justin asked how we're doing and I got to tell him that we've been coming for 5 years now. He seemed genuinely thankful and thanked us for supporting them. We got another picture with the band and then had to go back outside and wait till 7 for the actual show. Being M&G ticket holders, we got to be the first ones back into the Showbox.The first opening band was good enough to warrant us buying a copy of their debut album. Pretty snazzy. When Blue October came on everyone was on their feet screaming bloody murder. They have a small, but very enthusiastic fan base apparently. The show was simply amazing. Corey and I sung along together to every song. There's one new song in particular, Sway, that we decided that was a good contender for a 'first dance' kinda song. Nice.
There's always one song that Blue October plays that really shows how much they appreciate the support of their fans. Into the Ocean was their second song to hit the radio I believe and they always make a point of playing it. During the course of the song Justin throws out his arm and lets the audience sing the chorus. This time the whole band stopped playing and let us all sing the ending for him. It is some sort of magic right there, feeling everyone be part of that song.
We cheered so loud after they left that they came back to play three more songs for the encore. Awesome!
We walked back to our hotel with some other Canadian Blue October fans in the pouring rain and ordered a pizza at 1am. it's fun having pizza delivered right to your hotel room door.
On our way back home we stopped at some shops and checked out a store I've never been in before. Hot Topic. It gets a lot of flak for some reason but I thought it was awesome for someone who wants TV/Movie/Game related stuff. We ended up spending close to 45 minutes looking at everything. There were wicked costumes and just an endless array of stuff to look it that I won't bother listing it all.Corey ended up buying close to 8 pairs of sunglasses because they were so damn cheap and funny looking and we ended up chatting with the cashier about the differences in Canadian vs American Thanksgiving.
I nearly gasped out loud when I saw a stand of Dr Who stuff. So many things! What do I choose?! I ended up picking up some Tardis socks and earrings. I don't even have my ears pierced. Guess what I'll be doing for an Experience Challenge one of these days....haaaa.
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