Today started off a little slow. I woke up c to 4pm since I didn’t go to bed till after 5 am. You know those conversations you don’t want to end? Yeah, I was having those and I was dreading knowing that I was falling asleep mid-sentence with my phone in my hand but I finally passed out.
When I had woken up, Blake one of my best friends had called to make sure our plans for Louisville were still in action. We were going to go to the Mercury Ballroom, stand outside of the venue and try to meet the band, HAIM. We were both too poor to afford tickets and to be honest, I have heard maybe just a handful of their songs.
My best friend Dylan whom I met back in August where I started school again had come up for a few days, one for a two-day health convention for her classes and two to visit me. One of the main things I love about Dylan is that she’s down for whatever so of course she was down for going to Louisville and waiting with Blake and I as we meet the band, HAIM.
Driving to Louisville is literally the worst experience for me. I have really bad anxiety and driving in a crowded city always spikes my anxiety through the roof so after having nearly a panic attack we make it to the parking garage just a block away from the Mercury Ballroom. We went to the Brown Hotel which felt like I was being transported back to the ’40s. I instantly felt underdressed because everything was so classy and fancy including the staff that worked there and the visitors that were eating in their restaurant. I have a love for the Brown Hotel because not only is it beautiful exterior and interior but it also was the place where the famous dish, ‘The Hot Brown’ was invented. It’s a Kentucky thing because my friends who are from different states, mostly Northern are like, ‘a what?’
But when we got to the Mercury Ballroom we managed to hear the last three songs and one of them was my favorite, The Wire, which might be cliche because that’s one of their famous ones but it’s so damn catchy. It was my summer song of 2015 but we chilled on the side of the Mercury Ballroom that was roped off to stop people from crowding the side of the building and crowding the parking garage.
We waited for about 2 maybe 3 hours, Dylan and I sitting down on some step that belonged to a restaurant and Blake stood by the ropes. Blake had managed to strike up a conversation with a group of girls that seemed to blossom into a social network friendship. He also managed to get three free tickets to The Joy Formidable concert. Dylan and I talked to these two girls, one who went to the same college as us and the other who actually lived in Louisville. They were super nice.
About midnight is when HAIM’s manager came out and told us that HAIM was going to come out and say hey and take pictures with us, granted he needed to get them on the road in about 25 minutes. There was probably maybe a group of 30 people, including us waiting in line to meet HAIM. When they came out, only Alana and Este came out. Danielle didn’t and a lot of people were disappointed but when it was my time to come to meet 2/3 of HAIM I started to freak a little because I didn’t really know what to say to them.
But OF COURSE, they were so chill. They were beautiful, tall and Este and I wreath the same height. They brought me in for a group hug. Talked for a bit, Este complimented me on my height after Dylan said I looked really short. They were so nice, I got a picture or a million thanks to Blake and I wished them safe travels as they get on the road to go onto their next show.
Sometimes it surprises me with how chill and mellow most musicians, celebrities, etc. are. You always see them in a different light due to the media and you just forget that they are people just like you, that do something very public for a living. They have the same feelings, emotions, etc. like you and it’s cool to see people so grounded.
Ending this day with eating McDonald’s at 2 in the morning and crying over Bernie Sanders speech was just a perfect way to end an amazing day.
dani talks pop 