Warning: Prepare to read the biggest post this blog has ever seen.

First off, trip to Karan's house. I didn't recognise it at first because it was half demolished (in the process of being renovated or something) so I ran to the house either side before realising the one which looked like it had been through a cyclone was Karan's. We decided to meet up there to play a bit of Guitar Hero: World Tour before the concert and that was pretty fun. I'm terrible at singing. It just feels so awkward. And you kinda feel lame after you take off the headset and look at your score but singing is nothing compared to drums. I thought drums would be easier than guitar but no, you actually need to have more co-ordination for drums than you need for guitar. ==". So anyway, we played around for a bit more, ate toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches, then hopped into a 4WD to head to the city.

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I was sitting in the front passenger seat on the way there and Karan, Lenny and Tim were in the back seats. I'm glad I didn't sit in the pack - it sounded like they were having quite the party back there. A party where two white guys bash the curry kid. >.>

Anyway, got there and saw most people were wearing skinny jeans and a chequered shirts.....like I was. Geez, way to be original, Niro. So yeah, it was your everyday punk/scene crowd there, and they were all lining up for Rise Against shirts. Karan and Lenny joined the lines while me and Tim just walked around looking at stuff. Lenny bought 2 shirts, so I wore one of his because he won't be able to hold it during the concert.

We went inside when the first support band, 50 Lions, started playing. We wanted front and centre positions in the mosh pit. We got the front, but not the centre. 50 Lions were terrible. And annoyingly loud. So loud that Tim and I went to go buy earplugs for $2 (HEY! We still wanted our hearing you know!). Used them, and it helped. It just deafened the crap that were coming from 50 Lions. 

Also, halfway through their performance, the lead singer of 50 Lions was just like "EVERYONE, I WANT YOU TO RUN IN CIRCLES FOR RISE AGAINST". And like 2 seconds later, everyone in the centre of the mosh pit were running in the massive circle whilst I watched thinking "WTF". Yeah, that was one of the most interesting parts of the night. So after 50 Lions decided they had decided spewing enough crap from their amps, we waited 20 minutes for International Noise Conspiracy to come out.

They were so cool.

They were dressed all in purple suits and they looked like the second coming....of the Beatles. >.>

But their music was pretty good. Especially "Washington Bullets" and "Assasination of Myself". Video ahoy! (Lenny filmed/Karan upload)

At one point, the lead singer stopped halfway through the song and pointed at someone in the crowd who I think were giving him the finger. He was like -

"Hey you two. Yeah you. Come back stage after the show, and guess what, I'll suck your cock for you! Do you want to know why? Because you two look like the most massive dicks ever"

Burrrrrnnnnn.

Later on, whilst the International Noise Conspiracry were playing, someone through a shoe onto the stage and it hit a cymbal. When they finished the song, the singer picked it up and was like "What's this?". Then a guitarist grabbed it from his hand, rubbed it against his own crotch and threw it back into the audience. 

Classy.

Right, so after the International Noise Conspiracy say their final goodbyes and walk offstage is where the trouble begins.

Lenny, Karan, Tim and I - throughout 50 Lions and International Noise Conspircay - were snaking our way through the crowd in order to get front and centre in the mosh pit. We were at the front, but not at the centre - but all the same - WE MADE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER.

After International Noise Conspiracy hops off stage EVERYONE wants to be at the front. EVERYONE is pushing. EVERYONE suddenly is a massive fan of Rise Against and has to have front and centre. Especially this fat and drunk guy who pushed past me announcing to everyone that he was going to get on stage and dance or something when Rise Against were on.

Right, so you're thinking "Big deal, people want to get to the front". Not the case, buddy. People have died from falling over in mosh pits. If you fall over in a mosh pit there are some people who won't give a damn and they'll just trample all over you, and you're boyd probably won't be found until the end of the concert. And seeing as there was a lot of pushing and shoving - the risk of falling over is high. Yes, Lenny fell over, but he was just lucky. He falls over at roughly 3:49 in this vid.

[Karan says to skip to 2:10 for the actual song]

So after 20 minutes of pushing, Rise Against finally come on stage and start plasying "Drones" (my favourite song). Even when they were on, people were still pushing....and moshing....at the same time. It was weird. And dangerous. After 2 songs (I forgot what the second one was) I decided I had had enough of this, so I went of to the side of the pit, which thankfully was a lot more calmer. From there on things got better.

It was such an awesome night. I knew all the words to all the songs (and so did 3/4 of the other 2000 or so people who were there) so I screamed them at the top of my lungs most of the time. It is such a great feeling, because you can't hear yourself, but you can hear everyone else. Argh, screw it, I'm not going to even try describing it. It was just freaking awesome, take my word for it.

My highlight of the night? Tim (the lead singer of Rise Against, not the Baulko one) spoke for a bit about Earth Hour and he was praising Sydney for thinking up the idea and how we should all be proud. And at the end of his "speech" he got the crowd to chant "Rise" over and over again whilst putting their fists up into the air. And then they begun to play "Chamber the Cartridge". Here's the video (once again filmed by Lenny/ uploaded by Karan)

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Sometime during the concert I found Karan right next to me (I had left him and everyone else in the mosh pit madness) and it turns out he was ribbed by that fat and drunk guy I mentioned earlier. Karan returned the favour by punching him in the face, throwing his hat away and then bolted. Also, Lenny decided he had had enough and came over to the calmer side. 

Just to let you know how intense the mosh pit was, here's some quotes from Youtube.

People in the mosh pit had humour too (or they were drunk, it was hard to tell). You would look up and see white blimps floating in the air, only to find they were inflated condoms. Also, there were signs on poles 10 metres high that said "CROWDSURFING IS PROHIBITED. FINES APPLY". And there were quite a few people crowd surfing halfway through Rise Against. They were all thrown out in the end. One guy had the guts to crowdsurf whilst holding that sign above their heads. Win.

Karan went back into the centre so it was just Lenny and I. 'Twas cool. OH! I remember at one point when the lead singer went to go get an acoustic guitar, and as soon as Lenny and I saw it we both looked at each other and yelled "SWING LIFE AWAY" (which was the name of the song he was about to play). Haha, that was funny.

Ah, that concert was awesome.  I walked out pumped (and slightly deaf but that's fixed now). I really want to go again the next time they come.

After the concert, we crossed the street to buy a drink at the convienence store, because it would be cheaper than actually buying it at the venue. It was cheaper, but I think $5 for 600ml bottle of Pepsi is a bit steep isn't it?

Concert finished at 11:30ish and I got home at 1. I slept pretty well that night/morning.

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[*Looks at post*.........I think I'll leave the post about camp for next time. :)]