Szophia Leigh©

It was honestly one of the greatest shows that i've ever been to! I got to the venue at around 11:30am and sat there all day like an idiot, but it was definitely worth the wait. While sitting in line Jepha and Dan from The Used walked out and talked to/greeted their fans. They also walked to Starbucks, and returned holding half empty starbucks cups in their hands. They were standing across the highway waiting for the street light to change, and Jepha was pacing back and forth talking on his cell phone. Since I got a new camera last week, I figured I'd see how well the zoom worked. I didn't even have to zoom in halfway to get a decent view of him. I snapped a picture, and now it's permanent home is on my deviant art. (http://szophialeigh.deviantart.com).

You weren't allowed to bring cameras into the venue because they were recording the entire show. There was even a banner outside that said "Do not enter the venue unless your want your face distributed on film" or something along those lines. I gave my mom my camera, and she ran it back to the car. I got inside and was up against the barricade-- on the left-hand side of the stage. I stood there for the first 4 bands, almost falling asleep because they just so happened to pick the most MELLOW bands to play with The Used. I gradually forced my way to the middle-- and I was pretty much dead-center, against the barricade. Finally The Used hit the stage and I just stood there in shock. I couldn't even sing the first verse of the first song-- I was being smushed against the barricade, my hands over my mouth, wide-eyed, astonished. Bert walked right in front of me and smiled/pointed at me. I got this glowing feeling inside my chest and just screamed at the top of my lungs. The show progressed, and with every passing moment the show got more and more amazing. During every single song, Bert would look over at me, smile at me, point at me, and stand right in front of me and sing. He did it during EVERY SINGLE SONG-- and it honestly made me the happiest person alive. During the song Paralyzed, Bert McCracken invited people up on the stage to dance with him. He pointed at me, but the security lifted the girl next to me out. Bert then pointed at me AGAIN, but the security ignored him and wouldn't let any more people on stage. He continued to look/point at me during every song-- and like I said, it made me the happiest person alive. It just sucks that the security were so strict about cameras-- I would've got some AMAZING shots of the band.

After the show Jepha came out and met the (about) 30 fans that were waiting outside. I called my friend Erin, and Jepha talked to her on the phone for a bit. Time passed by, and people started dropping like flies. There were only 4 people left: Me, my mom, this other girl, and HER mom. They were from Pittsburgh too, how odd is that? The girl, her name was Amy, came over to me and said "I think that's Bert standing over there." I walked over to the other side of the fence, and damn straight-- there he was! He was talking to a few guys, and smoking a cigarette. Amy and her mom both  said they were too 'nervous' to scream his name-- so I did. I screamed, " HEY BERT! COME HERE!" He stopped for a second, looked over, and then continued talking. Not even a minute or two later, Quinn came walking out of nowhere. These two other girls that were waiting further down the street, walked up to him and they began talking. I let Quinn borrow one of my many sharpies to sign autographs, and I got my picture with him. I had to ask him a few times before he gave me my sharpie back-- he even put it in his pocket and started walking away HAHAH.

When Jeph was meeting fans we asked him to go get Bert-- he said, "I don't even know what fucking bus he's on." So we just kind of ignored what he said, and didn't worry about it. After we had called Bert's name, and then met Quinn-- we too asked him. Quinn said, "Bert has a mind of his own. I can't tell him what to do." My mom turned to me then and said that we have absolutely no chance of meeting him now. We waited for a few more minutes, and then out of nowhere this girl that was talking to Bert-- came riding over on a bicycle. She asked us what we wanted, and we asked her if she could get Bert to come over. She said okay. She rode her bike back over to Bert, talked to him, and then came back. "He told me to tell you that he's sleeping." That's what her response was. Bullshit, right? He was standing over by the bus the entire time. Not even a minute went by-- Bert walked back and forth a few times and then disappeared onto the bus. My mom told me we had to leave--and though I didn't want to, I did. We got in our van, drove past the venue one last time, and then made our way back to the hotel.

The next day I was upset over what had happened. At the show the night before, Bert literally took 5 minutes on stage to tell everyone just how much his fans meant to him. He told us that if it wasn't for us, there wouldn't be "The Used." He also said that "This music saved my life--and it's there to save other's." I got teary eyed hearing him say that-- it just, I don't know. It was inspirational. After he had said all that, and then he couldn't even walk across the parking lot to meet the 4 fans that were standing there all night-- that's what made me upset. Jepha came out and met fans when there was a SHIT load of people still waiting; why couldn't Bert do the same?

Still upset over what had happened, when my mom and I returned home, I got onto myspace and began typing a message to The Used. My mom and I were talking about this in the car, actually-- My mom said that she was going to message them, and I said not to bother because they won't reply. I was just so frustrated and upset over what had happened, I simply began spilling my heart out into a message. I kind of revised the message so that it wasn't too long-- and then I sent it. I fell asleep at about 6pm that night, and I woke up at 4-5am the next day feeling like shit. Not even thinking, I signed onto myspace and clicked on my 'new messages' icon. The page loaded, and the first unread message was titled--"RE: About your show in Columbus, OH: please read." I began crying hysterically. Not only had The Used READ my message, but they fucking REPLIED. I ran into the kitchen bawling my eyes out, wimpering like a dog, and shaking uncontrollably. I haven't even read the message yet, and this is how happy I was. After my happy-fit, I sat down and read the message they sent me. It was short, but ever so sweet-- and the message gave me alot of hope. I now knew that The Used knows how I felt about what happened, they know how amazing I think they are, and above all-- they know just how much I really do love them.

Though I randomly get upset over what happened-- and though I get kind of upset over not being able to meet Bert or get pictures of the show... I just stop and think about what happened. Not only did I get to see The Used for the first time in my life-- but I got to meet 3/4 of the band. I got to see an amazing show, and I obtainied tons of amazing memories. & now I even have an amazing message to assure me that The Used knows just how much I care.


Shit in my life tends to happen ass-backwards--
but sometimes that's a good thing.


xoxo.