Back in mid 2023, my friend Carson texted me and told me about this concert that was happening somewhere in Dallas. It was going to be on November 10th at a small bar called 'Club Dada' and the band he was looking to see with me was something called "Mass of The Fermenting Dregs". The only concerts I had been to before were my dad's performances, which meant I had never stayed for the full thing before, let alone attended one that felt like this. For the first time in my life, I got to experience that true 'concert experience' that you gotta know to really live. I remember arriving at this bar with my friend and already feeling interested. The door to the outside venue area in the back made this place feel like some kind of secret passage. It was all so cozy and smallish, yet whimsical. When we got to the area for the audience in front of the stage, there were no seats, so we stood. To be more specific, we stood close to the center of the crowd where there was this metal pole attached to an elevated stump of concrete that I liked to stand on. After purchasing some overpriced Redbull and getting situated with my friend, we stood and watched the bands play...

Please excuse the fact that the back of someone's head obscures the scenery at times lol. The band you see in that first video are in fact, not Mass, but one of the earlier groups that played that night. If I recall, they weren't even the first. There was another group before them, and I only thought to start recording on a whim right here with the second band. I don't even remember what they were called, but we loved them all the same. Everyone else had their flashlights on their phone turned on because we were asked to do so for this song. Me personally, I wanted to just record.

When 'Mass of The Fermenting Dregs' finally came on, my mind was blown and I could easily tell why this was what Carson came to see with me. There was an imaginative beauty to them, and all of their songs were filled with so much heart and passion. sure, you can look them up online and listen to it there, but you have to understand that it's a whole other experience to be right there and to see and experience them in their joyful craft. I loved every second of it, which is why it's so weird that I for some reason decided to look up and record a random plane crossing the sky at the end of that first video. I guess that's what happens when you have ADHD and aren't recording because you planned it, but because you felt like it.

That last song was split into three recordings because I was indecisive and my battery power was starting to get kinda low, but I kept just wanting to record the rest of the song anyway and capture as much magic as I could! You will see that this is a pattern. I go to these venues, I forget to charge my phone beforehand, I record anyway, my battery power plummets but I keep recording anyway, I get worried and eventually stop at like 2%. Almost all of these concert videos in all of these pages were recorded on less than 20% phone power and on a phone that has a shitty battery!

I met and made friends with a couple strangers while I was there. In hindsight, it was kind of inconsiderate because this was one of my oldest friends' special occasion for us, and he disclosed with me afterward that it made things feel awkward. On the plus side though, it wasn't that serious and I respected what Carson said. At the same time, something really good came out of it. I met Andy. I haven't spent any further time around him irl, but a Discord regular and a cool friend that makes music himself is pretty cool enough anyway. Two thumbs up for you too man, if you're reading this..

This song's split in two as well because, again, my phone was down on its last legs and practically begging me to please turn it off. It was probably at less than 10% by this point, so I stopped mid-song and decided to keep the use of my only lifeline in case we get lost trying to get back to the car and need to contact someone. Little did I know that the absolute best moment was yet to come at the very end of it all..

That's right! She went out into the crowd to sing her final song amongst us, and I was right there getting the proverbial front row seat. In fact, it was more than just a front row seat. I didn't record this bit, but she handed me her microphone to hold for her while she sang at one point. She then took it back because I started dancing like a lunatic and couldn't hold it still lol. When all of this was done, my friend and I had a real memory on our hands, as we walked out of the super crowded tiny outdoor venue and made our way back to the car to head home. On the way home, Carson needed me to give him directions from Google Maps on his phone while he drove. The thing is.. I was not good at explaining car directions yet, and my incompetence cost us. There were several times when we drove into a wrong turn because I was too late in telling what the correct turn was, and as Carson gradually lost his mind right next to me, we ended up in a neighborhood on the complete other side of the metroplex in the total opposite direction of his place. I felt so embarrassed, but now we joke and laugh about it.

Near the end of 2023 and throughout 2024, I worked at a Fuzzy's as a front of house team member. It was in this job that I met someone who I almost made a date with. It ended up not happening because of our positions at work being different. At one point I was invited to a massive Styx concert excursion at Dos Equis Pavilion with her and some of her friends.

I won't tell you who she was, and I certainly don't want you to guess. You got the backstory for this extremely awesome trip which, admittedly, it would be a crime to not include this particular concert here (the ticket was mad expensive!!). Just know that I listened to some awesome tunes, some I recognized and others I didn't, and while laying down and watching the sky, I watched the daylight turn to night and was one with the moment.