#29 - See One of My Favorite Bands Live

I was such a Green Day fan in middle school. I became a fan with Dookie and immediately went and bought Kerplunk! and 1,001 Smoothed-out Slappy Hours. While I like some of their later stuff, that's my Green Day era. But somehow, even though I've been a fan since the mid-1990s, I've never seen them live. So, when Dan Burns yet again had Riot Fest tickets, I was stoked to see them.

On Friday, I went to about 6 hours of Riot Fest and then 9 or so hours on Saturday, so I was wiped by Sunday. Still, I got on that train and got there, right on time, and was shocked to see how large the crowd was, much larger than I'd seen it for any other show in previous years. (Of course, they weren't playing against anyone.) I managed to find Bryson and immediately gave up on trying to weave through the dense crowd to find Washo. My brother then made it to us, and we jammed out.

I have to say, my favorite part was the beginning. They started strong with some political stuff and "American Idiot." 

Post show

Then, Billy Joe said he had a head cold, and I was a little worried he was going to phone it in, but instead, he asked the crowd who knew the next song and the people in the front row pointed out this kid (probably a high schooler). They pulled him up on stage, and this kid Argyle up on stage, and this kid rocked out. They even timed out a pyrotechnic jump for him. So cute. And even cuter when Billy Joe posted on Insta a comment from Argyle's mom saying they'd camped out all day in front of the stage, and Argyle's mom just had to run to the bathroom at one point and couldn't get back to Argyle through the crowd. She was super worried and then looked up and Argyle was there, on stage, singing with the band.

I mean, c'mon. So cute.

The rest of the show was fine. Not as much political stuff and for me, not nearly enough early stuff. Like, several songs from Dookie but I think only one from Kerplunk! and I don't know if there were any from 1,001.

But still. We had a blast. Super fun Riot Fest this year.

#28 - See One of My Favorite Comedians Live

No pics during the show but
The Den is a cool space!

I've been a fan of Gareth Reynolds for many years now. I don't know when I started listening to the podcast he co-hosts with Dave Anthony or how I even found out about it, but it's definitely the podcast I've listened to the longest and the most often.

The premise is that Dave Anthony tells a story from American history to his friend Gareth Reynolds, who doesn't know what the story is going to be at all. They're both comedians, and the roles they've created for themselves and each other are well done. Dave is a great and funny story teller. Gareth is amazing at reacting and riffing. At the start of the podcast, Dave mostly told really stories about really ridiculous, as in hilarious or strange, stories. Then, he got a bit more political. And then he just leaned all the way into that, so most of the stories are stories that we should have learned in school or only know a limited version of. In general, if you're a topic of a Dollop, you're probably a terrible person or terrible things have happened to you. So, Gareth definitely has his job cut out for him to keep things comedy.

Then, Gareth created a new podcast with Jake Johnson, who played Nick on New Girl. And Jake Johnson is kinda a smart version of Nick from New Girl. (Gareth also had a very important role on New Girl as a security guard, so you may know him from there too.) Their podcast is a call-in advice show, where people bring very ridiculous problems, and Jake and Gareth try to "help." The problems, however, are things like, "15 years ago, when I met her, I told my now best friend that I'm allergic to coconut, and she still thinks I'm allergic to coconut, and I can't take it anymore. How do I tell her?" Or "My husband thinks he's a survivalist. He'd never survive on his own though. And to prove it, for his birthday, I kinda want to dump him in the woods and tell him he's on his own. Please help me plan that." Just silly, fun, hilarious problems with equally hilarious answers.

As I told Gareth after the show, I listen to The Dollop to learn things I should know about our country and I listen to We're Here to Help when I just can't take this country anymore and need a break. Balance.

So, I was super excited when Gareth announced he'd be stopping in Chicago on his tour and, even more exciting, he'd be taping his special in Chicago.

Laura Masters kindly agreed to go with me to The Den, and we made a whole night of it in Wicker Park. It was way fun, and it was super cool that Gareth actually came outside, very quickly, to meet and take pictures with anyone waiting around. He was a delight. Very fun.

With the We're Here to Help van!

#57 - See a Friend I Haven't Seen in at Least 3 Years

Like this happens nearly every time I've checked this off the list, it happened by happenstance. 

Well, maybe this one wasn't quite happenstance because it happened because my friend and 2x former roommate got married!

I was so pleased to receive K Rob's text sharing his engagement and asking for my address to invite me to the wedding. I was even more pleased to attend. 

On the Friday before, he invited the out of towners to the Pizza Port in Carlsbad, and I was reunited with Kevin, met his fiancee Aimee, and then got a huge bonus when Smitty and Kelly, Smoky and Chanel, Dino and Veronica, Lams, and Jivs were all there, all with their children, ages ranges 2 to 16. It was so joyful to spend time with them again, and I really hope that it becomes a regular happening because I knew I missed them but didn't realize how much. 

K Rob and I have done an off-and-on job of catching up, something that definitely fell off during and due to the pandemic. He was there during some of my toughest and best years: undergrad and my doctoral program, and we were roommates for around 5 years total. I was so honored to be there for his big day and loved that it was super quirky and personal.

The rest, well, they were my best friends in undergrad and the years after, the guys who always treated me like one of the guys and also still always looked after me and made me feel safe and cared for. 

It was so nice to see all of them again, to see them partnered and not, and all parenting lovely kids with big personalities. 

I am bummed I didn't really take pictures at the wedding!

Before the wedding, I also popped up to see the brilliant Dr. Kai Mathews, and that was super delightful.

I also had the bonus of seeing Tyler, who popped over to play trivia with John, Jenny, Conor, and me. I know Tyler from my years of Big Ten kickball in San Diego, and I'm hoping to see him and more of that crew next time I'm in town.

What a great trip. My cup is very full right now.