Chains, Flames and Automobiles: Part I.

I called my coworker from the parking lot of the bank, “Hey I’m on my way. I just stopped by the bank and got some cash. I should be there in about 15-20 minutes.”

She replied, “So I’ll meet you in the lobby at about 25 after?”

I agreed as I hung up the phone to start the car. My muffler roared in protest as I backed out of my parking spot and headed towards the great northern sky.

At almost 5:25 on the dot, I pulled into the drop off area of the hotel. "R" was waiting in the lobby and she quickly made her way to my car. "I'm starving!" she declared. I was too. I asked if she wanted to eat at Uno's by her hotel, or if she wanted to try closer to the venue. She said Uno's was the "room service" for the restaurant and that she would rather travel a little bit.

I asked Joey Sky to hand me my iPod from my leather jacket that was laying the back seat. With in minutes, he was asleep in the backseat. It did make the ride a little bit easier and knew that he'd be wide awake through most of the concert. Even though he was using my leather jacket as pillow, I didn't wake him.

The closer we got to the venue, the more hungry we grew. We passed WOOSTA Pizza and decided that was our best bet based on the 0.1 miles to the VENUE as proclaimed by my GPS. Although we still hadn't hit the venue, we hoped for something a little closer and kept our eyes peeled.

A few blocks later we found the venue. There were a couple of parking lots in the area and as I rounded the corner to park, I saw the line for the show. The line extended past the block and had only broken to allow cars into the parking lot.

I decided to park right by the venue, I pulled in and asked the cost. "Twenty dollars" the toothless man stated. I handed him over a $20 bill along with the hopes of getting a tee-shirt. I had a few bucks on me, but if my son wanted a shirt, I was going to get one for him and I'd ask Santa for one for me.

I pulled up a few feet before the man started chasing after me. "Ten, you gave me ten!" he tried to shove the bill into my hands. "No, I gave you a $20. That's all I have in my wallet are 20's..." He protested, "Ten! You give me ten!" His thinning mullet was blowing in the breeze and he was insistent that I only gave him a $10 bill. I was damn sure that I gave him a $20. I pulled into the first open space and opened my wallet. It was one of the ONLY times I got a receipt for the transactions I did at the banks ATM. I counted out my money and felt like an idiot after I realized I did in fact give him a $10.

The wind was whipping in our faces as we walked a few blocks to the pizza joint. Starving we all ate fast and hoped we wouldn't have to wait in long line at the venue. By the time we finished eating our dinner, the line for the venue was right at the door. I got to security and the bouncer standing there points to my wallet chains, "Uh, there is no way those chains are going in..." I give him a look of amazement, "You're kidding me! Really? Can't I just put them in my pocket?" My questions are met with the shaking of a head in a horizontal direction. I pass the tickets to my coworker and son and tell them, "It's too cold for you to be outside. Here are your tickets. I'll meet you by the merch tables. I'll be right back." I took of running to my car.

When I got back to the door the girl there told me I couldn't go in with my safety pins on my jacket. She picked up her security walkie- talkie. I looked at the girl with such distain and said, "I was just told to put my wallet chains away. The guy said nothing about my pins..." She let me in.

I walked down the stairs and turned to the right. R and Joey Sky were sitting right there waiting for me. We found a good spot right behind the sound boards front and center. I saw the wings were open and asked Red why they were open. The guy standing in front of said, "The side over here to the right is for security, to the left is the fan club for Iced Earth..."

He had an accent, it wasn't thick but it was pronounced. He let us up right against the rails, he's seen In Flames at least 13 times, and he said, I was shorter than he was and he could see over my head. The night was only going to get more interesting....

-MetalRose