A Musical Road Trip To End All Road Trips. (Or, I Have Seen The Future Of Rock And Roll, And Her Name Might Be Hayley Williams. Maybe.)- Part 2.

The thrilling conclusion of my concert road trip. Did I make it back alive? (yes.) Did I resolve my issues with Taking Back Sunday? Will there be a Fall Out Boy appearance to round out music of my college years? Will Maria's faithfulness be rewarded by not killing me?

All of these answers and more.

Athens, GA: Paramore, Forever The Sickest Kids (FTSK) -

Upon leaving Boston, Maria and I get right on the road, as there's a rumor that Fall Out Boy is playing a free show in Atlanta the day before Paramore plays, and it would be nice to round out our concert days with that show (I've got an "I saw Fall Out Boy before they were popular" story, so seeing them now would be awesome.) Naturally, FOB was the soundtrack to the early part of this ride, and I finally allowed their new single to grow on me, especially after I read that they're becoming lyrically inspired by Springsteen ("Sweat it out/shut your mouth/free love in the streets/but in the alley it ain't that cheap"....Inspired by Bruce? I can see that....) as Maria and I debated whether Patrick Stump should go solo after this album or not (Me: hell yes. Her: No.) We then switched to The Outlaws greatest hits, because I had just purchased it, and was excited, and also, we made a promise not to listen to any music of the artists which we had seen in concert, unless it was to verify lyrics, or some other thing along those lines. Arriving in ATL, we get told that we missed the FOB show by a day, which actually lowers Maria's irritation level (now at a safe 3 again, though I am at a 6.), so we make the best of it, and I give some rant to make me feel better about how I saw them in their purest form in 2002, and etc. And we take in Atlanta. See some street musicians. I bang on a trashcan (I know...hypocrite) with some guy, and we play a horrible version of "Maria" by Johnny Mathis (Maria's irritation level: -6) that makes Maria blush and duck into a shoe store. Kick it with random street musicians most of the day, and I eventually find a keyboard in music store and embarrass myself by playing.

So, this Paramore/FTSK thing is a small, acoustic show that was supposed to be the end of my concert tour. I got tickets only due to a guy I went to school with working at the venue as a sound guy. I saw Paramore in Arizona when (frontwoman) Hayley Williams was about 15 or 16, and I was impressed, but not as interested as I am now. FTSK are a good time. Let me first say that. I saw them at Warped Tour, and it was a treat, because there's just so many of them, and they all have a role in the band. I think it's healthy when a band that's not that great doesn't take themselves too seriously. I would say them opening up this show was no different. The only letdown was that they did mostly acoustic covers. But, they were great covers. They did this thing where they would jump from old song to new(er) song connecting them with a word in the title of the song. For instance, they went from McCartney's "Drink To Me" right into Cute Is What We Aim For's "First Drink Instinct" (I was impressed with their musical knowledge of these songs, by the way), and they bought the small house apart when they went from "The Kids Are Alright" right into Blink 182's "Stay Together For The Kids". Finally, they finished their set by playing their somewhat hit ("Me Vs. Everyone"), but they didn't sing, they just let the crowd sing all of the words, except like 3. Normally would irk me, but it worked here. So on with the main reason I took this road trip: To see Paramore one more time.

I'm won over instantly. Maria grumbles in my ear about the amount of cover songs we've had to sit through on this road trip, and I almost agree until a piano comes out, and Hayley Williams starts playing a cover of Something Corporate's "Konstantine". Does she struggle with the instrument? yes, really obviously at times. Does anyone mind? probably not. I feel like if you can take chances like that, you get thumbs up from me. Here's a side question...can anyone name the other members of Paramore without looking it up? It's not that they aren't solid, I mean, they're at least tight enough to get through shows, but it's just that they've got to compete with a force of nature as a frontwoman. It's been 3 years since I last saw Paramore, and their confidence has grown pretty intensely. They bought out some of FTSK to run through "Misery Business" and "Pressure", which was sharper than it used to be (By the way, the opening lines of Misery Business, "I'm in the business of misery/lets take it from the top/she's got a body like an hourglass/it's ticking like a clock" get me everytime. I can't tell whether it's funny bad, or funny good), but Paramore's two points that stick out are obvious. They're about a one person show, and their lyrics are just poor, and oft times corny and over the top. But, I also question how high to the toppermost of the poppermost you can ride an energetic, charismatic redhead. And that voice. She's got a voice on her, and I don't think there's any getting around that. The show ended in a cover, with Williams doing an acoustic of "First Cut Is The Deepest", which I contend was made for a woman to sing, but she just oversings it, and misses. But no one minds.

Highlight of this show: Forever The Sickest Kids. I mean, Paramore did what I expected, but FTSK are going to be really popular, really fast. (check them out at Warped this year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ToLl1n0F0) Even if you're not into them musically....they're just so damn fun. And "I've got friends in highly low places" may be one of my favorite lines of the year.

Charlottesville, VA: Elton John -

I get home, ready to rest, and spill this out on RHT, including the road trip back to VA, in which Maria and I decide to buy some sidewalk chalk and decorate a block of concrete in every city we pass through (It was a smashing success by the way), and then get some sleep. But, here's the thing. I have about 25 artists that I refer to as "the immortals". My 25 greatest artists of all time. And I want to see all of the ones that I can before I, or they die. If it's plausible (i.e., I can't see the Clash, Otis Redding, John Cash, etc.). Elton John is low on the list, around 23. But, Bonnie Raitt is 25, and I saw her, so I had an opportunity to check another off of my list last friday. Maria, still at a -6 in irritation shoots down to a -23, and is on board, because if she had a list, Sir Elton would be at least 4. I'll keep this short.

It was an arena show, so I was out of my element after being in smaller shows for this entire event. After being close enough to touch most artists, you get let down when you pay 80.00 to sit nosebleed. It was a bit dull to be honest. I mean, it was Elton John, but most of the theatrics and etc. just got old after a while. Highlight of this show was simply that as an encore, he played "Purple Rain", and again, covers come through. It was sad, and romantic at the same time. Maria, ever the writer, once said that Prince writes songs that could be played at both weddings and funerals. I never agreed with it until hearing this cover. And I again got to throw the lighter in the air. As an Asian couple made out next to me.

So, overall, this was a smashing success. I didn't get fired. Don't worry. Maria didn't kill me, but we do need time apart. We've been friends since age 7, but we can only tolerate each other for 2 weeks at a time. And I didn't see the future of Rock on this tour, which is what I'm thinking I'm always searching for. The Cold War Kids just can't hack it long term, and will be good, but not great. My Chemical Romance....I'm predicting they'll collapse under the pressure of recording a Black Parade encore. Paramore is close, but the cigar can't be lit due to poor songwriting. I ended up coming away most impressed with Forever The Sickest Kids, who may not be the future of Rock, but I have a feeling that much like FOB, I'll be saying "I saw FTSK before they were popular..." one day soon.

Thanks for tuning in.