Sugar Ray party in Austin!

JOHN - Here's the blog EVERYONE has been dying to hear about!! On Friday night, Jayma and I head to Austin to go see Sugar Ray. We just bought tickets a few days beforehand b/c we weren't sure if we were going to see them or not. We knew they were playing in Austin on Friday and Houston on Saturday. Once we realized how close Austin is to San Antonio (1 hour & 20 minutes), we decided to do the Austin show. Plus, they were performing in a smaller club, similar to The Rave in Milwaukee or The Vic or The Riviera in Chicago. Plus, tickets were only $25 each so it was definitely the better of the two locations. Houston would've been a 3+ hour drive and would've cost a lot more b/c it was at the House of Blues.

Anyway, we made our way to Austin and exited on 6th. As we drove to the club, we noticed all the cool bars and clubs along the street. I think UT was really close b/c this seemed like a great place for college kids to hit. The street was alive with the sound of live music and people walking around. It reminded me a lot of State Street in Madison. Jayma and I both agreed that we were going to go back up there and spend a weekend there.

We finally parked and walked to the club. La Zona Rosa was this tiny club that could hold about 1000 people, so it was very intimate. We walked in around 9:05 but the first opening act, Aimee Allen, was just leaving the stage. We were a little disappointed that we didn't get to hear her except for one song. She sounds a lot like Gwen Stefani with a gothish look to her. VERY HOT!! But there will more about Aimee later.

After getting a couple of drinks, we proceeded to move up to the stage. Well, we maneuvered our way to the point where we standing behind these two couples who were right on the railing, in front of the stage. They were all shorter than us which was great! We did not have an obstructed view of the stage and we were less than five feet from it.

Fastball came on and put on a pretty good show. They have a bluesy rock sound with a mix of some older rock. Evidently they are from the Austin area and had a decent following. The set included all their hits but even the songs we didn't know were really good. I am not one for opening acts but Fastball was definitely one of the better ones I have seen.

Here's the YouTube link for my on-stage performance w/ Sugar Ray but please read below so you can know what was going on in my mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ1tYRA98GM&feature=channel

The time finally came for Sugar Ray to come out. And when they did, the crowd went crazy. A whole bunch of teeny boppers and trashy college girls tried to make their way in front of Jayma and me but we stood our ground and didn't give up an inch. Some girl kept tapping me and asked if I would let her in front of me since she was shorter. I ignored her request. Not because I wanted to be a jerk but b/c I knew if I let her in, all of her friends would soon join her. Sorry, sweetheart, not this guy!!

Sugar Ray started off strong and never let up. They went through hit after hit. The band seemed to be really enjoying themselves, especially Mark McGrath. In between each song, he would joke around with the crowd and just do things to keep the party going. And that's exactly what it felt like: one big party. In between each song, DJ Homicide would spin some tune such as Journey's Don't Stop Believin' or GnR's Sweet Child of Mine to keep the crowd stoked. Mark even joked saying that they know Sugar Ray isn't as big as it was in the 90's and probably never be again. He said he just loved playing music with his boys and having a good time. And that's exactly what they did.

Here's the best part. Toward the end of the show, Mark McGrath wanted to invite two people to come on stage for a karaoke/dance off. He looked in the crowd and picked this guy to come up on stage. Then, he looked in our directions and pointed at Jayma and me. At first, I thought he wanted Jayma so we got her to the railing and the security guard lifted her on to the stage. Mark said that's not who he wanted...he wanted the guy in the Jet t-shirt, i.e. ME!! So Jayma was put back in the crowd and I was placed on stage.

Mark was standing on the stage, between this other guy and me. I was pretty nervous at this point. He asked us our name and where we were from. I said my name and said I was from San Antonio. I was afraid to say Illinois for fear of getting booed. HA! But it's not as if I was lying b/c I was from San Antonio that night. I got some cheers for that. Mark said he liked my shirt and told me to go wait on the side of the stage. When I got there, the stagehand said to me that I was going to be singing and dancing with Mark to House of Pain's Jump Around. The other guy was going to go first. Well, he didn't do that great a job.

When it came time for me to go, Mark came over and handed me the microphone. I don't know what hit me but I went nuts. I was jumping up and down, trying to remember the words to the song, running back and forth on stage. Let's just say I was really into it and so was the crowd. Once we were done, I finally saw Jayma in the see of people and I could see her giving me the "camera" sign. I forgot I had the camera in my pocket the entire time. So I got the camera to her and she was able to get some pics. After that, Mark pulled both of us to the front and had the audience voted who they thought was the winner. There was no doubt I was the clear cut winner. However, Mark being the nice guy he is gave us both a girl's tanktop (which I gave to Jayma) and a hug. In fact, I got to hug him a few times (sorry ladies!!).

As I left the stage, everyone kept asking me how it was up there. I was getting hi-5's and knucks from everyone!! I found my way back to Jayma and we listened to Sugar Ray close out the set with "Fly". After the show, people were coming up to us, giving me props and asking me how I liked it. Everyone kept telling me I was the winner.

After the crowd died down, we made our way to the souvenir table. There, I picked up a copy of the new Sugar Ray cd which I already downloaded a few months back. But I was glad to the actual cd. Jayma wanted to pick up a copy of Aimee Allen's cd. We didn't realize that she was there signing autographs. She asked Jayma her name and said that she loved it. In fact, she wanted to change her name to "Aima". I think she was a little drunk and/or something else but she seemed like a lot of fun. Plus she had tats on hers which made her really hot!!! We got a picture with her and finally decided to leave.

As we drove home, let's just say I was feeling pretty good. I was trying to think of people to call but everyone was asleep. Jayma fell asleep in the car so I had to navigate my way home. Thankfully, Brandi took my call and we talked the rest of the way home. We both had such a great night and this will go down as one of my most favorite concerts. And for those who know me, I have been to a lot of concerts!