Ahhh, last Friday night was so good. SO GOOD.

One of the highlights from Riot Fest for us both was Greet Death. It was our first time seeing them and we both (!!!) fell for them hard. Well, Henry probably wouldn’t phrase it the same way as me. He’d probably say, “I saw them. I liked them.”

So when we saw that they were coming to Pittsburgh, opening for AJJ, I was adamant on going. This was a non-negotiable item on the October agenda.

A few days beforehand, Henry casually asked, “Hey, before the show on Friday, do you want to go to Lolev—-”

“YES!” I cried before his question had a chance to finish pushing its way past the bristles of his moustache. Lolev is MY FAVORITE and I will never say NO.

Lolev is one of the only places I will get a Big Boy beer because I know I will like it.

I love this little table!!

After a cozy hour at Lolev with no annoyances, we walked to Spirit and got there right as doors were opening. This is kind of a new scene for us so I immediately clocked the crowd and noted that they were probably median late 20s to mid 30s so as usual I was still on the older side, UGH. Also, I didn’t get the memo that the color of the night was BROWN and OLIVE and TAN.

I never fit in anywhere I go but that’s OK. At least I’m not Henry and being mistaken for security at every show.

Seriously. Also, I bring him so he can carry my merch.

 

Greet Death was 10/10, better inside than outside at Riot Fest (and they were INCREDIBLE at Riot Fest!), moody, electric, shoe-gazey, flawless and haunting vocals that got under my skin. I think Henry will agree with all of this and that they’re our current obsession.

Also, the crowd was into it while still being chill. I liked the crowd. Usually there is that ONE PERSON but not on this night.

Originally, we were going to just stick around for a few minutes of AJJ but honestly, the vibes were so good overall that we stayed for the whole show and it was the right choice. Spirit is such a good venue with amazing pizza, so after Greet Death, we moved all the way to the back by the bar and ate some pizza at a standing table.

We like each other these days. It’s nice, lol.

Henry was like, “YAY! WE CAN STAND IN THE BACK! LET’S GOOOO!” Usually I will go into shows saying, “I don’t need to be close, we can chill in the back” but then I get there and I’m like “barricade or GTFO.” But I was happy to be close for Greet Death and then let the AJJ fans take my spot near the stage.

It’s been a while since I went to a show where I was only moderately familiar with the headliner so it was nice to enjoy the music while people-watching for once.

AND DID I MENTION THE PIZZA. Yes, I know I did, and now I’m mentioning it again because Spirit really nails it on the pizza front.

 

Then I basically spent the rest of the night taking pictures of the disco ball and observing the couple in front of us who were super PDA and then suddenly started fighting and the woman portion of the duo went and sulked against a wall. I literally could NOT imagine what initiated this because they were totally in love one second, and then she got excited when AJJ announced that they were singing the third song in a love song trilogy about wanting to be a dog and she was like “yay” and started singing it and then looked at him and he didn’t do something or DID do something, I don’t know, but her faced IMMEDIATELY morphed into a dark and scowling landscape and then he took two giant steps away from her?? And then he turned and walked FULLY away from her?

I kind of wish I was the type of blatant Nebby Debby that has the audacity to pry into a stranger’s life. You know, just sidle up next to some rando’ like, “‘sup, I couldn’t help but notice….” Speaking of Debby, my actual friend Debby would probably have no problem whatsoever doing that.

Also speaking of, this reminds me of a Reel I just saw where some lady was recalling her recent BAD HAIRCUT where she went to a new stylist and they were making small talk and the stylist asked her what she was doing later that night and she was like, “My husband is making dinner for me” and the stylist was like, “Oh that’s nice” so she asked the stylist if she has a partner, just trying to keep the small talk going, and the stylist was like, ‘No I’m divorced actually” and the lady was like, “Oh OK how long have you been divorced?” and the stylist snapped, “I don’t think that’s any of your business” and then proceeded to give her a shitty haircut and then BEFORE SHE COULD FIX IT she said, “Actually, I don’t think I can finish this and I think you should leave.”

WHAT THE ACTUAL…

It was such a wild ride.

But yeah, I feel like that’s what would happen to me if I tried to make small talk.

A N Y W A Y.

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After the show, we waited for the crowd to clear out and then we got in line for more merch. I wanted to buy one of their records along with a t-shirt when we first got there but PAPA H was like, “JUST GET THE SHIRT NOW, I AM NOT CARRYING A RECORD AROUND ALL NIGHT.” Ugh.

So, we buy the record and I felt inspired to tell the drummer / merch guy that we had just seen them at Riot Fest and of course I stuttered when saying it even though I rehearsed it in my head while in line, because my nervous adrenaline turns my tongue into a fucking mattress company balloon guy.

He was super nice though and matched my nervous energy, honestly. We started to leave and Henry was like, “YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED THEM TO SIGN IT” because one of the singers was also in the room talking to someone. I considered it and then decided against it. I wasn’t in a talky mood and that takes ENERGY from me.

Henry got super crazy about it though and grabbed the record from me. “I’LL DO IT THEN!” he said, marching back to the merch table. This is what happens when Henry and I now share a band, I guess.

The drummer (Jim) was super nice and brought out a silver Sharpie. I was satisfied with just the one signature but then Henry goes, “THE OTHER GUY WAS JUST HERE,” and Jim goes, “Oh he’ll be back! He went to get some t-shirt boxes.”

THE OTHER GUY?!!? He was referring to the guitarist, Eric. It was just a Henry thing to say though.

We just stood there awkwardly and one of the security ladies was like, “DO YOU GUYS NEED SOMETHING???” because she CLEARLY wanted everyone out so she could leave. Henry was like, “WE ARE WAITING FOR SOMEONE” like we’re fucking VIPs or something, but I got super nervous about this and hissed, “I’M LEAVING!” to him. I don’t know, there was a vibe shift and I felt super uncomfortable standing there.

On my way out, one of the singers, Harper, was coming in with her suitcase so I was like, “Oh great, Henry is going to accost her next,” so I hurried up and left.

I was outside in the cold for about 10 minutes, imagining so many scenarios of Henry being in the way, saying weird things, etc. when HE CAME OUT WITH HARPER. He looked at me, smiled, and motioned for me to follow them.

“Are you with him? I’m Harper!” she said, and Henry looked SO SMUG. She was taking us on a wild goose chase to find the remaining two members of her band so Henry could get AUTOGRAPH COMPLETION.

HE IS ACTUALLY SO EMBARRASSING.

Harper—still rolling her suitcase with her!!!—led us into the lower level of Spirit, where Logan and Seth were finishing up their drinks at a booth in the restaurant. She told them we saw them at Riot Fest and that we were trying to get everyone to sign the record, then she realized she left the Sharpie upstairs at the merch table and left us to stand there awkwardly with them and I wanted to die. I don’t know what my problem is—all of these years doing this shit and I still have the hardest time conversing with bands. I know, I know, they’re just people! I’m people! He’s people! She’s people! We’re people! But I just turn into this basic cardboard cut-out of myself and say the most obvious things.

We did talk about Riot Fest a little bit at least so there was that.

Then Harper returned (oh btw Henry was excited to tell me that when they introduced themselves, she said, “Oh! We’re the Hs!” So he probably wrote about that in his secret diary later that night—OH SNAP THIS WOULD HAVE MADE SUCH A GREAT MEHOOVER LIVEJOURNAL POST!!) with the Sharpie, we collected the last 2 signatures, I apologized for the hassle (of course they said, ‘Oh no, no hassle!’ but bro, I hate bothering people especially when some of them are trying to enjoy a post-show drink and others are literally dragging a suitcase around preparing to leave for the next destination.

Super appreciative that they were all so kind and I really love their music SO MUCH so even though Henry made this such an ordeal, I guess I’m glad he wearing his Ambitious pants that night because now this record is that much more special.

Oh! And Harper talked to us about the Penguins because she was watching the game and said we lost in a shootout which I didn’t even know because I deleted the app to make room on my phone, and she also said her girlfriend is an Avalanche fan and I feel like I will now associate the Avalanche with Greet Death forever because that is how my brain works.

Hopefully Chooch cherishes this one day when he inherits it.

Yeah, go listen to Greet Death, you guys! I can’t wait to see them again (and NOT hassle them!).

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