February 2nd, 2001

the Rave with White Knuckle Trip, Relative Ash, and Downset

Bill, Nate, and Kevin remembered us from December 14th.

Anyway, I went with Chelsea again and we got there two hours early again! We ran into Kevin right after getting there and we went inside with him. He wasn’t feeling very well that night, but he was still just as sweet as ever. We watched Kevin string his bass and watched them warm up. It was kind of like a private little show for us, only we had to stand on the other side of a window. Then, Nate came over by the door and we chatted with him for a little while. Then, Bill came over and we begged for him to take off his hat since we had never seen him without it on. He said “no”, but after some more begging he promised that he would later. So then, after a little while, we were let in and got front center again! A couple other friends came at that point, so that was cool. The show kicked ass like always. The pit for the opening acts was wicked. I thought I’d never survive to see Factory 81, but I did! I got some pictures of the guys when they were setting up. The crowd was really wicked for Factory 81, but most Factory 81 fans are really great and kept asking if we were ok. The band kept looking at us with concern on their faces. It’s good to know that they are concerned about us getting hurt. Anyway, When the show was over Andy came to the front of the stage to give his drumstick away and I grabbed it. But then this guy tried to take it from me. So I screamed for Chelsea to help. She ended up getting it. Then we left the area to go and hang out with the guys. We bumped into Andy, and we told him the story about how we got the drumstick. Then, another fan that was nearby spoke up and said, “Those are the girls who took it.” So we huddled around it so it wouldn’t be stolen. Andy thought that was pretty funny. Then we asked Andy to sign it on both ends so we could it in half. But he said that he would give us another one. So we made plans to find him later and get it. Then we walked away. We ran into Kevin and he apologized for being cranky, but we told him that he hadn’t been cranky. We talked for a little while and then he said that he was going to go backstage and take some meds and rest. He gave us both a hug, then went out the door. We looked for Andy then, and we found him. He gave us the drumstick and signed it just like he had with the other. I have the one we got from the show, Chelsea got the second one. Then we asked where Bill was because he needed to fulfill his promise of taking off his hat. Andy said that Bill was backstage. So we were like can you get him to come out here, but Andy said, why don’t we just come backstage with him. We were just like, “OH YEAH!” We saw Bill on our way to the backstage door, but Andy told us that Bill would be there later so not to worry. Bill did catch up to us, and he took off his hat. He wouldn’t let us take a picture though. They we walked with Bill into this other room where the rest of the band was and like 8 other fans. Everyone but the band was completely quiet. So Chelsea and I broke the silence by taking out the pictures that we had taken in December and showed them to the band. Nate asked us if he could have copies of them. And of course we said yes! SO we told him that the next time he was there we would give them to him. We then gave them hugs and they left. But as Nate was walking away I screamed, “I Love You!” and he screamed back, “I Love You Too.” Then Chelsea and I headed out and towards the car. It was another great night.

-Kat