poster 16- history

march 9th, originally uploaded by rebecca ann rakstad.

Sarah
My first show at the Fireside…
It was the summer before my freshman year in high school, so that would make it summer of 2000. I was 13 years old. I was taking classes at the Art Institute, and I met this guy Andrew who had a Lawrence Arms patch on his bag. He told me he was going to see them at the Fireside Bowl and that I should meet him there. I don’t think he knew I was only 13. I lied to my parents about who I was going with, and took the red line to Fullerton and then took the bus there. When I walked through the bar to get to the show, a guy with a big neck tattoo offered to buy me a beer. He didn't know I was 13 either. There was a guy there who I would later become great friends with who ran a mailing list, I can't remember the name of it though. His name is Bobby, and he went by the moniker JimBobLove. He was really into the fireside and promoting shows there and hanging out with people. I later became his stand-in for the mailing list, taking down people's email addresses to send them the weekly local show list. It was so hot and sweaty inside but nobody cared at all. I remember going to the bathroom and seeing a purple condom in the toilet. Why anyone would have sex in that bathroom is completely beyond me. The show was great, but I never saw or heard from Andrew again.
I get kind of mad when I go by the fireside and it is still there. I wish it was gone, or still as awesome as it used to be.
I was at a Dillinger Escape Plan show where they tore down ceiling panels. I felt like I witnessed history. I felt like every show at the fireside I was witnessing history. And I think I did.