anything goes; shoulder to shoulder, toe to toe.

It would be far too simple of an endeavor to merely say that it was a 'good concert.' It was far more than that. It was a meeting of the minds; musical interaction at it's finest level. A pure symphony of headbanging, distorted guitars, cheering, and, of course, mosh pits.

This time, it was Anberlin's headlining tour stop at the Gothic Theatre in South Denver. I love that place. It's built perfectly; not only does it sport a quality moshing floor (separating men from mere boys), but it also boasts one of the finest mezzanines I've ever had the priveledge of enjoying. Don't even get me started on how well engineered the acoustics of the theatre are.

The show started with Jonezetta opening. In my opinion, this was a mistake. Jonezetta is far superior to the likes of Bayside, not to mention Meg and Dia. Either way, they played a few awesome songs, my favorite being "Backstabber." I wish they would have played "Communicate." That song is catchier than herpes in a whore house.

Jonezetta was great. I watched their opening act along with that of Meg & Dia from the center of the mezzanine; just behind the sound rack. You know all those fancy lighting effects you see at concerts? It looks really easy to get that kind of show going. You just push buttons to the beat. Hmmm. I suddenly have a new career opportunity in stage lighting!

After Meg & Dia, my roommate and I ventured downstairs to the mosh pit floor. Tim ran into someone he had met eons ago. He runs into her at almost every single concert he goes to. This time, she helped us get closer to the front. This is where the mosh pit took over.

People were doing their usual mosh pit thing. Bouncing around, jumping, and what ever else. I had made it close to the front for a good part of Bayside's set. I was smashed between a huge guy who was obviously there only for Bayside and a kid who looked like he should have been home studying the pypthagorean theorem or working on his myspace page. I suddenly realized that the geek-type kid to my left was not such a fan of my sudden presence at the very freakin' front. I came to a realization about this kid, and maybe for him. Anything goes; shoulder to shoulder, toe to toe.

I wasn't quite all the way to the front. I had a hold of the bar that separates the band from the security guards from the raging crowd. I was thinking that bayside wasn't all that great of a band; they were pretty catchy, but lacked something for me. Not sure what it was. Maybe it was the lead singer's teeth. It looked like they had been layered. They were horribly crooked.

Then the unspeakable happened. The lead singer from bayside jumped out onto the bar that I had previously had my hand on. Immediately, the two men I had been sandwiched between split and I was able to make a grab at it! I was in the freakin' front!

I held my position for the remainder of bayside; and was at the front for the entire Anberlin headlining show. The rest is history; I gave them my all and rocked out as hard as I could for Anberlin's set. Afterwards, I had a chance to meet all of them, and they recognized me as the kid who was going at it the whole FREAKING set and never gave up; they were awesome to be around.

It's my birthday, and I have to go to school. I'm twenty one. I can't wait to go home.