Last night I went down to the Marquee Theatre here in Tempe with my pal Ray.

Motion City Soundtrack was headlining, and while they were great, I didn't go for them.

Anberlin played, too, and as much as I love them, they weren't the reason.


Andrew Hankins's reason, ladies and gentlemen, was Mae. Mae played, and if you've ever talked about music with me, I probably mentioned that Mae was the first band I ever got into of my own volition, and has since been my favorite blah blah blah.. Long story short, the Dave, Rob, Jake, Zach, and Mark have been my heros for 5 years give or take (although Rob and Mark have left the band of their own accord; much love and luck to those guys). Needless to say, I don't get as excited for other bands as I do for Mae. They've got a special place in my rockin heart.

I won't bore you with the reasons why I dig Mae so much and all of that kind of stuff. Their set was stellar, a good mix of songs, many of them my favorites.

Haha I feel like a girl when I say it, but there was a moment where I was singing louder than might have been necessary, and Dave (lead vocals, guitars) gave me this smiling nod like he was saying, "Hey, man. You rock. Sing it." I turned to Ray after that song and said, "Ray.. I just want you to know that this is my peak moment. This is it." Little did I know that the best was yet to come.

Who doesn't love seeing their favorite musicians toss equipment like picks and sticks and whatnot into the crowd? I know I do. However, I also know that I'm very unlucky when it comes to snatching that kind of stuff. Sticks, picks, bottles, towels, etc. flew past me all night, always just out of arm's reach.
Last song.
Last note.
Last look to the crowd.
Dave flips his hand, and I catch a glimmer of green plastic.
It spins and flutters through the air.
This time not to the side or to the front.
To me.
It's like time freezes, and I'm able to look around.
Short scene girls abound.
I think to myself, "No. Contest."
Even so, I leap into the air, arm outstretched.
I think of all of the things that can go wrong.
Everything goes right.
Pick hits palm, fingers close.
Fist full of rock.
I turn and cry out a rejoiceful, "Yes! Yesss! Ahhhh!" to the crowd.
They aren't quite as impressed as I thought they would be.
Who cares?
Not this guy.
That fist stays clamped until Dave signs it later. "Dave. Rock!"
I really like writing like this haha.

Afterward, I spent the first half or so of Motion City talking to the different members of Mae, and I told the new keyboardist, "I don't want to sound like a jackass, but I approve of you. I really think you can bring something good to the band. Seriously, though, I don't mean to be pompous."  He thanked me and signed my Singularity CD book.

I really wanted to talk some to the OG members, though, so here's how those went.

I spoke to the guitarist, Zach, first. While signing my book he asked me if I'm from Tempe, and I told him, "No, actually I'm from Hurricane, WV. The first time I ever saw you guys was there in my church basement not long after you released Destination: Beautiful." Crazy thing is, 5 years ago and all, he remembered. Know why? It was his first time playing with Mae. This night was a major experience for me and my musical interests/outlook from then on. And Zach remembers. So we shake hands, I tell him I'll see him again someday, and I move on.

Next up was Jake, the drummer. While he signed my book, I told him about my first Mae show, and again he remembers for the same reason. This just built me up more and more. I asked for some pointers on getting started playing the drums, and he gave me a lot of great encouragement. Like Zach, we shook hands, and I told him I'll see him again. I snagged a photo with him, and again I moved on.

After a few minutes, the mass crowd around Dave dispersed to go watch Motion City, and I walked over to talk to him. He signed my book, and for the third time I mentioned the concert at Forrest Burdette, and again I get that recognition. I felt like I was seeing old friends again. It was good. I talked to Dave a bit about Rob and Mark leaving the band and about touring. The usual stuff. I shook his hand and walked away, when I realized I forgot. The pick! After taking a photo for some other folks, I hand it to him and ask him to sign it, doodle on it, whatever he likes, and he did just that. It was good. So I caught a photo with the guy myself, and like the other fellas we shook hands, said goodbye, and I promised to see him again.

I swung by the merch booth before we left, and I did something I thought was pretty cool. Mae's merch guy/band assistant/video dude was there, and I asked him to sign my book. He gave me this look like I must be confused and dumb, "I don't sign.. I mean uh.. I'm not in the band." I tell him, "I know. Thanks for the videos." The smile he flashed made my night, and I like to think that I made his.

Funny thing was at the end of all of that, I realized I already owned a copy of Singularity that came signed by all the members. Haha I was still glad I got that one, too, though.

In summary, I love Mae. This is pretty much just for me, but if you're (a. a fan of Mae or (b. a fan of me, I hope you maybe enjoyed this a little.