Sum 41 and Simple Plan were 2 bands on Jess’s bucket list. Earlier this year when they announced both of these bands were going to be playing the So What Texas Festival we bought tickets to see them. As soon as we bought our tickets, hotel and flights they announced a whole tour with a Denver date. Even though we had tickets to see them in Texas we decided to also buy tickets for the Denver show.
The day of the Denver show, Jess and I decided to leave a little earlier than usual. Since these bands hadn’t toured in a long time we thought people might show up earlier than usual to line up and we didn’t want to risk not getting a good spot. When we got to the venue, The Fillmore, there were already some people lined up. So I dropped Jess off to get in line while I parked the car and grabbed our chairs for us to sit in while we were in line. At that point we were 5th in line which wasn’t bad. 3 of the people in front of us were together and they weren’t trying to get on the rail, they wanted to be on the balcony rail. Even though we only had 1 person in front of us who was looking to get a spot on the rail in front of the stage we knew there would be VIP’s and early entrance people that would be let in before us. So we thought we would look into upgrading our tickets to either VIP or even just early entrance, however, the show was completely sold out. We weren’t able to upgrade but upon looking closer we actually already had early entrance. I didn’t remember buying that but it was a nice surprise! We moved from the line we were in to the front of the early entrance line. This meant the only people getting in before us was VIP and there looked like there were maybe 50 of them. Knowing not all of them would want to be on a stage rail we felt good about getting a spot for ourselves on the rail.
Once we got past security we rushed in but the rail looked like there weren’t any openings. There were people standing there and holding spots for others which is normal. We walked up and saw this couple that we were talking to outside before the show and they let Jess squeeze in next to them. I was standing behind Jess at that point. As people started filling in the spots people were holding for them it opened a little more room and I was able to squeeze in next to Jess. While we were standing there waiting for the first band to come on stage we saw our friend from Slipknot and Mudvayne, the guy with his daughter. Anyway he works at the Fillmore which we knew and we knew he was going to be working that night. When he saw us he came over and talked to us the whole time. The security guy who was standing in front of us also engaged in our conversation and we kind of made friends with him as well which paid off later. Just before the first band hit the stage the guy we knew from Slipknot tells me. I just have to say you know there’s no smoking in here. Since Mudvayne we have been following each other on Instagram so he knew I did 420 clips and he knew I rolled a bunch of joints just for this show. I think he was in part joking with me and in part being serious if that makes sense. I didn’t end up taking any 420 clips that night but that was mainly due to me drinking more than I expected.
The first band to play was Magnolia Park. I had never heard of them before this show. They put on a good set with lots of energy. I actually enjoyed them quite a bit. They did a whole bit using tortillas from Mission which has factories in Pueblo. They were throwing tortillas out in the crowd. It was funny. They also did a cover of Fall Out Boy’s Sugar Were Going Down. I thought they did a really good job of covering that song. As I said I think they did a good job of warming up the crowd and I wouldn’t mind seeing them again. I also managed to get a guitar pick from the guitarist.
When Simple Plan hit the stage the place was packed in and the crowd was pumped. By this point I was also starting to feel petty buzzed, I had a few shooters and a couple of beers. Even though I only knew 2 of the songs they played, I thought they put on a good set. I really enjoyed the cover song they did by the Killers, Mr Brightside. As I said they put on a great set with lots of energy. I also managed to get a couple of picks from them and a set list thanks to the new security guy we had just made friends with that night. He handed one of the 2 picks I got and the set list which was handed to him by the stage crew. He could have handed that to anyone he wanted but thankfully he gave it to me.
By the time Sum 41 hit the stage I was really buzzed. I had several shooters, I had bought 2 beers and I had 2 other people buy me beers. The first guy who bought me a drink, I was joking with him and he just ended up buying me one. Then the guy who was standing behind us on the rail asked me to hold his spot and he would also buy me a beer. He originally wanted me to go get him a drink and a beer for myself since he knew I was able to leave and make it back to my spot each time. I told him as long as you have a spot its not hard to make it back. So he left and grabbed drinks while I held his spot. When Sum 41 hit the stage as I said I was buzzed. They had a lot of energy however not as much as they did when we saw them in Texas. Denver was of course their last show on the tour so maybe they were just tired and ready to be done. Even though they didn’t have the same energy I still thought they did a great set. Once again I only knew 2 songs but enjoyed the whole show. I managed to get a couple picks from them as well. I tried to get the set list but the security guards wouldn’t let me grab it, which I understood. Again I had a great time and think Jess did too.
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