Britny Goes Home

Ever have so much fun you make yourself sick? Without the help of alcohol?

Probably not. Because that's not a real thing. But, it's the only explanation for why I felt like Actual Death from midnight Sunday night until this morning, despite having a fantastic weekend. Only me.

But, illness and exhaustion aside, it really was a great weekend.

As anyone who is likely to be actually reading this blog post knows, I moved away from my beloved Austin in June. Due to unforeseen financial circumstances, I had to return to where I came from -- the "Big Country," where high school football is more important than anything (though religion's a close second) and the ground frequently catches on fire from the heat.

It's been a smooth transition, for the most part. I have a place to live and a job that my degrees helped me get. I'm trying to still write regularly.

But I miss Austin. I miss the sights and the sounds, the music and the tacos. And I miss my friends.

So any time I get to go home, I'm super stoked.

Thankfully, Mötley Crüe played their last Texas show ever on September 6th in San Antonio and I had tickets. The best reason ever to do anything.

After attending one of my alma mater's football games on Friday night (where I got to see some old friends from high school), I hopped on an early flight out of Abilene on Saturday, to head back to the Capital City. I made it to Austin around noon and Melany picked me up from the airport. On the way to the apartment she shares with Maggie and KaCee, she told me about her nephew being born the night before and we yelled a lot, because that's how we communicate.

My friends are cute.

At the apartment was Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn is an integral part of my closest friend group -- which is literally just her, Maggie, Melany and KaCee (who was tragically missing this weekend, lost to Amarillo) -- and yet we have been in the same place at the same time only three times (approximately) in the last two years. It's a problem. So, I was very excited to see her and be IRL friends, even if it was only for a little over a day.

Once Maggie got off work, the four of us went to get pedicures, which was something I had never done before (I know). I now understand the appeal, but still don't see myself going to get them very often because it takes a lot of time and I like to spend money on even more ephemeral things, like food.

Afterward, we went to Old Navy and we all spent way more money than we needed to. It's what happens when girls get together.

We ate dinner at Snackbar, a place on South Congress that we all like, but that we don't go to too often (it's on the pricey side and, as far as SoCo goes, we're Magnolia people). It was really good as usual, though, especially to me because I hadn't eaten in approximately nine hours.

Our ultimate plan for the night was to attend night two of Quiet Company's "Two Night Stand" at Holy Mountain, a Red River District fixture that is unfortunately closing. Maggie, Melany and Kaitlyn had attended the night before as well.

We went home to get all dolled up and had a brief moment of panic because the apartment complex my buddies live in is apparently IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OUT OF, but we eventually located our Lyft driver and made it downtown -- supported by Melany's DJ-ing the likes of R. Kelly and American icon, Ke$ha (the words "pedicures on our toes" made all the more magnificent by the truth of them).

The Quiet Company/Holy Mountain experience was both wonderful and terrible. Wonderful because Quiet Company is a really great band of really great guys and because their album Tormenter, which they were playing in its entirety, is very good. Terrible because Holy Mountain has no air conditioning and this was Austin, Texas and Quiet Company is quite popular, which means large numbers of people like to attend their shows.

Great band, great guys.

The heat was excruciating and I sort-of felt like I was dying, but it was worth it, in the end because music always is.

We had originally intended to stay out later, but we don't handle being sweaty well and were tired, so instead we went home.

The next morning, Melany had to go meet her new nephew (whose name is Rhett, like Rhett Butler, which is adorable), so Maggie, Kaitlyn and I got lunch without her (out of the Austin things I miss the most, my friends are first, but Torchy's Tacos is a very, very close second). Then Maggie realized that neither Kaitlyn or I had seen Josie and the Pussycats, so she subjected us to that for the next few hours.

Verdict: it is absolutely terrible, in the best way.

At around 4 p.m., I left Austin with my friend, Bryan -- the only person I have met in real life who likes old-school rock bands as much as I do and is not middle-aged -- to head to San Antonio for the Mötley show. On the way, conversations were had about how bad most horror movies and some college classes are, Harry Potter (duh) and the fact that Bryan has not seen the original Lord of the Rings trilogy because he is apparently an alien.

Before the show even started, there were some things about it that made it different than any other Mötley show I'd seen before. First, it was in San Antonio -- the five previous times I've seen them have been in Dallas. Second, I was not with my parents -- either because I am devastatingly lame or because my parents are relentlessly cool, I've seen most concerts with them, including every Mötley show. Third, it was in an arena. Every other time I've seen Motley has been in the same amphitheater, in the middle of the summer. (That one can see their favorite band without slowly dying from a heatstroke never crossed my mind until Sunday. It was a nice change, though I think I might still prefer amphitheaters -- there's a bigger sense of camaraderie, even if the sound isn't necessarily as good). I have actually only seen one other arena show in my life -- Taylor Swift, in 2013.

And finally, this was the last time I would see them. I thought that was true last time, at Show No.5 last July, but it wasn't. I spent that day in a craze of anxiety and excitement and ended it in wracking sobs...only to get another chance to do it all again. Thankfully, I was much more chill this time (sort-of).

The opening band was different than the one I saw last July, but no better. Their frontman is apparently actually a lawyer and is married to Rachael Ray. They played two covers and Bryan made fun of them the whole time.

Alice Cooper was once again amazing. I -- and everyone else who has listened to rock music for most of their lives -- grew up hearing about Cooper and his hyper-theatrical, macabre stage show and he doesn't disappoint. The man is 67 and he looks and sounds exactly like he always has. The snake, the guillotine and the gigantic Frankenstein he "turns into" at some point were just as delightful this second time. All rockstars should aspire to his level.

And then there was Motley, who put on the kind-of last show a fan can only hope for. They sounded really good (even I, with my blind devotion, can admit they don't always. Vince especially is notoriously pitchy and doesn't sing half the words to most of the songs -- something that used to annoy me, but that now I've come to accept and almost even like because it means the crowd carries them). Their lights were extremely well-done. Their dancers are babes. And their stage setup -- twice as insane as it was last summer -- was amazing. This final variation of Tommy Lee's Cruecifly drum-coaster was the coolest thing I've ever seen.

Like, LOL BYE

That's Tommy Lee, upside down, it's fine

And the guys were having fun. The crowd was having fun. I was having fun. And that's the best part of shows. When everyone is genuinely happy to be there, singing along to 30+ year old songs, beaming and shouting and dancing and maybe even crying.

It was a good send-off. I grew up with Mötley Crüe. My love of them goes back so far that I don't even have a first memory of hearing them. Their songs, as cheesy as they sometimes are and as cheesy as it is to say, are a part of the stuff that led to me being myself. It's kind-of hard for me to explain it, but suffice it to say, I owe these morons a lot. I'm so lucky I got one last chance to say goodbye.

All Crüe show photos include too many lights and too much fire. 

It's unfortunate that the hours that followed were mostly filled with me being super sick and anxious (for no reason, wtf self), a 6AM flight home and a level of exhaustion I had not yet achieved in my life. Thankfully, along the way, I had a good friend by my side. I may not be friends with a lot of people, but the ones I find are the best of the best.

Overall, it was a grand-slam way to close out year 22. I'll be 23 tomorrow, which is insane to me, and I look forward to what the new year could bring, even if I'm not exactly where I'd like to be. I've still got the people that matter and I think they'll still like me, even though it's the year no one's supposed to.

Until next time, ATX. Come at me, 23.