Ughhhh this is the SADDEST, most DESPAIR-FILLED, EMO post EVER.
I just got back from a weekend in Las Vegas, which was supposed to have been spent moping around in the best way — at the When We Were Young Festival.
INSTEAD, the festival was canceled, and I ended up wasting thousands of dollars moping around in the WORST WAY — not at a music festival, but instead, crying and walking along the Las Vegas Strip wasting away a day doing practically nothing.
IT WAS AWFUL AND I AM SO LEGIT DEVASTATED.
I bought tickets the very second they went on sale back in January. I was a HUGE emo kid in high school, and some of my favorite bands — My Chemical Romance, The Used, Senses Fail, Saosin, A Day to Remember, Silverstein, etc. — were headlining. Like… I could NOT buy tickets fast enough.
I even bit the bullet and spent $700 to stay at Circus Circus since it was right next door to the festival entrance.
DUMB RANDI, DUMB.
We got into Vegas Friday night and met my sister and friends at TopGolf for drinks and fun.
Then, Ryan and I checked into our hotel room (like I said, we stayed at Circus Circus due to its proximity), and we were in the room next to my sister Kelly, and friends Kayla and Jake.
Then we walked to a nearby Thai restaurant for dinner and went to sleep early(ish) to prepare for the festival.
The next morning, we all got dressed and ready and walked outside to head to the festival only to find out while heading over that it was canceled. Due to wind.
DEVASTATED. SO DAMN DEVASTATED.
We spent two hours trying to cop tickets for Sunday before they skyrocketed to $3,000 a piece. Which, no thanks.
Then we went to wait in line for brunch at Zeffer’s.
Then we spent the next, like, six hours chasing all the makeup shows that artists were hosting. We walked over to the Strat for the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus/ Armor for Sleep/ Hawthorne Heights show only to find that even though it was advertised as “free,” the Strat was closing entrance to anyone without a room at the Strat.
That, and there were about 40,000 sad emos trying to fit into a venue designed for 300. Which… not happening.
So, we ended up spending two hours waiting for beer, and then two hours drinking the beer once we got it.
Then we finally just ended up taking the L. We debated between heading to a Golden Knights game or a BattleBots filming, but decided to just head up to the Arts District to go to a Star Wars-themed bar since we weren’t sure we’d be able to get to either of the above options on time…
…and also because I couldn’t bring myself to spend hundreds more dollars on anything, at that point.
At least the bar was cool.
The bar was at least nice enough to play emo music/ music videos all night, and a good 90 percent of the bargoers were all festival rejects.
Probably the only time in my life I’ll be in a bar surrounded by people screaming the words to “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” along with me, tbh. That was at least cool.
Ryan and I stayed at the bar until about midnight, and then we walked back to our hotel.
We stopped at the Strat to use the bathroom along the way, where I was then sexually harassed by some creep in a Metallic shirt, which was great. Just the cherry on top of the mostly-shitty weekend.
We got back to our hotel, went to sleep, woke up Sunday morning and couldn’t get the hell out of Vegas fast enough.
Except, oh. Sunday festival logistics had the entry line winding around our hotel’s parking garage, and security had barricaded the garage, so we spent our morning literally barricaded in the Circus Circus parking garage while festival and hotel security tried to figure out how to get us out.
Yet ANOTHER cherry on top.
Anyway, the “silver lining,” I guess, is that 1. I’m getting refunded the original like, $700 I spent on the General Admission tickets for me and Ryan, and 2. We’re driving distance from Vegas, so I spontaneously bought two GA tickets for next weekend on Stubhub for like $420.
Honestly holding my breath, though, because I don’t want to get my hopes up again. I suppose I should be grateful that I didn’t spend money on a flight, and that I’m driving distance and can try again next weekend — and that there even is a third scheduled show for next weekend — but man. I’m so fucking bummed and salty about the colossal waste of money, the colossal waste of money YET TO COME (already crying at spending ANOTHER $700 at Circus Circus) the sheer tone-deaf response from festival organizers about the cancellation (I booked my hotel room through the festival, and wasn’t able to cancel my second night for a refund) and the fact that if I do make it through the festival front gates next weekend, it won’t be with the friends I’d originally planned to spend the festival with.
Just so much suck on so many levels.
This was also my first visit to Las Vegas (I’m not really a fan of gambling, drinking, nightclubbing, spending money or staying up past 8 p.m., so not really a Vegas-kinda-person) and the whole weekend just completely soured me on the city.
