Went to a GH show, and a SFO show broke out.

This past Saturday morning started out like any other Saturday morning does. Kimberly went to walk with her mom while I fed Cohen his breakfast and we played for a little while. After she got home, I handed the little guy off to her and headed to hockey.

I had no idea that I was about to have quite possibly the best Saturday night of my life.

In between games at hockey, I routinely check my phone. This week was no different. Only this time, I had a text message from Jason (you know...from the Anthem blogs). It stated:

FYI there's gonna be a squad reunion tonight in ATL

WHAT?

(back story)
You may or may not know. I mentioned in a previous blog post that we (members of Anthem) were big fans of Squad Five-O. I may have understated that a bit. Squad Five-O is one of my two absolute, hands-down, favorite bands of all time (the other is Five Iron Frenzy). I first saw Squad when I was seventeen, and over the next 6 years, I saw them about 30-40 more times. No exaggerating. I am really pretty sure I saw them that many times. They broke up about five years ago, and I was pretty sure it was for real over, and I'd never see them again.

Squad Five-O had (at one point) five members. Jeff Fortson sang. His brother John Fortson played bass. Adam Garbinski played guitar. Dave Petersen (formerly of Blaster the Rocketboy) played drums, and Kris Klein played second guitar.

After they broke up, John moved to Orlando and joined a band called Gasoline Heart with Louis Defabrizio. Adam and Dave started their own band. Jeff went back to school.

When Jason and Brent moved to Orlando, they ran into John one night, and they became friends. Jason eventually joined Gasoline heart for a while.

(flash back to present times)
When I called Jason back after his text on Saturday, he said that Gasoline Heart was on their way to play a show in Marietta, and they were picking up Jeff on the way. I later learned that Gasoline Heart was (kind of) breaking up, and this was a last horrah before Louis moved to New York. They had apparently been practicing a few Squad Five-O songs, and were planning on bringing Jeff and playing the SFO songs that night.

Okay, cool, I thought. Even if it's not a full on Squad Five-O lineup, it'll still be nice to see John and Jeff play together...plus I like Gasoline Heart, anyway. This will definitely be a good show.

Kimberly and I dropped Cohen off at my parents' to spend the night, and up to Marietta we went. When we walked into the place (The Local...a bar within another bar), I saw John. Then I saw Jeff. This is really happening!, I thought. Kimberly and I were grabbing a bite to eat within the restaurant part of the place, and we could see through the windows into stage area. I saw Louis. I saw a few other people I recognized. Then I saw...Adam Garbinski? And who's that with him...is that...Dave Petersen?!?!

Holy crap! Squad Five-O is really here!

We ran into a few old friends and caught up with them through the opening act (who, I'm pretty sure, was originally supposed to be the headlining act), and then Gasoline Heart was set to go.

I've seen Gasoline Heart a few times. They're really good. This time was different, though. They were GREAT. When they started playing, I realized that Adam and Dave were actually playing in GH. They weren't in the band in previous times I saw them, but hey, I'm not complaining. They ran through about 7 or 8 songs, then Louis said "Hey Jeff, come on up." He then addressed us and said "We've got a little surprise for you".

Then Squad Five-O played.

We were pressed up against the stage, because there was no way we were going to stand in the back for this one. It was amazing. Squad only played two of their original songs, then they played 3 covers. It was intense, though. I had forgotten why I loved this band so much in the first place! So much energy! So much fun! So much interaction with the crowd! Jeff spent the first song on top of the crowd (there are few times that I feel "crowd surfing" is acceptable, but in my mind, Jeff will ALWAYS be allowed).

I felt like I was 19 again. I acted like I was 19 again. I jumped. I clapped. I screamed. I sang along at the top of my lungs. By the time the show was over, Kimberly and I had both lost our voices.

Since Brent knows John from Orlando, we walked behind the stage when the show was over. We shook hands, exchanged hugs, and took pictures. We were about to leave, and I mentioned to Jeff, "Dude, how old is your daughter now?" He replied "She'll be eleven soon". ELEVEN! I've seen Jeff's daughter once. She was a newborn! We talked a little about the old days. We talked about The Pteradactyl club (where we were first introduced to Squad) and Spudgun (who Squad used to play with all the time).

Then, we were about to leave again. We walked out the back door. Kimberly and Cyndi went back in to go to the bathroom, and John came out and we chatted for a few minutes. When the girls came back, we just stayed out there and talked to John (and Dave showed up and hung out too). We talked about our kids; about how his daughter loves trucks and didn't want him to leave to come play the show today; about how Cohen skipped "mama" and just calls Kimberly "mom". We talked in depth and at length about the plotline and characters of LOST.

Basically, we hung out like we were old friends. And in a way, I guess we were. I never knew them in the past, and they never knew me. I felt like I knew them, though. I have felt like I have known them for the past thirteen years.

I'd like to thank four people in specific for making this possible.

1. Darrel Boyer - He took us to our first Squad Five-O show in December of 1996. Coincidentally, he was at the show this past Saturday night. It was awesome catching up with him.

2. Brent - for meeting John in Orlando. If he didn't know John, I still would have been starstruck that night, and Kimberly and I would have sheepishly walked away after the show, having not talked to my teen idols.

3. Jason - If he wasn't looking out for us, I would have never known that the show was even happening.

4. Kimberly - At first, I was worried she wouldn't be cool with going out late for the show. Fortunately, I neglected to remember that not only does she miss going to shows just as much as I do, she also loves Squad Five-O too. I think she had just as much fun as I did.

Thanks everybody. I'll never forget it.