Tornados and tacos.

Milwaukee had one of the above nouns tonight but not the other. Write down your guess before proceeding, then see if you were right.

Today, the AP Tour rolled into Milwaukee, Wisconsin for what I thought was one sold-out show, but what ended up being three shows at once, due to the Rave having something like 2049 different stages within their giant (and haunted) venue. As people waited for the AP Tour to kick off in the main room, bands were playing in smaller rooms on either side at the same time. Unfortunately, we had nothing to do with these bands being on the bill, so we couldn't control their quality (or lack thereof). I heard a Blink-182 ripoff (who actually covered "Rock Show" -- poorly, I might add), a New Found Glory ripoff, A Justin Pierre-fronting-New Found Glory ripoff... It was not an enjoyable few hours.

During this time, the weather started to get really, really crappy outside. I found out later in the evening from a security guard that there was actually a tornado warning while the show was in full swing. Glad they decided to let us know!

(For those keeping score, this means that tornados won over tacos. I tried walking to Taco Bell for a quick bite during the Rocket Summer's set around 9:30 and their dining room closed at 9 -- curses!)

We did a signing with Sonny tonight, and I met a guy from Dallas who was celebrating his 21st birthday. His girlfriend asked him what he wanted for the big day, and he said all he wanted was to see Sonny, so she bought two plane tickets and the two of them flew to Milwaukee strictly for the AP Tour. How insane is that? Big props to the couple for going the extra mile (literally).

Tonight's crowd might have been the most energetic I've seen on tour thus far. Tons of sing-alongs, pogoing and crowd-surfing kept everyone in good spirits, and i had the distinct pleasure of meeting a ton of awesome people at the AP table, including my new best friend Claire (who gave me a friendship bracelet she initially made for Bryce Avary -- sorry, dude, but you snooze, you lose!), some former students of my mom (who used to teach high-school english) and a few dedicated blog readers (big ups to all of you!). Even though the weather outside was frightful, the crowd was so delightful.

I just made that up, by the way. I should turn that into a song sometime and make a million dollars. Ah, dreams...

The chilly, windy night came to a close with Shawn and Jon from the Matches doing a quick acoustic set outside our bus for 30 or so fans who had gathered. They only got out one song, "The Jack Slap Cheer," before the venue security asked them to stop as apparently two guys playing acoustic guitars was making too much noise for the neighbors (yet a gigantic rock show that can be heard a block away is totally fine). Either way, it was a fun way to wrap up the evening.

As a postscript, I made a run across the street to a convenience store where I found the Holy Grail of beverages: Arizona Fruit Punch.

Seriously, that is the best shit ever, and I can rarely find it in stores. If you bring Arizona Fruit Punch (that flavor specifically) to the show, you will become my new best friend instantly. For real. I'll even throw in a free subscription to AP.

(That's a little joke, by the way -- everyone who comes to the AP Tour is entitled to a free subscription. But if you bring me Arizona Fruit Punch, I'll make your subscription even freer. Whatever that means.)

All right, time to finish watching Alpha Dog then hit the sack. Columbus tomorrow!

PS - Shawn has promised me he will sing "What Katie Said" in Spanish on the final show of the tour in Cleveland next week. Bring your cameraphones to help record a part of history!