After arriving at the hotel, we went out and got some classic Pittsburgh food. We popped some caffeine pills (and maybe something else, wink wink) and got into our Uber. As we drove to the stadium, it felt like things were starting to go wrong. The weather became gray and cloudy, and it started to rain. This couldn’t possibly be happening, right? We wouldn’t get rained out after waiting a year and a half for this. On top of that, the Pittsburgh rush hour traffic was brutal and we began to run late. The driver, a nice old man who knew the city like the back of his hand, remained calm, but negative thoughts started to creep into my head.

Traffic leading up to the stadium was completely congested, and there was no hope of making it to the gates at a reasonable time. Because of this, our driver had the smart idea of dropping us off early in the middle of traffic. We had to make it across a couple of busy streets on foot, but it was much faster than waiting would have been. 

Reyan and I may have missed the opening band, The Interrupters, but we had barely heard of them anyway (no disrespect, I’m sure they’re great). We settled into our seats, and we were there. We had made it to the Hella Mega Tour, and we were in time to see all three headlining bands. Not only was I seeing a new MLB stadium (only my fourth, I want to see all 30 someday), I was about to see three amazing bands on my birthday, including my favorite of all time. Life was good.

Weezer was the first of the three headliners to take the stage, and they were definitely the band I was least familiar with. Rivers Cuomo and the boys rocked the stage, but I felt like something was missing at first. The music was good, but the crowd wasn’t getting hyped yet. Many people still hadn’t arrived, and the night was still young. At least the weather had cleared up, so we sat back and enjoyed the vibes. 

Then something crazy happened. Weezer began to play their famous cover of Africa by Toto, a song I had gotten into during college. During the song, as Rivers broke into the chorus about blessing the rains in Africa, it began to rain in Pittsburgh. That was the first sign that this was going to be a magical night.

Unfortunately, towards the end of Weezer’s set, it began pouring even more heavily than before. We had to take cover underneath the grandstand, along with most of the people in our section. Once Weezer finished, there was about a 45-minute delay before Fall Out Boy came on, as it continued to pour. Again, genuine worry set in that I wouldn’t get to see my boys in person. 

I ordered a double cocktail, then came back and continued to wait. Finally, even though it was still drizzling, Patrick, Pete, Joe, and Andy took the stage. Reyan stayed dry under the grandstand, but I rushed back out to my seat. No way in hell was rain going to stop me from seeing the guys in the flesh. They opened with “The Phoenix,” followed by “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down.” Even though nobody else in my section was really singing, I sang my goddamn heart out. Why let random people stop me from enjoying this to the fullest? Midway through the set, the rain cleared up and a rainbow came out.

At first, Reyan went in and out from under the grandstand depending on whether he knew the song (despite seeing them five times, he’s not as much of a die-hard Youngblood as I am). When the rain stopped, he stuck around, making me feel less weird about singing by myself. Fall Out Boy finished their set, and although they didn’t play many of their lesser known tracks that I love the most, I was immensely satisfied. No matter what happened from here, the night was a rousing success, and we still had a whole Green Day set to go.