DC101 Chili Cook-off

On Saturday, Kyle and I went to the DC101 Chili Cook-off. For those that are unfamiliar, it is a benefit for the National Kidney Foundation, sponsored by DC101. There (obviously) is a chili cook-off component to the event, but it is also a big outdoor concert. This year the scheduled acts were Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Puddle of Mudd, Papa Roach, Shinedown, Third Eye Blind, and The Offspring. I got the tickets to the show from my parents for my birthday. The concert took place on one of the parking lots for RFK stadium, which is where DC United plays, and where the Redskins and Nationals used to play.

The forecast was highs in the low 80's and scattered thunderstorms. It was overcast all morning, but then as soon as we stepped out of the car around 1:00, the sun came out. It was pretty hot! I got awfully sunburned too. Stupid me, not putting on sunscreen!

We arrived just at the end of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' set. Since there was no band on stage, we walked around the chili competition area. Each team has a booth set up where you can sample their chili for a small donation, which gets turned over to the NKF. The team that collects the most money wins "People's Choice." There are also other winners who the judges choose.

Puddle of Mudd was up next. I thought they were great. They sang all of their hits, including Control, Blurry, Drift and Die, She Hates Me, Away from Me, and Psycho. Then they busted out Summer Lovin' from Grease and The Joker by the Steve Miller Band.

After Puddle of Mudd, we headed to the concessions to buy some water. We waited in line for almost 20 minutes! And, of course the water was way overpriced at $4 a bottle, but it was hot, so what cha gonna do?

Next, Papa Roach took the stage. Kyle said that they didn't sound too good, but to me, they mostly just scream, so how much worse could they sound? They sang Last Resort, Scars, and Lifeline, amongst others. Although you can't really see it, they were on stage in this picture.

The next band to perform was Shinedown. I like their new song Second Chance, which they sang. The only other song that I recognized was 45.

I decided that I am too old for these types of events. There is just too much weed smoking, drunk idiots, and people wearing clothes that they shouldn't be wearing. I saw way too many guys with their shirts off, who definitely should have kept them on. And there were a few too many dudes with pierced nipples. Ew.

Kyle and I

After Shinedown was finished, an announcement was made that "severe" weather was moving through the area. While we couldn't hear exactly what was said, the gist was that everyone was supposed to leave the concert grounds and would be readmitted with their ticket and that the show would go on once the weather had passed. Kyle and I decided to hang around at first. But then we heard someone ask an event staffer what was going on, and he said that the weather report said hail was coming and that once it started, it would be hailing for over an hour. Nothing was even happening yet at this point, and we didn't feel like waiting around for the hail to start and then standing around in the hail for an hour, so we left.

I was pretty bummed that we missed Third Eye Blind and The Offspring. Just as we reached our car, it started raining. It never did hail, but we were driving back towards home, so maybe it did down in DC. Grr. Stupid weather.

Kyle and I stopped at Don Pablo's on the way home and had a nice dinner, complete with an appetizer, drinks, and dessert.

Meanwhile, Peyton spent the day and night with my parents. They had fun playing together. Thanks guys for watching him! And thanks for the tickets.