Post by Draconis on May 22, 2003 12:42:33 GMT -5
We arrived at the concert about 6:20 PM (Doors were set to open at 6:00). The line had not even started to move yet.
Around 6:30, we finally managed to work our way in, after a brief hollering session back and forth with Paul across the parking lot, and having several people offer us upwards of $75 each for our tickets. The merch tables were slammed, so I gave up looking for anything there.
Worked our way into the club (lay out is open floor in front of a stage, several tables and seats on a raised level behind the floor, and a bar behind that against the back wall... second level was cinema seating above the bar, and several tables down the side walls... the upper side level was divided in two half way across, and the other half was dedicated as the VIP seating.
Met up with a couple of nice people on the floor on our way to the stage (the crowd was mostly filling up on booze and mingling at the time, so getting to the rail required no effort at all). Find out the one girl had NEVER been on the rail before, and the guy was former staff to the club, and could get free drinks all night. We spend most of the rest of the night watching out for her.
< snip boring banter about general junk >
First to take the stage was Reach 454. Not bad, as far as opening acts go. The lead singer was... umm... loud. And vulgar. VERY vulgar. An example. "I want to see all you b****'s and a******'s out there raise your middle finger, and yell out F*** YOU!!!"
I'm sure you get the idea. That was about all I could understand from the guy all night. Bad sound quality from his mike... not to mention the fact that it looked oddly like he was trying to eat it.
It was during this show that some "trouble" started. Some punk decided that he wanted the spot that myself and the three others I was standing with were currently occupying. So he started to push. So we started to push back. So he pushed some more, tried to hook my foot out from under me, and gave me a few cheap shot headbuts. Then his girlfriend (I think it was a girl, anyway) got in on it... tossing insults and junk. Cue my trademark concert line... "There's an as**ole in every crowd, and a di**head stuffed up it every time... why don't you two sort out which of you fits which profile and f*** off!"
Swing time. Step back, he misses by a good half a foot, stumbles forward and starts to go down. Can I help it if my hand slips and cr*cks the back of his head as he starts to drop? Well, anyway, he got carried out, yelling obscenities the whole time. His girlfriend vanished into the mass of people, and I didn't see her again till a little later, when I had a better view of the floor.
Reach 454 finishes up, we chat some... hear that 12 Stones is next on stage. I work my way right onto the rail with some creative trading ("I'll give you a 12 Stones DVD and 2 stickers if you trade me spots for the next set"). Paul takes the stage, and does his trademark tongue sticking, robot dancing bits. AWESOME set. Tossing water into the crowd, got everyone jumping, dancing, singing, screaming... typical 12 Stones show. They even featured one of their new songs from the upcoming album, "Shadows". I guess he (Paul) spotted me somewhere during the set, cause once they are done, I get a message to leave the pit. I'm thinking "oh sh*t, that punk ratted me out or something", but head over the rail... security takes my arm and says "we got a message that you're to head over that way" and they point down the stage to the right. Okay, this ain't so bad (as the "infirmary" is to the left). I head down, and here's Paul. Spent the Juliana Theory set backstage with Paul and them. Met up with Amy, very briefly near the end of Juliana Theory (she was getting ready for the show).
Now, just for David and Toni... Amy was wearing this gray-white mini-dress, and white nylons. The dress itself was shredded up to waist level, and she had on this mini-underskirt to help hide things. Hair was pulled up and glittered, and had a tiara-like headband to hold it up. It wasn't braided or anything... she just kind of had it hairsprayed into a semi-vertical fashion, and let it fall where it wanted. Definately a sight I will NEVER forget (pictures are pending getting them to a developer).
Hung out with Paul and Aaron (the drummer for 12 Stones), talked about his parents, and the tour, and such. Joked a bit about the record company, and commented on several of the fans (by this point, we were in the VIP seating on the upper level, and could see everything... right down to the one topless chick in the pit, and the one blonde that may as well have been topless). Mentioned that there were a lot of people "dressed up" down there, that really should never dress up.
This was when Amy took the stage. I swear, the place actually shook. Ben was standing to the far end of the stage (the left), Amy to the center. The danced around a bit to get the crowd going, then *bang* they blast into "Going Under". As the song finishes, you hear a few people in the crowd yelling very unflattering things to Amy about how she was wearing a bit too much, and Paul just kinda started to giggle. They blast off a few other songs, then play one from their old album (my mind is still a haze, so tick off if you're after a complete set list or something). Lights dim, and Amy walks to center. Says "I know what you're all here for... and I'm sure those of you who are here for the full show still want this song!", and Ben starts off... "Bring Me To Life"... which I find somewhat odd, as Paul is still in the chair next to me. He didn't even do his parts for it. They had the bassist do it instead... which wasn't THAT bad, but it still wasn't Paul. Crowd goes wild, Amy and Ben thank everyone, and wander off stage. Lights don't come back on, so you know right away that they are coming back out.
People in the crowd start chanting various things, from "USA" to "We love Amy" and the sort. Amy comes out alone, and sits at a piano at center stage. Starts up on "My Immortal" all alone. The crowd is in total silence for the first time all night for this... it was hauntingly amazing with just her voice and the piano. Slowly, as Amy sings "I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone", in the shadows at the back of the stage, you see Ben come out, and walk to her left... crowd starts to get a little louder... he thrashes on the guitar and the final chorus to the song blasts out.... only to stop just as abruptly for the final piece of the song.
They decide the crowd wants one more, so they close with Tourniquet... leaving them all rocking in the pit, and gasping for any form of oxygen they can get (talk about a surge forward when she started this last song...).
That was when we got to head out to the busses. At this point, I guess Amy decided that with the sweating inside, and the fact that it was 30 degrees outside by the busses, and a breeze, she didn't want to come back out and meet with the fans... said that if she got sick, it would ruin the whole tour. So Paul and I joked a bit about it, and went to meet some of the fans.. it was kind of cool... several of the people standing there thought I was actually in the band (and oddly enough, Paul never corrected any of them... half the autographs he signed, he passed it over to me after he signed). We chatted a bit more about his parents, and discussed the Flint show (sorry to anyone looking for free tickets, but the band already gave out their 10 free tickets each per show for the full tour).
All in all, it was an awesome show, and I loved every minute of it. Sorry for the length, but this was, without a doubt, ranking amongst one of my best concert experiences to date.
Oh yes... and again, just for David and Toni... it's in the mail as soon as I can get myself to the Post Office.
Around 6:30, we finally managed to work our way in, after a brief hollering session back and forth with Paul across the parking lot, and having several people offer us upwards of $75 each for our tickets. The merch tables were slammed, so I gave up looking for anything there.
Worked our way into the club (lay out is open floor in front of a stage, several tables and seats on a raised level behind the floor, and a bar behind that against the back wall... second level was cinema seating above the bar, and several tables down the side walls... the upper side level was divided in two half way across, and the other half was dedicated as the VIP seating.
Met up with a couple of nice people on the floor on our way to the stage (the crowd was mostly filling up on booze and mingling at the time, so getting to the rail required no effort at all). Find out the one girl had NEVER been on the rail before, and the guy was former staff to the club, and could get free drinks all night. We spend most of the rest of the night watching out for her.
< snip boring banter about general junk >
First to take the stage was Reach 454. Not bad, as far as opening acts go. The lead singer was... umm... loud. And vulgar. VERY vulgar. An example. "I want to see all you b****'s and a******'s out there raise your middle finger, and yell out F*** YOU!!!"
I'm sure you get the idea. That was about all I could understand from the guy all night. Bad sound quality from his mike... not to mention the fact that it looked oddly like he was trying to eat it.
It was during this show that some "trouble" started. Some punk decided that he wanted the spot that myself and the three others I was standing with were currently occupying. So he started to push. So we started to push back. So he pushed some more, tried to hook my foot out from under me, and gave me a few cheap shot headbuts. Then his girlfriend (I think it was a girl, anyway) got in on it... tossing insults and junk. Cue my trademark concert line... "There's an as**ole in every crowd, and a di**head stuffed up it every time... why don't you two sort out which of you fits which profile and f*** off!"
Swing time. Step back, he misses by a good half a foot, stumbles forward and starts to go down. Can I help it if my hand slips and cr*cks the back of his head as he starts to drop? Well, anyway, he got carried out, yelling obscenities the whole time. His girlfriend vanished into the mass of people, and I didn't see her again till a little later, when I had a better view of the floor.
Reach 454 finishes up, we chat some... hear that 12 Stones is next on stage. I work my way right onto the rail with some creative trading ("I'll give you a 12 Stones DVD and 2 stickers if you trade me spots for the next set"). Paul takes the stage, and does his trademark tongue sticking, robot dancing bits. AWESOME set. Tossing water into the crowd, got everyone jumping, dancing, singing, screaming... typical 12 Stones show. They even featured one of their new songs from the upcoming album, "Shadows". I guess he (Paul) spotted me somewhere during the set, cause once they are done, I get a message to leave the pit. I'm thinking "oh sh*t, that punk ratted me out or something", but head over the rail... security takes my arm and says "we got a message that you're to head over that way" and they point down the stage to the right. Okay, this ain't so bad (as the "infirmary" is to the left). I head down, and here's Paul. Spent the Juliana Theory set backstage with Paul and them. Met up with Amy, very briefly near the end of Juliana Theory (she was getting ready for the show).
Now, just for David and Toni... Amy was wearing this gray-white mini-dress, and white nylons. The dress itself was shredded up to waist level, and she had on this mini-underskirt to help hide things. Hair was pulled up and glittered, and had a tiara-like headband to hold it up. It wasn't braided or anything... she just kind of had it hairsprayed into a semi-vertical fashion, and let it fall where it wanted. Definately a sight I will NEVER forget (pictures are pending getting them to a developer).
Hung out with Paul and Aaron (the drummer for 12 Stones), talked about his parents, and the tour, and such. Joked a bit about the record company, and commented on several of the fans (by this point, we were in the VIP seating on the upper level, and could see everything... right down to the one topless chick in the pit, and the one blonde that may as well have been topless). Mentioned that there were a lot of people "dressed up" down there, that really should never dress up.
This was when Amy took the stage. I swear, the place actually shook. Ben was standing to the far end of the stage (the left), Amy to the center. The danced around a bit to get the crowd going, then *bang* they blast into "Going Under". As the song finishes, you hear a few people in the crowd yelling very unflattering things to Amy about how she was wearing a bit too much, and Paul just kinda started to giggle. They blast off a few other songs, then play one from their old album (my mind is still a haze, so tick off if you're after a complete set list or something). Lights dim, and Amy walks to center. Says "I know what you're all here for... and I'm sure those of you who are here for the full show still want this song!", and Ben starts off... "Bring Me To Life"... which I find somewhat odd, as Paul is still in the chair next to me. He didn't even do his parts for it. They had the bassist do it instead... which wasn't THAT bad, but it still wasn't Paul. Crowd goes wild, Amy and Ben thank everyone, and wander off stage. Lights don't come back on, so you know right away that they are coming back out.
People in the crowd start chanting various things, from "USA" to "We love Amy" and the sort. Amy comes out alone, and sits at a piano at center stage. Starts up on "My Immortal" all alone. The crowd is in total silence for the first time all night for this... it was hauntingly amazing with just her voice and the piano. Slowly, as Amy sings "I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone", in the shadows at the back of the stage, you see Ben come out, and walk to her left... crowd starts to get a little louder... he thrashes on the guitar and the final chorus to the song blasts out.... only to stop just as abruptly for the final piece of the song.
They decide the crowd wants one more, so they close with Tourniquet... leaving them all rocking in the pit, and gasping for any form of oxygen they can get (talk about a surge forward when she started this last song...).
That was when we got to head out to the busses. At this point, I guess Amy decided that with the sweating inside, and the fact that it was 30 degrees outside by the busses, and a breeze, she didn't want to come back out and meet with the fans... said that if she got sick, it would ruin the whole tour. So Paul and I joked a bit about it, and went to meet some of the fans.. it was kind of cool... several of the people standing there thought I was actually in the band (and oddly enough, Paul never corrected any of them... half the autographs he signed, he passed it over to me after he signed). We chatted a bit more about his parents, and discussed the Flint show (sorry to anyone looking for free tickets, but the band already gave out their 10 free tickets each per show for the full tour).
All in all, it was an awesome show, and I loved every minute of it. Sorry for the length, but this was, without a doubt, ranking amongst one of my best concert experiences to date.
Oh yes... and again, just for David and Toni... it's in the mail as soon as I can get myself to the Post Office.
