mood spelled backwards is doom: Elated
Noise: Today - Smashing Pumpkins
So last night. The night of a Monday night. The 24th of the month of September, in the year 2004 AC or is is AD, of even CE. It was a cold night. A rainy night. A cloudy night. Not really a cloudy night until it got dark. However, regardless of weather, percipitation, temperature or light cover, it was the night of the Smashing Pumpkins concert.
After some co-ordinating between myself, Kev and Mike, things were set. I was to leave work as soon after 5 as possible, and meet up with Mike downtown, and then make our way to meet up with Kev at the PNE to get in the line up and wait for entrance.
I left work a few minutes early and went downtown. I was originally supposed to meet Mike on Broadway and Main, but that changed to Main and Hastings after we figured out it was just one bus away from there. I got to Main and Hastings before Mike. Mike called and said he would be a few minutes late, so I decided to walk arround. Walking arround Main and Hastings made me think about Downtown Jo'burg. Same stink and dreariness. It was somewhat depressing, but brought back happy memories. Sarcasm was in that last sentence. After walking through the dirty and and littered streets, I went ot Hastings to wait for Mike while doing people watching among the crack addled and strung out and strung up.
Mike arrived and we hopped on our bus heading down Hastings. Mike called Kev and he got on our bus further down.
We got to the PNE and saw what didn't seem to be a long line up. I had to get Kev's ticket from willcall, and walked around the line that at first didn't seem that long but turned out to turn around a few corners. I got the ticket and went back to the back of the line up and informed my friends that the line up was in fact a few hundred or so people long. This would not dampen our spirits though. In fact, the only dampening going on was just the rain falling down.
The line got moving and soon we were inside. Getting closer to the gate, I was trying to figure out the best way to conceal my camera. Why did I even bring a camera? Well, I always think before a concert that I would love to bring a camera but they always say no photographs, and if I bring a camera it will get confiscated. Then I go to a concert and everyone I am standing next to is taking pictures. Well dammit, now it was my time to take pictures.
I put my camera behind my wallet. I got patted down. The security pokes at my pocket and asks what is in my pocket? Thinking quick I say that it is for my cell phone. Good enough. I went through.
We went into a mid size stadium. Bleachers arround, and boards on the floor. The stage was set up with pyramid shaped lights above it. It looked pretty cool. We found a spot on the floor and sat down. Kei and Robin appeared out of nowehere to say hi. None of us even knew that they were at the concert, but there they were. They sat down with us and we chatted. I noticed that Robin had a backpack so I asked if I could put my hoodie in there and he said sure. We agreed that if we got splitten up, I would phone after the concert and meet up with them so I could reclaim my hoodie. Mike and Kev got up to get some food and drink. Shortly after they left, the opening band came on.
The opening band was the Bravery. I remember hearing that they were playing with Ash a few years back, and how much cooler it would have been if it was Ash opening for the Pumpkins. The Bravery played a bit. I wasn't to taken in by them. They were okay. Nothing great. We managed to get pushed to the front where were getting squashed and Kei was fearing for her life.
The band finished their shortish set and then the real pushing started. People trying to get to the front. People trying to get to the center. People pushing back the people pushing to the front. I was just going with the flow of the crowd wave ebbing like a tide of bodies pushing back and fro. Robin and Kei couldn't take the pressure and decided to head to the bleachers.
It was about then that I started getting calls on my cell phone. Mike was calling asking where I was, not like I could really hear him. There were "put hands in the air" and "jump up and down" but nothing worked. I decided to move back so I could actually put my hands in the air and jump up and down.
I got to a nice spot and phoned Mike and told him to try find me. I screamed out "Mike" and "Kevin" to no avail. A girl I was standing next to even climbed on my back and started waving and shouting for Kevin and Mike. Still no luck.
I don't really remember how luck was discovered, but Mike and Kev soon found me and we reunited once again.
We waited and waited for the Pumpkins. Kev and I were discussing what songs would be played first. The anticipation was building, waiting for release. And then....the lights went out. On came so blue lights on the stage, and 5 people dress all in white came on and took up their instruments, and immediatelty broke out into an instrumental. The crowd went wild. We went left and right, and I was soon seperated from Kev and Mike. Kev made a grab for me a few times but I told him that I was in a good place. The intro instrumental song came to a close and then the went into Drown. Rocking. It was good times. I decided to share these good times with Kev and Mike. And then Kev and Mike decided to let me share the good times with the rest of the crowd, specifically hands, and I was then hoisted and crowd surfing. I turned over a few times, and thought I was going to fall down a few times, a thousands hands pushing me forward as the wave of people surfed me up to the front. The security guard at the front looked like he was going to grab me and shove me over the railing, which I was hoping for and I was sticking up my arm telling to take it, but instead he said "fuck it" and I fell backwards. Luckily for me, there was a mosh pit there and some people fell to the ground, so I had their bodies to land on. Eventually I managed to get up and I was basically right in the front. However, the pressure was a bit too much. And I decided to head back to wear Kev and Mike should be.
I patted myself, noticing that my shirt was stretched to shit. I also patted my pants down and noticed that in my left pocket was my camera and keys, and in my left pocket was the distinct absense of my wallet and my cell phone. Not cool. I went into panic mode. What to do? Be rational. There are tons of people on the floor. It would be neigh impossible to actually search the floor right now for my stuff. I must enjoy the show, and worry about it afterwards. So i went the sides where I could get a good view, and enjoyed the songs. And good songs to enjoy.
There were the new ones like Tarantula, Doomsday Clock, For God and Country, and more importantly older songs. There was Hummer and Rocket. There was Zero. Sadly Zero was played at a weird accelerated pace which made it sound rushed and that was unneccessary. Such a shame for such an awesome song. There was Tonight Tonight which was played mellower which was pretty good. There was Starz, which is not my fave song but it was okay.
While the music was on I was in two minds. I was trying to enjoy the show and trying not to freak out over my wallet and cell phone. And then came United States.
United States. What can I say about this song? Well. Two minutes of drumming solo. Unbelievable drumming solo. Out of this world drumming solo. And then the guitars kick in. Billy is rocking out and he is rocking out hard. Any harder and he would have been having an outer body experience right there on stage and I don't know how hard his spirit can rock. This was enough to take my mind off anything. Seriously. It was amnesia. If you asked me for my name during that song I would have given you a blank look. REVOLUTION. REVOLUTION. WHAT SHALL WE DO? Mid-way through the song they started doing the instrumental part and then Billy steps forward. The other band members went quiet. Billy then tunes in his inner Hendrix and wails the national anthem on his guitar. Oh fucking Canada. The audience started singing while Billy is playing Oh Canada. I had the biggest shit eating grin on my face. This is what music in heaven must sound like surely. After that, there would be no worries in the world.
After the amazing song, or it might have been before it, just to show he IS the band, Billy picked up his accoustic guitar and said "without Canada this song wouldn't exist" and proceeded to do a solo accoustic version of 1979, encouraging the audience to sing along. That was cool too, but it was weird to see that he wasn't going to end with that song.
There were some more songs, a few newer ones. There were some odd omissions like Disarm and Muzzle. There was however, Bullet with Butterfly wings, and Ador which sounded a bit off too. Finally there was a very extended and different sounding version of Heavy Metal Machine, which if it wasn't for the chorus, I would never have thought that it was Heavy Metal Machine.
And then they went off stage. By this time I had managed to locate Kev but not Mike. Kev and I were rocking out for the last few songs.
After Heavy Metal Machine, the lights didn't come on and the crowd were going crazy. And then they came back on. TODAY. Billy didn't even try to sing the opening chorus instead letting the audience do it for him. He kept telling us to go louder. There wasn't much unison, but it didn't matter. I just closed my eyes and get taken in by the mood and the atmosphere to my favourite song and the song that I will always associate with my youth. If there was one complaint it would be that the song was too short, even though they played an extended version of it. That and that because I brought my crappy camera I couldn't take good video of it. It was brilliant. It was a freaking religious experience.
After that they went off again. I think they came back to play one more song. I can't recall. I didn't want them to come back to play another song. Sure I wanted the concert to go on, but I wanted it to all end on Today. Ending it on Today would have been just perfect.
They went off again and the crowd were cheering and going crazy, and then Billy came on. Just Billy.
He went and talked. He said that this was all for us. He thanked us and he was sincere. He thanked us for always supporting him. He thanked us for making his album the number one album in Canada when it came out, even though it was number 2 in the states. He thanked us for coming and seeing him. He told us that this whole night was for us. Someone screamed "play disarm" and he said that he wouldn't play disarm and pretended to run away. I liked that. I like when artists interact with the audience. Same at the REM concert a few years back. I liked this touch. It gave the concert an even more personal touch. Like something only for us.
Billy went off stage and the lights came on.
People started filing out. Kev and I went in search of my missing wallet and cell phone. We looked and looked. Kev called Mike and he met up with us. We asked the guards if a wallet and cell phone had been turned in. He said no. We looked some more until the guards told us to leave. As we were leaving we noticed a lost and found section. I went up and immediately spotted my wallet. I pointed at it and told the person there that it was mine. She wanted proof. I described everything in the wallet and I got it back. I was so happy. However, Kev's money that he gave me for the tickets wasn't int there. I hope I put it in my hoodie pocket which Robin has. Otherwise it is gone. Also, no cell phone so I couldn't phone Robin to meet up with them to get my hoodie.
We left the concert on a very good high from a great show and probably from all the weed that was being smoked around us. We went in search of some food and drink. Subway was closed, even though the sign said they would be closed an hour later. Apparently ran out of bread or some such bullshit.
We went to fresh slice and got some fresh pizza and drink. Then we bussed, skytrained, and I ended up cabbing all the way home. Happy with a wallet and even happier with an amazing show. Billy redeemed himself in my eyes. |
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