My 3-Day Rock Tour (Part 2: The Killers in NJ)

After I woke up, packed my bag and took a shower. Sidenote: washing my hair before the Killers show…what was I thinking?! On my way to NJ I of course listened to all four Killers CDs in preparation for the night. When I left my hotel I had the brilliant idea to just do my hair and wait to do my makeup until I get to the NJ bus station so I could look fresh for the Killers show. This is because it was warm outside and bus rides tend to make my skin all shiny. When I arrived at the Camden station, which was a scary place I went into the bathroom only to realize there were no mirrors!! But being the resourceful person I am I broke out the compact, put it on my suitcase and did my thing. It was hard and I had loads of chatty women talking to me while I did my makeup in one of the worst bathrooms ever but it was interesting. I also got loads of compliments about my perfume from people of all ages. The weather outside was quite warm so I dragged all my stuff into the handicapped bathroom and changed out of my jeans and into a denim mini skirt. After I was ready, I waited in the bus station. In a duh moment I learned to never wear a low cut halter top and mini skirt in the bus station ever. I’m fine with attention but leering of men you don’t want talking to you I could do without…lesson learned. Wendy picked me up at the station after she got off work and we drove together to the Susquehanna Bank Center after a brief stop at McDonalds for iced coffee. I needed caffeine badly but it was fun chatting with her in the car on our way.  

WOOHOO WE MADE IT TO THE VENUE…

Once there we found a parking lot of tailgaters and saw a decent line by the doors so we headed over. As we walked up we noticed the lines outside were crazy. It looked like a free for all with three lines of varying lengths in between little barricades full of confused people. We picked the shortest line and stood there for about an 1 1/2 hours chatting. The funniest part was when a man in a monkey mask proceeded to show up and interview fans from the lines using a banana. I am still dying to know who this was since the lady filming had on Killers credentials. If I wasn’t sick I would have volunteered but honestly the Robitussin I took was making me woozy so I just observed from afar. The cutest fans were three young girls wearing jackets they had put feathers on to make it look like Brandon’s. Security didn’t seem prepared for the large amount of people who arrived early, a few people including a cranky girl arrived at 6:30am, geez that’s just way too early. As we stood there, a 4th line formed itself and security freaked everyone out when they said it would be only three lines. Needless to say chaos ensued with people screaming “Are we a line then?” Eventually the crowd was told after arguing w/security that there would be four lines now, that appeased the masses briefly. That was until security said we would be formed into two lines when doors open and then merged into one. After a lot of “feedback” from the crowd that idea was nixed too.

So at around a little after 7:30 the doors finally opened for all four lines. As always I was in the shorter line but the one that was the slowest. This time due to a lady that had her ticket scanner malfunction. She finally got backup after what felt like forever and also after few people cutting in front of people in the 2nd line. Once inside, as Wendy had warned me about, there was another line to wait in for people going to the pit. A few people were already there and security was trying there best to control the massive single line. We weren’t that far back and after we got our bracelets we strolled single file down to the floor. Wendy found a front row spot off to the right but I saw a spot second row center we chose instead. This turned out to be a great choice because we were actually so close and our view was amazing especially since everyone in front of us weren’t tall, two nights in a row…sweet! The pit was small and the people around us were very cool. I managed to meet two girls who were big U2 fans like me due to my complimenting their bracelets and turns out we have gone to many of the same shows and will be attending several of the same U2 shows too. There was also a nice British woman, a equally sick Asian girl and two twin girls that were also very cool. They told me a story about why everyone was taking pictures with one of the crew guys, an older gentleman who looked to be in his 50s or 60s. It turns out he was super fan and had been to so many shows that the band found out and now he is hooked up for life. Now hanging out backstage which I must say is a freaking awesome reward for dedication, bonus points to the Killers for that. The opener Chairlift was a bit boring except for one song everyone knew from a commercial (that song that goes: “I tried to do handstands for you…”) The band was decent but too mellow and the entertainment was actually the guy who played a bazillion instruments and the female singer who also played keyboards off to the side. Staring at her odd tights and watching her spin in circles like a nouveau hippie was fun to watch. Another highlight was hearing people scream “More cowbell.” when she broke out the aforementioned weird instrument. When the band left the stage, to everyone’s relief, the wait for the Killers was excruciatingly long.

The crowd at points broke into chants of “Killers, Killers.” Wendy and I examined the stage noticing all the cool details like the roses (which turned out to be real) in the back of the stage and on instruments. I also was marveling at how close to me the keyboard was, the one with the giant light up K on it, because this is where Brandon stands. In January I was off to the far right at the show so I got a lot of Dave and but not much of Mr. Flowers. Susquehanna Bank Center also had something else noteworthy and that every pit should have, a candy and water man! I think without my Peanut M&Ms I probably would have died from hunger since I hadn’t eaten since I feasted on the super healthy giant honey bun and popcorn at breakfast (life on the road!!) Finally the show started with the stage slightly aglow but soon after the band came out on stage and rocked out to the first song “Change Your Mind” the stage became electric as did the crowd. This was such a fun crowd because everybody sang the words loudly non-stop and danced and bounced up and down in unison. Although the “More Cowbell” girl and her friends really didn’t need to scream obnoxiously non-stop and yell the band’s names all night…that was the only bad part. My first thought when the band came out was “holy crap is Brandon really inches from me.” Yes folks we were super close, it was especially surreal when he come over to our area quite often and sang to our section. He liked to balance and walk on the speakers so close to us that I’m quite positive my mouth was open in awe for most of the show. I felt at home with this crowd because I too was rocking out to every tune extra hard because of the energy of the people around me. I know the words to all their tunes so poor Wendy had to deal with my animated dancing and gestures and the singing of every tune.

Midway through the show I had to pull my hair back in a ponytail because I was getting so hot from moving. I just can’t express the energy you get from a Killers show, they are such an amazing live band and just make you move and have fun. I especially got excited when they sang some of my old faves like “All These Things That I Have Done,” (alltime fave Killers tune) “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine,” “Shadowplay,” “Bling (Confessions of A King)” and more and my new faves from their brilliant new CD Day and Age like: “I Can’t Stay,” “Joyride,” Spaceman,” and “This Is Your Life.” I was pleased to hear “Dustland Fairytale” but missed not hearing “Losing Touch” and “Neon Tiger” this time around. But they did not disappoint me I mean how can any show the ends with fire and sparks shooting up from the stage at the end be a letdown. As the confetti from the cannons covered everyone in the pit during the final song “When You Were Young” the crowd seemed satisfied because this was the best Killers show I have ever seen. Despite being tired, sweaty and gross Wendy and I still of course made a stop at the merch stand. After perusing the wall because there was really way too much to choose from but since a girl had taken the only one left of a shirt I wanted (it said the Killers in the middle of “I got soul but I’m not a Soldier”) Wendy and I opted for the same cute purple shirt with Killers in big pink letters, I also got Wendy a poster and I bought a Killers tote bag as well. But after two nights in a row of having something I wanted at merch taken I have learned the valuable lesson to go before the show from now on!

I walked away from the show with a sense of awe since this show was even more amazing then when I saw them in January. I left the January show in VA with a Setlist which is one of my most prized possessions. But I left this show with an equally cool collectible, one of Dave’s guitar picks! It was thrown near Wendy and I. With her lightning fast reflexes she nabbed this as everyone else around her tried for it too. But instead of keeping it for herself and knowing what a huge fan of the band I am she gave it to me (thank you, thank you, thank you!) This makes me wonder what will I be lucky enough to get next at a Killer’s show since I am building up and impressive collection. A drum stick maybe? A feather from Brandon’s jacket? But after watching this unbelievable show I left there longing for another Killers show. So needless to say I almost flipped out when a local radio station in Maryland announced they will be playing my favorite outdoor venue Merriweather in MD on August 30th (I think I was unable to concentrate the entire day when I heard this news, yay!!) So this means I have seen the band in the Winter and Spring, soon to be Summer…come on fall too!

After the show, hungry and thirsty and with all concessions stands closed we opted to go to Sonic’s drive thru instead of going to a bar or sit down restaurant. This was due to the fact personally it felt like I had just ran a marathon four times because I was covered in sweat from head to toe, even my hair was wet. I even found bits of confetti in inappropriate places later that night stuck on me from the sweat. But I always welcome Sonic’s food, since I don’t have any where I live. I ate my favorite a chicken melt and some tater tots and downed my slushie due to being sooooo thirsty. My water at the show didn’t last (thanks to that security guard btw for letting me drop my bottle behind the barricade.) We made our way to her place after we finished eating and chatted for a while esp. gushing about the awesomeness that was that show. I must add her Ipod is creepily psychic because of course while on shuffle it decided to play the Killers right away but every time we talked about a band it would play the band (for ex. Civil Twilight, Your Vegas or Coldplay). At her place and since I missed having a pet it was especially cool to meet some of Wendy’s. I met her dog Blue who I think I freaked out and I also met the friendliest cat ever, her cat Mike who I wanted to steal. I think at 3 or 4 we went to bed because I think the show wore us out plus we had another adventure tomorrow. But I had trouble sleeping because I really was still in awe of what I had just experienced. 

 SETLIST:

Joyride
Change Your Mind
Somebody Told Me
For Reasons Unknown
I Can’t Stay
Bling (Confessions of a King)
Human
Shadowplay
Smile Like You Mean It
Spaceman
This Is Your Life
Dustland Fairytale
Read My Mind
Mr. Brightside
All These Things That I’ve Done 

Encore:
Bones
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
When You Were Young

 

My 3-Day Rock Tour (Part 1: Franz Ferdinand in NY)

INTRODUCTION:

There’s nothing like a little rock n roll adventure and traveling to wake you up and make your feel alive again. The boredom of working nonstop can strip my creative juices sometimes and just a few days off helped mightily but I must admit also left me itching for more trips. All three shows fell into place one at a time with buying FF tickets months ago, winning Killers GA tickets on Ebay a few weeks before the show and then accidentally discovering VAST was playing Philly when I wrote an article on VAST in MD. The only way I feel the trip could have been better is if I hadn’t been sick. I enjoyed myself despite having to take a bevy of cold meds and constantly blowing my nose. I also had to suck on sucrets lozenges nonstop throughout all three shows to help my cough, sore throat and keep my nose from running. I also alternated between dayquil and robitussin cold and cough (note: never take the latter on an empty stomach because it gives you a weird trippy/woozy feeling.) But regardless of this I still danced and sang and screamed because I was not going to let anything stand in the way of my having fun. Since this is a three part adventure I will tell the story in three parts. Warning they are very descriptive and therefore long. I wrote these over a pd of time at work so I wouldn’t forget a detail. I’m of course starting with Day 1 in NY with Franz Ferdinand!!! Pictures from the entire journey will soon be found in my MS photo album under “My Three Day Rock Fest May 2009,” after I caption them. Part two is in NJ (the Killers) and part three Philly (VAST).

Day 1: Franz Ferdinand in NYC @ the Roseland Ballroom- May 7, 2009

My journey started on May 7th when I left Maryland to go to New York to see Franz Ferdinand at Roseland Ballroom that night with my friend Christina. I love Franz Ferdinand and hadn’t seen them since 2006 in Ireland. New York was the closest they would be playing near me so when I heard about this show the day tickets went on sale I bought two. The morning I left was an adventure in itself since the light rail left early that was supposed to take me to my $1.00 bus (yes $1…thanks Megabus!!). So I had to get Plan B it and get a taxi and have him speed to the bus stop. Thankfully I made there just in the nick of time or I would have been stuck in a not-so-safe part of Baltimore and probably would have had to take a much later bus. Listening to FF of course via my Ipod on the way to NY I dozed off three times. I also listened to VAST to getting ready for May 9th since the bus ride to NJ would be spent listening to a certain band from Vegas with a hot lead singer named Brandon. But back to my point, I am used to riding buses which are cheap and I have many stations nearby so I go to NY quite frequently. Only drawback this time was all the coughing and the sore throat, I felt like everyone was looking at me like I had swine flu or something, one rude man actually asked me if I had been tested (I said of course I have!). The bus arrived 40 minutes late to the city. That was OK, it was the standing in terrential downpours waiting in a very, very long taxi queue in Times Square that was annoying. I was already sick so this wasn’t helping, luckily I had went into the big Borders right outside for a cup of coffee so that was helping me stay slightly warm. But my hoodie and poor, cute sketchers still got soaked. I was off to a hotel because I had to make a last minute decision to stay in a hotel since my friend had just moved and didn’t have an extra key to her place yet.

The problem came in because due to her working the day of the show and next day too, it would have been hard to coordinate how the next day would work since my bus to NJ didn’t leave until 1pm. I rushed to my hotel by taxi and after being scolded by the jerk taxi driver for getting his seats wet (duh my bags are wet moron it’s raining) and after I stopped coughing my brains out I navigated the halls of the weird 8th floor of the Days Inn on 94th Street. My room was nowhere to be found, after asking some nice people, who had found there room, “do you have a clue where room 800 is?” They said “did you check behind the door that looks like it leads to a stairwell?” Sure enough hidden behind the poorly marked door was three rooms and finally I was able to enter and speedily get ready. Mistake one was I brought my brothers carry on since it was weather resistant. There wasn’t even much in it but due to the small strap it has cut a hole in my shoulder, so I was sweaty from carrying it and in pain but I cleaned up and said “I’m in New York…nothing will get me down!!”

FINALLY I ARRIVE AT ROSELAND…

I once again hailed a taxi and made it to the venue at about 6pm where Christina held our place in line. I finally breathed a sigh of relief that I was there. She was waiting with her talented musician friend JC Maillard (he plays in a band called Grand Baton) and it was nice to meet him as well. I was grateful she got there when she did, the line had a decent amount of people in it. I had wanted to arrive much earlier but due to coming from out of town that was not possible. But the line stretched around the building so I was just happy to be where I was. After JC bid us an adieu since he had a gig that night, Christina and I chatted a bit more and it wasn’t soon after they let us in. Of course once inside this featured the standard mad dash to the floor. We snagged a pretty good second row spot I liked it because everyone in front of me was very short so for once in my life I wasn’t blocked and felt super tall. After the usual “hold my place” moment where you run off to the bathroom and grab drinks I came back and we talked and caught up once again while we waited. It didn’t take very long for the opening band to take the stage and once the show started it was non stop rocking. The Born Ruffians came out first and were very good, their music was very unique and I must say their lead singer was absolutely adorable and had a gorgeous voice. I enjoyed their set but was anxiously awaiting Franz Ferdinand. I got a tiny taste of FF when drummer from FF joined BR onstage. The crowd really got into the song once everyone slowly figured out who it was now behind the once empty FF drum kit.

Finally I believe a little after 9:30 the band I had waited to see for years came out on stage. Guitarist/Keyboardist Nick McCarthy limped out on stage on crutches because according to him he broke his foot or as lead singer Alex Kapranos joked later when he did intros he was the man with one and a half feet. He rocked it out even despite this and having to sit in a big wooden chair. The show was unbelievable and they played some of my favorite songs including: “Dark of the Matinee,” “Lucid Dreams,” “Ullysses,” “No You Girls,” “Do You Want To?” and so many more. They did a lot of songs off their brilliant new CD “Tonight” which I adore. The stage looked cool decorated in a cool looking screen in the background that showed images throughout the show and also lights. But the band stole the show with their high energy performance and encouraging the crowd to sing, which oh yes we did. The longest sing and response was the “uh huh yeah.” sing-a-long during “Lucid Dreams” which was fun. They were so amazing to watch playing multiple instruments and also their interaction with each other. One of the big highlights was when the band started playing the drummers drums during “Outsiders” and also when the Born Ruffians joined them onstage during “Lucid Dreams” for one amazing extended light show and the sound produced was stunning. I love how frontman Alex Kapranos said New York was their favorite city other then Glasgow (of course). My only complaint would be the fact people decided it was cool to cut in front of us or save spots for way too many friends, so we felt ourselves get more and more crowded as the show goes on because nobody had the guts to stand up for their hard earned spot. We also had to be rude and physically keep people from cutting in front of us since some people didn’t have the courage to say anything. But when the last song played I was sad because I knew it could be a while until I see them again and the show felt way to short. Not only are those Scotsmen easy on the eyes but they write some of the catchiest songs around and are on the list of bands you have to see live to appreciate. I wanted a souvenir but everyone was hanging around the stage so I decided not to ask for a setlist, maybe next time.

After the show leaving the floor was a journey. After we made our way through the impressive sea of bottles and cups the crowd seemed to come to a dead halt trying to inch their ways down the one small hallway to leave. I had never seen anything like this before, it was insane. Eventually hot and sweaty and trapped in the equivalent of a sardine can we made our way to the merch stand. I bought a shirt of course a cute pink one that says Franz Ferdinand and No You Girls on the back. I also wanted an adorable electric blue tote bag but just my luck a girl who ordered about a minute sooner then me took the last one. So instead I got an electric blue Franz Ferdinand chrome water bottle that I adore. Once we left, Christina and I went on a trek to find cheap food or a place that was open since it was surprising how many places were closes. We walked around many streets for a good while, this impressed me because I was able to not die or stumble once in my 4 inch heels. I stopped on our way so I could ham it up for the camera in front of the giant David Letterman sign and even kissed my new FF water bottle. We ended up eating the largest slices of pizza I have ever seen at a place called Fat Sal’s Pizza. I had the yummiest Chicken Parm pizza slice ever and we chatted finally since the Roseland Ballroom was too loud to really do so. Unfortunately since this was a Thursday Christina had to call it a night early. So at 12:30AM I headed back to my hotel, which by the way is the first time I think I’ve ever ended up going home before 4am when I’m in NYC. Refreshing change lol So I went and got myself ready for the next day which included getting out what I was wearing to the Killers show because check out was noon. I went to bed at 3am and had was sad I had to say bye to NY and Christina so soon but realized my adventure was just beginning. I wanted a redo of FF but will hold out hope they will play near me again soon! But to quote them I really was “lucky, lucky!”

SETLIST:

Bite Hard
The Dark of the Matinee
No You Girls
Tell Her Tonight
The Fallen
Michael
Turn it On
Walk Away
Twilight Omens
Do You Want To
Take Me Out
What She Came For
40′
Outsiders

Encore:
Ulysses
Lucid Dreams
This Fire