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