So for the last few days when I've been asking friends where their seats are for the show most have been referring to the position of where they are sat in relation to the “home plate” Until last night I'd never stepped foot in a baseball park, let alone knew anything about it! its not a game that's played in the UK and we certainly don't have any venues shaped the same. Thanks to Robert explaining to me last night a bit more about baseball i now know what people mean by the home plate!
I wasn't sure what to expect when i walked in, after been at the stadium shows down in Buenos Aires i was a little unsure just how big it would be and how it would be set up. To be honest when i walked in for the first time i was a little underwhelmed, especially by the size, however i think this was more due to having been in the massive stadium down in BA.
My initial view as i walked in the venue
The wall was long, not as long as down in South America but compared to the US Arena shows it was about twice the length. It did look odd seeing blue sky and open air behind the wall and even though it was 7pm the sun was still high in the sky and shining brightly over the whole of the wall! i did wonder how the light would be at the scheduled start time of 8:15!
I wondered around the venue looking at the stage and wall from all different position, i did notice that the lighting towers were far nearer the stage than they were in South America due to the depth of the venue and this caused so much obstruction from many areas of the venue! I counted at least 4 full sections of seats that were totally empty due to the venue not putting them on sale due to obstructed view!
Another thing i noticed while wondering around on the floor section was how cold it was and how breezy it was! so much so that a section of the wall on the top right had been caught by the wind and dislodged. I remember talking to a couple of the crew in South America and them saying this was one thing they were worried about as it was something they've not had to experience before!
Wind swept bricks before the show!
Wendy, Jackie and the rest of the gang were outside the venue still waiting for their will call tickets, Eric and Matt were inside wondering round and i bumped into Kipp and Marky and said hi, i also saw James Guthrie wondering around looking at the wall from different areas of the venue.
I knew from the off that the way the rows and seats were numbered would cause problems later in the night when the place started to get full and sure enough it did. They had white lawn chairs set up on the floor, there were no row numbers on the floor, the only thing which showed you the row and seat was a small white stick on the back of each seat that had the section, row and seat number in the smallest font I’ve ever seen! none of the ushers had torches and when it can to show time it was a total mess!
Phil, Laila, Greg, Linda, Matt, Eric, Chris and i all hung out on the floor for a good half hour chatting and people watching before the show. I have never in my life seen an many strange and weird sites at a show! I’m not sure if it was just all the people that were left over from the 60’s hippie times in San Francisco but some of the sights were very odd indeed. I’ve never in my life smelt as much stuff being smoked at a show either!
Get this guy up against the wall! Matt and Eric pre show.
As it got nearer to show time the sun set and it got a little darker in the venue but not much, the ticket s said ShowTime would be 8:15 prompt however they didn't start 20 minute pre show music till 8:15, hence the show started around 8:35 I was 12th row on the aisle, a few seats on from Jackie and Dave and Wendy and Chris. Honestly, even 13th row is a touch too close when the wall is this big!
One thing i didn't do at the show was take any pictures, i had my camera in my pocket and was determined just to take in the “1st” show without taking any pictures. The band came on to a rapturous applause but unfortunately the crowd sat for 90% of the show. By the time the band came on the weather had got even colder, there were people in gloves and scarves in the audience and i know Dave K had those little hand warmers in his pocket to keep his fingers warm! Roger was donning a black “Trust Us” hoodie and several times put his hood up and looked over at the crowd gesturing as to how cold it was.
I did notice a lot of new images on the wall, especially during In The Flesh and Run Like Hell, all images that wont be able to be seen on the Arena walls due to the size. Even as far on as Young Lust there were people wandering around all over the place trying to find their row and seats! the security and ushers didn't seem to have a care in the world about it.
The sound was incredible just as it was in South America, the surround was clearly better than the Arena shows and they had approx 8 speaker stacks all around the rear of the venue. I’d forgotten just how much some of the US audience go to gigs not to see the show but to drink themselves silly and smoke weed. I've never seen as many people at a show that looked as tripped out as they did.
As the pig came out for Run Like Hell it was blown all over the place and the guys did a great job holding onto the tethers and walking it around the venue, they would drop it right down over the audience enabling them to hold onto it and touch it but then released the lines and let it fly back up 40 feet in the air. They did this all around the venue, dropping it down and raising it up, it was the best pig display I've seen at any show so far. They walked it to the back of the venue where they kept it up high till the wall came tumbling down which is when they lowered it down onto the crowd at the back and encouraged them to rip it to bits! it took a while before the crowd realised they were actually allowed to touch it and even tear it but once they did then the thing got shredded.
Roger had spent a lot of the night cover all of the stage, running up and down like a mad man, he was loving it! either that r he was trying to keep warm! The graphics when Roger hits the wall during Comfy Numb have changed a little. Well, the graphics haven't changed but the way the wall breaks up and the way the rocks break up and fall down have changed and to be honest, I’m not sure i like it! the rocks just fall downwards, kind of hard to explain but i hope someone noticed just how much different it is and changes it back to how it was!
The performance itself was great but not the best, couple of mistakes here and there, couple of timing issues and even a bum note here and there but I’m pretty sure a lot of this must have been due to the cold weather, honestly, even i found it hard just to concentrate and enjoy the show it was that cold!
New merchandise Venue specific shirt with orange logo New ladies T shirts
Pics below of the show taken by James:
