A Day of Killers!
I promised this entry, so here it is:
Wednesday started like any other day. Instead of taking two different cars and meeting Nicolle in Seattle, Michaele and I just drove up there with Nicolle around 8am because she words downtown. Well, we were driving along I-5 when we saw that it was going to take 47 minutes to get into Seattle. WHAT?!? Nicolle started flipping out because she didn't want to be late for work, so she sneaked onto the HOV lane and just started to accelerate when this stupid charter bus cut her off!!
Needless to say, we were not happy. But the bus picked up speed and we followed it for a while until we noticed there was another bus not too far in front of our interceptor. The back of the bus said it was a Celebrity Coach, so one of us made a joke: Wouldn't that be funny if that was The Killers' tour bus that cut us off? Well, if that get off at 164B, then it's totally them. (164B is the exit that takes you to Qwest Field and the venue where The Killers were performing.)
We finally get to Seattle (less that 47 minutes, thankfully) and were around exit 161, and the buses aren't getting over! (By this time, we have discovered a THIRD bus of the same brand.) I was feeling sort of let down, but still kind of excited. These buses totally could have been the band! And then, suddenly, THE BUSES MERGE OVER TO THE FAR RIGHT LANE. But we lose them. Thankfully, being the in the passenger seat, I notice one of the chart buses driving over the ramp that takes you to 4th Ave. From exit 164B. So, as it turns out, we really were cut off by the Killers' tour bus. And we just got another story to tell.
Michaele and I spent the day at U Village while Nicolle was at work, and then we got to WaMu Theater around 3:30. There was already a line, and we couldn't take the usual short cut because it was locked. (Probably because they didn't want screaming fangirls to yell at the backstage area downstairs when seeing Brandon Flowers and co.) So, we sat in line, at lunch and waited for 6:30 to arrive so we could get inside.
The tickets said no cameras, but the last time my sisters saw The Killers, they said no professional cameras, so we decided it'd be all right to bring out cameras. As the time go closer, and security came by to separate girls from guys for the pat down, we asked about the cameras. They confirmed: no professional cameras or detachable lenses. About five minutes later, more security came by, and this time it no cameras period. Nicolle decided to take our cameras and put them in her car, but she asked the guards by the door. No cameras period. She she booked it to put away the cameras and rush back just in time to get back to us while the crowd moved inside.
Before that, four guys came down the center of the two lines, two playing guitars, two handing out fliers, all singing. I got a flier. Why, it was the opening act, Wild Light! It was cool of them to come out and do that. The girls behind us said, "That guy in the back wasn't doing anything. He's probably the drummer or something." They were right. But honestly, you can't walk down a line with a drum kit. Too difficult.
So, we finally got inside and walked as fast our speeding walking out take us and got on the bar! We were off to the far left, but still had a nice view of the stage. We sat down because we had been standing for awhile, but a security guard started talking to us, so we stood up to continue our amiable conversation. He gave me a set of ear plugs, but sadly had to go to the middle so we didn't see him for the rest of the night. Another guard took his place. This guy was really nice, too. We were all talking and then finally, the lights went off. The concert was starting.
I'm going to say this right out: Wild Light sucked. All their chord progressions were elementary and predictable. The bass was too loud and the back-up vocals too quiet. Their songs were boring and didn't have any energy. All in all, a major disappointment. My sisters and I were NOT pleased. When the band left and the lights went off, the security guard looked at us with a smile and said, "Smile! Didn't you like them?" We laughed sarcastically because he knew we weren't enjoying them from the beginning. After their first song, Michaele gave a big thumbs down, and we nodded. Our guard friend laughed at that.
To make matters worse, this was when the drunken idiots decided to let the alcohol take effect. I had no idea it was possible to get insanely drunk in an hour. I didn't even know they get their hands on all that beer in a short amount of time. I thought there would have been a long line and stuff...but yeah, they were pushing into us and talking REALLY loud. We were not happy. Our new friend tried to make sure these idiots (especially this dumb blonde chick) didn't smash us into the metal wall. And then more people tried to shove their way behind us. Some guard asked where she was going and she replied, "Right here." Which was basically flush in the middle of Michale and me. Let me tell you, I do NOT like random strangers grazing my butt. I stayed away the middle of the floor to avoid getting groped by drunken buffoons. Not to get pressed into the wall with some smokey, drunk, loud chick yelling in my ear. Thankfully, they moved and a big void was left behind my sisters. I still had some young girls behind me who wanted to get on the bar. Yeah, was NOT happening. If they didn't get to the concert early to get a good spot, it was their own fault. I wasn't going to let them sneak into a spot that I rightfully claimed at 6:40pm.
Thankfully, the trouble stopped before 9:15, when the lights went out again and everyone FREAKED OUT. Let me describe the stage: fake palm trees littered the background of the stage with bouquets of mixed flowers places sporadically between the trees. The drum kit was facing me (that God, for Ronnie is a drumming machine!) and on the drum's right (my left) were some white bongos and a white piano with little square mirrors covering the back and sides of it. There was a microphone closest to me which was for Dave the guitarist, a couple mikes in the middle for Brandon. His keyboards were placed in the center of the stage where a giant K full of lightbulbs made up the stand that held said keyboards. Another mike further down for Mark the bassist, and then the mixer guy was off to the side.
Brandon Flowers has an AMAZING stage presence. He seemed very thankful and pleased with the audiences reactions and was moving all over the place. (And as many wandering lead singers tend to do, they avoid the left side--their right--of the stage and crowd). In the middle, there was a large box on the floor that Brandon stepped onto and he REACHED OUT INTO THE CROWD. Those lucky bastards got to touch him. And on the far left of the stage (his left) he stood on the tall speakers resting on the ground. He didn't do that to the speakers that were right in front of my face. But you know who did?
Dave. Dave was awesome. He gave attention to the side of the crowd that Brandon seemed to neglect most of the night. During one of the songs, he even came out onto those speakers and SAT ON THEM. He smiled for pictures, he sang along to the words Brandon was singing, and he just seemed to be having the time of his life. That's true love of music right there. It takes some serious skills to do all this while playing some awesome riffs on guitar. Plus, my best shot of the night on my phone camera was of him. It was epic. Once I upload those pictures, I will share it.
Now, let's do the set list:
(Not in actual order unless bolded)
Spaceman
This is Your Life
Human
Joy Ride
I Can't Stay
A Dustland Fairytale
The World We Live In
Sam's Town
Mr. Brightside
Smile Like You Mean It
Somebody Told Me
For Reasons Unknown
A song I didn't know
Another song I didn't know
All These Things That I've Done
Bones
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
When You Were Young
During their last song before the encore (All These Things That I've Done), right when they hit the BIG finale of the song after the choir build-up, they shot confetti! It was just white tissue paper, but it was a great effect.
And at the end, Ronnie threw his drumsticks out into the crowd. After the encore, he came out and threw about three more pairs of sticks...but none to our side of the crowd. The roadies threw out Dave's leftover picks...again, none to our side. And then they threw the bouquets of flowers out onto the floor--in the middle of the floor. So we got nothing at all, just pieces of tissue paper confetti. I saw a girl with a couple flowers AND and drumstick. Selfish fans.
But all in all, it was a pretty good concert with amazing intensity. My left ear is STILL ringing.
Wednesday started like any other day. Instead of taking two different cars and meeting Nicolle in Seattle, Michaele and I just drove up there with Nicolle around 8am because she words downtown. Well, we were driving along I-5 when we saw that it was going to take 47 minutes to get into Seattle. WHAT?!? Nicolle started flipping out because she didn't want to be late for work, so she sneaked onto the HOV lane and just started to accelerate when this stupid charter bus cut her off!!
Needless to say, we were not happy. But the bus picked up speed and we followed it for a while until we noticed there was another bus not too far in front of our interceptor. The back of the bus said it was a Celebrity Coach, so one of us made a joke: Wouldn't that be funny if that was The Killers' tour bus that cut us off? Well, if that get off at 164B, then it's totally them. (164B is the exit that takes you to Qwest Field and the venue where The Killers were performing.)
We finally get to Seattle (less that 47 minutes, thankfully) and were around exit 161, and the buses aren't getting over! (By this time, we have discovered a THIRD bus of the same brand.) I was feeling sort of let down, but still kind of excited. These buses totally could have been the band! And then, suddenly, THE BUSES MERGE OVER TO THE FAR RIGHT LANE. But we lose them. Thankfully, being the in the passenger seat, I notice one of the chart buses driving over the ramp that takes you to 4th Ave. From exit 164B. So, as it turns out, we really were cut off by the Killers' tour bus. And we just got another story to tell.
Michaele and I spent the day at U Village while Nicolle was at work, and then we got to WaMu Theater around 3:30. There was already a line, and we couldn't take the usual short cut because it was locked. (Probably because they didn't want screaming fangirls to yell at the backstage area downstairs when seeing Brandon Flowers and co.) So, we sat in line, at lunch and waited for 6:30 to arrive so we could get inside.
The tickets said no cameras, but the last time my sisters saw The Killers, they said no professional cameras, so we decided it'd be all right to bring out cameras. As the time go closer, and security came by to separate girls from guys for the pat down, we asked about the cameras. They confirmed: no professional cameras or detachable lenses. About five minutes later, more security came by, and this time it no cameras period. Nicolle decided to take our cameras and put them in her car, but she asked the guards by the door. No cameras period. She she booked it to put away the cameras and rush back just in time to get back to us while the crowd moved inside.
Before that, four guys came down the center of the two lines, two playing guitars, two handing out fliers, all singing. I got a flier. Why, it was the opening act, Wild Light! It was cool of them to come out and do that. The girls behind us said, "That guy in the back wasn't doing anything. He's probably the drummer or something." They were right. But honestly, you can't walk down a line with a drum kit. Too difficult.
So, we finally got inside and walked as fast our speeding walking out take us and got on the bar! We were off to the far left, but still had a nice view of the stage. We sat down because we had been standing for awhile, but a security guard started talking to us, so we stood up to continue our amiable conversation. He gave me a set of ear plugs, but sadly had to go to the middle so we didn't see him for the rest of the night. Another guard took his place. This guy was really nice, too. We were all talking and then finally, the lights went off. The concert was starting.
I'm going to say this right out: Wild Light sucked. All their chord progressions were elementary and predictable. The bass was too loud and the back-up vocals too quiet. Their songs were boring and didn't have any energy. All in all, a major disappointment. My sisters and I were NOT pleased. When the band left and the lights went off, the security guard looked at us with a smile and said, "Smile! Didn't you like them?" We laughed sarcastically because he knew we weren't enjoying them from the beginning. After their first song, Michaele gave a big thumbs down, and we nodded. Our guard friend laughed at that.
To make matters worse, this was when the drunken idiots decided to let the alcohol take effect. I had no idea it was possible to get insanely drunk in an hour. I didn't even know they get their hands on all that beer in a short amount of time. I thought there would have been a long line and stuff...but yeah, they were pushing into us and talking REALLY loud. We were not happy. Our new friend tried to make sure these idiots (especially this dumb blonde chick) didn't smash us into the metal wall. And then more people tried to shove their way behind us. Some guard asked where she was going and she replied, "Right here." Which was basically flush in the middle of Michale and me. Let me tell you, I do NOT like random strangers grazing my butt. I stayed away the middle of the floor to avoid getting groped by drunken buffoons. Not to get pressed into the wall with some smokey, drunk, loud chick yelling in my ear. Thankfully, they moved and a big void was left behind my sisters. I still had some young girls behind me who wanted to get on the bar. Yeah, was NOT happening. If they didn't get to the concert early to get a good spot, it was their own fault. I wasn't going to let them sneak into a spot that I rightfully claimed at 6:40pm.
Thankfully, the trouble stopped before 9:15, when the lights went out again and everyone FREAKED OUT. Let me describe the stage: fake palm trees littered the background of the stage with bouquets of mixed flowers places sporadically between the trees. The drum kit was facing me (that God, for Ronnie is a drumming machine!) and on the drum's right (my left) were some white bongos and a white piano with little square mirrors covering the back and sides of it. There was a microphone closest to me which was for Dave the guitarist, a couple mikes in the middle for Brandon. His keyboards were placed in the center of the stage where a giant K full of lightbulbs made up the stand that held said keyboards. Another mike further down for Mark the bassist, and then the mixer guy was off to the side.
Brandon Flowers has an AMAZING stage presence. He seemed very thankful and pleased with the audiences reactions and was moving all over the place. (And as many wandering lead singers tend to do, they avoid the left side--their right--of the stage and crowd). In the middle, there was a large box on the floor that Brandon stepped onto and he REACHED OUT INTO THE CROWD. Those lucky bastards got to touch him. And on the far left of the stage (his left) he stood on the tall speakers resting on the ground. He didn't do that to the speakers that were right in front of my face. But you know who did?
Dave. Dave was awesome. He gave attention to the side of the crowd that Brandon seemed to neglect most of the night. During one of the songs, he even came out onto those speakers and SAT ON THEM. He smiled for pictures, he sang along to the words Brandon was singing, and he just seemed to be having the time of his life. That's true love of music right there. It takes some serious skills to do all this while playing some awesome riffs on guitar. Plus, my best shot of the night on my phone camera was of him. It was epic. Once I upload those pictures, I will share it.
Now, let's do the set list:
(Not in actual order unless bolded)
Spaceman
This is Your Life
Human
Joy Ride
I Can't Stay
A Dustland Fairytale
The World We Live In
Sam's Town
Mr. Brightside
Smile Like You Mean It
Somebody Told Me
For Reasons Unknown
A song I didn't know
Another song I didn't know
All These Things That I've Done
Bones
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
When You Were Young
During their last song before the encore (All These Things That I've Done), right when they hit the BIG finale of the song after the choir build-up, they shot confetti! It was just white tissue paper, but it was a great effect.
And at the end, Ronnie threw his drumsticks out into the crowd. After the encore, he came out and threw about three more pairs of sticks...but none to our side of the crowd. The roadies threw out Dave's leftover picks...again, none to our side. And then they threw the bouquets of flowers out onto the floor--in the middle of the floor. So we got nothing at all, just pieces of tissue paper confetti. I saw a girl with a couple flowers AND and drumstick. Selfish fans.
But all in all, it was a pretty good concert with amazing intensity. My left ear is STILL ringing.