The Killers and the Graham Colton Band (City Stages 2005-June 17, 2005)
Birmingham is turning into one of the new hottest (and closest) spots to see amazing acts. The lineup for City Stages is quite impressive, but one must always remember a festival is always outside, and it is almost always accompanied by drunkards and sluts. With that said, I am preparing you for society's ruins and civilization's end.
We arrived in Birmingham around 7:00 PM, and we had to park at least two blocks from the Miller Lite Stage. Of course, we had to buy tickets at the gate, and the line was a mile long. Kelley tried to smuggle in TWINKIES for Brandon Flowers since his birthday is Monday, but the man checking bags made her throw them away. The guy behind us, a black guy who looked about college age, was shocked. "TWINKIES! Oh, come on...Why did he have to throw the twinkies away?!" Exactly. She got the tambourine in though, and that was all that mattered.
We slowly made our way to the Miller Lite Stage, and Silvertide was on. Horrible does not even begin to describe them. The lead singer kept cursing and encouraging people to get wasted and high. Thank you sir for ruining my evening. We were in the back of the crowd during Silvertide, but somehow my mother managed to get us extremely close and by a fence. This will pay off later. Anyway, Silvertide's lead singer walked by, and he stepped on my mom's towel. He probably had STDs on his shoes. That's how digusting he looked. Ewww...*shutters*
The Graham Colton Band took the stage shortly after Silvertide. They were amazing! Graham was enjoying himself, and he was bragging about Birmingham "keeping it real". I enjoyed them thoroughly considering I had not seen them the last two times they were in Birmingham, but I had tickets to both. Go figure. Graham kept playing, cause the Killers were not coming out until 11:05, and his set ended around 10:00 PM. He played a few covers from Kracker and REM. Both were top notch. He even played my favorite song, "Cigarette". The most amusing part (and it may not be that funny) was that there was a person to the side of the stage sign languaging what the artists were singing and saying. During "Cigarette" though, the guy would be signing away and at the one part of the song that goes, "You make me want to smoke a cigarette", he would just put his fingers up to his lips. I thought that was priceless. Graham ended his set thoroughly trenched in sweat, which is a wonderful look for him. heh.
During Graham's set, Kelley somehow spotted Dave Kreuning of the Killers chatting with some security people. She yelled his name, and he looked over. Squinted. She waved, and he just ignored her. Yeah, I figured just as much. Ronnie and Mark were not that personable when I met them back in September, but their music is the only thing that ways out their tremendously huge egos. I actually discussed this with my mother on the drive back, and I'll conclude on everything later. It's not necessarly the egos, but their concept of artistry.
The crowd was extremely horrible. They were getting way out of control. They kept shoving and pushing, and trying to get to the front. My mother would keep people from getting closer. It was embarrassing, but really she was keeping the crowd from trampling all over us. In reality, she was the one in control. Those drunkards had no clue where they were going, or what they were doing. One man called my mother a lesbian as he tried to push through. She goes, "I'm 45 years old, and I have two children. Don't you DARE call me a lesbian. Get back. Turn around, and go the other way. You're not getting pass me." He then tried to call her honey, and she about popped him in the face. That my friends is why going to a semi-feminist college is a good thing. We had the greatest group of people around us. There were some girls with homemade Killers shirts that showed up, because they couldn't handle the crowd. There was a young girl named Kasey who was with her husband. She was awesome! A guy who worked at Rite Aid, and this huge burley fellow with his girlfriend. We kept a barricade up.
While we were waiting for the Killers, every member of the Graham Colton Band walked by. They just waved and thanked us, cause Kelley would yell their names, and we would praise their efforts. Graham was the only person who stopped and talked to us from behind the fence, and it was all thanks to me. ha ha...I'm in love with him. I have been since Kendra and Rachael told me about him when he opened up for Guster. They said he was a "Hayley Guy", cause he had the hair and the look. We're made for each other. I'm just waiting for the ring. *wink, nudge* Anyway, I saw him walking by, and I just yelled, "Graham!!!!", and started waving. He walked over with this huge grin, and we told him how awesome he was, and Kelley told him about seeing him at Workplay back in February. He was like, "Oh really! Well, thanks!" I asked if I could take a picture, and he was like, "Sure...Well, I don't know how it's going to turn out, but go ahead". Kelley's friend Brittany managed to throw a fan over for him to sign, and we now have it. I didn't get the pic of him, because a policeman made him leave, but the girls with the homemade Killers shirts got a beautiful shot of him, and they're going to send it to me. Ahhh...It's a wonderful picture, and when they send it, I will post it. I think Kelley may go see Graham when he opens for Kelly Clarkson. She said that the band sells merchandise. If that's the case, I'm certainly going. He's too cute...Okay, sorry. Back to the serious stuff.
Look a "Graham Fan". ha ha...Yeah, I'm sorry. But look it's NPR. Come on. That's good stuff.
(Picture above is PNG, but worth the wait)
The Killers finally took the stage around 11:05 PM. Brandon came out in a blazer, and low cut shirt. He was wearing his makeup which included an assortment of blush, eyeliner, lip gloss, etc. It created a very dramatic effect. The setlist is as follows:
"Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine"
"On Top"
"Under The Gun"
"Somebody Told Me"
"Change Your Mind"
"Andy, You're A Star"
"All The Pretty Faces" Yes, a new track. We managed to find it thanks to Sarah's blog (ultragrrrl.blogspot.com). People were amazed that we knew every word. We're just awesome like that.
"Indie Rock N Roll" Kelley broke out the tambourine at the very famous line of "She plays the drums, I'm on tambourine". We "think" Brandon saw it, and that Mark heard it, because Mark was laughing. He hardly ever cracks a smile.
"Mr. Brightside"
"Smile Like You Mean It"
"All These Things That I've Done"
A short set indeed. Only 11 tracks. Brandon refused to come out for an encore. He told the crowd, "This is the last song. We are not coming out for an encore." Why? Well, I truly believe Brandon picks and chooses based on the crowd. This crowd was horrible. They were crowd surfing, and moshing. YOU CANNOT AND DO NOT CROWD SURF/MOSH TO THE KILLERS. Kasey said that Brandon flipped off the crowd. I can believe that. In fact, I have video of him doing just that. I understand where he's coming from though. He takes his art very seriously. To have people moshing and crowd surfing to just two songs is rather degrading. It would be the equivalent of someone taking a painting of mine, swinging it around, and then spitting on it. I would be pissed, and I don't blame Brandon for being upset in the least bit. It's dissapointing as a fan though to be surrounded by people like that. I felt embarrassed and a bit ashamed. I'm not from Birmingham, but I guarantee you that the Killers will not return anytime soon.
At the same time though, the Killers were very mechanical. Brandon did not interact with the crowd. It was like he was rehearsing a monologue. I've been fortunate enough to see many great acts up close and personal, and I just was not that impressed with the Killers' stage presence. If you can't acknowledge one person (ie-Dave ignoring Kelley), there's no way you can communicate with a crowd of 50,000. I guess that's why I adore Franz Ferdinand so much. Each of them is so friendly and personable. They treat you like you're an old friend. The Killers are just focused on fame and getting the job done.
Let it be known though that there are still genuine fans out there. They pay for the tickets, and then they put up with rude, inconsiderate, and uncivlized heathens just to have a glimpse, even if it's for a mere second, of a band that changed their lives.
I enjoyed the Killers. Their "sound" was amazing! I just wish that I had seen them in a smaller setting, and before they had become all jaded by glitz and glam.
The evening was not a complete failure. During the Killers' set, Ludacris walked by, and laughed at my sister's dancing. Michael Tolcher stopped and chatted with Kelley. He even stroked her hand. ha ha ha...That child can die happy now! We met some really great people, and we will probably never see them again, but without them we probably would have given up on the Killers all over again.
We arrived in Birmingham around 7:00 PM, and we had to park at least two blocks from the Miller Lite Stage. Of course, we had to buy tickets at the gate, and the line was a mile long. Kelley tried to smuggle in TWINKIES for Brandon Flowers since his birthday is Monday, but the man checking bags made her throw them away. The guy behind us, a black guy who looked about college age, was shocked. "TWINKIES! Oh, come on...Why did he have to throw the twinkies away?!" Exactly. She got the tambourine in though, and that was all that mattered.
We slowly made our way to the Miller Lite Stage, and Silvertide was on. Horrible does not even begin to describe them. The lead singer kept cursing and encouraging people to get wasted and high. Thank you sir for ruining my evening. We were in the back of the crowd during Silvertide, but somehow my mother managed to get us extremely close and by a fence. This will pay off later. Anyway, Silvertide's lead singer walked by, and he stepped on my mom's towel. He probably had STDs on his shoes. That's how digusting he looked. Ewww...*shutters*
The Graham Colton Band took the stage shortly after Silvertide. They were amazing! Graham was enjoying himself, and he was bragging about Birmingham "keeping it real". I enjoyed them thoroughly considering I had not seen them the last two times they were in Birmingham, but I had tickets to both. Go figure. Graham kept playing, cause the Killers were not coming out until 11:05, and his set ended around 10:00 PM. He played a few covers from Kracker and REM. Both were top notch. He even played my favorite song, "Cigarette". The most amusing part (and it may not be that funny) was that there was a person to the side of the stage sign languaging what the artists were singing and saying. During "Cigarette" though, the guy would be signing away and at the one part of the song that goes, "You make me want to smoke a cigarette", he would just put his fingers up to his lips. I thought that was priceless. Graham ended his set thoroughly trenched in sweat, which is a wonderful look for him. heh.
During Graham's set, Kelley somehow spotted Dave Kreuning of the Killers chatting with some security people. She yelled his name, and he looked over. Squinted. She waved, and he just ignored her. Yeah, I figured just as much. Ronnie and Mark were not that personable when I met them back in September, but their music is the only thing that ways out their tremendously huge egos. I actually discussed this with my mother on the drive back, and I'll conclude on everything later. It's not necessarly the egos, but their concept of artistry.
The crowd was extremely horrible. They were getting way out of control. They kept shoving and pushing, and trying to get to the front. My mother would keep people from getting closer. It was embarrassing, but really she was keeping the crowd from trampling all over us. In reality, she was the one in control. Those drunkards had no clue where they were going, or what they were doing. One man called my mother a lesbian as he tried to push through. She goes, "I'm 45 years old, and I have two children. Don't you DARE call me a lesbian. Get back. Turn around, and go the other way. You're not getting pass me." He then tried to call her honey, and she about popped him in the face. That my friends is why going to a semi-feminist college is a good thing. We had the greatest group of people around us. There were some girls with homemade Killers shirts that showed up, because they couldn't handle the crowd. There was a young girl named Kasey who was with her husband. She was awesome! A guy who worked at Rite Aid, and this huge burley fellow with his girlfriend. We kept a barricade up.
While we were waiting for the Killers, every member of the Graham Colton Band walked by. They just waved and thanked us, cause Kelley would yell their names, and we would praise their efforts. Graham was the only person who stopped and talked to us from behind the fence, and it was all thanks to me. ha ha...I'm in love with him. I have been since Kendra and Rachael told me about him when he opened up for Guster. They said he was a "Hayley Guy", cause he had the hair and the look. We're made for each other. I'm just waiting for the ring. *wink, nudge* Anyway, I saw him walking by, and I just yelled, "Graham!!!!", and started waving. He walked over with this huge grin, and we told him how awesome he was, and Kelley told him about seeing him at Workplay back in February. He was like, "Oh really! Well, thanks!" I asked if I could take a picture, and he was like, "Sure...Well, I don't know how it's going to turn out, but go ahead". Kelley's friend Brittany managed to throw a fan over for him to sign, and we now have it. I didn't get the pic of him, because a policeman made him leave, but the girls with the homemade Killers shirts got a beautiful shot of him, and they're going to send it to me. Ahhh...It's a wonderful picture, and when they send it, I will post it. I think Kelley may go see Graham when he opens for Kelly Clarkson. She said that the band sells merchandise. If that's the case, I'm certainly going. He's too cute...Okay, sorry. Back to the serious stuff.
Look a "Graham Fan". ha ha...Yeah, I'm sorry. But look it's NPR. Come on. That's good stuff.
(Picture above is PNG, but worth the wait)
The Killers finally took the stage around 11:05 PM. Brandon came out in a blazer, and low cut shirt. He was wearing his makeup which included an assortment of blush, eyeliner, lip gloss, etc. It created a very dramatic effect. The setlist is as follows:
"Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine"
"On Top"
"Under The Gun"
"Somebody Told Me"
"Change Your Mind"
"Andy, You're A Star"
"All The Pretty Faces" Yes, a new track. We managed to find it thanks to Sarah's blog (ultragrrrl.blogspot.com). People were amazed that we knew every word. We're just awesome like that.
"Indie Rock N Roll" Kelley broke out the tambourine at the very famous line of "She plays the drums, I'm on tambourine". We "think" Brandon saw it, and that Mark heard it, because Mark was laughing. He hardly ever cracks a smile.
"Mr. Brightside"
"Smile Like You Mean It"
"All These Things That I've Done"
A short set indeed. Only 11 tracks. Brandon refused to come out for an encore. He told the crowd, "This is the last song. We are not coming out for an encore." Why? Well, I truly believe Brandon picks and chooses based on the crowd. This crowd was horrible. They were crowd surfing, and moshing. YOU CANNOT AND DO NOT CROWD SURF/MOSH TO THE KILLERS. Kasey said that Brandon flipped off the crowd. I can believe that. In fact, I have video of him doing just that. I understand where he's coming from though. He takes his art very seriously. To have people moshing and crowd surfing to just two songs is rather degrading. It would be the equivalent of someone taking a painting of mine, swinging it around, and then spitting on it. I would be pissed, and I don't blame Brandon for being upset in the least bit. It's dissapointing as a fan though to be surrounded by people like that. I felt embarrassed and a bit ashamed. I'm not from Birmingham, but I guarantee you that the Killers will not return anytime soon.
At the same time though, the Killers were very mechanical. Brandon did not interact with the crowd. It was like he was rehearsing a monologue. I've been fortunate enough to see many great acts up close and personal, and I just was not that impressed with the Killers' stage presence. If you can't acknowledge one person (ie-Dave ignoring Kelley), there's no way you can communicate with a crowd of 50,000. I guess that's why I adore Franz Ferdinand so much. Each of them is so friendly and personable. They treat you like you're an old friend. The Killers are just focused on fame and getting the job done.
Let it be known though that there are still genuine fans out there. They pay for the tickets, and then they put up with rude, inconsiderate, and uncivlized heathens just to have a glimpse, even if it's for a mere second, of a band that changed their lives.
I enjoyed the Killers. Their "sound" was amazing! I just wish that I had seen them in a smaller setting, and before they had become all jaded by glitz and glam.
The evening was not a complete failure. During the Killers' set, Ludacris walked by, and laughed at my sister's dancing. Michael Tolcher stopped and chatted with Kelley. He even stroked her hand. ha ha ha...That child can die happy now! We met some really great people, and we will probably never see them again, but without them we probably would have given up on the Killers all over again.