Live Review : New York (USA), February 19th, 2008
The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, New York - 1 000 ppl
Before the show
We woke up late and went to the venue ASAP (not rushing though...), and arrived at 10:20 am, after some shopping at the nearest supermarket. They probably never understood why their stock of blankets on sale was selling out so fast that day. But it was REALLY cold that day, much more than on Monday, so even wrapped in blankets, I ended the day with achy lungs (and the next day was like I had never felt before).
It didn't stop us from queuing, though. A car passed by blasting TH's "Forgotten Children" by its open windows in the afternoon. Weird. I felt really stupid when a homeless guy asked what we were waiting for. Err... A band? *hangs head in shame*
Oh well. I hadn't been all that captivated by what I had seen of New York the previous days, so I didn't feel I was missing much. As it turned out, I was less tired by the end of THAT day that after the one before. Sight-seeing is much more exhausting than waiting in line, if you sit whenever you can. And you should.
The German security head arrived with the band around 4 pm, and passed by giving instructions, talking friendly with the fans. And being hit on by most of the teen girls there. The lengths they'd go to have a chance to reach the band *sigh*
(he's really friendly, mind you, at least as long as you follow instructions and don't imbreach the band's space, but... seriously. Do you really think you have a chance? I'm sure he's too much of a pro to let a girl use him to get near the band).
We were let in in the venue in small groups, and we were in the second one. We landed second row on the far left end of the stage (Tom's side. No, it wasn't because of the random encounter from the day before. More that we'd been on the other side the day before). And the wait started. Same track list as on Monday - including Nirvana's "Smells like teen spirit", No Doubt's "Don't Speak", the Red Hot Chili Peppers "By the Way" (appropriate for queuing) and "Under the bridge" (*pokes poltergeist* hey ya), Fall Out Boy, Metallica, etc. Sounded like what the band could have picked for an all-American waiting track.
The show
The show was... pretty much the same as the day before, I figure, but I don't remember much of it. I mostly remember the insane pushing and shoving that started as soon as the band appeared on stage. It wasn't just pushing from the back, it was also pushing from the middle, where fans were trying to make their way to the center front. I had to fight the entire show to even stay in place, more or less, and even then, from the second row, it was hard to see much between the raised hands and constant moves.
I do remember the teen beast next to me at the 3rd row sending air kisses to the twins, at the same time she elbowed everyone in her attempt to get closer. At some point I saw a security guy bent over the bareer not far from her, and after wondering what he was doing, I realized that one girl had collapsed and was already half fallen on the ground... and the girls around, instead of trying to help her out, were closing the circle around her. Possibly about to walk on her. I pulled Tean Beast aside to leave some room for her to be evacuated, and still got glared at by Tean Beast. I showed her the other girl to explain my move, but it didn't faze her.
At that point, I was thinking I would never again try the front rows of a TH show... and also that US fans were definitely not quieter or more civilized than European fans. Fortunately, every now and then I caught sight of the guys between heads, and their proximity made up for the fighting... a bit. It was mostly worth it for this :
Black. In a very dim light, quite an intimate set. Bliss.
If I recall, Georg only went on our side once. The rest of time, he was hidden from my sight by... a forest of arms with cameras and cellphones. As for Gustav, he didn't do a solo at the end, but he did stay a little longer to say goodbye.
