Post by nmf on Oct 20, 2011 15:51:47 GMT -5
State Theatre
Ithaca, NY
10-19-11
Okay. I am a sucker for old pretty theatres so a whole tour of pretty theatre shows is fabulous to me. And because of a whole lot of personal nonsense I'm not going to be sharing on a public forum, I decided to go to three shows, Ithaca being the first. I managed to get face value front row tickets for every single show through Artist Arena. It all seemed too good to be true: awesome venues, awesome seats, a nice little unexpected vacation. And then the first setlist of the tour got reported, time machining us all back to 2006. In case anyone hasn't worked it out yet, I hate 2006 and LLI with the intensity of a thousand suns. I was really bitter about it and seriously considered skipping my shows but I would have screwed someone over if I skipped Ithaca (and Erie) so I went, planning to write some scathing reviews in which I just bitched about the awful setlist. But I'm not going to do that because I realize there's no point. The setlist isn't going to change because I want it to and being unhappy about something that was supposed to be an escape from the bad stuff day to day doesn't really get me anywhere.
So... I took a lovely scenic drive down through the Finger Lakes and went to Ithaca to see my favorite band play in a beautiful little theatre. They were all in fantastic moods, the crowd was mostly fun, I got one of Robby's picks, and I got to watch the show leaning against the stage for the first time, my elbow actually resting on John's setlist.
The theatre was much smaller than I had expected. When I went inside, there was a little entry way and when I thought I was going into some sort of lobby, I was actually right at the back of the floor seating. The stage was one of the smallest and lowest I have seen the band play on and there was no railing. We were allowed to lean on the stage without any sort of security between us. I ended up right in between John and Robby and some people may disagree with this, but 'being too close' is a real thing. The videos I took had no zoom and still turned out closer than I would have liked. I didn't take video of any of Robby's songs because my angle for him was incredibly unflattering. In the interest of being as creepy as possible, I would like to say I've seen more of the hair on John's thighs than I had ever really needed to.
It was the standard setlist. All Eyes On Me was listed after Naked but it wasn't played. People who had bought signed setlists got them before the band even went on stage and AEOM wasn't on those ones so the band never had any intentions to play it. I loved hearing Naked for the first time in a long time. And as much as I love Still Your Song, the only setlist comment I'm going to make is that it's really not a good song to open with at all.
I was a bit worried some band members would be in a grumpy mood due to certain online activities at 4 am that morning but everyone came out smiley and happy and it continued that way. John grabbed hands all night (and faked people out too) and played with a glowing plastic wand from the audience (it later broke and rolled across the stage and John picked up the pieces and gave them back to the owner which was cute). He also took a sign from the audience that said '@janetcollard is waiting for you in the parking lot' and he talked about that for a while, segueing into promoting 'Get Money Out'. Robby stuck his gum on his monitor right before Now I Hear again and I feel like I'm the only person who has ever mentioned this and it's now happened twice.
For the opener, I liked Ryan Star quite a bit. I knew a couple of his songs and he heckled some people in the crowd for their reactions to what he was talking about. We also had a little Meat Loaf singalong and I just don't think there are enough Meat Loaf singalongs at concerts. His set was very very very loud though (GGDs weren't) and I am considering earplugs for the next show.
Now I'm going to bitch - but it's not about the setlist so I'm allowed.
The show was a seated show, meaning that everyone had a ticket with a specific seat number on it. It's my understanding that for seated shows, you watch the show from that seat. Otherwise, they shouldn't have bothered assigning everyone seats. I know it seems easy for me to say that as I had a front row center seat and couldn't want anything better but I have never moved up from my assigned seat at any show I have attended because it's unfair. After Ryan Star finished his set, I went into the entryway for a few minutes and when I came back, there was a crowd three people deep in front of the first row of seating. My neighbor talked to the security guy by the stage and he said he would be sending them back to their seats and did so a little while later. She asked him how close we were allowed to go to the stage and he told us the front row could approach the stage but to leave enough room for him to pass through. So then the lights went down and stupid me got up to approach the stage, leaving a respectable amount of space like he asked. And all of a sudden, hoards of people rushed the stage and were packed 4-5 deep in front of the first row of seats. Security never sent them back. Before the rush of the crowd, a woman with a media pass was right in front of me, which was fine because there was supposed to be a gap for her to work from, and she told me she would give me her spot when she was done in three songs. I did take her spot when she left but I am a little annoyed that as one of the 13 people with a real front row center section seat, I didn't fully get the privilege of having no one in front of me when people from God knows where were allowed immediate access. The two couples that had seats to my left never made it up to the front and had 4 rows of people in front of them.
I am not denying that having a crowd of people right up front didn't add to the fun night. I think the band likes when there are a lot of people packed tightly together close to the stage. I'm also not seat police. I don't really care if there are people who shouldn't be there as long as they're not taking anything away from the people who should be there.
And finally, some people in the newly formed pit at the front of the stage were just assholes. I'm pretty reserved at a concert because I am there to watch a performance, not to get drunk and act like an idiot and hope John Rzeznik will see me in the crowd and whisk me away on a white stallion. I don't think there's anything wrong with letting a little loose but some people just ignore how they're affecting the people around them. We were packed in very tightly and the girl to my left was swinging so violently that she was hitting people around her. I had to actually keep my elbows on the stage to avoid being pushed over. Right when the show started, someone behind me poured an entire cup of beer down the arms of me and the person to my right (I prayed to God I wouldn't get pulled over for all of my stupid driving antics on the way home, there is no way I could have claimed I hadn't been drinking with the way I smelled after the concert). And then there was the girl right behind me. I so badly want to name names but I won't. But I will share all of her actions and hope she realizes how rude she was (not that she'll care). She was very drunk and very loud and continuously tried to wedge herself between me and the flailing girl next to me. She hit me so much I have a bruise on my arm today and she hit the back of my head and poked me in the eye (which is really fucking impressive because I wear glasses and there is a limited amount of access for fingers to the eye) and I obviously couldn't get security to do anything about it because they were off to the side of the stage doing nothing. She reached for John OVER ME every single time he came over and he grabbed her hand about 30,000 times. This isn't a jealousy thing because I have never tried to touch any performer at a concert and I don't particularly want to. It's just 'how many times do you need to get him to touch your hand in a 90 minute period before you are satisfied?' I finally worked out that so many people are so consumed in getting John's attention at a show that it doesn't even matter what they're playing because these 'huge fans' really don't care. (Had to make a tiny setlist dig...)
OH. And a little disgusting end to the whole night - As I was trying to leave the stage area, a girl ran up to the stage and grabbed Robby's chewed gum off the monitor and proudly showed it off to whoever she was with. A stranger's chewed gum.
So in short, it was a fun show and I'm happy I went but there are some real assholes on this planet.
I've uploaded videos. I also have Name but in the middle of it, John came over to grab some hands and I was hit very hard by a lot of people who don't care about injuring people and while being knocked around, my camera swings up perfectly to catch every single one of those asshole's hand grabs and I am not going to reward them with video of it.
Twitter talk, Get Money Out, Birthday Wishes, We'll Be Here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-pYm-3lm70
Still Your Song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_VuC2-5aQ
Playing with the star wand
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlhHkkLHVqQ
Naked
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgU3x9SzFqU
And this is a photo of the gum. Because it's hilarious. Even if it's gross and no one should touch it.
smg.photobucket.com/albums/v337/crookedrhyme/?action=view¤t=DSC01414.jpg
Ithaca, NY
10-19-11
Okay. I am a sucker for old pretty theatres so a whole tour of pretty theatre shows is fabulous to me. And because of a whole lot of personal nonsense I'm not going to be sharing on a public forum, I decided to go to three shows, Ithaca being the first. I managed to get face value front row tickets for every single show through Artist Arena. It all seemed too good to be true: awesome venues, awesome seats, a nice little unexpected vacation. And then the first setlist of the tour got reported, time machining us all back to 2006. In case anyone hasn't worked it out yet, I hate 2006 and LLI with the intensity of a thousand suns. I was really bitter about it and seriously considered skipping my shows but I would have screwed someone over if I skipped Ithaca (and Erie) so I went, planning to write some scathing reviews in which I just bitched about the awful setlist. But I'm not going to do that because I realize there's no point. The setlist isn't going to change because I want it to and being unhappy about something that was supposed to be an escape from the bad stuff day to day doesn't really get me anywhere.
So... I took a lovely scenic drive down through the Finger Lakes and went to Ithaca to see my favorite band play in a beautiful little theatre. They were all in fantastic moods, the crowd was mostly fun, I got one of Robby's picks, and I got to watch the show leaning against the stage for the first time, my elbow actually resting on John's setlist.
The theatre was much smaller than I had expected. When I went inside, there was a little entry way and when I thought I was going into some sort of lobby, I was actually right at the back of the floor seating. The stage was one of the smallest and lowest I have seen the band play on and there was no railing. We were allowed to lean on the stage without any sort of security between us. I ended up right in between John and Robby and some people may disagree with this, but 'being too close' is a real thing. The videos I took had no zoom and still turned out closer than I would have liked. I didn't take video of any of Robby's songs because my angle for him was incredibly unflattering. In the interest of being as creepy as possible, I would like to say I've seen more of the hair on John's thighs than I had ever really needed to.
It was the standard setlist. All Eyes On Me was listed after Naked but it wasn't played. People who had bought signed setlists got them before the band even went on stage and AEOM wasn't on those ones so the band never had any intentions to play it. I loved hearing Naked for the first time in a long time. And as much as I love Still Your Song, the only setlist comment I'm going to make is that it's really not a good song to open with at all.
I was a bit worried some band members would be in a grumpy mood due to certain online activities at 4 am that morning but everyone came out smiley and happy and it continued that way. John grabbed hands all night (and faked people out too) and played with a glowing plastic wand from the audience (it later broke and rolled across the stage and John picked up the pieces and gave them back to the owner which was cute). He also took a sign from the audience that said '@janetcollard is waiting for you in the parking lot' and he talked about that for a while, segueing into promoting 'Get Money Out'. Robby stuck his gum on his monitor right before Now I Hear again and I feel like I'm the only person who has ever mentioned this and it's now happened twice.
For the opener, I liked Ryan Star quite a bit. I knew a couple of his songs and he heckled some people in the crowd for their reactions to what he was talking about. We also had a little Meat Loaf singalong and I just don't think there are enough Meat Loaf singalongs at concerts. His set was very very very loud though (GGDs weren't) and I am considering earplugs for the next show.
Now I'm going to bitch - but it's not about the setlist so I'm allowed.
The show was a seated show, meaning that everyone had a ticket with a specific seat number on it. It's my understanding that for seated shows, you watch the show from that seat. Otherwise, they shouldn't have bothered assigning everyone seats. I know it seems easy for me to say that as I had a front row center seat and couldn't want anything better but I have never moved up from my assigned seat at any show I have attended because it's unfair. After Ryan Star finished his set, I went into the entryway for a few minutes and when I came back, there was a crowd three people deep in front of the first row of seating. My neighbor talked to the security guy by the stage and he said he would be sending them back to their seats and did so a little while later. She asked him how close we were allowed to go to the stage and he told us the front row could approach the stage but to leave enough room for him to pass through. So then the lights went down and stupid me got up to approach the stage, leaving a respectable amount of space like he asked. And all of a sudden, hoards of people rushed the stage and were packed 4-5 deep in front of the first row of seats. Security never sent them back. Before the rush of the crowd, a woman with a media pass was right in front of me, which was fine because there was supposed to be a gap for her to work from, and she told me she would give me her spot when she was done in three songs. I did take her spot when she left but I am a little annoyed that as one of the 13 people with a real front row center section seat, I didn't fully get the privilege of having no one in front of me when people from God knows where were allowed immediate access. The two couples that had seats to my left never made it up to the front and had 4 rows of people in front of them.
I am not denying that having a crowd of people right up front didn't add to the fun night. I think the band likes when there are a lot of people packed tightly together close to the stage. I'm also not seat police. I don't really care if there are people who shouldn't be there as long as they're not taking anything away from the people who should be there.
And finally, some people in the newly formed pit at the front of the stage were just assholes. I'm pretty reserved at a concert because I am there to watch a performance, not to get drunk and act like an idiot and hope John Rzeznik will see me in the crowd and whisk me away on a white stallion. I don't think there's anything wrong with letting a little loose but some people just ignore how they're affecting the people around them. We were packed in very tightly and the girl to my left was swinging so violently that she was hitting people around her. I had to actually keep my elbows on the stage to avoid being pushed over. Right when the show started, someone behind me poured an entire cup of beer down the arms of me and the person to my right (I prayed to God I wouldn't get pulled over for all of my stupid driving antics on the way home, there is no way I could have claimed I hadn't been drinking with the way I smelled after the concert). And then there was the girl right behind me. I so badly want to name names but I won't. But I will share all of her actions and hope she realizes how rude she was (not that she'll care). She was very drunk and very loud and continuously tried to wedge herself between me and the flailing girl next to me. She hit me so much I have a bruise on my arm today and she hit the back of my head and poked me in the eye (which is really fucking impressive because I wear glasses and there is a limited amount of access for fingers to the eye) and I obviously couldn't get security to do anything about it because they were off to the side of the stage doing nothing. She reached for John OVER ME every single time he came over and he grabbed her hand about 30,000 times. This isn't a jealousy thing because I have never tried to touch any performer at a concert and I don't particularly want to. It's just 'how many times do you need to get him to touch your hand in a 90 minute period before you are satisfied?' I finally worked out that so many people are so consumed in getting John's attention at a show that it doesn't even matter what they're playing because these 'huge fans' really don't care. (Had to make a tiny setlist dig...)
OH. And a little disgusting end to the whole night - As I was trying to leave the stage area, a girl ran up to the stage and grabbed Robby's chewed gum off the monitor and proudly showed it off to whoever she was with. A stranger's chewed gum.
So in short, it was a fun show and I'm happy I went but there are some real assholes on this planet.
I've uploaded videos. I also have Name but in the middle of it, John came over to grab some hands and I was hit very hard by a lot of people who don't care about injuring people and while being knocked around, my camera swings up perfectly to catch every single one of those asshole's hand grabs and I am not going to reward them with video of it.
Twitter talk, Get Money Out, Birthday Wishes, We'll Be Here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-pYm-3lm70
Still Your Song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_VuC2-5aQ
Playing with the star wand
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlhHkkLHVqQ
Naked
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgU3x9SzFqU
And this is a photo of the gum. Because it's hilarious. Even if it's gross and no one should touch it.
smg.photobucket.com/albums/v337/crookedrhyme/?action=view¤t=DSC01414.jpg
Loved your review, thanks.
