by Kid_A_42 » 8/25/2002, 6:43 pm
I must tell about my experience at the Cleveland show. It was pretty unique.
First off, it was my first major concert EVER. I was pretty excited that it was at an OLP concert. So we got to Cleveland at 7:30, and the line wasn't that bad. We had to drive around Cleveland though, looking for some food. We finally found a Subway, ate fast and went to the venue. Long line. We were towards the back. Anyway, when we finally got into the place, every spot on the floor was taken. There was no place. So we walked around, looking for a decent spot. None. There were so many people packed into that place... so we ended up on the third floor on a bench, looking through four panes of glass at the front row on the floor and catching a glimpse of people on the stage every so often. CRAPOLA. Then Audiovent started. I could see the singer's head. I kept riding the escalators so I could see a little bit. (Which I saw that the singer looked like he had just gotten back from a gay rodeo). Audiovent sucked in my opinon, but I really could have cared less. I was pissed about our shit seats. So I kept walking all over the place, looking for a better place. At one point I couldn't get to the escalators so I said "Excuse me, I'm trying to get to the escalators" and some bitch was like "Yeah I bet you're trying to get to the fucking escalators bitch" and I turned around and was like "I will punch you in the fucking face. Don't mess with me." I have a temper. Anyway, I went back to my shitty seats, bummed.
Now, nobody here knows what kind of a person I am. But I will tell you this much: I do not take shit. I will not let people stomp all over me, and I will not have my first concert experience suck ass. So I found the closest guy to me who worked at the RARHOF and, well, in short, ranted to him about my situation and how they shouldn't have crowded so many people in there and how much MTV sucks. He listened, chuckled, and asked how many people were with me. Four I say. Okay he says. And he leaves. And I just sigh. And continue my search for a better seat. At one point I come back to my friends, feeling defeated. And the guy comes back and says he has a deal. I took one of my friends with me (As not to lose our already shitty seats) and looked at the place. Directly backstage, behind a store gate. Good enough. We moved there. And one of the coolest moments of my life. OLP came out, right in front of us, about to go on stage. I just watched them for a few moments, and then I yelled to Jeremy. He looked up, smiled and waved. I thought I was going to pee my pants. Then Raine looked and waved. Awesome. Then they went on, did "All for You", and a big, black security guard with a grey gotee told us we couldn't be back there. So we pointed to the guy who took us down there, and the guard was told us "He doesn't have any authority" Well, I got a little pissed, because obviously he had some kind of authority. He talked to the main shleng-ding to get us down there. I argued for a bit with the guard, and he finally went "LADY, you can't be down here and I will remove you with force" That made me laugh, because I think I look about 12 years old. So I got out of there, and watched the guard argue with the guy. The guy lost though, so he moved us to another spot, on the floor but way way off to the side. I could only see Duncan and a huge stack, and glimpses of Raine, but it was good enough for me. Then the guy, who had already gone WAY out of his way, came back and offered us another spot. We kindly rejected it, saying this was good enough. I didn't want to get in front of anybody and make their show horrible or piss them off or anything. So we continued watching the show from the same spot.
But then he came back again and didn't even ask us if we wanted to move, he just grabbed one of us and the rest followed. He lead us through the crowd, people were giving us dirty looks, and I must admit, it was a good feeling. I felt superior, because I was going to a better place. He stuck us in the crowd in front of the stage, on the right by all of the staff, at the back of the little section. We were really close. A pillar was in my way of seeing Steve, but I could see everyone else great. Then when they said they were "done" a lot of people started to leave. So we got to move up even closer. I could see the whole stage. And then they did the (extended) encore, which I can't even remember but it was great. After the show, we went up to the guy, found out his name (Craig) and thanked him over and over again. (I almost hugged him, but I think he was already like WTF? All I did was move you around all night) That man made my first concert one of the best experiences of my life. Thank you so much Craig, wherever you are. The night was so awesome. We talked about it the whole way home.... awesome. I didn't go to bed until 4:30 I was so hyper.
MUSICIAN: You're in a privileged position in society. You're expected to tell the truth
TOWNSHEND: Bullshit! Bullshit! I'm not expected to do anything. Nobody is going to tell me what to do. Nobody is even going to ask me what to do. If anybody doesn't like it, that's their problem. It's my work. If someone doesn't like it, I can't help it.