After all the anticipation, we arrived at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 30 minutes before the doors opened to wait in line for more.....anticipation.
When the lightening bolt made it's appearance, everyone started to get super excited.
It's always a little confusing when you're doing something for the first time, and since we'd never had pit tickets for this particular venue we weren't sure how everything worked. After waiting in line for the doors to open, we had to get in another line once inside, for the banding process. As if we hadn't waited in enough lines, once banded, we were corralled to one more line to wait for permission to enter the inside of the theater. As soon as that last line started moving, it was every man for himself to score the best standing position possible.......and wait.
We chose a spot 3 people deep, centered with the drums. I had a feeling everyone else was hesitant for the spot because 4 very tall men had already taken position ahead, but I had the perfect plan to see through their shoulders.We waited in the pit for a solid hour before the opening band, The Virgins, came on stage, which gave me plenty of time to make friends with my neighbors and establish a territory. There was one guy to my right who didn't understand the concept of creating a space bubble, but being the pit pro that I am, stayed strong.
About 5 minutes after the opener starting playing a guy to my left fell to the floor, sending a Jack and Coke crashing down with him. His friend, my immediate tall-guy neighbor, helped pull him back up. I leaned in to assess the situation and only moments later he was collapsing again. We couldn't keep him up, and no one knew what was wrong with him, so we called a guard to help. As soon has he and his friend were gone, I started to get wide in attempt to save their spot, but two little teeny-bopper opportunists, plaid shirt guy and fuzzy headed guy, squeezed through a group of girls and took their spot. Rude. It got real serious when one of them, fuzzy headed guy, started standing in my visual window, but rest assured, I had the guns to have him put back in his place.
The entire opening performance seemed like a blur with craziness happening, and all I really remember about the band is the lead singer's white boxer briefs were hanging out of the huge whole in the back of his jeans, and the 16-year-old looking drummer had the oldest most stretched out wholly thin white tshirt on that I've ever seen being worn in public, but I'm sure they were good. Kinda sounded like Tom Petty. By the time passed-out-guy and his friend came back, it was difficult to make a space for them, but somehow we managed.
The entire opening performance seemed like a blur with craziness happening, and all I really remember about the band is the lead singer's white boxer briefs were hanging out of the huge whole in the back of his jeans, and the 16-year-old looking drummer had the oldest most stretched out wholly thin white tshirt on that I've ever seen being worn in public, but I'm sure they were good. Kinda sounded like Tom Petty. By the time passed-out-guy and his friend came back, it was difficult to make a space for them, but somehow we managed.
Then Brandon Flowers came on stage and things got crazy.
I'm not sure if there could have been a bad set list, since I'm such a fan of their music, but I think the one they went with was a great mix of old and new.
Getting to be so close was actually a huge surprise Patrick kept from me until about a week ago when he couldn't hold it in any longer.......then he had immediate regret for breaking out the big guns so early.
Patrick loves to pick out flaws in men I think are sexy........like how Brandon's pants were flooding. I insisted it was okay because it's "the rocker thing to do", but he wants to know why being a musician makes it "okay to wear bad style choices". He actually had a dream, the night before, that I got asked on stage and made-out with Mr. Flowers.....
Yeah right, Hunny......I guess it didn't help that after finding out about our tickets I teased about being close enough to blow kisses and have them caught.
But seriously, asked on stage or not, I had an amazing time.
If certain people I know thought I was a crazy fist pumper that one night at House of Blues when I almost hit Tim in the head, then they'd be scared of me on this night. Actually, I think quiet a few people were scared of me, because all those space issues I was having earlier in the night seemed to disappear and I miraculously had sufficient room to wave my arm in the air and jump around like I just didn't care, while shaking my hips from side to side. Like a toddler, with better rhythm.
There was only one instance I remember having to elbow some white rimmed sunglasses guy a few times in the gut who tried to push his way through while asking people to lift him up so he could crowd surf or get on stage or something. When my blows to his stomach weren't enough discouragement, that's when having tall man friends (including my handsome husband) really came in handy. He didn't last long in our area, but I have to admit, I actually enjoyed getting to elbow him......does that make me bad?
If I had it my way, concerts would be 4 hours long per band headliner. I really just feel like they don't last long enough.
As if we weren't sweaty enough already, a few times these crazy firework type explosions went off behind stage, so powerful we could feel the heat from them on our faces. 
And then the confetti started falling from the ceiling, pouring down in abundance.
Sticky and hot from the dancing and the closeness and the excitement, the little plastic cutouts just clung on everywhere.
And when it was all over, Brandon Flowers started leaning over the edge of the stage to give out some high-fives. All of a sudden it was like were were in a human ocean. Our bodies shifted in his direction like a wave being pulled by the moon's gravity, without warning or choice, no negative space left between a single one of us. We were being pushed by so many people it was unpredictable and uncontrollable. Then the drumsticks were tossed into the crowd, one of them so close to where Patrick and I were innocently standing, and a stampede of greedy fans went flying into a pile of flailing arms and legs, inches from us. We quickly stepped out of the rubble and sped walked out of the chaos as fast as possible.
When we got home I was still finding confetti in places, like this lightening bold peeking out of my hair....
...And after I was sure I'd gotten rid of it all, this little guy was found in the shower with me.....
Have you ever thought it was worth getting trampled for a chance to high-five a famous person or catch a souvenir?
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