|
AFTERNOON
7/12/98
Hey All! We are here at Lesley's about to get ready to go to the
NEC - what a stressful afternoon! Quotes to remember: Where is my
beer? Where are my knickers more importantly? My flag needs ironing
-it's curly! WHOOSH..... We are tipsy and on our way to go! It will
be a BLAST! Tell you all about it tomorrow!Always mix your drinks...
on PG's behalf, Riexxx
^
Early Hours Of Tuesday Morning....8/12/98 We-ell,
Day One of the tour...! *thud* We got to the venue and milled about
all over the place - for some reason actually having some trouble
finding the bar! NO! Eventually found it, and got to meet up with
some familiar names, if not faces... I wandered out after a tip off
that my non-internet friend may have been asking after me and found
my seat just in time for the support... Let me tell you, Rialto, in
my opinion, are WONDERFUL! They are very melodic and vocalist Louis
Eliott has a beautiful singing and speaking voice. I'm told the guitarist
was nice to look at too, but I never got that far. The mainly 'waiting
for the hits of Duran' crowd were a bit flat during the set, but fear
not, sweetie-pies, I made enough noise and boogied to compensate.
All in all, *much* the best Duran support band I've ever seen... :)
Then... short wait for the main event. Brilliant fun as we were all
out of our seats and yelling at each other up the front! There was
a big heaving mass of people we knew a bit off the internet or from
PG meet-ups, and it was great! Got the odd look from security - something
of a feature of the night... alas. Back to our seats, the lights went
down, and it was - oh god! -
^
time for Duran. Now, in my post show state you
really don't expect me to be able to tell you what they played in
what order do you! They started with Planet Earth (many thanks to
my back up team of Dolly, Rie and Ginger! my mind has gone!) and then
went to Is There... The crowd having woken up lapped it up totally,
and I could see those damned plastic girls having the time of their
life up by the barrier (should mention at this point that I'm way
back in the crowd, and the luvverly bouncers wouldn't let us stand
in the aisle let alone rush the stage and prostrate ourselves at Nick's
feet...) They tried Big Bang Generation after a short while, and that
set a pattern - I think most of the crowd by me not only didn't have
Medazzaland, but maybe also didn't own seperate albums, just Decade
and Greatest. The newer tracks did fall a bit flat, unfortunately,
but only BBG, OOMM (sorry guys - but lousy rendition of it anyway
(ow! just my opinion) - though the visuals, like a motion version
of Nick's Interference rocked) and EB (which *did* go over very well
- good placing amidst other loud stuff) were played, plus the revamp
of Secret Oktober for the first track of the encore which was unfamiliar
to the crowd by me at least, but seemed to intrigue... :) The hits
however, went over really well, nice to see such enthusiasm.
The cig-lighter incidence rate for SAP was very low though! (Maybe,
like me, lots of other people can't work the damn things...) An enterprising
section of audience waved sparklers instead (didn't you - you know
who you are LOL) and I think the security guard who practically threw
me aside to get at them must have been a fire eater because how else
*do* you put out a sparkler... Nick did a tiny weeny bit of threremin-ing,
Simon did much fun(n)/(k)y dancing and Warren shined something wondrous
(even outdoing the backdrop which was reflective and lit by the lights
throughout) and Wes and Steve both more than pulled their part - Wes
proving that those bass parts *can* sound so good again. (Wes obviously
having fallen in a pot of glitter gel first though - *grin*)
I got particularly hyper for All She Wants Is (Simon, Nick and Warren
all miked up doing the hook line together - mesmeric), Friends of
Mine (no Simon writhing on the floor though!) Wild Boys (Simon: "I
suppose we'll always have to live with this one...") which may be
*ahem* a bit silly and ungrammatical but is just so wondrous live,
and Secret Oktober (Me: "They have to do an encore they haven't done
SO!") and then lo! they came back and played it, ditto Careless Memories...
I'd heard that they were not going to do it unless it was yelled for,
so at the close of SO I bawled CARELESS MEMORIES just as they began
it - pyschic or what!
>>>
|
|
Made me smile anyway! The low point was when they
started Rio - after Warren's comment on tv the other day - I was so
aware it was the last track and the end of the show. (They also played
Anyone Out There, I am *so* pleased we got them too!) I then did a bit
of amateur problem solving - getting my friend a lift home arranged!
and regrouped with the PG's. We then spent half an hour of absolute
misery! Wending our way backwards and forwards, through the hall, afraid
every few minutes that it would be shut up and we couldn't get back
in.
^
Eventually, the crunch, the worst moment of the
night (and yes, there is still grot to come) four backstage passes,
six of us. It was very quiet as most people had gone home, but the security
would not swing it for us to sneak two extra in. In the end we tossed
coins for the passes - under constant remarks of "come on girls - get
on with it!" and ChinaPG and I went in with Dolly and Ginger. Scary...
walking into a backstage area to see Duran. Undescribably scary. The
first look I had round the room, I couldn't see anything or anyone much,
just a milling crowd of lots of pink passes. I said hi to Natalie and
Nuno, who'd been shipped in there a la Radio One of course! and sidled
further in. I had to move apart from the others, just be on my own and
soak it in. I squeaked just a little as I saw Madeleine in the flesh,
and Les came up and mistook it for a squeak at Nick who I was just noting
as well... then the room started to come into focus and I became more
aware of the people there, including all three Le Bon daughters and
Warren. I didn't see Yasmin, but am told she was there. Silly corner:
I found the perfect icebreak! Instead of having to wander up to the
band (or not) and say 'um, can you sign this...' I just sidled up and
handed each in turn a Loveheart sweet with Be My Icon on it. Nick was
all eyes and exclamation - he seemed really chuffed with it! :) Les
grabbed me at this point and pointed out my Interference *inspired*
t-shirt to which he again exclaimed and said "You've put it on the computer!"
which of course I am dissecting and over analysing... eek. Wait till
he sees the other one! :)
Warren went 'Wow!' then said, "Are you American!?" I'm presuming he
thought it was a Hard Candy one. When I spoke he went, "You're *not*
American!" so there you have it folks it's official! Apparently I was
quite tame - certain others I know insisted on a stroke of his head!
^
Simon came in rather later and was Mr Charm.
He happily signed a ticket for Rie who was waiting outside having lost
the coin toss (yes she got a heart on hers, and he knew the spelling
- asking me "Where is she?") I didn't get a heart on mine... :( On receipt
of his Love Heart he said - "I have to give this to Nick!" then on being
told Nick had one, said, "I'm hungry" but as far as I know he didn't
eat the evidence. I made another circuit, eventually getting Warren's
autograph as well, and hearing the odd snippet of info for tomorrow's
setlist - settle down - it's um, not different! I also spoke to Louis
from Rialto, who is lovely, and told him what I thought of the band!
The reason that they are not playing all of the dates is because they
were invited very late in the day, and have commitments to shows of
their own on the nights they aren't playing - fair enough, as long as
he plays near me soon! :) The final person we got to speak to was Wes
Wehmiller, who is a fabulously lovely bloke (and very sparkly!) We wandered
dazedly from the room - our PG ed particularly so after comments from
all the band on the fanzine - Warren is going to look in the archives
for his moment of fame (Waz-o-shine head polish!) having patted Les
on the back and declared it "a gem!" Simon insisted we send him a personal
copy - he wrote his address on one of our tour t-shirts - Claire has
since been hospitalised! - throwing a mini tantrum and demanding in
best baby-stamping-foot-mode that he must have one! Nick (the man with
all the copies so far!) saying "Yes I know Plastic Girl! I have all
of them!".
^
We rejoined the remainder of our party, who were
jolly bored waiting for us - sorry chaps! - and headed in the direction
of the carpark... on the first leg up to the path through, there were
just the 10 or so of us, on the next leg (back to the venue to find
someone to helpfully unlock the locked carpark - just *what* were they
on!) made it up to about 20 people, then went in the other direction
(it's a long walk but you can get round this way...) finally found a
security fella to ask - guess what. Back all the way we went originally
- now up to about 30 of us! - but finally the damn gate was unlocked.
Some of the party was having severe drooping problems by now, but finally,
finally we found the car and came home. Tea and toast all round, and
yours truly typing the monster e:mail of the day while Rie and Les relive
Sing Blue Silver! and Paula sleeps :) I would like to mention it is
now 3:26am... Perhaps I'll let someone else do the honours tomorrow!
*grin* Pale. "They're too old! They're way too old!" Rie "I want to
meet Sttaaaangggg!!! ok!" Les *snore* Paula "My eyes are burning up!"
Pale.
|
