So much for updating soon! XD Sorry…
In my defense, I did try to update this before (ie yesterday), but I accidentally deleted it, so I had to do it over >:(
Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, Matt Cortez was setting up for MCR and my sister and I were standing near the stage waiting for them to come out. As soon as they came out, everyone started raising their hands, holding up their cell-phones, and about 3 girls right in front of us sat on their boyfriends shoulders. >:x
EDITORIAL NOTE: I’m sorry, but I hatehatehate girls who do this. You find a decent spot where you can see the stage, and some girl has the bright idea of sitting on a guy’s shoulders. I’m sure this is fun for both of them, but it SUCKS for anybody behind them. GRRR!
We realized we weren’t going to see anything, so we spent the first couple of songs looking for another space. We found another spot where we could see the stage and the screen but it was farther away from the stage. I regret not looking for a good spot closer to the stage to begin with, but I always fear getting crushed. I’m a wuss. L
ANOTHER EDITORIAL: I mentioned in my previous journal, I was kind of skittish before the show that there could be “emo-bashing” (fortunately, there wasn’t), so it was REALLY great to hear Gerard say something about it.
"I want to say something today before we continue. Recently we've been hearing a lot of stuff about some violence here in your country having to do with kids who want to wear black t-shirts … or some kind of bull-- stuff like that. We don't want to see any f---ing violence! We came here for one reason, and that's to be at the f---ing rock show!"
LINK TO THEREAPER’S POST
That’s pretty much what he said, although I’m pretty sure he specifically said “emo”, or some other bullshit label”, because I distinctly remember the guys standing near us laughed at his pronunciation of the word “emo” (here, it’s pronounced “eh-moh”). Anyway, he’s been the only international music figure who’s said anything about this.
EDITORIALIZING THE EDITORIAL: Just a comment here about the supposed contradiction of Gerard calling emo a “bullshit label”: It IS a label, because like with any subculture, it’s defined mostly by the media and people outside the group looking for a way to define what they don’t understand. At the same time, that doesn’t give people the right to beat someone up because they seem to fit some stereotype. I don’t see the contradiction in that…
OK, anyway…
He also mentioned, that they love Mexico (of course, what are they going to say? LOL), that they loved playing here last year; and that they were psyched to play with Bright Eyes, the Mars Volta and of course, Smashing Pumpkins. Gerard told the story of how he and Mikey saw SP in New York, and Mikey said, “Gerard, that’s what I want to do”, and Gerard said “OK, Mikey, that’s what we’re going to do”. Awwww…
They look pretty much the way they’ve looked in all their recent tour photos. PICS! (NOT MINE)
Bob’s hair is REALLY long. Mikey was wearing his “Mikey Fuckin Way” t-shirt ( I WANT ONE!!!), Gerard looks like he’s been eating well, because the pudge is back! XD and the infamous GWay rip-in-the pants™ is still very much alive!
Damn, I wish I really wish I’d been near the stage! ;)
Oh, yeah, and Gerard did THIS. XD
At one point, Frank was playing on his knees right beside Gerard, and I thought something might happen, but it didn’t. Oh well, they still played a great show the infamous GWay rip-in-the pants™ is still very much alive, and played like 13 songs in a 1 hour set (including “Headfirst for Halos” and “Kill all YR friends”!).
Here’s the playlist, as well as I could remember jotting it down:
WTTBP, Thank you for the venom, How I Disappear, House of Wolves, Give ‘em Hell, I don’t love you, I’m not OK, Kill all YR friends, Headfirst, Hang ‘em High, Prison, Famous Last Words and Helena.
You’d think there would be some small scale riot, people demanding an encore, or something, but no. There was a bit of a rush from one stage to another, as the Mars Volta were about to go on on the other stage, but that was it. No mad crush, more like a mild jostling.
We didn’t go to see the Mars Volta because SP were next on the same stage, and honestly because prog-rock makes me go “sleepybyenow”. Trust me I’m not joking. I’ve seen them before. They play with A LOT of energy, and I recognize they are crazy talented, but XP Anyway, we could see them on the screens… Cedric threw a mic stand into the audience and tried to throw a fire extinguisher, but security caught it. Call me when “At the Drive-In” reunites…
Finally, SP are next.
I know there’s been a lot of controversy about Billy replacing James and D’Arcy, but as an audience member, I have to say, they sound great! Although clearly MCR have a large fan-base here, SP were the band most people were here to see, and the audience was VERY excited to see them.
They played a lot of the classics (Today, Tonight, tonight, Mayonnaise, 1979, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Ava Adore), plus some off of Tarantula, which I admit I don’t recognize, although they sounded better live than when I’ve heard them before.
Oh, yeah, and also a medley of of Britney’s “Piece of me”, Buffalo Springfield's “For What it's worth” and AC/DC's "Let there be rock". o_O Yeah, it was weird! LOL
EDIT: OK, I looked up the set list: Today/Tarantula/Stand Inside Your Love/Hummer/Tonight, Tonight/Mayonaise/Superchrist/Cash Car Star/Piece of Me# For What It's Worth [Buffalo Springfield]# Let There Be Rock [AC/DC]/1979/That's the Way (My Love Is)/Bullet with Butterfly Wings/Ava Adore/United States
Billy looked like, well Billy, bald, black long-sleeved sweater, and, most impressively, a long silver skirt with lots of ruffles (not kidding!) PICS (Not mine either).
By the way, the man does not age! He’s a vampire, right? Maybe he killed James and D’Arcy and keeps their blood in vials in his fridge. Billy didn’t talk too much, but really it was the music that people were there to hear, and he let it do the talking.
I have to say, the audience was really entertaining. A LOT of male bonding going on. Lots of guys singing “But weeeee don’t care….” to each other. XD Oh, yeah, I also have to mention the guy in front of us, who was shaped like a large pillow, And since it was raining, he was wearing a plastic parka, and danced by rocking from side to side, leaning on one foot and then the other. OMG He looked so funny! Not to sound mean; it was really cute.
When SP were done, Timo Maas was playing on the next stage, and some people did stick around to dance, but we were too tired. I wish I had more documentation (pics, vids) to go with this, but that’s not how it worked out. And that’s all I’ll say about that because I don’t want to get all bent out of shape about it. L
I’ve never been big on the idea of “festivals”, especially here in Mexico, but the whole thing was really well planned, and it went so smoothly, it was scary. I’m especially glad that there weren’t any scuffles, considering the recent rash of “anti-emo” violence.
Sorry I didn't have more pictures to go with this, but when MCR started playing, it started to get dark, and when SP came on it WAS dark. It was hard to take pics of the screen, and we didn't have a good shot of the stage. :( I'm disappointed, but I'm trying to not beat myself up about it. I hope I made up for it with the link and by being really long-winded. XD
Mostly I got pictures of really random stuff like this:
Not exactly Mikey Way, right? LOL
OK, that’s it for now. Talk to you when I go to my next show.
But I have a Buzzaversary coming up soon, so probably sooner than that. ;)
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