Thursday and Friday (9/13 and 9/14)
I spent much of Thursday working, packing, and trying to stay awake. It was one of those days that when you get to the end of it, you’re not sure how you made it… all a blur. I do remember sitting doing work at South Station in Boston. Apparently there’s a Boston Globe sponsored website where people post complaints about the lack of free Internet at South Station. I love taking the Acela. On the way down I got my seat in the quiet car, where I was able to do more work. My computer freaked out a little bit on the train and I decided maybe the time to order a new one (which I did a few days ago) had finally come.
I arrived at Penn Station at about 8:00 and Ez came to collect me. Lux was putting him up at the Club Quarters, so we dropped off my things there and then went to get food at a pub down the street. We sat upstairs and experienced the after work crowd and the Yankees network, YES (which, truth be told, is not all that unlike the Red Sox network, NESN).
Friday morning we scurried to get our things together for the switch to the Hotel Metro. I had heard of the Hotel Metro before, but Ez made all the arrangements, and he picked this place partly because it seemed perfect for our anniversary. He was right. The bellman was really charming… he kind of reminded me a little of Timothy Spall (the guy who plays Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter movies). After he stowed our things and Ez took off for the office, I sat in the lobby and did some work. I felt right at home, surrounded by pictures of Greta Garbo and Lillian Gish, with some of my favorite old songs being piped in, like Ella Fitzgerald’s version of “Blue Skies.”
My work didn’t take as long as I’d anticipated, so around 10:00 or 10:30 I set off toward Madison Square Garden. I should mention here that I was on the guestlist for this show, which meant that I didn’t know what kind of tickets I was going to end up with. For some reason I thought that just maybe being on the guestlist would be a special thing. I could have purchased a general admission ticket (the front of the floor at MSG is usually general admission, though I didn’t know that when tickets originally went on sale), but I took my chances with the guestlist. Anyway, figuring that it was possible that my guestlist ticket would be general admission, I scoped out MSG to see if anyone had formed a line. The place is ginormous, and I wandered around just trying to figure out what was what for about 15 minutes. I located the box office, and wandering outside I saw the band’s trucks and tour buses. Curving around to the other side of the building, I did finally see a woman I recognized from other shows standing at a series of unmarked doors. I figured that must be the line (she’s from New York and I’m sure she’s been to MSG many times). Since there was no one else there and it was early, I opted to wander for a bit. I found a Borders nearby where I bought a copy of some Poe stories–I had a feeling I’d need some reading material for the line. I was so wiped out from the week’s exploits and travel that I was in a sort of a daze, so Poe’s somewhat fantastic tales felt just right.
It was a long day of sitting in line. Again, it was impossible to hear the soundcheck given the size and location of the venue. Some of my friends did arrive, including Sandra, and I met some people as well. It’s weird being recognized from the Internet… just kind of funny. In the afternoon I started making trips back and forth from the line to the box office to see if my guestlist tickets had been delivered yet. They kept telling me to come back.
At one point I realized I’d had hardly anything to eat, so I went to a Duane Reade to get a snack. On my way back, as I was crossing the street, I passed a dark haired guy who looked familiar. Then I realized that a bunch of people in the line were calling and waving. I’d walked right past Daniel and Farmer Dave (the dark haired guy) and hadn’t even realized. Not too long after that Paul arrived, wearing sunglasses and with this lackey hauling his luggage for him. Before I even had time to notice, a couple of girls from the line had descended on him.
A short while later I decided to just hang out in the box office until my tickets arrived. They were pumping in the band’s latest album over their sound system. I noticed an older couple picking up tickets at the box office. The woman had a very familiar look on her face, and I think it must have been Carlos’s mother. She had the exact same mouth and expression that he has. Finally, I got my tickets and knew the mistake I’d made. They were pretty terrible–basically nosebleed seats. Now, I’d been in the front row the last six times I’d seem them, and I’d just been in line all day with people who would be in the front row again. It was a pretty big disappointment, even if I didn’t pay for the tickets. The good news was that my friends Couirey and Charissa were joining me, and they had similar guestlist seats, so I wasn’t alone.
I went up to my seats very early and scoped out the place. I hadn’t been in an arena as big as Madison Square Garden in a VERY long time–maybe never. The closest for me would be the Spectrum in Philadelphia, and I haven’t been there since I was in high school. It’s definitely the biggest place Interpol has ever headlined, and it wasn’t nearly sold out. I decided if I was going to be up high like that, I’d better get a drink. I’d discovered when I went to pick up my tickets at the box office that I had left my ID in my pants pocket (you need to show your ID on Amtrak now). They accepted my alternate ID so I could pick up my tickets, but buying a drink might be another story. I told the bartenders my tale of woe, showed them my wedding ring and pleaded, “Look, I’m getting wrinkles!” They smiled and said that they guessed they believed me. They asked me if I wanted a double. I’ve never been asked that at a bar–I guess I don’t go out much! Either that, or there are more hard drinkers in New York. Foolishly, I said yes. Now, I am NOT a heavy drinker. That was the strongest drink I think I’ve ever had. I could barely sip it. And it cost $13!! Oi.
Little merch stalls were set up all around the arena, and I noticed that they were selling this special poster, created just for this gig.
Naturally, I grabbed one.
Liars somehow weren’t as good this night as they had been in Albany and Boston. I think maybe the venue was simply too big for them. Next up was Cat Power. I’m not that familiar with her, so her set was interesting for me. She seemed to do a lot of covers. She has a good voice… kind of jazzy and bluesy, with a sort of thick and thin thing going on. I got a touch of Janis Joplin from her performance, but sort of an insecure Janis Joplin. Again, the venue was probably too big for her. Someone threw her a bundle of white flowers and at the end of her set she gave a flower back to someone in the audience.
Couirey and Charissa arrived in time for Cat Power. Couirey was playing Tetris during her set (bad Couirey!)…
Then Interpol took the stage and I realized just how hard sitting up in the nosebleeds was going to be. I eventually got over it, but it is a VERY different experience compared with being in the front row. Setlist went as follows:
Pioneer
Obstacle 1
C’mere
NARC
Say Hello to the Angels Pace is the Trick
Mammoth
Hands Away
No I in Threesome
Slow Hands
Rest my Chemistry
The Heinrich Maneuver
Evil
Not Even Jail
—–
NYC
Stella
PDA
—–
Untitled
So, the same as Boston except they played Untitled.
They started off with a skrim in front of the stage onto which they were shining some lights. I’m guessing that it was supposed to come down sometime during Pioneer to the Falls, but it didn’t. It was still there all through Obstacle 1, which was just weird. After that, Paul said they were going to take a little break so they could get rid of the screen. Everyone cheered after the crew slowly got the thing down. Some girl crowd-surfed during NARC, which I thought was hysterical. It was right around that time that I moved down a bit into some seats that were a wee bit closer. A big cheer went up when they started to play Evil, and I couldn’t help feeling proud of them. At the beginning of PDA (I think that’s when it was) Sam was sort of directing the crowd in front with his drums. It’s hard to explain, but it was like he was conducting a little pit symphony. Toward the end, Carlos came to the front of the stage and threw up his hands, dramatically blowing kisses to everyone. (Quite a contrast to his seeming utter boredom in Boston.)
‘cept it looks different at night.
Afterwards Couirey and Charissa and I went downtown to a bar called The Library on Avenue A. As soon as we were inside I realized that I’d been there before. Ez and I had gone there one rainy day a couple of years ago. Couirey and Charissa and I had a great time. We just had some drinks and chatted, but it was really fun. I love those guys. Ez was going to come out with us, but he’d already had a long day and night and by the time we got out of the show it was late and he went to bed. C, C, and myself didn’t leave The Library until last call, so it was another exhausting night for me. I got up late the next day, but then another fun chapter began…
