Pt 12
The B 52s. They start off with Planet Claire. Wow.
What a way to start a set. I always thought of that song as an encore type song, but I'm not really a fan, so I'm not sure if this is a common set opener. Man, those chicks have fantastic voices. Amazing. So strong and sharp. As good as they were 25 yrs ago. As amazing as their voices was their showmanship. They were fucking rock stars. They weren't there to just play music. Their poses were just pitch perfect. Was that a hand held theramin that Fred was using?
While I love Elvis Costello, the B 52s may have been a better choice for an opening act for the final show. Before the show, many nutters were talking about this last show like it was going to be a funeral. Saying they considered wearing dark suits. No. Uh uh. This was no funeral. This was a PARTY!! A celebration. A celebration of great music. A celebration for the fans to say thank you to a legendary rock band and for said band to say thank you to its fans. Something the fans and the band were denied in Melbourne all those years because the future was still uncertain at that point.
The band was a BLAST. For some reason, the first Nutter my eyes were drawn to was Moeskido. He clearly was having a blast. I was surprised how much fun he was having as I didn't suspect that this band was his bag. The whole pit was really getting into it. However, my attention really began to focus on sections 111 and 119 (well, 119 mostly as I couldn't see 111 as well). That section was fucking ROCKING. I found myself staring at that section as much as the B52s at some points. It seemed like E was leading that section. I may have been hallucinating, but I swear the Pit was getting peep points from that section all night. They were having some real fun up there.
I was looking around a lot during the B52s set. Looking for celebs. Of course, absolutely did not notice Stewart hanging out right to the side of the pit.
D'oh!
The drummer for the B52s live is Sterling Campbell. He's cool as shit and rocks like a Mo Fo. I've been a fan of his from his work with Bowie on tour and he did not disappoint this night either. I was wondering about the bass player. Was this the same chick that played bass for Sting on the Nothing Like the Sun Tour? Hmmm.
The set ran almost exactly 50 minutes, just like Costello's sets had been, bringing the time to 8:50. I knew the Police would be coming on at 9:20. Even though I hadn't had anything to drink since the last time I took a piss (which was just 50 minutes earlier), I still decided to use the restroom one more time. Just in case.
The line to the restroom on the Andy side of the stage is really long so I head to the restroom that is Sting side. I run into Sect404 who is clearly in a great mood. I hurry so I can get back into the Pit. I head towards the security guard near the pit entrance and reach into my pocket to get my ticket. My ticket. MY TICKET!
FUCK!!!! Cell phone? Yes. Camera? Yes. Letter from Jose to The Police just in case I ran into them? Yes. Pit ticket? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
There is no bigger gong.