The Last Goodbye - EQ's Perspective

[TheEqualizer]

Pt 13

FUCK! I can't fucking find my ticket. I have been checking every five minutes ever since picking it up at 9 that morning and here it is ten minutes before the start of the Police's set and I've fucking lost it. I start to believe that even Pecos can't help me this close to the start of the show.

But then I remember the yellow wristband. Duh! "That should be enough to get me in the pit, right?," I tell myself. So I go up to security and present my wrist. But I forget which wrist my pit wristband is on and show the guard my CHA! bracelet instead. Surprisingly, the guard is very surly when I do this and looks like he is about to throw me out. And not very gently. Luckily I have the presence of mind to quickly show my other wrist, and I am let in quickly.

So I go back to my spot between Conroy and BongoBoy. St. Jeff comes out and adjusts Stewart's drums, or whatever he does. He waves to the Nutters as he does so and the Nutters go NUTS. He then throws out some points and the Nutters EAT IT UP. Everyone is ready for a really great time.

I look at my cell phone and start yelling out the time before the set. "Seven minutes!!!" No one is listening to me. But I am getting so . . . nervous? anxious? that there is nothing else that I can think of doing. At that point, I check the pockets of my shorts again. I remember that I am wearing kind of cargo type shorts which have pockets lower down on the thigh as well as in the standard spots right below the waist. I check this pocket and there is my ticket. Where it had been ALL day so that I would not accident pull it out when I took put my phone. Where I had checked on it a thousand times that day before entereing the venue. D'oh!!!

"Two minutes!" Still, no one listening. For some reason, I think, "Wouldn't it be cool if The Boys started the show with a cover of 'Get Up, Stand Up' rather than coming onto stage to that pre-recorded song?" Shortly after, "Get Up, Stand Up" plays over the PA.

THIS IS IT!!!!!

BongoBoy is still cool, dancing in place to Marley. I, on the other hand, wonder if I still might piss myself even though I had used the restroom 90 times in the last 3 hrs despite maybe only having 1 drink during that time frame.

The lights are down, and The Boys come onto the stage. Stewart is wearing his blue GITM jersey. I would have bet money that he was going to wear his Leroy shirt. The blue GITM shirt was my second guess.

But something is odd. Stewart is at his drumset and the percussion rig (including The Gong) is not raised. Hmmmm. Doesn't seem like the first song will be MIAB. I then look towards Sting. He's got his bass strapped on and no acoustic guitar in sight. Hmmmmm. Doesn't look like it will be Bring on the Night as the first song.

Probably for the first time this entire tour, I have no idea what song they will be playing. Not a clue. For some reason, I suspect that maybe they'll belt out Synch I. But Andy doesn't have his 12 string and I just don't feel like that the song they will play.

Meanwhile, Stewart eyes the crowd. It appears apparent to me that Stewart did not know what the Nutters' plan was for the final show.

What the Nutters would do during the final show was the subject to great debate and discussion for quite some time (months?) both on SC.net (briefly) and off. The idea to have all the Nutters in attendance hold a mini-paper flag was brought up pretty early, though idea did not always get the warmest reception. I gotta admit, I had reservations about the idea. My concern was that the Nutters would be dispersed too much through out the venue to really be THAT noticeable and thus not very effective. However, the ticket lottery fixed that. Sections 111, 119 and the very front of the Pit was a solid, in your face green.

When Stewart came onto the stage, it was like he was hit upside the head with a wave of Kryton love. Stewart's eyes were popping out. He was stunned. He was happy. Dare I say, he was amazed. He was not expecting something like this. The goal of the Flag all along was to let Stewart know he had his fans that were loyal to him and supporting him whole heartedly. These miniflags accomplished that goal. At that point, I could not think of somthing that could have been a more effective statement of our love and devotion.

But still one thing remained. What the hell were the going to play?

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

[TheEqualizer]

Pt 14

ITS FUCKING SUNSHINE OF YOUR FUCKING LOVE!!!!!

Ok. This part may sound bad, but this is how I truly felt at the time. First, I love Cream. I love Sunshine of Your Love. I love the idea of the Police playing covers. I love the idea of the Police playing a song they never played during a "proper" concert during their final show.

BUT, something felt off. Starting off the show with a cover. I immediately felt that this should have been an encore. And the rendition The Boys were playing was very good, but it just wasn't how I had imagined it would be in my mind. Mind you, I would probably venture to say that this version was maybe as good as the version played by Cream themselves on this very stage not that long ago. Hell, I think Stewart's drumming was probably better than Ginger's drumming during that reunion. But it was just slightly off for me. It was an A performance when I was ready for an A+. Thinking about it, it was probably that I really wanted to hear some Police songs before they started with the covers. Of course, it appears that the cover is quite the hit. All of MSG seems on its feet and the place is rocking.

Then, another curveball. After Sunshine is over, the percussion riser comes up, and there is . . . JEFF!!! He looked ABSOLUTELY PSYCHED and he's got the gong mallet in his hand (I cringe at the fact that a review in the paper the next day indicated that is was a "roadie" who manned the Gong ). The Nutters go BEZERK!!! I feel so happy that Jeff gets some stage time during the final show.

Now, before the show, word had leaked to the Nutters that one of the special guests at the show was going to be a "drum and bugel corp" during MIAB. The IDEA of this before the show went over like a lead zeppelin amongst the Nutters. Disbelief at the concept seemed to be the general consensus. A bad omen of the things to come. Were we in store for a Kanye/Fergie duet?

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!!

And out came the NYPD Drum and Bugle Corp. Ok. No one mentioned the NYPD Drum and Bugle Corp. Almost instantly it felt like this was the ABSOLUTELY perfect thing to do. The crowd is totally floored. This was the A+ we were waiting for. A++. I was right in front of Andy and he was clearly VERY happy how this was going down. This was going to be a fucking great night.

TO BE CONTINUED . . . (man, this is turning out longer than I anticipated)

[bella]

It's so good to get reports of Stew's reactions from the people in the pit, especially since our 10th row seats were now more like 20th row because of you pit punks. We couldn't see what was going on with Stewart or whether or not he had any actual reactions at all. I didn't even remember seeing any points from him until the end of the show, so it's great to hear that there actually were several throughout the show. Yeah!!

Keep going! I'm going to bed, but there better be more when I get to work. I mean, really, I have to have something to do besides my job!

[Spec A!]

I'm loving it, between yours and Bella's (and I guess a little of Kel's) reports, I truly feel like I was there with you guys. Thanks EQ- can't wait for the rest!

[E]

Great story so far! We could see the NYPD drum corp behind the stage before they came out. I thought that was cool.

Jeff did a fantabulous job on the gong too!

(does he give gong lessons I wonder?)

Keep it coming EQ!

[DirtyMartini]

[quote="TheEqualizer"]When Stewart came onto the stage, it was like he was hit upside the head with a wave of Kryton love.[/quote]

Yay.

[animal]

EQ, enjoying the story so far but..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KexudBb_oc

[TheEqualizer]

[quote="animal"]EQ, enjoying the story so far but..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KexudBb_oc

[/quote]

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

[animal]

[quote="TheEqualizer"][quote="animal"]EQ, enjoying the story so far but..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KexudBb_oc

[/quote]

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? [/quote]

You mean this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHFXG3r_0B8

[TheEqualizer]

Pt 15

Stewart was going point crazy. I had never seen points like this before. Not even close. Machine gun points to everyone in the pit and first couple of row that was holding a miniflag. He shot off a few hail mary points over to section 119. Fired off a few more points into section 111. Man, someone was going to get their eye poked out with all these points.

And then, during Driven to Tears (I seem to recall, though in retrospect, I'm thinking it may have been earlier in the show), mid song, Stewart rips out the mother of all points. I have seen lots of points, live and on video and there ain't been a point like this before. It was like a fucking thunderbolt in the middle of the song. I half expected the recipient to have a burn mark on their chest as a result of this fucking point (it was to the middle of the Pit, so I suspect that the recipient of this Zeus Thunderbolt Point was Dietmar, Pecos, or DM). This show was clearly going up to 11.

Now, all these points to EVERYONE made me think that this whole miniflag idea was the best idea ever. I recall Charlie Arnold had started the thread about how DM should be the flag bearer at the final show. That day, I remember e-mailing Kellie about the plans for the flag at the final show and how the miniflags were a go. I then made the comment that this was great cuz this would be like it was all of SC.net as the flag bearer at the final show, and she agreed. And I'll tell you, it really felt like it. Not just the people in the pit, on the floor, sections 111 and 119, and anywhere else at MSG, EVERYONE at SC.net who ever posted or even just sat and read the post, enjoying this crazy journey known as Tourzilla. Sting rattled off some stats about how many people had seen this tour (something like 3 million) and how the 19,000 people at MSG represented everyone who had seen them on this tour. I felt exactly the same regarding the Nutter. We were ALL there in spirit and Stewart was clearly feeling it.

Some general comments about the show. This was really the best show of the tour for me. By far. Actually, probably the best show I'd ever seen. The energy was totally off the chart. They were absolutely playing like this was their last show. Made me suspect that there was no click at this show, or at least less click. But beyond the supernova energy level, the precision with which they played was also at about the best I had heard all tour. As Pluto described, they really dotted all the "i"s and crossed all the "t"s. The only mistake that I noticed was during Don't Stand So Close to Me. It was either Sting or Andy who made the flub (they clearly weren't on the same page during a brief moment), but it was very quickly corrected. There was a point where Stewart just started throwing sticks in the air. Must have been like five in a row. It was craaaaaaaazy.

Now, at the time, I had no fucking idea that the whole "flag's fate" thing was as up in the air as it really was. I felt everything was just going as planned. The Flag was being handed slowly down the front row from center to Andy's side. BongoBoy was the last Andy's side Nutter with me to his left and Conroy to my left. When Conroy handed The Flag to me, it was around Voices/WWIRD. The problem was that Andy was blocking my viewed of Stewart at the time and WOULD. NOT. BUDGE. If only Pecos could nail Andy with a CHA ball right then like she later did. But Andy was not moving. Fuck. But I was generally ok.

So I handed the Flag off to BongoBoy, who was waaayy into the show and hadn't realized that the Flag was being handed down the row. It was like he had just caught up with an old friend. BongoBoy's view was similarly blocked by Andy (move around for Christ's sake, Andy!!). But BongoBoy did something with the Flag which I am not sure I can absolutely describe. He was doing this little flag dance. Instead of just holding it up a la Stevel or waving it, he held it off to on side and then quickly brought it back towards his chest and then back out towards his left. Now, I couldn't figure out if this was indeed BongoBoy style flag waving or if BB was trying to hand the thing off to me cuz i was clear Stewart could not see the Flag where it was at the time due to Andy. So I let BB do the flag dance for awhile when BB outright says, "Stewart can't see this" and unambiguously handed me the flag. The flag still can't be seen from when I am either (MOVE ANDY!!!!!) so I quickly hand the flag off to Conroy. I think Conroy and I may have held the flag together for awhile, or it may have been BB and me, or it could have been both. But Conroy didn't seem to give a fuck if the flag could be seen. He was just having a great time with the flag this last time at the final show. Before long, The Flag left the hand and me and Conroy and headed back slowly towards the center of the front row of the pit. That was the last time I ever touched The Flag. The end of my personal experience bearing the actual Flag not just at this show or even for this tour. But ever.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

[bella]

[quote]That was the last time I ever touched The Flag. The end of my personal experience bearing the actual Flag not just at this show or even for this tour. But ever.[/quote]



I feel ya.

[TOWOS]

" The problem was that Andy was blocking my viewed of Stewart at the time and WOULD. NOT. BUDGE. If only Pecos could nail Andy with a CHA ball right then like she later did. Laughing But Andy was not moving. Fuck."




Andy?? But if he borders Midgetdom!!! Well, I admit he's gotten larger, though...

[E]

Please sir, may I have some more?

[TheEqualizer]

Pt 16

A little aside, which will be come more relevant in a minute. I tried to keep my eye open for celebs at the show. And there were plenty there. Leo DiCaprio and his mom. Bruce Springsteen and Patti. James Gandolfini. Paul Rudd. Gerald Butler. Deborah Harry. And more. But they were back in the seat. Makes sense. Less chance that they would get disturbed, gave them an opportunity to sit if they wanted, and they were generally too old for the pit stuff.

The exceptions were Rosanna Arquette, who was actually in the camera pit, the area right in front of the Pit. She was seated in front of Dive for most of the show. I also saw Taylor Hawkins right outside the camera pit. At first, he was just wearing this white shirt and hat that was not too dissimilar to BongoBoy's. Later, Taylor was wearing a black jacket and black baseball. I could be wrong, but it seemed like it could have been a Synch jacket. True Nutter. Don't think anyone else saw him, but you can see him in some of the pictures that show the stage and the pit.

Anyway, so I remember looking around the pit wonder, "so exactly who the fuck are these people?" Someone told Vespapod they they had designed one of Andy's shirts. I remember looking at someone and they had these really cool backstage lanyards that said "Guest of Stewart Copeland" which had a pic of Stewart's face in the middle of it. I was trying to figure out who the fuck they were. I then remember seeing a bunch of kids in the Pit. By "Kids", I mean someone younger than me. I had no idea how old they really were, but it seemed like they were just teenagers. Seemed like good kids, though. One girl I remember in particular was one wearing this like white shirt with Synch-type stripes on it. Hmmm.

So ELTSDIM starts. I this is a very personal song to me for various reason and so obviously one of my favorites. I was also very curious regarding the new "Deathwish" style beginning that Dietmar had mentioned was played at Jones Beach. Yes, the beginning was very Deathwish-y and good.

So there are some "kids" in the camera pit. Vespapod is high fiving them like he knows them. I then begin to figure that they are Police kids. Hmmm.

ELTSDIM is truly MAGIC this night. And then I see three young girls on stage. I partially expect Sting to do a Stewart-to-John-Mayer-esque-Who-the-fuck-are-you to the girls. They are dancing around and having a total blast. They are taking pictures of themselves and the band. They were exuding fun. And Sting didn't seem to mind. Actually, he seemed like he was having fun as well. Actually, the whole thing really reminded me of the video for ELTSDIM. Not the studio part but where they are outside performing. People just genuinely have fun because of this great performance going on. I then see the kids Vespapod had high five go onto stage and start dancing with Andy. It clicked that they HAD to be Andy's kids. And I've never seen Andy happier. Pure joy was just BEAMING from Andy's face.

*looks around to see if anyone's looking*

I actually really begin to cry at this point in the show.

*takes a break to compose myself while writing this*

To me, this was THE point in the show. This was the PERFECT moment. This was what the final show was supposed to be. Nt a funeral. A party. A celebration. An expression of love from the Police to and with everyone that had made The Police what they are. I try to hold back my tears so that Conroy and Bongo Boy don't see. But DAMN YOU, ANDY!!! You were so clearly sooooo happy, I could not stop crying.

Of course, the girls on the stage were not contest winners of some sort like I initially thought but Sting's daughters. Who were watching the show right next to me just minutes before. I am able to compose myself by song's end, and I think neither BB nor Conroy saw the waterworks. I think they were distracted by something like a fantastic performance or something.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

[bella]

damn it, EQ. You are so lucky I have my own office. How the heck would I explain tears in the workplace?