5 posts tagged “point”

You already know that I'll have a lot to say about the whole experience, but for now (because I'm desperate for some sleep) I thought I'd share this photo from fourth row at last night's Police concert:

Yes, Stewart, that green blur you saw was me.  Thank you for pointing at the flag, and especially for the big smiles and eye contact.  Thank you for the opportunity to meet such incredible people.  Thank you, Kellie, for letting me be a part of this crazy Kryptonite history.

In a few hours, I'm off to see my husband Mike and his band at a gig in the Big City.  I'm so excited.  A whole bunch of us are going to be at the show... I hope they can fit us all in the venue.  Tonight is also Mitch's birthday, a landmark one, and he's also singing tonight.  If they play one of the songs I recorded, I'm going to jump up on stage and do the backup vocals.  Don't tell him or he'll appoint a security guard to me.  Ha!

My husband is a drummer.  A tall, blond, gangly, talented drummer.  How much do you want to bet I'm going to get pointed at tonight?  :)

Pictures after the show... and SOOO much more news and photos to share.

Hope you all have a great Saturday night!

[almost a week later, I know -- but Vox and I were both down for the count this week]

We had another meetup with even more fans on the Friday at Fionn McCool's, and this time we had a special occassion to be there for: two birthdays to celebrate.  Both were from the UK, traveling to Toronto just for the Police concert, so I baked a beautiful marble cake, and my roomie Lynn helped decorate it.  I spent hours making the Stewart Copeland "Rhythmatist" logo as a stencil (because birthday girl Kim was flag bearer that night, and that's what is on the flag) and it turned out splendidly.  Lynn cut it out and shook the cocoa over top.  Everyone thought it was too good to be restaurant cake, and it was :)    The waitress had a supreme sense of adventure, as she stuck the candle right at a very conspicuous spot on the logo.  Good eats, good beer, great company... it was an incredible night.

But really, the fun was only beginning.  We cleared out and headed over to the Air Canada Centre, where most of us had floor seats in the same general area.  I had no seat mate for the night, but I was surrounded by my buds, and I made friends with people behind me and in the rows to my left.  Kim and Lynne were directly in front of me, although almost 20 rows ahead, but it meant that after each Stewart flag-point I got a clear shot for photos.

The concert itself was sweet.  Seats were awesome, sound was great, and the band rocked.  Definitely better than the

concert the night before.  Fiction Plane changed up songs for the night, and played one with the lyrics "F*ck yourself and f*ck your cigarettes" this time, while Joe asked everyone to stand up and dance and get into it: "I've gotta say, standing up is The Future!"  This man's talent is wasted as an opening act, even though that opener is for the Police. I heard from Kim that their gig at El Mocambo was splendid, and I wished I'd been able to make it into the city for that one too.  But three days away from my girls, who were now sick with the sniffles, was just too much for me.

Our green shirts got a lot of attention, and people asked us outright what they were about.  I suppose at most concerts you get some hardcore fans, and the really rabid fans are scary.  You also get those "Rocky Horror" fans who have somehow synched up song lyrics with actual things to throw at the band.   We are not those fans.  We are fans who just want to be pointed at.

The people behind me had a raucous debate about Joe; after two minutes of it I turned around and settled it, with a smile.  They asked me more questions, which I answered.  I think if I hadn't, one of them would have belted the other, and probably after several beers.   I met a really nice couple when I found my "real" seat (I'd been put off to the left instead of in the centre) and told them about the flag, the CHA! bracelet I was wearing, the orange ball, the green shirts, the flag, and everything else they asked about.  I think Clayton-not-Clay thought I was insane, at least until he saw the first point and everyone in the general vicinity celebrated with me and patted me on the back and tolerated my excited SQUEEEing.

I danced with strangers, I took photos of Stewart's points, I screamed and waved and nearly exhausted myself in a generally excited panic.  The songs were incredible, the encores worth waiting for, and wearing a colour that is so unappealing on me was totally worth it.  Since the Toronto shows, the Police went to Boston and then Montreal... where they cut out songs on the setlist (you know things are bad when EBYT and Roxanne aren't in the show) and then cancelled a show in the US after that.  I got the vibe that Sting wasn't just saying he loved the city because that's just what they have to do... they gave it their everything that night, and it was not a concert to be missed.

After that, it was back to real life for me.  No more beautiful hotel room with the "Everyone Stares" view (thanks, Lynne!), no more visiting friends to hang out with at the shoe museum, no more CHA! bracelets and no more flag points.

Bless you, Stewart, for all that you do... and for making your fans feel so much a part of the show.  Thank you, Stewart, Sting and Andy, for bringing me some real, intense, soul-screaming moments.  For making me see what I want to do.  For all of it, and for the music.  Thank you to my buds from the Forum (you know who you are) for letting me participate, and for being who you are.

Hopefully I'll be in Savannah when it's my birthday... and if I am, you'll be reading about it here.  :)

More photos from the pre-show meetup, and the actual Friday Police concert (with Fiction Plane).

Just walked in the door from seeing the two Police concerts in Toronto. 

Oh.  My.  God.

My first flag point was ecstasy.   I was behind Stewart Copeland and to his left, so all the drum techs and the riser mechanics were very watchable.  When he came out, they started Message In A Bottle, and I saw him take little peeks around to find it.  It was with Russ on Thursday, over on the right, in the stands.  He saw it immediately and gave a big dramatic point, and I almost fell right over, because I knew what that point meant.  Russ was like a flasher with that thing, though... he would open the flag up to his shoulders and then close it very quickly.  I got one very bad photo of it, because I couldn't snap as fast as Russ did.

I met up with the most amazing group of people, and we are all tight in a very convoluted way.  I couldn't even explain the friendship that we have together, what binds us so closely, or how it happened that I'm a part of it.   I'm just thankful that I have met up with kindred spirits who are as insane as I am about the things that we share a passion for.

There's just too much to tell when I'm this tired and achy and screamed-out and slightly stunned.  So much more I want to tell, but I really have no idea where to begin, because I'm not sure where the experience starts and my entire self ends.

I'm off to bed with a glass of water, two Tylenol, and my camera hooked up to transfer over the many pictures I took the past two days.   I know I'll never have another chance to do this again, so forgive me while I recover my senses and my sanity.  I'll put up photos when I have spoken to the others who were involved, told my story to those who should hear it first, and found some pictures that I can share.

I am sure I already know what I'll be dreaming about tonight.

After the last Police concert in Toronto, at the end of July, things changed for me in a big way.  A lot of things I hadn't thought about, or thought through, had suddenly clicked for me.  I knew there was something huge out there waiting for me, but until this summer I wasn't sure what.  When my ducks lined up, I was ready and waiting to shoot them. 

As a result, I've met quite a few new friends, some very astounding people.  These friends will converge in a few days with even more new people, and we'll all be heading to yet another Police concert.  This time, I'm a willing participant in going :)

I have never gone to a band's shows more than once; not even in all of my years as a Depeche Mode fan has it occurred to me that it was even possible (or desirable).  This year I'll be seeing the Police up to three times -- which is nothing compared to the dozens of die-hard fans who are criss-crossing the planet to go to as many concerts as their sanity and pocketbook will allow.  Still, I'm honoured to actually have the chance to make it to this second go around, to make "I'm not worthy" gestures at the flag, and hang out with girls who SQUEE over Their Boys.  I love my husband, but he does not squee.

I'll be uploading my cellphone photos to my Flickr account, and hoping that my wee camera makes it into the stadium without any notice.  I think the seats are going to give us great viewing access to Stewart's points, and if so you'll be one of the first to know. 

Wish me luck... I am likely to get lost, and miss the whole thing just wandering around like a dazed moron.