The Concert

I had to blog about the most amazing concert EVER first, and then I'll post about Thanksgiving.

I had a totally amazing time with my girlfriends Krista, Melissa, and Rachel. We drove out to the arena and ate lunch at "Which Wich". It's a sandwich place and was totally delicious. My chocolate shake wasn't too shabby either, and they had melt-in-your-mouth cookies. Adam and I will definitely have to stop there next time we go to a Coyotes game.

The lights dimmed as we got to our seats. We took our time at dinner because we didn't really care about seeing the opening band. We waited in anticipation as a guy walked on stage and assumed position at a turn table. Then came the weird animation:

Melissa and I looking weirded out...

Sorry to those that would appreciate this art-form. The animation became more and more strange over time and the music was what I think is described as "trance" - a form of techno. I thought that maybe he was going to do stuff for the band and that he was intro'ing for them, but no. He played his techno music for about 30 minutes. If I was high, I probably would've loved it!!

ANYWAYS... so, then we waited for the band to come out and yelled with joy as the techies came out and moved stuff around in preparation. I had my camera out and ready, hoping to capture at least 1 non-crappy photo during the performance. Then I suddenly remembered that my camera could also take short videos, so I figured that if they played any of my favorite songs, I could record portions. Each of us had the one or two songs that we really wanted them to play. Rachel wanted to hear Strawberry Swing. Krista wanted Fix You and Square One. Melissa wanted to hear some of their older stuff. I wanted to hear Lost!/? and The Scientist.

The band came on stage and the crowd went totally crazy! They opened with Life in Technicolor, which was totally awesome. Then, I think they played Politik... I think, which was a great follow-up - nice and big! THEN they played In My Place, which is another favorite of mine. It was soooo great live. That was the first time that I just sang my heart out. Next was Fix You, which was sooooo great. I took a short video of that one, just to prove that they sound just as great live as they sound on their cd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EcjtlQuZLY- Fix You

At one point, they walked off to one side of the stage and all stood on a platform out in the middle of the audience and played some songs. It was so cool having them closer and being able to take more detailed pictures of them. The best was yet to come, though!!! Here's a pic of that performance:

So, then they proceeded to play a few more great songs, which included Lost! I have to say, every single song was soooo good. There wasn't a single one that I was like "I'll be glad when they get to the next song." How many concerts have you gone to that you can say that about?? I haven't been to one yet. I thoroughly enjoyed everything. Not only were they amazing musicians, but they were great performers too! They were so engaging and weren't too into themselves. They were so respectful and seemed truly grateful to be here and performing. They all looked like they were having an amazing time. It was truly fun to watch.

After about 8 songs or so, they ran off stage through the audience. We couldn't figure out where the heck they were going until they reached a platform set up in the middle of the audience in the arena. They were literally like 4 sections away from us. It was incredible. Chris Marten said that he loved that people were willing to pay to see them up close, but for those that couldn't, they wanted to give them an opportunity of having an "up close and personal" performance too!!!! It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. Not only that, but they played my "must play" song there!! He said "We're going to play a song that means a lot to us - not because it's a great song, because it really isn't that great of a song ("WHATEVER!!!!!" - me), but it means something to us. It's called The Scientiest." The audience errupted into screams and cheers, and they did this acoustic version that was just...... too amazing for words. Here it is, in it's entirety - with bgv's by me and Melissa. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYGRMHH_UFA - The Scientist

Their encore was Yellow, of course. Could it have been any more perfect? Only if they had played more songs! What they did play was incredible. It seriously way exceeded my expectations. They are officially one of my all time favorite bands now.