"I'm just an angel driving blindly through this world." 

For some reason, that song more than any other reminds me of that magical night of June 27th, 2001.  Maybe it's the tender, warm atmosphere of the song, I don't know.  But it reminds me of that night where I was fortunate enough to meet my friends and share two hours of musical bliss with them, but of course, it was more than just the music.  I don't think I can ever listen to those lyrics the same way again, or any of Martin's lyrics.  Every song they played that night will forever make me reminisce.  They represent so much more now.  It was fitting for them to end the night with "Never Let Me Down Again." 

"See the stars, they're shining bright, everything's alright tonight."  That summed up the night for me. 

To Martin and Fletch and Dave, it was just another night, just another show that will soon be forgotten.  I'm sure it's a night Fletch would like to forget if what my Dave Gahan look-alike friend said was true and he did fall off the stage.  I'd like to hope that night meant as much to them as it did to me.  Maybe if I ever run into Dave, and ask him if he remembers that night, he'll say, "yes, I do!  But what I remember more is the night before, when I walked past this hotel bar and saw some people licking windows.  That made me realise I was back home."  But I doubt he'd say that.  

I wonder if the band realizes how much of an impact they're leaving on their fans.  That it's so much more than just a new album and another tour.  How humbling it must feel, to know your music is making such a big difference in people's lives.

I think about this amazing band and I think about my amazing friends I've made because of them, and all I want to do is go back to Madison Square Garden.  Just to stand there and close my eyes, and feel for just a moment that my friends are there with me.

I walk through the city and see windows and trash everywhere, and I can never look at them the same way again.  It's funny how something as ordinary as a window or a garbage bag can remind you of such a happy event in your life.

It's been a month now since the concert, and it seems all my close friends have gone away.  Paul and Katey are back home in London.  Jan's somewhere in Florida, wishing she was someplace else.  Windy, she couldn't make it to the show, but she's not here either.  She's in upstate New York, wishing she was someplace else as well.

And me, I'm here and all that's left are the songs and memories.

My dear friend Katey, she has a tattoo of the Violator rose on her arm.  A permanent reminder of the impact a band can have on someone's life.  Maybe people won't recognize it or tell her it doesn't look exactly like the rose on the album cover, but all that doesn't matter.  She knows why it's there and what it means to her. 

Me, I have no permanent reminders.  Just my memories.  And even they won't last forever.  But as Katey wrote once, "all good things must end but words last forever." 

If my memory won't last forever, these words will.

-- kyu chan jang .. new york city .. 27 july 2001