The Concert
(Written February 4, 2007, the day after the concert)
Just got back from ATL.
Went to a Dir en Grey concert.
This time last night was in a sea of people - waves and suffocation included.
So, after driving around there for about two-three hours because everyone seems to have different perceptions of the location of the Roxy Theater, we found it.
And there were two opening bands:
Bleed the Dream and Fair to Midland.
Bleed the Dream was pretty cool. They had a nice sound but the fans kept chanting "Dir en Grey" while they were setting up, which I thought was extremely rude because the band had to already know that they were fresh meat being thrown to the DeG-hungry crowd.
The fans had already been trying to push their way up to the front, and by push I mean that they must have been trying to flatten the people in front of them till they either passed out (which people did do from the pressure and body heat) or died. No one died, thank God. But I was worried. But that pushing was just beginning.
Then Fair to Midland came out and there was a torrent of comments like "WE'RE NOT HERE FOR AMERICAN BANDS" and the ever so blunt "GET OFF THE -------- STAGE!!!!!".
Their music wasn't the best either, but by that point I knew that with the increasing amount of body mass that was being ground into me and all the others in the first two rows (not to mention the amount of hair that I was ingesting) that I wasn't going to be able to take it when Diru came out. Especially not for two more hours.
Then Diru came out.
Did I see them?
No.
I saw the glimpses of the hoodies and hair that was forced into my face, felt nothing but elbows and shoulders in my spleen, and heard nothing but "TOSHIYA!!!!" (From the fangirl to my right) and "SHINYA!!!!" (From the fangirl on my left) that they so kindly screamed directly into my ears. But I did see half of Shinya from time to time, when the immensely tall people in front of me (I'm 5'1", and was SO HAPPY to be surrounded by 6 footers) shifted or leaned their heads on the people in front or behind then, which many people did (including me) regardless of the fact that they didn't know the people around them. When you�re in quarters that are THAT CLOSE, people just have to deal. Everyone did it at some point in time, I think. And if I stood on my tiptoes then occasionally my feet would almost completely leave the ground. I heard that people passed out and still appeared to be standing because they were suspended. I didn't want that to happen to me, which was one of the reasons why I got out of there as the concert got farther on and I got dehydrated and tired.
Oh and I did see Die, who was maybe seven feet away and I didn't even know it or enjoy it because I was to busy wanting to kill screaming fangirls and trying to breathe. And I think at some point in time I DID see everyone in the band while in the pit.
When Mr. Newsman started playing I got pissed that I couldn't hear it. And by that point the girl in front of me "needed to GET OUT" and I myself wasn't doing too hot. So a few others and I squeezed into the tiny gaps she made as she passed and a tall guy was screaming "Move! They need to get by!"(BLESS HIM).
So I finally got out onto the side lines, which were much less crowded. It was like I was in a different building. And there I found my friend, who had also made it out alive. She looked at me and we later joked that I looked like I had been raped. My belt had been pulled off somehow (never found it), my jacket was hanging onto my right shoulder for dear life, all my eyeliner was down my cheeks, and my hair was a sweaty, partless mop.
And at some point in time(before I escaped), people fell and were almost trampled. People would try to get up front and, with the way we were cramped up there, it only took one or two pushers for the whole middle of the first row to lean. We were pushed up towards the stage (some of us shoved into the stage, I'm sure) and then, when we pushed back in retaliation, almost fell down that way (because of the momentum, I guess). But the scariest ones were the ones that pushed from the sides. When they pushed, people fell. You can only keep your balance for so long when people are pushing you down and over. It had to look like a wave. Luckily there were people around that screamed loud enough for others to hear and told them to get them up. And my friend and I DID notice (one of the few times that we actually saw the band) that even Diru seemed to be concerned about the violence and the crowd. But we did succeed in preventing the fallen (which included myself once) from being submerged and crushed. Which would have happened because the pushers were too far away to realize their damage and impact on the crowd. Die seemed concerned (I think he was closest to the crowd, and he was the only one I could really see). I would have been freaked out if I were on that stage. I mean there were literal WAVES in that crowd. It must have looked like rippling water from there. Because everyone wanted up into the front. By that point, I didn't want to get to the front because of the band; I only wanted to get up there because the first row could BREATHE. Of course, they were probably being smashed against the stage itself, which was probably more painful. So when the girl declared that she had to leave, I ducked out with her. Call me a wuss.
Two of my friends did stay in there, but they found people that helped them. No one seemed to care about me. I was on my own. One of my friends found a guy that lifted her up. Lucky her. Di and I (the two that escaped) didn't have such luck. Probably why we ducked out and they didn't. So I went up to the balcony and there I could see. But it only upset me more. I could have gotten a better show, close-ups inclusive, with better sound quality and special features on a DVD for the same price. With less driving and money and ringing ears.
So, by the time I got out, I was royally pissed and worried about my two still-engulfed friends. I went and bought $15 worth of water (only five friggin bottles) and watched my friend practically bathe in the sink. Then we saw some other escapees that we had already talked to before the concert who helped us to find the others and to bring us all wet paper towels for our heads. They were angelic. :)
The police there even talked to my friend and I to ask if we were okay - and they didn't look like it was just routine concern.
I later heard that ten people were rolled out on stretchers within the first 30 minutes.
They said that the crowd let up later on, and during the last song I went back in, found one of my friends, and rocked out to Clever Sleazoid to have water bottles and picks and drumstick catching fights as the members tossed objects to the eager fans. Some of the band members slung water into the crowd. But, backwashed or no, that water felt GOOD.
I keep finding sore spots and bruises and my ears are STILL ringing although the concert ended 23 hours ago. But all that said, I want to do it again. After all, a mere two rows back from where I was, the concert was enjoyable. If I had known that, I would have moved back instead of out when that heaven-sent guy parted the red sea for us. I hear that none of the other concerts were like that. They just may not have been in the front.
Just so you all know, the front is NOT the place to be at a concert. I you want to enjoy the show and get your money's worth, you need to get about 4 to 6 people from the front, behind someone short so you can see. That way you can breathe and don't even have to look up at the band. And did I mention, you can breathe?
And it's also addictive.
VERY addictive. Even after all of that, I'd give my left arm to do it again. And besides, now I know survival tips.
Just got back from ATL.
Went to a Dir en Grey concert.
This time last night was in a sea of people - waves and suffocation included.
So, after driving around there for about two-three hours because everyone seems to have different perceptions of the location of the Roxy Theater, we found it.
And there were two opening bands:
Bleed the Dream and Fair to Midland.
Bleed the Dream was pretty cool. They had a nice sound but the fans kept chanting "Dir en Grey" while they were setting up, which I thought was extremely rude because the band had to already know that they were fresh meat being thrown to the DeG-hungry crowd.
The fans had already been trying to push their way up to the front, and by push I mean that they must have been trying to flatten the people in front of them till they either passed out (which people did do from the pressure and body heat) or died. No one died, thank God. But I was worried. But that pushing was just beginning.
Then Fair to Midland came out and there was a torrent of comments like "WE'RE NOT HERE FOR AMERICAN BANDS" and the ever so blunt "GET OFF THE -------- STAGE!!!!!".
Their music wasn't the best either, but by that point I knew that with the increasing amount of body mass that was being ground into me and all the others in the first two rows (not to mention the amount of hair that I was ingesting) that I wasn't going to be able to take it when Diru came out. Especially not for two more hours.
Then Diru came out.
Did I see them?
No.
I saw the glimpses of the hoodies and hair that was forced into my face, felt nothing but elbows and shoulders in my spleen, and heard nothing but "TOSHIYA!!!!" (From the fangirl to my right) and "SHINYA!!!!" (From the fangirl on my left) that they so kindly screamed directly into my ears. But I did see half of Shinya from time to time, when the immensely tall people in front of me (I'm 5'1", and was SO HAPPY to be surrounded by 6 footers) shifted or leaned their heads on the people in front or behind then, which many people did (including me) regardless of the fact that they didn't know the people around them. When you�re in quarters that are THAT CLOSE, people just have to deal. Everyone did it at some point in time, I think. And if I stood on my tiptoes then occasionally my feet would almost completely leave the ground. I heard that people passed out and still appeared to be standing because they were suspended. I didn't want that to happen to me, which was one of the reasons why I got out of there as the concert got farther on and I got dehydrated and tired.
Oh and I did see Die, who was maybe seven feet away and I didn't even know it or enjoy it because I was to busy wanting to kill screaming fangirls and trying to breathe. And I think at some point in time I DID see everyone in the band while in the pit.
When Mr. Newsman started playing I got pissed that I couldn't hear it. And by that point the girl in front of me "needed to GET OUT" and I myself wasn't doing too hot. So a few others and I squeezed into the tiny gaps she made as she passed and a tall guy was screaming "Move! They need to get by!"(BLESS HIM).
So I finally got out onto the side lines, which were much less crowded. It was like I was in a different building. And there I found my friend, who had also made it out alive. She looked at me and we later joked that I looked like I had been raped. My belt had been pulled off somehow (never found it), my jacket was hanging onto my right shoulder for dear life, all my eyeliner was down my cheeks, and my hair was a sweaty, partless mop.
And at some point in time(before I escaped), people fell and were almost trampled. People would try to get up front and, with the way we were cramped up there, it only took one or two pushers for the whole middle of the first row to lean. We were pushed up towards the stage (some of us shoved into the stage, I'm sure) and then, when we pushed back in retaliation, almost fell down that way (because of the momentum, I guess). But the scariest ones were the ones that pushed from the sides. When they pushed, people fell. You can only keep your balance for so long when people are pushing you down and over. It had to look like a wave. Luckily there were people around that screamed loud enough for others to hear and told them to get them up. And my friend and I DID notice (one of the few times that we actually saw the band) that even Diru seemed to be concerned about the violence and the crowd. But we did succeed in preventing the fallen (which included myself once) from being submerged and crushed. Which would have happened because the pushers were too far away to realize their damage and impact on the crowd. Die seemed concerned (I think he was closest to the crowd, and he was the only one I could really see). I would have been freaked out if I were on that stage. I mean there were literal WAVES in that crowd. It must have looked like rippling water from there. Because everyone wanted up into the front. By that point, I didn't want to get to the front because of the band; I only wanted to get up there because the first row could BREATHE. Of course, they were probably being smashed against the stage itself, which was probably more painful. So when the girl declared that she had to leave, I ducked out with her. Call me a wuss.
Two of my friends did stay in there, but they found people that helped them. No one seemed to care about me. I was on my own. One of my friends found a guy that lifted her up. Lucky her. Di and I (the two that escaped) didn't have such luck. Probably why we ducked out and they didn't. So I went up to the balcony and there I could see. But it only upset me more. I could have gotten a better show, close-ups inclusive, with better sound quality and special features on a DVD for the same price. With less driving and money and ringing ears.
So, by the time I got out, I was royally pissed and worried about my two still-engulfed friends. I went and bought $15 worth of water (only five friggin bottles) and watched my friend practically bathe in the sink. Then we saw some other escapees that we had already talked to before the concert who helped us to find the others and to bring us all wet paper towels for our heads. They were angelic. :)
The police there even talked to my friend and I to ask if we were okay - and they didn't look like it was just routine concern.
I later heard that ten people were rolled out on stretchers within the first 30 minutes.
They said that the crowd let up later on, and during the last song I went back in, found one of my friends, and rocked out to Clever Sleazoid to have water bottles and picks and drumstick catching fights as the members tossed objects to the eager fans. Some of the band members slung water into the crowd. But, backwashed or no, that water felt GOOD.
I keep finding sore spots and bruises and my ears are STILL ringing although the concert ended 23 hours ago. But all that said, I want to do it again. After all, a mere two rows back from where I was, the concert was enjoyable. If I had known that, I would have moved back instead of out when that heaven-sent guy parted the red sea for us. I hear that none of the other concerts were like that. They just may not have been in the front.
Just so you all know, the front is NOT the place to be at a concert. I you want to enjoy the show and get your money's worth, you need to get about 4 to 6 people from the front, behind someone short so you can see. That way you can breathe and don't even have to look up at the band. And did I mention, you can breathe?
And it's also addictive.
VERY addictive. Even after all of that, I'd give my left arm to do it again. And besides, now I know survival tips.
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