One down, two to go. This is one of the most fun points on the list for me as I love going to concerts. Seeing a good pop/rock band play live and being in front of the stage in a crowd just makes me feel so alive I could cry. Heck, I do that sometimes. Good live music has the power to make me feel like everything is falling into place, and that includes anything that's happening in my life at that moment.
On Sunday, I went to the Fenix Festival at the Arena Santiago. The summary? Many hours, one crab-coloured sunburned me with an aching throat, three new Chilean friends and three awesome foreign bands.
Ah, you want the longer version? No problem, I can do that.
13:00 Announced starting time. Arrival at scene. Long waiting lines for the gates as usual. Me in a sleeveless shirt, thinking I should have put on some sunscreen before leaving. It's a hot sunny day, clear blue sky. I pick up a bottle of mineral water before joining the crowd. Need liquids, loads of them.
14:30 Buying a hot dog and drink. Looking around and checking out all the foreigners. Brits, Germans and some tall guys I strongly suspect to be Dutch. Trying to stay out of the sun or put my black fleece sweater on my shoulders for protection, ignoring the heat.
16:00 Opening of Arena is announced. Quick line-up again, that looks good. Only about 30 people before me. Girl in line starts to chat with me. Sun burns down on me.
16:40 Here we go! Green wrist bands up in the air, everyone makes a run for it, so we join the frenzy to avoid being trampled. The people already in the higher seating areas see the crowd rushing forward. Picture flashes everywhere. It's actually cooler inside.
17:00 My new girl friend spots a friend of hers who is with another friend. Call this the Chilean way. She walks over to squeeze her friend's cheeks as if he were a long-lost grandson, which makes me giggle. A bit later, the friend joins us with his other friend. We discuss the chileanness of names, or lack thereof. Group established for the night. María Paz, Thomas, Jan and me.
On Sunday, I went to the Fenix Festival at the Arena Santiago. The summary? Many hours, one crab-coloured sunburned me with an aching throat, three new Chilean friends and three awesome foreign bands.
Ah, you want the longer version? No problem, I can do that.
13:00 Announced starting time. Arrival at scene. Long waiting lines for the gates as usual. Me in a sleeveless shirt, thinking I should have put on some sunscreen before leaving. It's a hot sunny day, clear blue sky. I pick up a bottle of mineral water before joining the crowd. Need liquids, loads of them.
14:30 Buying a hot dog and drink. Looking around and checking out all the foreigners. Brits, Germans and some tall guys I strongly suspect to be Dutch. Trying to stay out of the sun or put my black fleece sweater on my shoulders for protection, ignoring the heat.
16:00 Opening of Arena is announced. Quick line-up again, that looks good. Only about 30 people before me. Girl in line starts to chat with me. Sun burns down on me.
16:40 Here we go! Green wrist bands up in the air, everyone makes a run for it, so we join the frenzy to avoid being trampled. The people already in the higher seating areas see the crowd rushing forward. Picture flashes everywhere. It's actually cooler inside.
17:00 My new girl friend spots a friend of hers who is with another friend. Call this the Chilean way. She walks over to squeeze her friend's cheeks as if he were a long-lost grandson, which makes me giggle. A bit later, the friend joins us with his other friend. We discuss the chileanness of names, or lack thereof. Group established for the night. María Paz, Thomas, Jan and me.
Concert buddies for the night
18:00 Punctuality as never seen before in this country! Starsailor enters the stage. Crowd goes pretty crazy already. Poor misguided fool makes an awesome opening song. I have to pinch myself a few times to tell me I'm not watching Keane. The singer has grown a little beard and looks strikingly much like Tom Chaplin. Great show. Even better when you realize there's two more bands to go.
Starsailor
19:00 Toilet break. Not that we actually have to go, but drinking water from the tap is cheaper than buying drinks. And we are cheap.
19:30 Still right on track. Enter Travis. Crowd goes pretty mad. Thomas is touched to tears and made fun of by Jan. I get to hear Closer live. That in itself is worth the ticket price. When they play Flowers in the window, they join in a happy group moment. Fran makes us clap along while sweet Dougie plays the guitar that's around Fran's neck. Cuteness. We know they'll keep on playing songs since the most famous one is still missing. Why does it always rain on me? is saved to the last moment. We're flying high, but the best is yet to come.
Travis
21:00 Toilet break. You know the drill.
21:20 The moment the crowd has been waiting for all day. The Killers bring a tight show. Bright lights saying Sam's Town and lots of rock 'n' roll. This time it's Jan who can't stop smiling. The first three songs follow the cd that I've been playing so much lately. Somehow I almost forgot All these things I've done. I've listened to that song every day in the last week! How could I not remember they might play it? Being the main act of the night, The Killers play for over 1,5 hours. The others are exhausted but I'm just doing great. Except for major sunburn on my shoulders and neck. I look like a crab that has been in the sauna too long.
21:20 The moment the crowd has been waiting for all day. The Killers bring a tight show. Bright lights saying Sam's Town and lots of rock 'n' roll. This time it's Jan who can't stop smiling. The first three songs follow the cd that I've been playing so much lately. Somehow I almost forgot All these things I've done. I've listened to that song every day in the last week! How could I not remember they might play it? Being the main act of the night, The Killers play for over 1,5 hours. The others are exhausted but I'm just doing great. Except for major sunburn on my shoulders and neck. I look like a crab that has been in the sauna too long.
The Killers
Yep, that was pretty awesome.
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