I went to the Linkin Park / Projekt Revolution Tour yesterday, the HOTEST day of the year so far – 97 degrees, though the heat index was over 100! It's a collection of 11 bands touring, 29 all-day venues in a little over 6 weeks – that's a FAST tour. Linkin Park was the headlining band. The other bands were a smattering of both popular and obscure groups, supposedly all different (they all sounded suspiciously the same to me, but I am an oldhead).
On my way through Penn's Landing, the Philadelphia waterfront, I caught the performance of a youth Step and Drum corps – little did I know that they would actually be more talented than a band or two I was going to see a bit later…
I took the ferry over to Camden, New Jersey for this shindig, and Camden is a total armpit. I seriously hope the rest of NJ is nicer. The Tweeter Center was really classy; I will give them that. In my mind it is more for seeing a musical or the symphony, not a rock concert. Now I haven't been to a rock concert since sometime in the early 90's, and times have definitely changed. The ticket taker showed me the musical line up for the day and asked me if I was sure I wanted to come in now, since there was no re-entry if I wanted to leave. Considering the Tweeter Center is probably the only safe place in Camden, in I went. They all but strip-searched me at the door. I must look shifty. They sent me over to Emergency Services to check out my Albuterol asthma inhaler (that said Albuterol on it) and Zylet eye drops (which said Zylet eye drops on them) – obviously they looked very illegal. They made me wear a white wristband proclaiming I'd been cleared by medical services; I wonder what they did to all the people who brought their pot in. Maybe they all got white wristbands, too…it's for my glaucoma, man!
I was worrying that there would not be anything to eat. When I went through the gates, I realized my fear had been unfounded. It was a mini city of over-priced things - food places, beer tents, beer tents, more beer tents, frozen alcoholic drink stations, even more beer tents, and an actual bar…a bar? Where was this shit when I was a kid? They wouldn't let me go to my seat at the main stage (the only real cover from the relentless sun). A helpful young man on the Tweeter Center's Crew explained that the kids get really drunk and pass out in seats of the main stage, then they have to have EMS haul them out, and it's a real hassle, so they just don't open the main stage until later. Maybe times haven't changed as much as I thought… Did I mention that it was 97 degrees? So I was basically trapped in a giant hot fucking bar for several hours before the first main stage show. Being nearly 13 years sober, it kinda wigged me out. I'd wanted to check out the bands getting heat stroke on the 2nd stage – out on black-top asphalt with NO shade to be found, but I figured they couldn't be that good if they were on the shitty stage. Anyway I figured I'd see them when security dragged their delirious, half-cooked bodies to the EMS station for ice packs, water, and IV fluids. The bands I missed: Madina Lake; Styles of Beyond; The Bled; Saosin; and Mindless Self Indulgence. You tell me, did I miss anything? These bands have my grudging admiration, if not my attention – mostly playing in the sun for 29 venues in the hottest fucking month of the year. They must REALLY want to make it big. Instead, I got a $7 cheeseburger (I think the chips and coleslaw made it cost so much), found shade where I could, and people-watched for sport. By the way, the coleslaw was really good.
There was a lot to watch. Mostly girls who really shouldn't have been wearing the revealing clothing they were wearing. However, some girls pulled off outfits that should have been illegal – more power to them; the disturbing part is how damn young these girls looked. Most everyone had tattoos, some more than others. My favorite were the guys with their pants all but falling down with their boxers exposed. Lots of young talent out there - made for some nice scenery. My award for the most "interesting" outfit went to a young lady wearing a white fairy-princess tutu over grungy black pants. She had glitter on her face and some crazy mascara action going on. I am not sure what look she was aiming for, but it was definitely "interesting". Generation Y is so damn weird...
Strange observation – I got to the Center 1 hour after the festivities began. At least half of the ladies room toilets were already disgusting. I find it hard to believe it was the fault of the crowd. F - to the Tweeter Center for their lousy housekeeping.
Putting me out of my "Help I'm-stuck-in-a-giant-bar" misery, the main stage finally opened, and I got to my seat in the shade. Thank God! The bands:
Julien-K. Imagine if John Cougar Mellencamp (present age but a LOT heavier) looked a bit too much like Ozzy Ozbourn in the spirit of the Rocky Horror Picture show. Hard to explain, but wow, what a weird looking dude, right down to his mascara and black fingernail polish. At one point, he took off his shirt, and people in the crowd were yelling at him to put it back on! His band was techno/synthesizer oriented, and his back-up musicians dressed like a cross between punker rockers and european new wavers from back in the 80s. Try as I might, I never did figure out the genders of the 2 keyboardists … No joke! Something positive, the drummer was amazing!
Placebo. They bill themselves as "Placebo is a twisted, titanium-edged guitar sound and a singer who takes his androgyny to appealing theatrical extremes." His angrogyny? Well that sort of gives it away, doesn't it? And here I just thought he was gay. Whatever. They were decent showmen in an alternative sort of way. I really liked the song "Change your taste in men." It definitely rocked.
HIM. What a creepy, creepy excuse for a band! Imagine a young Mickey Rooney chain smoking through his songs, with weird modulation between bass, tenor, and alto vocals – all his. WTF? They sang a song about Smack, but I am not sure if they were for or against it. Actually, I didn't really care. I just wanted them to finish the hell up.
Taking Back Sunday. I am not sure who took Sunday away from them, but I am glad they took it back. They sort of sounded like the Cure. The lead singer was very chatty, stopping a little too often to talk to the crowd. He said he was from Philly, but he had a southern accent. "Y'all" just isn't a Philly thang. They were interesting. No keyboards, just 3 guitars, a lead singer, and drums. They played their asses off.
My Chemical Romance - the favorite of the crowd, although I am not sure why. The lead singer looked like a young Donny Osmond dressing like he was in a production of Les Mis. Unfortunately, though mildly talented, he did not have Donny Osmond's voice. At one point, some jackass a couple rows behind me started throwing beer – I can't think of anything a Recovering Alcoholic like myself enjoys more than a beer shower (thanks asshole!). MCR gets an A+ for their giant backdrop of bloodthirsty wolves running in a pack. And they did have lots of pyrotechnics – fire and shit shooting up from behind the lead singer on the stage, which had to totally suck for the band in the 97 degree heat. Coolist thing they did was a song with 2 drummers (they borrowed one from some other band). I could have listened to the drummers all night long.
Then finally, Linkin Park! They were amazing showmen. No matter what, the tallest person at any concert always stands in front of me, so seeing is always a bitch. However, I could sure hear them. It was funny, the people next to me were Asian, and this one guy was singing really loudly with this choppy accent – it was hysterical! Luckily, he didn't know the lyrics to any of the songs from Minutes to Midnight, so every once in a while I got a reprieve. LP's stage was built to look like a waterfront with docks. No offense to LP, but it was kind of lame, but I was busy lusting after Mike and Chester anyway. Their most recent CD was heavily influenced by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Very powerful, straight from their hearts – it was apparent in their performance how passionate they were about their music. Incredibly cool! The best part of the show was Chester Bennington's repeated efforts to keep his jeans from falling off his hips – frankly, I kept hoping he'd fail miserably. It would have made the $7 cheeseburger far more worth it. But alas, it was not to be. Actually I felt kinda bad for him. Maybe instead of everyone's throwing teddy bears and underwear and shit up onto the stage, next time someone will throw Chester a belt…
Then, ten thousand of my closest, inebriated friends and I left to take the ferry back to Philadelphia. Somehow I got gum in my right Croc – yuck! I am still trying to figure out how to get it out. In line for the ferry, this drunk chick behind me kept trying to make cell phone calls, yelling, "Can you hear me? Can you hear me now?" Apparently, they couldn't. I really thought that only happened in commercials. I tried very hard not to laugh too loudly. Her boyfriend kept telling her to shut the fuck up. During the mercifully short ferry ride, she announced she wanted to touch some sharks. The Schuylkill River is full of polution, medical waste, and other oddities, but sharks aren't among them. But by this time I was ready to pitch her overboard anyway. I can only imagine her boyfriend was thinking the same thing. At one point, he called her a heroin-addict whore, and I don't think he was kidding. Cute couple…I wish them all the best. Good luck, kids!
Ah, to be back in Philly. Every time I leave NJ, I breathe a sigh of relief! Then, I enjoyed the relaxing drive home at midnight…until I got lost in Center City Philadelphia. I hate driving in Philly! There was bumper to bumper traffic, people beeping and yelling all pissed off at like 1am (in the city of brotherly love). I had no idea where I was, really. Then quite by accident I got onto the road I needed to be on. Couldn't have planned it, but I was thrilled.
Just being at the concert I got an annoying sunburn, second-hand smoked at least a pack of cigarettes plus a couple of joints, got covered in beer (thanks again, asshole!), and went just a wee bit deafer. It was really was a swell time. Linkin Park rocks, but I'm getting too old for this! Next time, I will just wait for their new CD to come out and listen to it at home. Right now I am gonna go take a nap.
