See LA times article: Depeche Mode to shut down Hollywood Boulevard
It was a long day, we arrived at the check-in line at approx 2:30PM and luckily spotted a group of friends in line and got in with them. We waited in the check-in line for approximately an hour. After check-in, we waited in a holding area for about 2 hours and listened to sound checks. After the holding area, we went through a surprisingly quick security check, no bag check and only hand wands. After security, we got our places. We ended up about 10 or so heads from the front, which unfortunately didn't translate to close to the stage as there was a VIP section that was huge.
Depeche Mode practiced 'Wrong" and 'Personal Jesus'... twice... I'm not complaining since we got a little bit of a show before the show and that was nice. It also made it pretty obvious which songs they would be using for the show =].
Anyway, here's a shot of the crowd:
(That was only a small portion of the crowd... I'll hunt for some aerial shots and add them later! It was insane!)
We waited in our positions for another, ohhh, I'd say 3 hours? We played silly games to pass the time away. Here's some shots of us just, well, being bored I suppose:
As the moment grew closer, the crowd of people who had gathered outside of the fences and didn't have tickets had managed to cut away the green tarp that was covering the chain link fence, blocking their view. The crew brought a covered fence section and started to cover up what had been torn away, that's when things got a bit out of control. The crowd on the outside started pushing on the fence in an attempt (a shitty one) to knock it down. LAPD rushed in and from what I heard, started hitting people with batons? (I didn't see that). Then the mounted police shooed everyone out of that area. I dunno, I think it was pretty dumb to try blocking people from seeing through a fence for a FREE concert. They weren't causing any trouble until security started messing with them but whatever.
Finally, the moment of truth... about 8:15PM... after about 3 false starts... Depeche Mode FINALLY goes on:
sorry for the small ass picture... for some reason, when I zoom on my phone, the pics come out smaller =(. Deal.
They opened with 'Wrong'
and 'Personal Jesus'
for the show taping. I'm not sure which pics go with what song. Sorry, I was pretty damned tired by the time they went on.
They also played another new song that I don't know as well as, 'Walking in my shoes', 'Never let me down', and 'Enjoy the Silence'. There may have been one more but it has escaped me.
yes folks, all those hours in lines and waiting around for 6 or seven songs. *shrugs* Luckily the experience alone made it worthwhile. The crowd was like nothing I've ever seen before... I've just never seen so many people spread out over such a large area! It was definitely an experience.
All in all... it was an amazing moment in time I will not likely forget. My first Depeche Mode concert, one of the biggest LA events... at least as far as hoopla is concerned. I mean, they closed down Hollywood blvd and played in the street! How fricken awesome is that?
After the concert we grabbed a bite to eat and I shuffled my sorry butt to work. And now, it's like:
I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL AUGUST... Hollywood Bowl baby! =]
2 comments:
I thought Depeche Mode sounded great at this. I was in the crowd on a side street where, about twenty minutes before the show, police on horseback started yelling at people to move around the corner into the venue, and driving the crowd forward with their horses. (!) We were there because my girlfriend gets very uncomfortable in crowds, and she was quite pset by being threatened with trampling by a horse. At one point, one of the cops yelled "It's what the promoter wants!" Very surreal, like a line out of a future-run-by-corporations sci-fi story. Still, we found a good spot just around the corner (after avoiding the crush) and really enjoyed the show.
Yes I agree, they sounded great. There's more to come on this. I just need to scrounge up the footage. I'm glad you and your girlfriend found a good place to hang and had a good time! =]
Post a Comment