3 Doors Down Concert Rehash
Tonight Adrian and I went to a 3 Doors Down concert at Pipeline Café in Honolulu. We had a blast.
It's been just about two years since our last concert (an outdoor concert...RHCP and Snoop Dogg...pouring rain) and 3DD was a great one to break our concert celibacy.
Tickets were sold out for tonight's concert...in fact, 3DD will be having another one in the same place tomorrow night because of the huge response. Pipeline Café is a small venue (smallest I've ever been in for a concert), but Oahu is a small island...soooo..
We rushed to get there, worried that we wouldn't be able to find the place. Traffic was horrific (rush hour) and we met up with the downtown area around 6:45 pm (the concert started at 7 pm). Luckily, we found the place easily (it helped that there was a HUGE line outside the back of the building to tip us off) and we were able to grab the last close parking space.
We stood in line in light drizzle and fretted over whether we were actually in the correct line and whether or not there was some sort of dress code (Adrian was wearing shorts)...and we laughed at a guy who was wearing his wife's purse (imagine the sound of a whip cracking here). As we neared the door (and beefy, goatee'd Hawaiian ID and ticket checker dudes) jarring music began spilling out of the open doors to the café.
Crap...we were late.
We showed our IDs and became certified as "hotties" (hehehe...the over 21 arm bands declare that we are hotties, so it must be true). As we walked through the door another guy scanned the barcode on our tickets (this was new to me) and we were in!
We glanced up at the stage, and were shocked to discover a little Asian woman singing in a manner that would make Pantera seem like easy listening.
Good, we weren't late. It was the opening act.
The place didn't seem too crowded. We secured a nice floor spot mid-way between the band and the DJ booth at the back of the room. Everyone had personal space. It was beautiful.
As the opening act droned (or screeched) on, amid manly shouts of "Shush!" more and more people began filing in and staking out spots on the floor. By the time the openers were on their last couple of songs, the floor was full. Pipeline Café sells 2,500 tickets per concert...there were a few people watching from upstairs in the Tiki Lounge, but most of them were packed into the floor area.
I hate crowds. They freak me out.
But I love concerts. I love being packed into a moving crowd at a concert. And this one was perfect...the crowd was robust, but there was just enough space that we were only grazing the people around us...no full on body contact. It was beautiful.
I made the bright decision to wear my knee high boots to the concert...the opening act was not even finished when I started feeling the screaming pain in my feet. Why, oh why do I do this? I can't tell you how many times I've suffered due to inappropriate footwear. But I'm a tough chick. I shifted around as necessary and soldiered on.
The last two songs by 'Missing Dave' were covers of Evanescence's Bring Me to Life and a song (sorry, don't know the name) by The Killers. The last two songs...especially the Killers cover were really rockin'.
After much 'witty' banter and far too many lame songs and weird facial expressions by the opening act, the lights finally dimmed.
We all screamed. The excitement in a room waiting for their band to come out just can't be matched. It's a great feeling.
The first thing I noticed when 3DD entered the stage was this: the lead singer looks much different...dare I say cute?...in real life. If you've seen the videos, you'll understand when I say that I always thought he looked like he bit a brick. Fugly, yes. But in real life he looks like a different guy entirely. And I think the fauxhawk he sported helped, too. Even Adrian noticed this, so there's got to be something to it.
I ended up behind the tall guys. As usual.
Adrian held me up so that I could see the band as they began preparing to jam. It was cool to get to actually see the entire stage, but less cool to feel my only pair of fishnet hose rip.
The lead singer didn't waste time talking and warming up the crowd (we were already blazing)...they went straight into "Kryptonite" amid hearty shouts and piercing whistles and rock n' roll hand signs and the bright lights of the camera phones.
Everyone sang along...and the great thing about concerts is that no matter how much your singing sucks, no one will ever know (much like if you fart at a concert...your chances of getting caught out are slim...still not a kind thing to do, though). The crowd was moving in the way that only rock concert crowds do. There are three key "moves" in a rock concert...there is the head nod, which is appropriate for slow songs and song you don't really know that well...there is the jerk-your-body-to-the-beat move...and then there is the jump straight up and down move...this is an advanced move and really should only be practiced when the entire crowd is doing it...you don't want to do the jumping move alone...you'll look stupid and probably knock someone over. The enthusiasm in the crowd was incredible. Adrian stood behind me, with his arms around me while I sang my lungs out and moved around uncoordinatedly (which is completely acceptable at a rock concert).
The best thing about a concert (besides that 'group feeling') is the way the loud, loud, loud beat of the music fills up your body. I love feeling the music thump inside my chest. Every beat reverberates through your body.
Three Doors Down played hit after hit to the ecstatic crowd...and I answered Adrian's dare to yell "yee-haw." The time flew by as the band cranked out the tunes and hammed for the crowd.
A couple of things I noticed that were different from my previous concert experiences were this: Pipeline Café doesn't allow smoking on the floor section...it was bizarre to see the band without the usual thick cloud of haze (although the distinct aroma of pot smoke still clung to the air) and the whole "hold your lighter up" thing has been replaced with "hold your cell phone up and push the button so that the screen stays lit." Ahhh, change.
The band finished their set and began walking off the stage despite the roaring crowd behind them. Yes, my friend, it was time for the obligatory and yet still oh-so-cool encore. We shouted "Encore" and "Three Doors Down" and we screamed and screamed and screamed and we whistled. The pace never slowed and the volume never wavered. This went on for what seemed like an eternity. Adrian, despite his encore chanting, whispered in my ear that if this was the end of the concert we wanted to head right for the door so we wouldn't get stuck in traffic. Finally the band made their way back to the stage, beaming at the awesome response.
They finished out with a few songs including a few of my personal favorites...Here By Me, Here Without You, and Loser. It's very easy to be overcome with emotion when hearing a song that means a lot to you being sung live...and particularly when a couple thousand other people are singing along just as you are.
We left the concert elated and satisfied...it was such a fun experience. I love concerts. And our car was where we parked it and not missing any parts, which was a bonus.
Tonight's concert ranks right up there as one of the most fun I've been to.
And just for fun, here's some miscellaneous for you:
Lyrics to Here Without You...a big hit with the military crowd.
A hundred days have made me older
Since the last time that i saw your pretty face
A thousand lies have made me colder
And i don't think i can look at this the same
But all these miles that separate
Disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face
I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And i dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight it's only you and me
The miles just keep rollin'
As the people leave their way to say hello
I've heard this life was overrated
But i hope that it gets better as we go
I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And i dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl its only you and me
Everything i know,and anywhere i go
It gets hard but it wont take away my love
And when the last one falls
When it's all said and done
It gets hard but it wont take away my love
I'm here without you baby
But you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And i dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
But you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl its only you and me
And here's a pic Adrian took of me before the concert.
