Brussels-May 20th

So before heading to Brussels and meeting up with Paula and Elisa, I had a free day in Paris. I had booked a hop on/off bus tour thinking I could get a good feel for the city that way but once I got on and started around, I realized trying to ‘see’ Paris in a day was an absolutely bonkers idea so in my head, I picked the two things I wanted to see the most ….Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. I probably should have booked my Eiffel Tower ticket in advance because as I got off the bus, I found a massive line that extended down the street! 😯 Guess everyone else had picked it as their site of choice too LOL. Well, as it turned out, it was a bit of an OMD Eiffel experience because as I was talking to a nice couple from England in line ahead of me, I saw a guy and his friend walk through our line….wearing an OMD EE Tour shirt. I immediately said “I know where HE was last night!” 😆 Then, over an hour later when we finally got through the line and were waiting for the carriage to take us up (I was going to climb the first 300+ steps to level one but was being told, no, not allowed today, only elevators. Darn! 🙁 I really wanted to be able to say I “climbed the Eiffel Tower” :lol:) I heard directions of some sort played in various languages….one sounding a heck of a lot like the start of PRS….which of course immediately ran through my head. Though about 80% of my 3 hours spent there was literally spent in a bunch of cues, including the toilets on the second level, it was a cool experience and one that couldn’t be missed when visiting Paris! 😀 Notre Dame was lovely too though, tbh, I think St Pauls Cathedral in London is much nicer…but again, I was really glad I managed both.

After the day of leisure, I headed out the next morning and was happy to reunite with Paula and see her friend Elisa again. I’d met her last year for the outdoor Brussels gig and she was being kind enough to let us both stay with her so it was a regular home to crash in (and use of her washer/dryer LOL :wink:) Some putsing around for a bit before eventually heading out but we were surprised to see a queue as Elisa said normally in Brussels, that’s not common. They dropped me off to get our spot in line and then were lucky enough to find parking for free nearby, yay! A quick hello to Lola and Sony before back in line and as the door time got closer, a lot of people had come. There was a mad dash when they let us in but we managed second row center so no worries.

I’d never been to Ancienne Belgique before but as I looked around, it reminded me a lot of Terminal 5 in NYC in the aspect that it had a very square shape with 2 balconies on each side that were railed off. Many had likened the NYC venue to a jail and once mentioned, I could see that. This too had that feel except the back was a standard balcony that inclined upward with seats and also, the rails here were red so it wasn’t so cold feeling and looking, if that makes sense. I tried to guess how many it held, originally thinking maybe 1500 but once the place filled up, it seemed it could have been more, 2000 maybe… I also noticed Tesla Girl and Miochoco were in front of us so a hello and small chat before the gig started.

Having seen Metroland in Utrecht, I knew what to expect but I didn’t get into them quite as much this time around…ah well. Once they were finished and I had done my toilet break, I asked the couple in front of me if I could just hold the rail for 4 songs as “I bounce up and down a lot for them so it’d be nice to have something to hold”. The wife said maybe but “we bounce a lot too and got moved over in Paris so…” I assured her I wasn’t trying to cut in, just a quick hold for 4 specific songs and she said we’d have to see. Well, I thought, at least they bounce. 😆 (and as it turned out, I was able to hold with only one major bang by the guys elbow…phew).

When Metroland started, the crowd immediately got engaged and during Messages I heard the “der da deeer da deer da deeeeer” done, so when they finished, Mr. M. said “it looks like we’re in store for another great gig tonight.” Seeing as how Paris was a pleasant surprise, I started to wonder if this gig would possibly outdo it…or at least match it. 😀

I couldn’t see who Mr. M. was talking to before HoM but I figured it was a child because he said something about parents. He then said he’d teach the child how to dance LOL. I was happy to see a bunch of bouncers including not just Paula, TG, and the couple in front of me but there were a couple teens behind me who were eargerly joining in and some others on my left side….yay! 😀 When it was over, Mr. M. said “If you like MY dancing, you should see Pauls. I’m the apprentice, he’s the scorceror.” Mr. H. laughed and said “no no, don’t listen to him. I can do the singing” and Mr. M. said “OK, you come and sing, I’ll TRY to play the keyboard”. Well, Paula had told me earlier she went and bought a pair of underpants and painted “I <3 Paul” on them to hold up so since we were center stage, she waited until he started singing and then held them up. He saw them and laughed as he shook his head and finger at her. After holding them up a couple times, she tossed them at him…only to have them just miss the stage. Luckily though, the security guard came and, according to the woman in front of me, picked them up all nervous and uncertain saying “um…who’s are these?” so she got them, gave them to Paula who tried again and this time they landed on the mic stand hook. 😆 When it was all over, Mr. M. teased Mr. H. that he was becoming a porn star, then said “we’ll do a Hollywood piece next….for the movie star over there” and pointed to Mr. H.

Night Cafe was a moment to sway and then when Souvenir started, the teen girl behind me let out an ear piercing scream (that came our way quite a few times through the night. I joked to Paula ‘ya sure she’s not at a Justin Bieber show?”) Gotta say, I’m really getting a kick out of watching Mr. C. happily clapping along! 😀  MoO got one of the best responses that just kept going and going and a very strong “hey ho oh ay ay” took off that lasted while the entire band just stood there, happily amazed. 😀

Fans were back for Our System, as was the arm swaying for TLaC. Since Mr. M. had mentioned kidney problems earlier on the forum, Paula brought some healing crystals to give him and this was the best time to hand them over since he sat right in front of us on the speaker. He took them and joked “they’re not drugs I swear.” 😆 KtM found not only Sony getting serenaded to and her hand kissed but also TG…awww! 😀

Then it was fast and furious again, lots of bouncing, singing and cheering. Mr. H. was Jesus this time and Mr. M. went over and rubbed the top of his head, then said “….maybe” to letting him in. OK, that’s two…I’m waiting for Mr. C. to be Jesus now. 😆 😀 SotSS wasn’t as good a sing along as some gigs but it wasn’t a big deal because over all, this was a fantastic crowd…very impressive. Once EG started, another ear piercing scream from behind me and lots of bouncing and laughing…and not just from us but the band. Full names were called out for the goodbye intros and lots of waves and kisses blown before they walked off stage. The chanting took over and went on for a good time, then the guys came out again.  I immediately noticed Mr. M. didn’t have Old Faithful so I knew it wasn’t going to be Secret again but that was a good thing for TG as she got pointed to and given the mic for her own “hey hey”. 😀 One final bounce to Electricity and then, as any other night, it was a final goodbye before the lights came on.

Since I hadn’t been able to get to the fan gathering, this was the time I could give hugs and hellos to Anja, Neal and Mark who were all further back and/or to the side. I waved to J-F but wasn’t able to really talk and a quick intro/goodbye to Dazzler before I headed off to find the girls who had run to the bar for waters. Both Mark and Paula thought Manchester was still better than tonight, I can’t really say as, tbh, it’s getting hard to pick just ONE ‘best gig’…at least for me. I would say thus far Manchester, Glasgow and probably tonight were the best in terms of crowds but each has their moments. 😀

So highlight of the night….a simple one really…being able to dance. Crazy enough, though it was just 3 days ago that I was in the front row with Debbie and Anji, after being ,er, reserved (for me at least :wink:) in the balcony I was SO ready to dance, bounce, etc etc so being able to let loose again was great! 😀