Philadelphia-July 12th

So, today was to find me flying out to Phily to reunite with some OMD buddies…Kim and Andrew. I was staying with Kim and we were doing the next couple gigs together, meeting up with Andrew and his friends Linda and Claudia at the gig. I had a fun bunch of strangers with me on the public subway going from the airport to my hotel and one even ended up being from Chicago. 😀  We joked around a lot and even the train attendant joined in so that was quite fun. 😆

Unfortunately it started raining shortly after getting into the hotel though so the walk to the venue wasn’t the greatest.  Only good thing was getting in line early enough to get under a small, round overhang.  I had thought the doors were at 7pm like Toronto but as it turned out, nope, 8pm! 😯 I guess that would explain the fact only one person was in ‘line’ (as he laughed when I asked him if he was in line “if you call one person a line, sure.” :lol:) Ended up chatting with Steve and found out this was going to be his first OMD gig.  And after the meet/greet was over and people started coming out, I saw Tom (Tommyboyy on the forum) as he had made the trip out since Dallas wasn’t hit this time so that was nice. 😀  Near the opening times, the rain really got going and the wind blew it all at us (I had just started to dry off from the walk, ugh) so the guards were really nice and let everyone into the venue lobby early.  But, just like Toronto, they started to let us regular ticketers in first. I saw our door open and I looked over to see that the other one where VIP were hadn’t opened so I immediately thought “OK, spread!” and snagged a spot by Mr. C. as the middle filled up right away since someone must have yelled and the VIP door opened to let people rush in.  As it ended up, Andrew stayed on my side (Steve was near too) while Tom and his friend plus Linda and Claudia were Mr. H.s side.

Strange starting time of 8:30 but it was prompt and Diamond Rings came out to a smooth running set (thank goodness). The only thing was they didn’t do one of two favs and one I’d been raving about to Andrew (and was looking forward to bopping around to with Mark the next night)…Day and Night. I was all “huh? :sad:” but after talking to the new guy (gotta get his name so I don’t keep calling him the new guy LOL) he said they were only given 30 minutes tonight so had to cut it but they’d do it when they get their usual 40, this was an exception…phew!
Well, this wasn’t a sold out show as I saw when I did my bathroom run but that just meant we weren’t going to be so squashed.  When Metroland started, the crowd still let out a great cheer and clapped along so I thought “it’s not the numbers, it’s the enthusiasm”. 😀  When it was over, Mr. M. said “there’s plenty of room for you all to dance so… I want to see it.”   Messages went down really well as did Tesla Girls. When it was done, Mr. M. looked up into the balcony and asked how everyone was doing. A cheer and he said “I can’t see you but I can hear you” and tried to look. Someone in the front, side area started waving a white shirt so Mr. M. said “oh, I see someone’s taken off their clothes, OK.” and Mr. H. joked “oh, we should put the spotlight up there then.” 😆 😆

I had warned Andrew of my new move for Dresden but he wasn’t fully convinced yet so I was mostly on my own but when HoM came on, it was full blast bouncing and laughing from us both.  When it was over, Mr. M. said “I think you all win for the bounciest crowd so far this tour.” Yay! 😀   It was then Mr. H.s turn and FLaD was met with a lot of cheers and screams. Andrew laughed as he knew the girls were in heaven right now and I snagged a video so they could have a memory. 😆  For IYL, Mr. M. said that some people might have the impression it’s a song they don’t like and that they sold out…but it made them a lot of money “and…it’s a great song!” Well, lots of singing and I couldn’t help but think back to just a couple months ago when it was being played overseas and compare it to now…quite different! 😆 This was also the time I noticed a really cool shadow being cast in various spots on the wall, both for Mr. M. and Mr. C. 😀

Night Cafe was next and Mr. M. said “I’ve been trying to use various links for this next song and I’ve got a great one tonight!” Mr. H. joked “I’ve been waiting all day for this!” 😆  Mr. M. continued “so we are in Philadelphia, you have a team called the Phillies….the cafe in Edward Hoppers painting was called Phillies Cafe….” We all cheered and Mr. M. laughed saying “eh? That was a good one!” 😆 Yes, it was actually! :D.

The A&M trio, though still brilliant, didn’t get quite the same reaction as in Toronto but this was a much smaller crowd (though tbh, I think overall, Toronto was just an exceptionally amazing gig so hard to say if even with more people whether or not it’d have been beat or even tied. :wink:)  Before Our System started, I remembered this was Andrews first time seeing the new tour so I leaned over and said “this is so gorgeous” and it was!  During SiL, I saw Steve (who overall seemed a little more on the quiet and shy side) reach out to get his hand slapped by Mr. M., then grin and nod a “cool” nod…awww, love it! 😀

Tonight “Jesus” wasn’t a member of the band but a man in the crowd who stood there smiling and agreeable with a look of “OK, sure, yeah, I could be Jesus, I’ll go along with that” and Mr. M. laughed and shook his hand after which made the guy laugh too. 😀   Another thing I noticed in difference from overseas to here but in the opposite now was SotSS, it’s less a sing along here but still a fun song and gotta say, we DID have a good group of bouncers as the three girls I’d talked to earlier in the crowd were joining in a lot, especially the one in the front row with us. 😀  By the time Enola Gay came on, Andrew turned and said “OMG, it’s that time already?” Yup, and up we went.  When it was done, the guys said their goodbyes and everyone was cheering happily.

SO…we are waiting for them to come out and I try to get the OMD chant going but no avail….but then I hear something else…someone got a totally new chant going! Never heard it anywhere in the world but it was “Eeee-lec-tricity….Eeee-lec-tricity!” COOL! 😀 The guys came out…but so did Old Faithful! 😯  It took me a second as I was still enjoying the chanting but then as it was clicking to me something was off, Mr. M. started talking and I thought ‘wait, he doesn’t need Old Faithful for WotMW.”  Well, Mr. M. joked that “I see the 200 people who came last time brought a friend ”  If that happens against next time, within 5 years we should sell out the arena.” Andrew turned and said “this is a good sign, he said NEXT TIME!”  We were laughing as Mr. M. continued “should we just make it a date then?” And Andrew was like “you gotta put that in your blog!” I couldn’t help but grin as I thought “hmm….” and then they went into Secret. No idea what happened to WotMW except if DR’s set was cut short and it was a strange starting time, maybe they had a curfew to get to and thus choose to keep Secret in instead (good choice as we all know how much slack they got for not doing it the first time around!).   And then, it was the song we all were chanting so it seemed extra appropriate tonight!  Final waves and thank yous from the guys, then it was over. Not a full house or as crazy great as Toronto but still a very OMD loving bunch and that’s what counts! 😀

So, highlight of the night…it’s a personal one this time around.  As I’ve mentioned in many of my blogs from this tour, KtM has found Mr. M. giving various fans a great memory by kissing their hand. Tonight was my turn.  He came over by me and was singing along, doing his gabbing hand motion for the “repeat the words…” part so I started to laugh and sing along. Not sure why I didn’t realize what was next, I guess I figured I’m at so many shows, he’ll move on after that part to someone else (thought the bouncy girl on the other side of Andrew was going to get it actually LOL) but he didn’t.  Instead he squatted down in front of me and since there was no barrier, he was right there. 😯  I started giggling and then he reached out for my hand and it finally hit me what was coming next.  As many of you know how I am, I got all shy and bashful as I gave him my hand, I actually had to cover my face and look down at first. 😳  but when I looked back up, he went and kissed it. 😀  I can’t fully explain the thought process of what happened next except to say I thought “Lori don’t be so shy, what if this is the last tour and you don’t get to see them again?” and I thought of a friend who’d kissed him back so I think I just thought “do something, say hi back!” because I reached up to squeeze his hand and then before I knew it, I kissed it back…but then of course immediately got bashful again and had to cover my face and look down. 🙄 😳 😆  It was a really special moment though and after, bless the girls behind me’s hearts, they were all “OMG, that was SO sweet! I tried to get a picture but my camera was in my purse” and the other “OMG, yeah, I was trying and trying but MY camera wouldn’t focus, I’m so sorry but awwww!”  Andrew was kicking himself  too but I thanked them all and said no worries, it’s in my head. 😀