Portland-April 7th, 2013

After 2 days of travel adventures, today went quite smoothly. Nice breakfast together, a bit of busy work and then we were on the road again. There were a few heavy rain spots that caused a bit of caution but otherwise we were fine and arrived to the hotel with some time to spare and in turn got Missy to soundcheck with no worries.

The  venue was the same that the guys played back in fall 2011 but I wasn’t at the three upper west coast gigs that time so it was all new to me. It had the feel of a school gym in many ways. One big wooden floor and a small balcony at the far end.  In some ways, it reminded me of the Tulsa venue,both inside and outside (the area and feel) but since Tulsa ended up being a surprisingly great gig despite low numbers, I’m not saying any of this was a bad thing.

Well, Mark was feeling almost back to par so up to the front we went, this time with Kim, Kirsten, her friend Sabrina, Monica and Missy.   When Diamond Rings came out, he was right in front of me but with a monitor in front to protect me from his occasionally kicking leg LOL.  The girls did a “go Johnny, go Johnny” chant at one point, much to his amusement. 😆

When it was time for OMD and when Mr. H.#2 came out, I heard someone from my back right yell out “Malcolm Hooooolmes!” and he heard because he threw his arms up in the air. 😀  And once they were all out, I heard the same person yell “O-M-Deeeee”. It reminded me of the yells from Montreal…off to a great start! 😀

So this is probably a good time to point out a sad fact….no Old Faithful! 😯 😥 When Mr. M. came out in Vancouver, I turned to Mark and said “ya know, I don’t remember Old Faithful having that reddish brown middle.” I thought maybe it was a part that was replaced (I don’t know much about bass guitars so thought maybe it was just a piece/backing that could be  changed) but it just wasn’t looking right. Tonight, once the monitors got moved, there was a wide open spot so Mr. M. came right in front of me/us and Mark teased “did you get a close enough look at Old Faithful” and I laughed but said “I really don’t think that’s her!” I’ve now found out…no, it’s not. Awww….Old Faithful, you’ll be missed! 😥 😥

Metroland went over well but when they launched Messages, wow! The  roar of the crowd was amazing. Dresden started off with Mr. M. coming in a bit early but bless him, he joked by looking at Mr. H. and saying “I’ll come in another time…” Mr. H. nodded like “ok” and shorly after, when it was the time Mr. M. was to come in he said “like now” and Mr. H., Mr. H.#2 and Mr. C. all laughed. Gotta love it. 😀

HoM1 was it’s usual great fun and I was happy to see that a big group of mostly guys on my right (as it turned out, one of them was the main yelling voice for the band LOL) were bouncing up and down too and when Mr. H. came out to do FLaD, I heard “Paul! Paul Humphreeeeys”…tee hee. 😆

Night Cafe found Mr. M. telling us about the 7 references of Edward Hooper’s painting again and not only did he point out 6 and 7 but this time he also pointed out #2. Heck, if he picks a different reference to point out each night, by the time the tour is over I should have all 7 of them. 😆 During this time, the crowd was really energetic and I  kept thinking how it must have been like this in 2011. So great to see and when MoA was done, it was the usual mayhem of cheers, hoots and whistles. Massive smiles on all the guys faces. 😀

The lighting on Mr. M. for Our System was stunning tonight which, of all songs to be dark and swirling, that’s the one. SO lovely! During KtM, Mr. M. came over by us again. There was no barrier to the stage so he was right there and Sabrina, who had brought a fan the likes of what you’d see a geisha use and had been fanning all of us through out the night, started to fan Mr. M.  He stopped to soak it up and said “I love you!” 😆  SiL found Mr. C. getting his own “Martin Coopeeeer!” yell from the right hand guys during his sax solo and it was great to hear as you don’t often hear particular names yelled out. 😀  When it was time for SMS, Mark and I recruited our congregation (with a few reminders LOL) but I was thrilled to see the right handers up and bopping around too. This was a great crowd!

Well, Locomotion had its usual goofing around but Mr. M. also jumped up on one of the side speakers and shook fans hands.  He then continued with the fan  connection by making a womans day during SotSS. She was standing behind her boyfriend/husband (who was grinning…I think trying not to laugh) and Mr. M. took her hand and was singing along, herself getting all giddy.  That’s the beauty of not having any barriers LOL. 😉  When Enola Gay was done, the guys were again all flattered and happily surprised by the crowd and I’m happy to say Portland gave the first OMD..OMD…chant, whoo hoo! 😀

Coming back on, the guys all clapped back at us and Mr. H. and Mr. M. both thanked us for being such a great crowd. Mark and Kim were both recipients of the mic for the “hey hey”s in WotMW and when Secret started, not only a ton of cries out to my right but one of the guys was bopping around, totally into it, eyes closed. Sweet! 😀  When Electricity came on, it was the last chance to bounce with Mark for a week and though we didn’t have the rail to both hold on to (well, I did but he had to hold onto my shoulder as I wasn’t in the front anymore. Will get to that in a bit :wink:) we actually did pretty well not bumping into others or stepping on them. 😆  Promises to come back ensued though, like the other nights, “just probably longer than 18 months next time” and then it was done but yet another fantastic gig!

So, highlight of the night…well, has to be a woman who got up front. Around the time of Enola  Gay, this woman managed to get right up behind me/next to Mark and was all “sorry, I’m just so excited to see them OMG!” and danced around, camera phone in hand. So for the encore, she was front and center and Mr. M. came over to her and not only sang to her but then knelt down and took her hand as he sort of gazed at her and I swear she was about to melt into a puddle on the floor…either that or spontaneously combust from excitement, one or the other. It was really precious! Funny thing was, I had thought earlier in the night “ya know, I haven’t seen anyone all ‘omg, I can’t believe I’m getting to see OMD! I’ve waited SO long 😀 :D’ yet this tour”. Well, that’s only 1/2 true as I ran into a girl in VC who was excited to be a newbie but I wasn’t by her for the actual gig so it’s not the same as what I had seen and experienced on the other two tours. I thought maybe it was just because this was their third time here and most have managed to catch them at least once.  So seeing this girl (who had come from Montana to see them) get so giddy and thrilled did my heart good. Anyone reading this I’m sure knows what I’m talking about…we all get it….that feeling of just pure joy! Well, it was alive in Portland tonight, that’s for sure! 😀

So 2 free days and some goodbyes await me starting tomorrow except it seems a friend has won us entrance into the launch party so though I’m not sure how that’s all going to go, I’m guessing it should be interesting to say the least….