New York City-July 17th

Well, it was a bit of down time between Boston and NYC as Andrew and his wife Clarissa we kind and gracious hosts. I got my fill of doggie playtime too so that was great as I was missing the daycare dogs back home. 😀 An easy, short drive into the city and then I was off on the NYC subway to my hotel while Andrew met his friends Linda and Claudia for sound check. Original “big apple gang” members George and Loretta were coming too as I texted with George heading to my hotel and also Kerstin so it was going to be another good crowd. 😀

I arrived back at the venue at 6pm to find that they were letting people inside. 😯 My thought was “oh, that’s nice, they must have let the packagers stay in and are now letting us in since it’s so hot (in the midst of a massive heatwave! Heard on the TV this morning that 39 of the 50 states are in the 90s today, ugh!) but as it turned out, we were just being allowed up onto the rooftop bar area. Well, OK, not what I was expecting but kind of cool so…. It was there I saw MaryAnn too. We had met at the Irving Plaza gig second NA tour and we joked about her needing a mint or gum as that was kind of how we had got to talking last time. 😆 Well, the guards had been warned by Andrew and a few others that packagers were supposed to be let in early and I gotta say, not only did they make sure that happened, but then they made sure WE (as in myself and many others who were lined up from bottom of stairs upward and around) got in next as many had come up but just hung at the bar vs. coming up final flight of stairs to queue with us. I heard one of the guards say to one who was trying to get in “these people have been waiting, some all day.” George and Loretta had found me by then so we all thanked the guards as we went by and they gave us great gig greetings. 😀

So last time at T5, we ended up on Mr. H.s side…and that’s where we were again so it was quite deja vu-ish. I had texted to George to bring sunglasses but he wasn’t able and Kerstin didn’t have any either so Andrew and I decided to skip the whole DR thing for tonight. But, despite a shortened set (OMD was scheduled to come on at 9 vs. 9:15) they still did one of the best songs (that got skipped in Phily when they were shortened) so I screamed and was like “OMG, this is it!” to Kerstin as I had earlier told her they’d not do it but otherwise we’d have more dance moves for them…YAY! 😀 Everyone liked them, including the 3 guys behind us, Dave (super tall guy), Patrick (the sharp dressed one as I called him) and Bill. Dave even popped on his sunglasses for the first song which made me laugh as I told him we’d done that the past two nights. They joined in on the dance moves at the end too….it was a nice little OMDer group around me tonight for sure! 😀

Well, I’ve gotta be honest, I wasn’t expecting a lot from the crowd as I remember back at the first one I was a bit surprised and disappointed by the crowd response, especially considering it was the biggest gig the guys had played up to that point. The sound wasn’t the greatest either but from what Andrew and Kerstin said, this times sound check wasn’t too loud so we were all hopeful. And as it turned out, much better! The barrier was quite high so we opted to skip our choo choo move but you could tell we were in NYC because the amount of photographers in the pit were up there. Metroland went off well…as did a bunch of balloons! 😯 They were quite big and kept bopping around both on the stage and around the crowd for most of the gig (though after awhile, it got a bit much so we tried to get them down in the pit when able :wink:) A big cheer for Messages but then Mr. M. said “I can hear you but I can’t see you” and asked for the lights to come on. It allowed for us to see just how big the venue is vs. some of the others and he then challenged us to dance. They launched into TG and Andrew didn’t have his “yes, yes, YES” partner in Mark so I decided to join in after I did the “no, no, NO!”…I’ve got two arms so, one for one and one for the other. 😉 😆 Kerstin jumped on the Yes train too so Andrew was saved. She also joined Andrew and I with the Dresden moves and I saw Dave and Patrick jumping up and down and George let out a “yeah!”

By this time, balloons were flying all over and some had landed on the stage by Mr. M. He grabbed on, held it and then turned to Mr. H.#2 saying “Malcolm, they make condoms in your size.” 😯 Mr. H. cracked up and Mr. H.#2 just shook his head and laughed…aww, good sport. 😆 😀 Then it was a lot of bouncing for HoM though Mr. M. still did the yawn and “come on” motion for a section further back. After, he introduced Mr. H. by saying “he’s going to sing you a song that was on the radio. I’ll put the show in the hands of Mr. Humphreys” and out came Mr. H….to a ton of cheers. He seemed to be having so much fun and when it was over, the cheers kept going to where Mr. M. not only pointed and bowed but kept bowing as Mr. H. looked around pleasantly surprised and laughing. He thanked us again and then headed back to the keyboards. Mr. M. said “I want to do a radio song now.” He walked over to Mr. H.s keys, looked at the set list and said “yeah, let’s do that one”. 😆 Then he turned back to us and said “this is a hollywood song” and tonight saw the best sing-a-long for IYL.

Night Cafe didn’t have the politics tonight though when Mr. M. said “so, today at 12:16pm..” Mr. H. joked by saying “oh no” but Mr. M. said “No no, it won’t be that long this time.” 😆 He went on to say he was inside the NYC Art Museum and saw the Nighthawks painting by Edward Hopper “this song was inspired by his paintings.” Lots of swaying before the A&M trio began. Gotta love all three and it’s cool they keep them together, a bit of nostalgia (that’s not a bad thing!). I am really loving the whole heavy, hard strumming of Old Faithful at the end of JoA and tonight seemed to be one of the best, you go girl! (well and Mr. M. too LOL). When MoO was finished, the cheering was quite strong though didn’t go as long as some, but the intensity was there and it was smiles all around the guys faces. 😀

Our System was beautiful and when it was over, I heard Loretta say she really liked that one….it truly is a stellar song and chilling live! I had to stand still for SiL since that’s one I’ve yet to get recorded (not easy) but then it was time for SMS. I had passed the word around to Dave and Co. and George, Loretta and Kerstin already knew from before (forgot to tell Mary Ann as she was a few people away from me this time so only got to exchange a few smiles back and forth along the rail through out the show. :sad:) and as Mr. M. sang the first verse, he looked up into the balcony and pointed out a woman saying “you look like a sinner”. He then later went by Mr. H. and said “I found one” to which Mr. H. nodded and laughed. Jesus was “this tall man in the orange shirt” which was Dave so we all cheered and laughed (told you he was tall. When I first came up and got into the spot that Andrew and Kerstin had saved for me, I turned around to say sorry as I worried I was blocking someone..til I saw how tall he was and we all laughed as he joked that even if I bounced, he’d still be able to see over me. :lol:)

The crowd was really starting to sound good and the guys were feeding off it so for SotSS, Mr. M. walked off stage and headed towards us. 😯 He said ” the barrier is just too wide so I’m coming down to you.” OK! 😀 It was very ‘Green-like’ for anyone at a gig of the second NA tour and when he came by us, he said “hello Jesus” and shook Dave’s hand…too funny! 😆 Huge smile on Mr. C.s face as he did his funky solo part (he seemed extra smiley tonight) and then, before we knew it, it was EG. Andrew couldn’t believe it was that time already and I agreed, it went fast but we were all bopping and doing the “der da da da der da da der…” part while Mr. M. went from side to side checking out the crowd. Like in DC, as soon as they were done, the crowd started chanting “OMD…OMD….” and it continued over Mr. H.s thank yous but slowly died down so as to let Mr. M. introduce the band. Waves from Mr. H. and Mr. C. and a “yeah, yeah, that was good…very good indeed, thanks folks” kind of nod and waving from Mr. H.#2 and then they walked off to the start of chanting again.

When they returned, I immediately noticed no Old Faithful so I told Andrew and we knew this had to mean they’d be doing WotMW again. Mr. M. said “the first time we played NYC was in 1980 and in the ,er 20 or so times we’ve played here, we’ve never had OMD chanted.” Cheers and hoots, then he said “wait long enough and good things will come.” I’ll say! 😀 He then said since we are in the midst of a heatwave, and Mr. H. requested, they’ll do 3 songs. “He doesn’t dance though” and Mr. H. said “hey hey now, but I play the key parts, they’re big” and Mr. M. laughed and said “so thank Paul”. Thanks Mr. H.!! 😀 It was great to have it back in, even if just for the night and in the second half Mr. M. said “here in New York, you recreate your youth”, heck yeah! 😀 Secret had everyone screaming and before it, someone yelled “We love you!” Mr. M. said “thank you….or was that a song request?” 😆 Alas, after Secret it meant one final bounce. We tried to get Linda to join in but she just smiled at us and then gazed at the band. That’s OK, it was obvious she was enjoying it in her heart her way. 😀

Once over, the chant started again, Mr. M. and Mr. H. gave each other a little side hug while Mr. M. stuck his tongue out all tired and hot, then final waves and goodbyes before they walked off. Kerstin and George were hoping for set lists but it was hard to get anyones attention and there were people more center stage trying so when the management started shooing us out by pushing the barrier sideways, they just gave up and we all left. But definitely better than what I was thinking we’d have. It truly can make a difference who’s in the crowd. I’ve seen bands come and play same cities before and one night can be totally different than another (Keane comes to mind….3rd Chicago gig was a charm as we just wouldn’t shut up and the band was dumbfounded. Can’t say why it was just THAT gig but like with OMD, this was so much better than 2011 despite a weeknight, super hot and same city and venue. No complaints that’s for sure! :wink:)

So, highlight of the night. Well, after Boston, I wondered what would top the list tonight. I could say the pleasant surprise of the crowd but, I think I’ll say Kerstin and her reactions. Not only did she join us in the dance moves but she was SO into the gig, it made me smile as I knew this was her only one and it meant a lot to her. Plus, she got a great KtM moment. Not only did Mr. M. sing and blow her a kiss (too far to kiss her hand) but he joked with her at the start of the song saying “you could be my robot slave.” Too funny and she loved it! 😀 😆

And now I’m off to Toronto again. I’m trying hard not to expect the same amazing crowd this time around as last week as there’s no guarantee and every night is different but going with Sinead again and we have Platinum so that in itself should be great as she’s never done anything like it before nor ever really met the guys (barring literally 2 seconds with Mr. H. in 2011 getting her program signed before the other fans rushed and surrounded him) so I’m super excited for her and to do it together. 😀 And hoping the guys have an easier time with the sound system this time too!