Brooklyn NY-April 29th 2022

So….first off, let me put out a disclaimer that this gig may not have as much detail as most of mine due to my brain being all over the place for a good portion of the gig. This was my first concert since the start of the pandemic and a HUGE step for me! Without going into detail, my job is such that I have been on the “front lines” and treating Covid plus 3 weeks into the pandemic one of my coworkers almost died from it (they were holding prayer services for her as she and her husband were both bad but she was on a ventilator) so…I’ve not been able to “move on” as well as many. 🙁 During the show I went from “OMG I feel so naked and vulnerable without my mask on!” to “aww, there’s the guys! <3 ” to “OMG, I hope I don’t get sick from this show” to “bounce bounce bounce” to “this is SO weird, I don’t know how I feel about being in a crowd and I’m gonna get sick” to “this is so fun so…I guess I’ll deal with whatever happens later, I’m HERE 😀 ” to…etc etc you get the point. I also really wanted to just try and soak up the experience which there too was wonderful and sadly nostalgic at the same time. I couldn’t help but think how the last time I saw the band, we had NONE of this pandemic crap going on, it was just totally care free and how I just don’t see it ever being like that again. But in the same token, it was wonderful that I could even BE there that night despite my fears so…yeah, like I said…mumbled brain LOL. But overall it was tons of fun and I KNEW the first show would be like this since I’ve been living a very sheltered life the past 2 years, I just couldn’t pass up seeing my favorite band in my own country so…it was time to push MY boundaries. AND, despite all this, I DID do my usual ‘jot things down on a piece of paper when back at hotel’ so this won’t be TOO short or vague of a blog. 😉 So…that being said…let the blogging commence. 😀

I was technically supposed to have been to 4 other shows prior to this but since I see each gig as a high risk and I really wanted to do the NYC shows, I scrapped my tickets to the first 4. I also didn’t put a lot of faith in flights and was going to fly in the day before the show but the thought of flying isn’t appealing to me either so then I thought “roadtrip…?” It’s 16 hours from my house to Brooklyn Steel…too long to do in a day BUT, I looked at the map and found I could stay at Allegheny State Park and Forest and when looking further into it and seeing how many trails and such there were, my idea of leaving the day before gig turned into leaving 3 days before the gig so I could experience nature. 😀 Unfortunately, the weather was unseasonably cold…as in snow and hail the first day! 🙁 But I still managed to get in some trails and then the next day, tho super cold wind and still cold temps, I did a bit more hiking and stopped at a lot of look out points. Much more bare than I had expected too but I had some great nature moments with seeing deer, red fox, ruffled goose, heard a lot of pretty birds chirping etc. I’d love to return another time when it’s more lush with leaves but I still enjoyed it as, even BEFORE Covid I liked nature stuff but now more than ever I just love being outdoors in the peace of nature. 😀

Friday arrived quickly and I was off to Brooklyn. I had my “So In Love” leggings (think bright colored sugar skulls 😉 ) and good tunes to sustain me for the 6 hour remaining drive. Coming into downtown NYC was scary as all heck as CRAZY DRIVERS! I mean people just cutting others off, blocking lanes because they want to turn which then had others honking or making crazy swirls to get around. I wasn’t in a rush so just stayed in my lane and waited thinking “just get me there without a ding in the car” lol! I’m also really bad at parallel parking so despite being told by my AirBnB lady that I’d find parking on main street of apartment, I had to go a few blocks away. Seriously, it’s quite a funny scene watching me try to parallel park! 😀 Ironically (and unbeknownst to me at the time) I parked 1 block and around the corner from the venue. As I was walking with my suitcase to my apartment, I saw someone who looked like Chickey (OMD’s sound guy) and was like “is that….looks like…” but I didn’t say anything as I then thought “naaaah…” But wonder now if it was since I was so close to the venue LOL. 😀

So I had heard about the “new OMD crew member” Maggie the husky mix and since I LOOOVE dogs, I was hoping to see her. As I came around the corner towards the venue, sure enough, there she was with her owner so I went right past the line and straight to her to ask if I could pet her. What a SWEETIE! 😀 <3 Once in line I saw a lot of friends (part of the reason I chose NYC to be my first shows)… Jennifer and Bert, Kim, Marilyn, Mali and Christine. They were all a bit further in line than me so initially I hung alone but then Jennifer asked about the early entry bit and next thing I knew, I was up with them as we all had the special entry (from buying a Zoom or live ticket for OMD’s show last year). Security went pretty smoothly, especially since I had bought a “clear purse” per requirements and then I was heading in. OMD usually plays in Manhatten so this was a new venue for us all. I saw Bert waving to me as he and Jennifer were saving Kim and I spots bless their hearts so I headed over there. 😀

The opening act for this tour is a band called In The Valley Below…a husband and wife duo. I had heard OF them but wasn’t familiar with their music. On first listen I’d say so-so. Kind of some chill, grooving, spacey music and vocals…? Hard to describe but I was also, again, soaking up the fact I was even AT a gig at this point (mask still on then) LOL so I may be able to say more next blog. I DO know I told Jennifer I had hoped they’d pick up the pace a little and then funny enough, the next 2 songs were slightly faster LOL. 😀

When they were done, stage changed out and lights down for OMD, that’s when I whipped off the mask, put in bag and thought “OMG!” Cool graphics popped up and I turned to Jennifer saying I didn’t remember the specifics we were seeing being from 2019 (because this was SUPPOSED To have happened here in 2020 so it was a similar set list to what I had seen in the UK in 2019). We heard Atomic Ranch and it was a cartoon of a car driving around…I’m sure more that’s mostly what I remembered. They then each came out and went into Stanlow…with lovely pics of the oil refinery. Surreal to me to say the least!

Once it was over and the crowded cheered, Mr. M. joked saying “nothing like starting the show with a eulogy to an oil refinery” LOL 😀 . Isotype was next which meant I was barely 5 minutes into it and time to bounce LOL. 😀 And as usual because “we always play this song third”, Messages came next. The crowd was quite good with their cheers now and bopping around. Since my good friend Mark wasn’t with me, I decided for Tesla Girls I’d do the “yes, Yes, YES” response even tho it was just me doing it. My spot on the rail was right in front of Mr. H. and he saw me at the end so starting singing the “No” part at me, I did “yes”, he did “no” and then pointed to me and I did a final “yes” before he did HIS final “NO!” Too funny! 😀 <3

I knew HoM was going to be next. Always a highlight for me as a MAJOR bouncing song, I got a cute shout out from Mr. M. :O <3 “Now you’re in trouble. 10 years ago when this song came out, a girl from Chicago started a bounce and she’s here in the front tonight. So you follow me and I’ll follow her”. 😀 😀 😀 Gotta say, the crowd followed well as I saw lots of heads bouncing around! 😀 And for those few minutes, ALL I thought about was bouncing and had the best time! <3 When done, Mr. M. looked at me and said “see what you started” and I laughed saying “but it’s a GOOD thing”. 😀

So after that is Mr. H.s time to come front and center with FLaD. I kind of missed the full joke but first Mr. M. said something about how we need “to be really nice to Paul because he’s nervous. He’s so nervous he locked himself in the bathroom for 15 minutes”. Mr. H. laughed and said “I Did” but then… I didn’t hear all of what Mr. M. said that then Mr. H. was like “you thought that and you said it” and Mr. M. was like “oh, did I say that out loud” so…sorry, I missed that bit. 🙁 Girls screaming which is always funny and sweet. Oh, forgot to mention that off and on there were little pieces of confetti falling from the ceiling and then soon…balloons! I thought “omg, really?” but the first one was a BIG yellow one with a SMILEY! Well THAT one I loved! 😀 But soon there were a TON of them all over the place so that when Souvenir was done, Mr. H. looked around and said “where’d all these balloons come from?” LOL 😀 Jennifer and I said how they’d have to clear the stage if Mr. M. was going to windmill. 😉

And speaking of windmilling, JoA/MoO…OMG! Seriously, it was all I could do to not start crying during those songs. SO many emotions and those songs, especially JoA sometimes can get me teary eyed but with all that had happened these past 2 years and then thinking of the then and now and just feeling so surreal/nostalgic/weird etc…yeah it was hard….UNTIL… a balloon just POPPED. :O POOF, gone. No one was near it, it just BAM, popped. Cracked Jennifer and I up and that was that LOL 😀 And to say hearing and seeing that dynamic duo of songs was special is an understatement. God I’ve missed this! <3

We got 2 songs where the 4 guys came out to the front (will go more into detail in the next blog but suffice it to say, it was fun to see 🙂 ) By this time the crowd had really gotten into it. I could be wrong and NO offense to Manhatten but…it sounded to MY ears at least like this crowd was better than the ones in the past at Terminal 5. Mr. M. prompted everyone to sing “Don’t Go”…”LOUDER!” and when it was over, he laughed saying “I thought you all would be too COOL to hear a bunch of greatest hits but you seem to be liking them.” And to prove his point, when they went into So In Love, OMG, the 3 girls behind me let out the LOUDEST squeel I’ve heard in awhile (then again, it’s been 2.5 years since my last gig so… ; ) ) All I could think of was “well THEY’RE happy to hear this song” 😀

Locomotion found Mr. M. and Mr. H. having their usual fun goofing around with each other and it was fun to see Mr. C. grooving and jamming on the keys during SotSS with his eyes closed and swaying. 😀 Before I knew it tho…Enola Gay. :O A final bounce before our little break. I laughed when Mr. H. was saying his goodbyes and he said “We’ll see you again soon”. I turned to Jennifer and said “yeah…like TOMORROW” 😀

Lots of cheers and then I heard a small “OMD…OMD” chant start just before the guys came back on stage. YAY! 😀 I had originally thought IYL would be earlier and was expecting it about song 5 or 6 in the set list. Once it didn’t come, I forgot about it LOL. So to hear it in the encore set was a bit strange but also fun to have it mixed up a bit. Molly Ringwald footage played in the background which was cool and nostalgic and then they continued with Secret until it became time for their “Oldest and fastest” song again. One last chance to bounce and let loose…then it was over. All 4 guys came out front again with big smiles and thank yous. Hopefully the crowd sounded as good to them as it did from my stand point…they all seemed quite happy so… 😀

A few group photos PLUS, I REALLY wanted the yellow SMILEY balloon that had debuted early in the night and then had a twin join in the fun. By the time post gig pics were taken, I saw a guard by the rail so I went up to him. Poor guy, I THINK he thought I was going to ask for a setlist which was what I heard many others ask for and to which he ignored them. I asked if I could please have the yellow balloon and pointed to the one behind him but he reached down for a smaller yellow one in front. I laughed, asked if I oculd have the SMILEY one, he gave it to me and I was quite happy. Had to hold it up over my head leaving the venue (to which Kim said I looked like a tour director. Oh YEAH hahahaha 😀 ) but…sadly, after saying goodbye to everyone, I barely made it a block and POOF..it popped. UGH, so sad! 🙁

Right so…I usually try to have a “highlight of the night” but it’s a bit hard to think of a specific highlight since tonight had a lot of ups and downs of an emotional rollercoaster. Maybe I’ll just say the night ITSELF is the highlight. Being there, getting to see the guys, hear the songs, bounce to the music and be with friends despite my fears and all the baggage that’s come with me from the past 2 years. Everything is kind of wrapped up together so…yeah, I’m going to say just being there to experience it all is the night’s highlight. 😀 And now…I get to do round 2. As Mr. M. would say “shall we start this all again?” Um…YES PLEASE. 😀 😉