Shinning as Bright as any Phoenix EVER!
Amazing doesn't even begin to describe this experience, but I will endeavor to share it with you.
Some time at the beginning of February I found out that Phoenix was coming into town again. Two years earlier they'd come to Japan, but my friends and I weren't able to get tickets. But we went to the venue where they would perform anyway and tried our luck to see if we could get in somehow. But no go. It was so disappointing. This time around I said: I'M GOING, not matter what!
A couple of friends of mine were also interested in going. So we went on a hunt for tickets, but like previously they were completely sold out. I was SO not happy. One friend put up a post on Craiglist (Japan), and I went and contacted a Japanese friend to bid for a couple of tickets that were available on yahoo japan. In the end, my friend got a response to his post but it was only for ONE! ticket (yey for him). THEN the yahoo japan auction turned out to be this never ending bidding war that was taking the ticket prices to crazy heights, so.... no ticket for me.
But undeterred and determined with my crazy desire to be there, I kept the end goal in mind everyday and decided to go to the venue again (myself) to try my luck. This time, I went before the performance started. As soon as I got there though a group of three were outside discussing some matter and then commenced walking towards the gate ahead of me. What came from their mouths made my heart race from nervous excitement. They were trying to sell a ticket. They'd spotted a Japanese girl with her sign saying she needed just one ticket. I tried to jump in and start a very wise, if you ask me, economical bargaining match, but one guy from the group wouldn't have it. He totally ignored me and pulled the group away to sell the ticket to the Japanese girl. I was really crushed and felt really rejected. That had seem to be the only chance to get in and I was totally brushed aside like a nobody. With 45 minutes left for the performance, I still wasn't going to give up hope. I reached in my purse, found whatever I could and made the best sign I could manage.
Passerbys briefly looked at my sign. One other girl that had been waiting at the gate for a while like myself pointed towards me as a man handed over to her what I assumed was a ticket. Of course I rushed over there with big hopes that he would have ANOTHER ticket to sell. All in Japanese- Do you have an extra ticket? "Yes I do, but I need to wait until 7 (start time) until I can sell this one. It's not guaranteed that I can sell you this one so if you do find another one please go and get it...." Arghhh!!!! I was still keeping my fingers crossed that his perspective buyer wasn't coming when another young man looked at my sign a little longer than normal... He was still walking away from me, but something about that look told me it was different from the rest. So I ran up to him and asked, again all in Japanese, do you have an extra ticket? He said, he did, but he wasn't sure if he could sell it. He had to go and confirm with his friend. Ahhhh!!! That's three times an opportunity for a ticket came my way.
With 25 minutes left until the show, I still wasn't losing hope. With my sign I continued to hope for the best. As it turns out, third time's the charm. The last guy returned and said that his friend wasn't going to be able to make it. When I asked him how much he was selling the ticket for (mind you, at this point everyone is expecting it to be sold way ABOVE face value), his reply was for face value. In my mind I was like, WHAT?! HECK YEA!!! I reached into my wallet and pulled out the only bill I had to pay for the ticket (100 dollars more or less). The guy looked at me and groaned. 'What? That's all you have? Don't you have any change?' 'Ahhh no, I don't. Sorry!!!' I started asking anyone passing by if they could break my bill, but a no go.... Desperate that this man wouldn't go and take his ticket back to sell it to someone else that had exact change, I suggested we go to the amusement park next door. He then looked at me and then the ticket and said in PERFECT English (which shocked me because he was speaking Japanese the whole time previously) "You know what? Don't worry about it. It's your lucky day. You can have the ticket." I stood there in COMPLETE shock. Ahhh!!!! "Wait. What? Are you serious?!" "Yes, please enjoy the concert."
Elated and SOOOO grateful, I looked down at the ticket and then found it to be in the standing section of the FIRST floor! EKKK!!!!! Not only was I going to attend the concert for FREE but I was going to have a chance to be in the FRONT row!!! My mind was spinning! I rushed into the concert hall, Shibuya AX, and easily made my way half way to the front. Three German or Belgium guys tall as heck were totally blocking my view. Of course this wouldn't do, so like the militant angel that I am ;) I worked my way passed them right up to the second row and then eventually on the bar in the front row. At this point, my heart was too filled with joy to do anything but smile the biggest smile I had and give thanks to the One Above. It was an even more exhilarating experience with Thomas Mars finding his favorite spot for the night RIGHT in front of me. Our eyes crossed paths several times throughout the night too. Sugoi!!!
Now all of this would have been enough. I was able to go to the concert of my favorite band FOR FREE and see them right up FRONT. Yet, what happened next blew my mind. Thomas Mars started motioning for people to join him on stage. Now for anyone who has lived in Japan longer than 6 months, you know that this type of participation from the Japanese is like pulling teeth. I mean, the crowd LOVED them, but they were too timid to make a step like that. After I saw him repeatedly make that motion to join him on stage, I did what anyone would expect me to do. I squeezed passed the bar and walked right up front to him and held out my hand. Thomas, with a smile, then reached down to pull me up. And that was IT! I had gone beyond the point of no return and I was burning on stage like the new found Phoenix I was. I spent what felt like a lifetime with the band onstage alone. Then the masses followed and what ensued was pandemonium. Every inch on stage was covered by crazed sweating body parts and the band and myself ended up squeezed up top the small second platform raised for the drum set. The incredible drummer, unperturbed by the crushing masses, played even harder, his rhythm drowning out our heartbeats and intoxicating our minds. His last hoorrah took us all to an even greater height, pushing us beyond the sky and into space as fiery Phoenixes.
This was my first experience at a Phoenix Concert. Not bad, eh?
Some time at the beginning of February I found out that Phoenix was coming into town again. Two years earlier they'd come to Japan, but my friends and I weren't able to get tickets. But we went to the venue where they would perform anyway and tried our luck to see if we could get in somehow. But no go. It was so disappointing. This time around I said: I'M GOING, not matter what!
A couple of friends of mine were also interested in going. So we went on a hunt for tickets, but like previously they were completely sold out. I was SO not happy. One friend put up a post on Craiglist (Japan), and I went and contacted a Japanese friend to bid for a couple of tickets that were available on yahoo japan. In the end, my friend got a response to his post but it was only for ONE! ticket (yey for him). THEN the yahoo japan auction turned out to be this never ending bidding war that was taking the ticket prices to crazy heights, so.... no ticket for me.
But undeterred and determined with my crazy desire to be there, I kept the end goal in mind everyday and decided to go to the venue again (myself) to try my luck. This time, I went before the performance started. As soon as I got there though a group of three were outside discussing some matter and then commenced walking towards the gate ahead of me. What came from their mouths made my heart race from nervous excitement. They were trying to sell a ticket. They'd spotted a Japanese girl with her sign saying she needed just one ticket. I tried to jump in and start a very wise, if you ask me, economical bargaining match, but one guy from the group wouldn't have it. He totally ignored me and pulled the group away to sell the ticket to the Japanese girl. I was really crushed and felt really rejected. That had seem to be the only chance to get in and I was totally brushed aside like a nobody. With 45 minutes left for the performance, I still wasn't going to give up hope. I reached in my purse, found whatever I could and made the best sign I could manage.
Passerbys briefly looked at my sign. One other girl that had been waiting at the gate for a while like myself pointed towards me as a man handed over to her what I assumed was a ticket. Of course I rushed over there with big hopes that he would have ANOTHER ticket to sell. All in Japanese- Do you have an extra ticket? "Yes I do, but I need to wait until 7 (start time) until I can sell this one. It's not guaranteed that I can sell you this one so if you do find another one please go and get it...." Arghhh!!!! I was still keeping my fingers crossed that his perspective buyer wasn't coming when another young man looked at my sign a little longer than normal... He was still walking away from me, but something about that look told me it was different from the rest. So I ran up to him and asked, again all in Japanese, do you have an extra ticket? He said, he did, but he wasn't sure if he could sell it. He had to go and confirm with his friend. Ahhhh!!! That's three times an opportunity for a ticket came my way.
With 25 minutes left until the show, I still wasn't losing hope. With my sign I continued to hope for the best. As it turns out, third time's the charm. The last guy returned and said that his friend wasn't going to be able to make it. When I asked him how much he was selling the ticket for (mind you, at this point everyone is expecting it to be sold way ABOVE face value), his reply was for face value. In my mind I was like, WHAT?! HECK YEA!!! I reached into my wallet and pulled out the only bill I had to pay for the ticket (100 dollars more or less). The guy looked at me and groaned. 'What? That's all you have? Don't you have any change?' 'Ahhh no, I don't. Sorry!!!' I started asking anyone passing by if they could break my bill, but a no go.... Desperate that this man wouldn't go and take his ticket back to sell it to someone else that had exact change, I suggested we go to the amusement park next door. He then looked at me and then the ticket and said in PERFECT English (which shocked me because he was speaking Japanese the whole time previously) "You know what? Don't worry about it. It's your lucky day. You can have the ticket." I stood there in COMPLETE shock. Ahhh!!!! "Wait. What? Are you serious?!" "Yes, please enjoy the concert."
Elated and SOOOO grateful, I looked down at the ticket and then found it to be in the standing section of the FIRST floor! EKKK!!!!! Not only was I going to attend the concert for FREE but I was going to have a chance to be in the FRONT row!!! My mind was spinning! I rushed into the concert hall, Shibuya AX, and easily made my way half way to the front. Three German or Belgium guys tall as heck were totally blocking my view. Of course this wouldn't do, so like the militant angel that I am ;) I worked my way passed them right up to the second row and then eventually on the bar in the front row. At this point, my heart was too filled with joy to do anything but smile the biggest smile I had and give thanks to the One Above. It was an even more exhilarating experience with Thomas Mars finding his favorite spot for the night RIGHT in front of me. Our eyes crossed paths several times throughout the night too. Sugoi!!!
Now all of this would have been enough. I was able to go to the concert of my favorite band FOR FREE and see them right up FRONT. Yet, what happened next blew my mind. Thomas Mars started motioning for people to join him on stage. Now for anyone who has lived in Japan longer than 6 months, you know that this type of participation from the Japanese is like pulling teeth. I mean, the crowd LOVED them, but they were too timid to make a step like that. After I saw him repeatedly make that motion to join him on stage, I did what anyone would expect me to do. I squeezed passed the bar and walked right up front to him and held out my hand. Thomas, with a smile, then reached down to pull me up. And that was IT! I had gone beyond the point of no return and I was burning on stage like the new found Phoenix I was. I spent what felt like a lifetime with the band onstage alone. Then the masses followed and what ensued was pandemonium. Every inch on stage was covered by crazed sweating body parts and the band and myself ended up squeezed up top the small second platform raised for the drum set. The incredible drummer, unperturbed by the crushing masses, played even harder, his rhythm drowning out our heartbeats and intoxicating our minds. His last hoorrah took us all to an even greater height, pushing us beyond the sky and into space as fiery Phoenixes.
This was my first experience at a Phoenix Concert. Not bad, eh?
Labels: 1901, Concert, Craiglist, Everything is Everything, Phoenix, Shibuya, Thomas Mars, Tokyo
posted by Shrls at 11:30 PM
2 comments
