Some concerts everything works out perfectly and it's heaven on Earth. This was not one of those days. But having said that, at the end of the day, I was at a Foo Fighters concert. And at least I knew it.
I have the strangest luck (or lack of it) when it comes to the Foos. Many know of the quest to get the Record Store Day release "Songs from the Laundry Room" -- finally in my possession thanks to the Foos Popup Store that sprung up in New York City (far away from any signs of life) before the show. But of course, my luck is nothing compared to Dave Grohl's. The man broke his leg two songs into a show in Sweden. A couple of weeks ago, a severe electric storm forced the Foos to stop playing in Quebec.
So I should have suspected something when I set out for Citi Field. It was a beautiful day, a real rarity among these parts since it's been a rainy summer. Poster tube in hand, I set out early for the bus-train- train trek to Queens. Getting off the train, I walked halfway around the outside of the stadium to get to Liam, who was in a bar with the tickets. He had asked someone who came in with a show poster where he got it and was told "the rotunda." Since security said I couldn't go in and come back out again, I walked back around the stadium to get to the rotunda. Where I was told that I couldn't go in for a poster and come back out again. So ... back around the stadium again to go in at the general admission entrance and get on the merch line.
So now I'm pissed, cause 1.) I went early to get the poster, 2.) went inside instead of hanging at the bar to get said poster, 3.) I'll be carrying around an empty poster tube for the whole day for nothing and 4.) it's a good two hours before the Foos will start.
I considered giving my tube to someone who actually got a poster, I'm not sure why I didn't at that point. But I'm wandering around aimlessly, with a pissed and dejected look on my face. And that's when Angel P., a Mets' customer service rep, asked me what was wrong. So I tell him the sob story. And he tells me to go up the stairs to the concourse and check out the stand up there.
So I did that, and there's a reallllly long line, a couple dozen people. I see the poster. I even see the previous day's one, which frankly is even nicer. But I'm not holding out any lost hope. I just wait and watch. And then it's my turn, and wow, they're still there. So I order two of the day's poster (one for Liam, still getting his drink on) and the previous day's one. And that one is the last one they have! Luck's on my side this time. Which ticked off the guy next to me, who was going to ask for it. Sorry, I say, but it already happened to me today. Plus that dude kinda looked like the one who had just beat me out, so I was twice as happy about it.
I go over to the left side of the stage (which is set up in the outfield with the infield covered and blocked off), and it's much less crowded because the entrance is on the other side. But when Liam and friends come in, they stay on the crowded side, and I go over there 'cause who wants to watch a cool show by themselves?
The Foos open the show with "Everlong," which I thought would be the kind of song that makes everyone stop in their tracks and just watch. It's an easy favorite to have, very emotional, and now it reminds me of the last David Letterman show as well as a tale I heard online of a serviceman who hadn't seen his baby since she was born. When he got to the airport and finally saw her, "Everlong" was playing over the PA system. Just perfect.
Anyway, the trek of people never stopped. It didn't matter what they played! "Monkey Wrench," "Learn to Fly," "Big Me," "My Hero," "All My Life" ... whatever it was, they kept walking. Maybe they were there to go to the Shake Shack or buy one of the filet mignon sandwiches. I just couldn't figure it out. Every now I would yell something sarcastic at them, I don't remember any of the better lines.
But Dave and the Foos were having a good time, whether it was their own material ("Congregation" from the Emmy-nominated "Sonic Highways" sounds spectacular in the open air) or covers (Kiss' "Detroit Rock City," Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" and Alice Cooper's "School's Out). I'm truly glad they forsook the Rush cover of "Tom Sawyer," blech!!!
And somewhere along the way, it was easy to forget the crowds continually streaming in front of us by dancing -- the covers of Queen's "Under Pressure" and Tom Petty's "Breakdown" were great jams. Oh, I remember one joke! When "Under Pressure" started, Liam and I joked that those filing past recognized that -- "Yeah, it's Vanilla Ice! Rad, it's "Ice Ice Baby"!!
I also felt better when I started using my elbows while dancing. So I wasn't just getting bumped around, I was doing some knocking myself.
As you can see in the videos, Dave was rocking the "throne" he created while he was high on Oxycontin post-leg surgery. It really is some spectacle, with lasers (that's how you spell "lasers," Dave!) and special lighting and, best of all, enables Dave to keep on rocking.
Dave and Taylor Hawkins (ever the showman behind the kit) and company went out of their minds when they were joined on stage by a couple of their own heroes -- guitarist Dr. Know and bassist Darryl Jenifer -- from the punk band Bad Brains. They rocked out on "How Low Can a Punk Get" and "The Regulator."
They broke Citi Field curfew, of course, and wrapped up with "This Is a Call" (it was the first Foos record I ever got, a 12-inch single) and "Best of You."
Then I left Liam and friends in the dust, because I had to rush to get the train back to the train to get home. I shouldn't have bothered. Because I wound up sitting on the platform waiting for 20 minutes (after a lot of pushing and shoving through the gate for the privilege). And when that train got to Penn Station, another hour wait for the last train of the night to New Brunswick.
That train was one slow moving drunk train, I gotta tell you. Not only that, but only four cars were open. Love that, big long train, with the Foo crowd and more heading home and not everyone gets a seat. I had one, next to a smelly guy who I think stole his ticket. Anyway, finally get to my stop and ... all the cabs are gone, because the train was late and the drivers thought it already came through. Luckily, I flagged one down on the street and finally got to put my poster tube down after 12 hours.
I was under pressure ... and I was about to break ... down ... but all my life ... I'll remember being part of that ... congregation.
