A PERFECT CIRCLE: THIRTEENTH STEP 2003-2004
CHRISTCHURCH, NZ [TOWN HALL]
2.15.04
By Speedbump Mannequin
I saw APC last night in Christchurch.
We woke up at about 9, got ready, had breakfast and went to the town hall at around 12pm. (Yes, 7 hours before the doors opened). There were 2 other girls there as well, we ignored them haha. This American guy came out and talked to us - we were in a rage against him after he left, because he was patronising and arrogant, but he's cool now. A few more people came over the next 2 hours, but mainly we were sitting there almost alone in the freezing cold for 7 hours. People started to crowd up at about 6. And these fuckers with full on face paint pushed in front of us and there was nothing we could do about it because they were fucking huge. Ah well. The security guards teased us by opening doors to let people out, when we thought that we could go in. Eventually, 15 minutes later than we expected, with my disposable camera left outside and never to be seen again, they let us in. Me and Hannah were the second people in, but, stupidly we thought, we went to the merchandise stand and bought $50 tshirts. Then we went into the line - we weren't at the front, but we managed to push our way a little further.
We ran to the stage, and we weren't on the barrier, but I was holding the barrier through 2 people (Who I might add were fuckasses). We were on the left, and I had a metal bar thingy which I could stand on if I really wanted to tower above the short people in front of me. We waited with anticipation, Hannah managed to see a glimpse of Jeordie backstage - wearing a HOT suit and his hair tied back - and when she said it, heaps of people were like, who? HOW THE FUCK DO THEY NOT KNOW JEORDIE! AND THEY CALL THEMSELVES FANS! And oh my god, the show started. I don't know what it was about that moment when Jeordie came out on stage, it was some sort of confirmation that yes, he is a real person, and yes, he is standing 3 metres away from me. They opened with "Vanishing", and when Jeordie stood up at that mic I almost died. Disappear. Disappear. Higher. Higher. Into the air. I can't recall all of the set list, so I wont go into that here. (Hannah recorded the whole thing on her mp3 player that she snuck in haha. It sounds so awesome.)
Maynard 'introduced' everyone, and told everyone Billy proposed to his girlfriend and "luckily for the ladies, said no." HAHAA Maynard was so funny, but my eyes were glued to a certain Mr. White the whole time... and one time, for about 7 seconds, I GOT THE JEORDIE GAZE!!! Oh fuck, I know I sound pathetic, but just the fact that he looked at me was amazing, I mean, he's like a fucking god to me. A random in the seated areas jumped on the amps and dived into the crowd. Ha, it was so cool. The American guy we had seen earlier was on the side of the stage, and Jeordie kept talking to him. Hmm. Hannah pointed at the American guy, and he shined a flashlight on her for the longest time - it fucking blinded me lol. Jeordie did the goat hand sign to someone in the crowd, we later found out from a very enthusiastic Nerral that it was indeed to him! Oh fuck, Jeordie kept on grinning at randoms, he looks so fucking cute when he's smiling. In between songs, Maynard did a 'magic trick' (with the help of Josh Freese) consisting of him dropping a bottle and it bouncing up again. LOL. Jeordie did a little solo - "Freddy got slacks...oh Freddy's got slacks. Billy got boots...oh Billy's got boots. And so on. It was so cute. James Iha also did a little solo. Bahaha James is so cool. his hair looks awesome blonde. They threw their picks out into the audience. So sad I didn't get one.
The show ended, I was so sad. My feet were so sore - I was wearing heels with pointed toes the whole time. (HAHA I showed the people who said I'd break my ankle - I WAS COMPLETLEY BALANCED!!! JUST IN ALOT OF PAIN!!!) The security guards ushered everyone out, apart from the lucky fucks with backstage passes (Some of whom, might I add, don't even know the band members names) - but the ones we talked to afterwards didn't even get to see the band members, so I doubt it would have been worth it. We hung out inside for as long as possible, saw Nerral (an internet friend of mine) who told us about his little interaction with Jeordie, and then we had to go outside. We sat in this round courtyard near their hotel for hours - the American guy saw us and talked to us a little - "What are you doing, just hanging out? You were here 10 hours before the show (exaggeration on his part) and now your still hanging out?" We were like..."Yeah..." He looked like he was about to say something else, but 2 girls walked up to him and begged him to take them upstairs. He asked their ages (GOD DAMNIT WE SHOULDNT HAVE TOLD HIM HOW YOUNG WE WERE THE FIRST TIME WE TALKED TO HIM) and took them upstairs - but they came down and we talked to them, they didn't get to see anyone because they said they'd go in naked, but chickened out, so the American guy didn't let them in.
Bah, we watched the roadies pack up all their stuff, and then drive away. We were so hyped up after the show. We didn't care that we didn't get to meet them, because the prospect of us even having the chance to if we were a little older was good enough. We walked around the street for another hour or so, gazing up at their hotel every so often, ripping down posters advertising the show to take home, and then headed to the Night & Day store for food, and back to our hotel we went.
This morning we hung out outside their hotel again, saw the American guy again! Hannah asked him a few questions which told us he was Maynard's bodyguard, and touring with Melissa Auf Der Maur was great, "She's a nice person, I like her". He probably thinks we are complete and utter freaks - he saw us 3 times outside of the concert just hanging, and he laughed at us. Oh well. Went to the airport and came back here. Bleh. It was FUCKING AWESOME. One of the best days of my life.
Rambling, I know. I'm so fucking happy. It was even better than the Manson concert.