7.20.14 Q+AL CONCERT THREAD -- Columbia, MD USA
Aug 10, 2014 21:51:47 GMT -5
Post by suzie12 on Aug 10, 2014 21:51:47 GMT -5
My QAL adventures (July 2014) – Part of my 4-part show recap
Merriweather (7/20)- Despite living 30 min from Merriweather I had not been there for a concert before, but had been looking forward to this show since March when we got fanclub presale tickets. We had 7 standing GA seats for my two sons (mid-late 20s), my DIL, my son’s girlfriend, and my best girlfriend (who has attended two GNT shows and a few other local Adam shows with me, thinks Adam is sexy and great voice, but not obsessed like me, likes all kinds of music). My husband had good pavilion seats with a few of his female friends (who all did not want to stand, but turned out they stood for nearly all of the show anyway!).
We had a BBQ/early dinner/drinks at the house before driving to the show. We went the back way to Merriweather, missed traffic, got there in time for a good position to run to standing seats, but did not anticipate the huge long lines in the woods. My kids go to MPP all the time and said they had never seen so many people lined up. Anyway, we took a group pic by the trucks, chatted in line, enjoyed beautiful weather for July in DC, and made our way to GA. Once the doors opened the line went fast enough. I ran into ‘rihannsu’ inside and regret that I could not have talked longer, but we were running to get good seats on the left front. And we had a great position, about 3 rows back where we could see both the stage and the short catwalk very well. We were surrounded by a really diverse crowd, loud Queen fans on the right, young (30s) male Adam fans who had never seen him live before, and the anticipation in the crowd was really electric. I would have thought MPP would be more laid back, outdoorsy, but no --people were in an ‘up’ mood, smoking pot in the front, and having a wonderful summer evening.
Anyway, the curtain going up and Adam coming out was so exciting. Everyone was loud, cheering, in awe, and this never let up during the entire show, there was some pushing in the crowd but nothing unusual (only complaint was a person in front of us taking pics/video with an IPAD, come on, that is a little large to have up high in everyone’s view). We were also behind someone with a large badger poster – maybe 3 ft wide by 2 ft high. Fortunately, he did not raise it too often during the show, usually just when he thought Brian May would see it. Whenever I would turn around the entire pavilion was standing, cheering, and rocking out. I am sure you have heard Brian May remark about this show, and to be upfront I felt just like the first time standing on the floor in London 2 years ago. The anticipation and curtain going up is exhilarating, and you know you have to do it again and again if you can.
My favorite moments were no one song in particular, but for 2+ hrs I felt like I was back in the 70s at a rock concert with pot in the air and everyone enjoying the event. I could hear my DIL singing every word of every song, she apparently grew up in Asheville NC with her parents playing Queen all the time. She was sad they did not play ‘the Bicycle song’. My other son/girlfriend had gone to QueenExtravaganza in DC to familiarize themselves with the songs a month before the concert; they were surprised that Adam was relatively sedately dressed, apparently they expected feathers and very over the top outfits (ah, shades of GNT come to mind). My girlfriend (who plays guitar) said the musicianship was awesome and Adam was sexy as ever. My spouse and his friends loved the entire show as well, the Queen fans to the right kept yelling ‘unbelievable’!! I asked the young guy seeing Adam for the first time what he thought after the show – he had 1 word: ‘phenomenal’.
It is safe to say the crowd was blown away, good times were had by all and memories for my kids that they got to see some of the original Queen members live. We grabbed some confetti and everyone raved about the show and thanked us for taking them. (and yes, leaving there in traffic was a bear). Also, post MSG, my husband made a playlist of Queen songs and played them at the MPP pre-party and in the car – another ‘out of character’ thing. I think he liked it!
Merriweather (7/20)- Despite living 30 min from Merriweather I had not been there for a concert before, but had been looking forward to this show since March when we got fanclub presale tickets. We had 7 standing GA seats for my two sons (mid-late 20s), my DIL, my son’s girlfriend, and my best girlfriend (who has attended two GNT shows and a few other local Adam shows with me, thinks Adam is sexy and great voice, but not obsessed like me, likes all kinds of music). My husband had good pavilion seats with a few of his female friends (who all did not want to stand, but turned out they stood for nearly all of the show anyway!).
We had a BBQ/early dinner/drinks at the house before driving to the show. We went the back way to Merriweather, missed traffic, got there in time for a good position to run to standing seats, but did not anticipate the huge long lines in the woods. My kids go to MPP all the time and said they had never seen so many people lined up. Anyway, we took a group pic by the trucks, chatted in line, enjoyed beautiful weather for July in DC, and made our way to GA. Once the doors opened the line went fast enough. I ran into ‘rihannsu’ inside and regret that I could not have talked longer, but we were running to get good seats on the left front. And we had a great position, about 3 rows back where we could see both the stage and the short catwalk very well. We were surrounded by a really diverse crowd, loud Queen fans on the right, young (30s) male Adam fans who had never seen him live before, and the anticipation in the crowd was really electric. I would have thought MPP would be more laid back, outdoorsy, but no --people were in an ‘up’ mood, smoking pot in the front, and having a wonderful summer evening.
Anyway, the curtain going up and Adam coming out was so exciting. Everyone was loud, cheering, in awe, and this never let up during the entire show, there was some pushing in the crowd but nothing unusual (only complaint was a person in front of us taking pics/video with an IPAD, come on, that is a little large to have up high in everyone’s view). We were also behind someone with a large badger poster – maybe 3 ft wide by 2 ft high. Fortunately, he did not raise it too often during the show, usually just when he thought Brian May would see it. Whenever I would turn around the entire pavilion was standing, cheering, and rocking out. I am sure you have heard Brian May remark about this show, and to be upfront I felt just like the first time standing on the floor in London 2 years ago. The anticipation and curtain going up is exhilarating, and you know you have to do it again and again if you can.
My favorite moments were no one song in particular, but for 2+ hrs I felt like I was back in the 70s at a rock concert with pot in the air and everyone enjoying the event. I could hear my DIL singing every word of every song, she apparently grew up in Asheville NC with her parents playing Queen all the time. She was sad they did not play ‘the Bicycle song’. My other son/girlfriend had gone to QueenExtravaganza in DC to familiarize themselves with the songs a month before the concert; they were surprised that Adam was relatively sedately dressed, apparently they expected feathers and very over the top outfits (ah, shades of GNT come to mind). My girlfriend (who plays guitar) said the musicianship was awesome and Adam was sexy as ever. My spouse and his friends loved the entire show as well, the Queen fans to the right kept yelling ‘unbelievable’!! I asked the young guy seeing Adam for the first time what he thought after the show – he had 1 word: ‘phenomenal’.
It is safe to say the crowd was blown away, good times were had by all and memories for my kids that they got to see some of the original Queen members live. We grabbed some confetti and everyone raved about the show and thanked us for taking them. (and yes, leaving there in traffic was a bear). Also, post MSG, my husband made a playlist of Queen songs and played them at the MPP pre-party and in the car – another ‘out of character’ thing. I think he liked it!
