by Brent

A good show, but not the best I've attended, for a couple reasons. I had GA's and enjoyed hanging out with other fans all day, as usual (arrived at 8:20am and was #1,031), but at about 4pm all heck broke loose as the entire GA line broke down. We had been told that we'd be let in at 5pm, so a bunch of people were away from the line returning their things to their cars when, again, something broke down and everyone rushed to the front of the line. A bunch of people from the end of the line tried pushing in from the side and a bunch of people who had been there all day ended up at the back because they had been at their cars. It was a total mess and it's a miracle everyone kept their cool.

My friend and I still ended up in the inner circle, so justice was served, at least for us. They let way too many people in the inner circle, though. It was absolutely jammed; forget trying to leave and get back to your spot. We were on Adam's side, about 10 people back.

The show itself left a bit to be desired, in my humble opinion. The boys definitely brought the energy, but I was shocked that the setlist was as bland as it was. I thought for sure we'd get a couple extra songs and maybe even Bad (which hasn't been played for a number of weeks), but it was not to be. In fact, the whole concert seemed really rushed. They started relatively late (~8:45-8:55, if I remember correctly - probably due to prepping for the live taping/DVD), especially for a taped show, so it could very well be that they ran into a local curfew and had to cut things short: no one made it up on stage (NO ONE, I couldn't believe it!) and very few shout-outs to what I'm sure was a boatload of stars. (Not complaining about that, but it's unusual considering the starpower there that night. (Including Steve Perry. Saw him as I was making the mad dash to the GA inner circle. A true legend!) Again, the only thing I can think of is that they ran into a curfew. Really too bad.

On the positive side, set-wise, my two favorites, hands-down, were from NLOTH: Magnificent and Unknown Caller. I am SO GLAD they resurrected the latter (for the tour DVD, obviously) as it does really well live. Unfortunately, the fair weather fans out there weren't into it.

That was another big reason this show didn't live up to expectations: the crowd. Now of course I knew this was a real possibility as LA crowds are notoriously mellow, but I thought with a healthy Bay Area contingent coming down it'd be better. Not so. Maybe I just watch too many clips from Milan or South America.

The Claw, lighting, etc, on the other hand, was amazing! The guys did a superb job with that aspect of the show. A truly amazing spectacle.

All in all, a good show, though, and it was cool to be a part of history. Now I begin the wait for Oakland on June 16th...

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