By Skinny
6:30 pm: Having waited there for several hours, the doors finally open at 6:30 pm.
I went in the first row as i usually do. Now we had to wait before the show starts. I couldn't wait.
8:30 pm: Garbage isn't there yet. People were more and more impatient and it was unbelievably hot there. The time seemed so slow at this moment.
9 pm: Here they are. The light shutted down and people started screaming.
I saw Shirly Manson and she came on the stage waving her arms and we all went crazy.
Garbage played most of his classics: Push It", "Stupid Girl", "I Think I'm Paranoid", "Androginy" etc.
That was a good performance in my opinion but i prefer Garbage studio versions...i think their sound was not really great this night.
During the set, Shirley gave the mic to someone in the crowd and asked him to tell the crowd it had to calm down and be nice to each other otherwise we were all gonna keel over.
I think she didn't know what it was gonna be during the Peppers show...
Anyway, Garbage's set ended up after 50 minutes, people were happy, that was a great warm-up before the Peppers show.
10:15 pm: The Chili Peppers were supposed to come at this moment but the roadies were still there and it got hotter and hotter there.
The guards gave us some water, that was a good idea before the Peppers show.
10:35 pm: Here they are!!!! The pit went insane when the four guys came on stage.
Chad came first and as usual seemed so big compared to his drums, Flea wore a pant, Anthony had his black pant and punk T-Shirt with names of bands like Germs, Ramones..and John smiling all the time - so great to see him like that - and wearing a weird white T-Shirt. Flea made big noises with his bass. It was hard though to see everything on stage in the first seconds because we first tried to breathe and to stay alive :) The little jam stops and the band went into "By The Way". People were really happy to hear that song. Then "Scar Tissue". John played a very emotionnal solo.
I expected "Give It Away" then but they eventually played "Around The World".
John was jumping like crazy, holding his guitar in the air.
Anthony was also in a very good mood and he kept jumping, it was like it was again Antwan The Swan from the early days. Flea was also very funny the whole night, screaming in the mike and jumping on the floor.
Then the band played "Universally Speaking". Only a few people knew the song but it got big cheers. Then John took his White Falcon and I understood the next song would be "Otherside". After a short break, the band played "Give It Away" and people went crazy again, this show was insane.
"Don't Forget Me" was another highlight to me. I think Anthony is right when he says "this song is a cornerstone of our record". John's guitar sounds were magic and it was a very special atmosphere when they played it.
Then i was surprised to hear them play "Right On Time" so early in the set.
I was afraid it would be the last since it was the last song before the encore in the previous shows but fortunately it was not the case this time.
Then the band started to improvise "Purple Stain". Flea actually played the bass part and then Chad and Anthony came in but John did not. Too bad!!
Next was "Venice Queen", I love that song, especially the end with the acoustic guitar.
Then it was "Parallel Universe". I saw John whispering something at Flea's and Chad's ears. He was actually asking them to play the intro of "Latest Disgrace" by Fugazi. This intro is awesome and a good introduction to "Parallel Universe".
"Can't Stop" is the next song. I didnt know it before going to the show and i must say it was one of my fave that night, i love the funky rythm, awesome!
Then "I Could Have Lied" was one of the very special moments of this crazy night.
John's solo was amazing, i have no words to describe it, it almost made me cry :)
Then he took his White Falcon again which meant the bands next song would be "Californication". He and Flea played a longer intro than usual to the song and that was very beautiful. "The Power Of Equality" was the last song.
But we wanted them to return on stage and play more.
We screamed their names and they eventually came back.
Flea did a handstand and Anthony went down on the floor and pushed Flea who fell on the ground, that was really funny, everybody laughed.
Then John played the first notes of "Under The Bridge" and everybody shouted out loud.
John put his head on Anthony's shoulder, that was beautiful. I thought about all the things that happened to the band in the past years and to see that was amazing.
But this couldnt be the last song, they had to play more and they did!
They played "Sir Psycho Sexy" and then "They're Red Hot". I was surprised they played it because I thought "Sir Psycho" would be the last song but anyway, that was great.
Then they thanked us and left the stage.
0:05 am: I ran in front of the stage, trying to find something. During the show, I got one of Chad's drumsticks right in my face and i almost lost my arm to get one of John's picks so i didnt want to go back home without any memories.
A girl near me got the setlist (how lucky she is) and what I got is the lyrics of "Can't Stop". I think Anthony wanted the lyrics to be written down because he didnt know all them by heart yet or something.
So in a nutshell, I think the band was very very good, much better than when i saw them last time in Nimes in 1999.
I think they have never been better musically.
And they seem to be more and more close to each other, you could clearly see it that night.
Too bad they didnt speak loud enough sometimes.
But i got one of Flea's joke: "Nice is nice and nice is Nice".
The new songs sounded great, i am really looking forward to hearing the new album. |