I woke up this morning to the alarm clock playing Walk by the Foo Fighters. Even though my body struggled to get out of bed, hearing the alarm was encouraging.
My body was extremely sore in the morning even though I ingested a cocktail of natural pain management medications (which actually gave me nightmares) the night before.
My body took a good four hours to adjust itself. It helped that I was entertained during the 6 hour drive to the Gorge, one of my top 5 venues to see live shows, with a Foo Fighters inspired playlist.
I didn't do any camping this year, therefore, treated this as a camping adventure/rock show.
I was feeling very sick on the way to the Gorge. Before the show we pulled over and went for a 20 minute jog (I did) around the campground. The high altitude combined with the 30 degree weather wasn't a good combination for my heart. My heart rate monitor was in the red but I smiled through it. Jogging in my Foo Fighters shirt earned a lot of cheers from the other passing cars. Thankfully I had my inhaler. I was insistent on finishing the jog before the show knowing that it was going to be the only and last real cardio before the show.
Ever since Live Nation bought the Gorge the coordination into the camp grounds has been a disorganized clusterfuck. The traffic was so bad 'cause there was literally only one booth per lane which was for will call, scanning and purchases. I got so fucking fed up with the line that I got out of the car and joined some tailgate parties. Tailgate parties are illegal at events in Vancouver, therefore, any chance I get in the U.S. for shows I make sure I hit up a party.
Every other camp lot was blasting a Foo Fighters song. The mashup of various tracks spanning many of their albums was a cool pre show energizer and ear candy experience as I walked around.
While everyone was getting loaded before the show I decided to take advantage of the lush green grass that Vancouver went weeks without and did 30 minutes of Yoga. Live Nation clearly ignored the draught warning and watered the grounds. Premier camping got the green grass instead of itchy dessert grass that the economy section received.
This time I was able to hear Gary Clark Jr. He brought some swagger to the music.
There was no catwalk this time around, therefore, the show felt unique compared to Vancouver. Everyone had the same experience. There was a small stretch but no cat walk.
There was no point aiming for front row as soon as we arrived. I was competing with 20k people whom arrived a day prior. I still managed to get a reasonable spot on the outside ring of the pit. It was the largest mosh pit that I've ever been in. For the record American pits are rougher than Canadian pits but it was all in healthy fun. An hour into the show I did manage to sneak into the VIP area by jumping the barricade.
I had to conserve my energy 'cause the entire venue sold out of water 3 hours before show time. They did have a hydration station but some dickfuck stole my water bottle, therefore, was stirring it up in the mosh pit in 30 degrees heat on borderline dehydration. At the end of the day I would do anything for rock.
The stage banter was the same as Vancouver, however, he managed to make it feel personalized for the audience. There was a moment near the end of the show in which he expressed unrehearsed sentiment toward the Gorge and the scenery.
The set list was the same. The familiar order pre empted my excitement. The show was 15 minutes longer which included extended banter and the addition of I'll Stick Around.
The energy by both the audience and the band was far more intense than in Vancouver. This doesn't surprise me considering that people drove as far as 10 hours for this show.
I was fortunate to watch the sunset drop behind the stage and lucky to see the stars above without the pollution of the city lights. This raised the emotional value of the show for me. read more
