Tower (Upper Darby)
This was a full day. Getting back home in the wee hours after Morristown, I had missed a deadline to get five 8x10s that I was submitting for judging to be in a local photography show, so the last chance was to print them at 2-3AM, get a few winks, then get up to have the MRI down at Columbia Presbyterian at 8am. One of the parts that made it all the more memorable... one of those things you think back on and laugh... That morning in the MRI, I was so exhausted that I kept falling asleep! Now, anybody who's been in an MRI machine knows that it's pretty darn noisy. But I had been looking forward to the opportunity to have some more horizontal time and made the best use of it. I realized I was sleeping every time the noise would stop and then woke up again when the machine ejected me at the end. That was the most restful MRI I've ever had!
Then it was off to meet the photography contact on the subway platform as her train paused on its way to the judging, pack for the next leg of the tour, download photos, prepare the camera, and jump on a train for Philly. Thankfully, the orthopedist suggested the brace I was using wouldnt help at this point, so I just tried to walk carefully. Walked with knapsack and small roller bag the few blocks from Suburban Station to our digs in central Philly, met up with Marijane, and set off for Upper Darby. The traffic was Miserable, but we did manage to snag a metered parking spot on the main drag (Market). Walking to the venue, the back alley was full of radio contest winners a meet and greet, I guess (not sure). I had a Wonderful burger at a bar across the street from the side entrance.
Concert.
What a dump! Somehow, though Ive been to the Tower twice before, I didnt remember that there was years of accumulations of stickiness on the floor under the seats and soaked into the carpets in the aisles. I heard that there was an overflow in the womens bathroom. The bar immediately outside the theater room itself was jam packed. It was hot as hades in there for the second night in a row. My chair was coming off its hinges and the distance from my knees to the next seat was about an inch and a half, making it more of a challenge to stand up after songs. Yes, despite the difficulty, Id been managing to stand for all the usual ovations. It just felt wrong to sit.
All that said, I think this was the best of the four shows Id seen so far this time. Why? Because that Philly audience was up from the get-go. This gets transmitted to the band like a thundershot. The frenzy was at such a peak that while Justin was singing Question, he put his right hand to his ear and stopped singing. I've never seen him do that. They all stopped playing! Everyone in the place, including the balcony, was singing at high volume. I've never heard such gusto in the very few times that I've been there when Justin has stopped singing to let the audience take over. What a kick! Lots of smiles. The security guy was quite active running up and down the center aisle. Overactive you might say. He was so concerned with getting people to sit down even before the show started, I had to tell him they never start before 8:10. He came by later to credit me with that, but he was still active in preventing people from coming down during the show to snap a photo (and there were plenty). Towards the end, as we were standing during the last two songs, some of the people who had been going out over and over for beer, pushed their way out of my aisle, nearly knocking me over, thankfully kicking my good leg. Since it was so hot, Justin unbuttoned a couple before Question and rolled up his sleeves. I got a couple of pretty nice shots of that! Since this security guy was so much in evidence, I only shot 79 more towards the end as I realized, while hazarding to shoot one of Graeme during H&H with the guy right in front of me, that he was after bigger cameras or videocams. It was a good night!
This was a full day. Getting back home in the wee hours after Morristown, I had missed a deadline to get five 8x10s that I was submitting for judging to be in a local photography show, so the last chance was to print them at 2-3AM, get a few winks, then get up to have the MRI down at Columbia Presbyterian at 8am. One of the parts that made it all the more memorable... one of those things you think back on and laugh... That morning in the MRI, I was so exhausted that I kept falling asleep! Now, anybody who's been in an MRI machine knows that it's pretty darn noisy. But I had been looking forward to the opportunity to have some more horizontal time and made the best use of it. I realized I was sleeping every time the noise would stop and then woke up again when the machine ejected me at the end. That was the most restful MRI I've ever had!
Then it was off to meet the photography contact on the subway platform as her train paused on its way to the judging, pack for the next leg of the tour, download photos, prepare the camera, and jump on a train for Philly. Thankfully, the orthopedist suggested the brace I was using wouldnt help at this point, so I just tried to walk carefully. Walked with knapsack and small roller bag the few blocks from Suburban Station to our digs in central Philly, met up with Marijane, and set off for Upper Darby. The traffic was Miserable, but we did manage to snag a metered parking spot on the main drag (Market). Walking to the venue, the back alley was full of radio contest winners a meet and greet, I guess (not sure). I had a Wonderful burger at a bar across the street from the side entrance.
Concert.
What a dump! Somehow, though Ive been to the Tower twice before, I didnt remember that there was years of accumulations of stickiness on the floor under the seats and soaked into the carpets in the aisles. I heard that there was an overflow in the womens bathroom. The bar immediately outside the theater room itself was jam packed. It was hot as hades in there for the second night in a row. My chair was coming off its hinges and the distance from my knees to the next seat was about an inch and a half, making it more of a challenge to stand up after songs. Yes, despite the difficulty, Id been managing to stand for all the usual ovations. It just felt wrong to sit.
All that said, I think this was the best of the four shows Id seen so far this time. Why? Because that Philly audience was up from the get-go. This gets transmitted to the band like a thundershot. The frenzy was at such a peak that while Justin was singing Question, he put his right hand to his ear and stopped singing. I've never seen him do that. They all stopped playing! Everyone in the place, including the balcony, was singing at high volume. I've never heard such gusto in the very few times that I've been there when Justin has stopped singing to let the audience take over. What a kick! Lots of smiles. The security guy was quite active running up and down the center aisle. Overactive you might say. He was so concerned with getting people to sit down even before the show started, I had to tell him they never start before 8:10. He came by later to credit me with that, but he was still active in preventing people from coming down during the show to snap a photo (and there were plenty). Towards the end, as we were standing during the last two songs, some of the people who had been going out over and over for beer, pushed their way out of my aisle, nearly knocking me over, thankfully kicking my good leg. Since it was so hot, Justin unbuttoned a couple before Question and rolled up his sleeves. I got a couple of pretty nice shots of that! Since this security guy was so much in evidence, I only shot 79 more towards the end as I realized, while hazarding to shoot one of Graeme during H&H with the guy right in front of me, that he was after bigger cameras or videocams. It was a good night!
