The hubs and I had a fabulous time seeing alt-J this past Friday at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. We'd been to the venue before, but saw a comedy act (Louis C.K.) and not a band. We were unsure how this was supposed to work. They were all General Admission tickets. Was the place going to be one huge pit or what? I was psyched because if nothing else, even if EVERYONE was standing on their seats and I couldn't see a thing at least I knew I would not be suffocated by being crammed into some tall dude in front of me due to the actual rows of seating. Three cheers for 1.5 feet of personal space!!!!
Anyway, the concert was great and here's what I enjoyed most about our evening:
3. Doors opened at 7, concert at 8. When you walked up to one of the doors to actually enter the main theater, you got the option of a green or orange arm band. Green meant you could stand in the pit at the very front of the theater and orange meant you GOT A SEAT OF YOUR VERY OWN TO SIT IN!!!! This old lady was super excited about being able to sit since she had anticipated over two hours of standing/bopping for the evening. So seating flexibility was super cool. I did stand for all of ∆ though :)
2. The band sounded great live. This is normally my no. 1 reason why a concert was great. Sounded as good if not better than the album. They weren't a bunch of weenies who needed a break in the middle- probably because they only played for an hour... I did feel bad for their opener, A Hundred Waters. Couldn't tell if I wasn't supposed to understand a word of their lyrics or if they just didn't get ample time to sound check since they were, you know, the opening band. But alt-J performed well and I would gladly see them again once they have another album out. This concert was like a less sweaty version of the Killers concert in May of '08. With seating. Again with the seating!
3. At the end of the show after they'd finished an encore, a bunch of lady fans bum rushed the stage. Before security could get to them, the members of the band were just kind of chillin' and huggin' on their fans. Having been in a band (ok, yes, for a very short time), I always find this to be heartwarming. Your fans are the reason you are on tour. Love them. LOVE THEM!!! So props to those gentlemen for being cool and not running away screaming.
Negative Points:
So many hipsters!!!! It was like someone drove over the Brady Street, stuck a case of PBR out the window and all of the hoards came running! All joking aside, there was a minimum of 10,000 cans of Pabst consumed in that establishment that evening.
Bonus Points:
Expertly timed bathroom break! Ladies, I cannot stress enough how awesome this was. It was like all of the stars in the heavens aligned in order for me to have a perfect experience. So I went down to the basement to get in line for the restroom as the opener was winding down. Holy crap. The line was so far away from the actual door to the restroom that I took one look at it and went right back upstairs. Of course, the moment I sat back in my seat I was immediately reminded of how many beverages I had already consumed and promptly crossed my legs. I kept thinking... get in line or miss the opening of the band? Line? Band? Line? Towards what I thought was the end of the intermission I made a run for it. The line was much shorter! Only a few people actually outside the restroom doors. I waited less than five minutes to get in there and was just sitting back down in my seat as the lights dimmed. PERFECTION!
Don't need to dress up in MKE! Apparently concert goers for all types of events are jeans/t-shirt/North Face fleece wearing people. This takes the pressure off me; especially when one "gets off" work at 6 and the doors open at 7. No need to change into a fancy outfit! Though, those of you who know me know I love any excuse to put on something sparkly or frankly, anything that isn't the outfit I am currently wearing. Super bonus: concert tee with zombies and horses on it!
So thank you, @alt_J, for coming to Wisconsin. You were awesome and I hope to see you around!
Anyway, the concert was great and here's what I enjoyed most about our evening:
3. Doors opened at 7, concert at 8. When you walked up to one of the doors to actually enter the main theater, you got the option of a green or orange arm band. Green meant you could stand in the pit at the very front of the theater and orange meant you GOT A SEAT OF YOUR VERY OWN TO SIT IN!!!! This old lady was super excited about being able to sit since she had anticipated over two hours of standing/bopping for the evening. So seating flexibility was super cool. I did stand for all of ∆ though :)
2. The band sounded great live. This is normally my no. 1 reason why a concert was great. Sounded as good if not better than the album. They weren't a bunch of weenies who needed a break in the middle- probably because they only played for an hour... I did feel bad for their opener, A Hundred Waters. Couldn't tell if I wasn't supposed to understand a word of their lyrics or if they just didn't get ample time to sound check since they were, you know, the opening band. But alt-J performed well and I would gladly see them again once they have another album out. This concert was like a less sweaty version of the Killers concert in May of '08. With seating. Again with the seating!
3. At the end of the show after they'd finished an encore, a bunch of lady fans bum rushed the stage. Before security could get to them, the members of the band were just kind of chillin' and huggin' on their fans. Having been in a band (ok, yes, for a very short time), I always find this to be heartwarming. Your fans are the reason you are on tour. Love them. LOVE THEM!!! So props to those gentlemen for being cool and not running away screaming.
Negative Points:
So many hipsters!!!! It was like someone drove over the Brady Street, stuck a case of PBR out the window and all of the hoards came running! All joking aside, there was a minimum of 10,000 cans of Pabst consumed in that establishment that evening.
Bonus Points:
Expertly timed bathroom break! Ladies, I cannot stress enough how awesome this was. It was like all of the stars in the heavens aligned in order for me to have a perfect experience. So I went down to the basement to get in line for the restroom as the opener was winding down. Holy crap. The line was so far away from the actual door to the restroom that I took one look at it and went right back upstairs. Of course, the moment I sat back in my seat I was immediately reminded of how many beverages I had already consumed and promptly crossed my legs. I kept thinking... get in line or miss the opening of the band? Line? Band? Line? Towards what I thought was the end of the intermission I made a run for it. The line was much shorter! Only a few people actually outside the restroom doors. I waited less than five minutes to get in there and was just sitting back down in my seat as the lights dimmed. PERFECTION!
Don't need to dress up in MKE! Apparently concert goers for all types of events are jeans/t-shirt/North Face fleece wearing people. This takes the pressure off me; especially when one "gets off" work at 6 and the doors open at 7. No need to change into a fancy outfit! Though, those of you who know me know I love any excuse to put on something sparkly or frankly, anything that isn't the outfit I am currently wearing. Super bonus: concert tee with zombies and horses on it!
So thank you, @alt_J, for coming to Wisconsin. You were awesome and I hope to see you around!
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