Concert memories (12), Sting
Feb. 27th, 2003 10:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gerbieConcert memories (12), Sting
Den Haag, 8 May 1991
Concerts are our means of seeing each other once in a while. We have left for college everywhere in the country and hardly see each other anymore. Old school friends, music fans, we shared a lot, but our lives are growing apart. So this time our concert of choice will be Sting. 3 of our group are regulars, several others come along whenever possible or when the choice suits them. The three of us do differ sometimes, but in general have the same taste. 4 of us were there when we saw Sting at the festival in Werchter a couple of years before, only Bart and I actually saw him. And we were surprised that it was even better than we had anticipated.
We meet at the train station, a good starting point, do some fast food, than take the tram to get to the venue, the newly opened Statenhal. For a student this is not a cheap concert, for only a few extra dimes one could go to a festival. Still, Sting is worth it. He traded his huge band of jazz musicians for a small trio to accompany him on stage. The reviews later praised him for that decision, the four of them managed to get an intimate atmosphere in a hall that is compared to an airport hangar.
To us they made one important mistake. It seems so simple: when you build a stage, make sure the entrance is opposite, i.e. in the back of the hall. It wasn’t. And as we all came from different corners of the country, had had some food before going, it meant that the hall was nearly full at the time we tried to get in. We came in from the side. We are looking diagonally past the stage. So we’re behind it and sideways from it. This is bad planning. So, to be able to see something, we need to make our way through a crowd that isn’t willing to give their hard earned places. We end somewhere on the side, still not a good view, but at least we can see something. We’re here for the music, not for the show.
The music must be the reason you’re here, as there is no show at all. Now, I’m not a big fan of fireworks, dance routines or sexy stage fillers, but in a hall this big, just playing your music does get boring after a while. However good some of the songs are, Sting does play some Police songs, in the end we are not very chuffed. For the first time we decide to go for a drink during the concert. I can’t remember ever having done so, before okay, after certainly, but during a concert I’m listening to the music and watching the stage. But I agree without much discussion, do not feel like I miss a lot. Even near the bar one can still hear the music. So near the bar is where we are when the music is over as well.
We have a long way to get home, the trains do not drive overnight in this small country, so the whole group sets of for the train station again. We take the same train to leave Den Haag and say goodbye at the first transfer station. We had a good night. We enjoyed the music, but for the first time, we enjoyed having an evening together even more. Either we’re getting old or Sting just wasn’t that good. The truth usually is somewhere in the middle.
Den Haag, 8 May 1991
Concerts are our means of seeing each other once in a while. We have left for college everywhere in the country and hardly see each other anymore. Old school friends, music fans, we shared a lot, but our lives are growing apart. So this time our concert of choice will be Sting. 3 of our group are regulars, several others come along whenever possible or when the choice suits them. The three of us do differ sometimes, but in general have the same taste. 4 of us were there when we saw Sting at the festival in Werchter a couple of years before, only Bart and I actually saw him. And we were surprised that it was even better than we had anticipated.
We meet at the train station, a good starting point, do some fast food, than take the tram to get to the venue, the newly opened Statenhal. For a student this is not a cheap concert, for only a few extra dimes one could go to a festival. Still, Sting is worth it. He traded his huge band of jazz musicians for a small trio to accompany him on stage. The reviews later praised him for that decision, the four of them managed to get an intimate atmosphere in a hall that is compared to an airport hangar.
To us they made one important mistake. It seems so simple: when you build a stage, make sure the entrance is opposite, i.e. in the back of the hall. It wasn’t. And as we all came from different corners of the country, had had some food before going, it meant that the hall was nearly full at the time we tried to get in. We came in from the side. We are looking diagonally past the stage. So we’re behind it and sideways from it. This is bad planning. So, to be able to see something, we need to make our way through a crowd that isn’t willing to give their hard earned places. We end somewhere on the side, still not a good view, but at least we can see something. We’re here for the music, not for the show.
The music must be the reason you’re here, as there is no show at all. Now, I’m not a big fan of fireworks, dance routines or sexy stage fillers, but in a hall this big, just playing your music does get boring after a while. However good some of the songs are, Sting does play some Police songs, in the end we are not very chuffed. For the first time we decide to go for a drink during the concert. I can’t remember ever having done so, before okay, after certainly, but during a concert I’m listening to the music and watching the stage. But I agree without much discussion, do not feel like I miss a lot. Even near the bar one can still hear the music. So near the bar is where we are when the music is over as well.
We have a long way to get home, the trains do not drive overnight in this small country, so the whole group sets of for the train station again. We take the same train to leave Den Haag and say goodbye at the first transfer station. We had a good night. We enjoyed the music, but for the first time, we enjoyed having an evening together even more. Either we’re getting old or Sting just wasn’t that good. The truth usually is somewhere in the middle.
