Okay, here I go! This is going to be really long, but it was a big deal to me since it was my first concert.
Here's what I wrote in my journal before I left (I'm going to separate the paragraphs with spaces to make it easier to read):
"Today's the big day!!! In a few hours I'm going to see BAD RELIGION
LIVE!!
I don't have a Bad Religion shirt, so I'm wearing my Ramones shirt. (You really can't go wrong with a Ramones shirt at a punk concert.) And I'm wearing jeans with deep pockets so I can take my camera, phone, earplugs, cash, and ticket.
I can't focus on homework, so I'm incredibly grateful I have Mondays off. The concert has been on my mind all weekend. Just thinking about it gets my heart rate up. I sure hope I don't faint when I see the band walk on stage. This could potentially be the best night of my young life!"
Now here's what I wrote the next day after the concert:
"Last night was awesome! Bad Religion is just as good live as they are on CD!
Dad gave me a ride to Portland. We made it downtown a few minutes before the doors opened, and as we passed Northwest 6th Avenue and Davis Street we could see a mob of people gathered outside of the venue. We ended up parking about three blocks away on Everett Street. As we walked to the theater, I felt jittery - I couldn't tell if I was overly excited or just cold. Probably both. We made it there a little after 7:00, and by then the crowd was gone, already inside. Dad took my sweater and left, and I was on my own.
A security woman felt my pockets and said, 'I need to see your cigarettes.'
'I don't have any,' I said.
'It's okay; I just need to see them.' She pointed toward my pocket.
'That's a camera.' At that point I was hoping she wouldn't say that cameras were prohibited. But it was all good.
'Point and shoot only, no flash,' she told me. And that was that.
I went up some stairs to the stage area. At the base of the staircase a girl took my ticket, and the top another girl stamped my left wrist.
It would be another 45 minutes before the show started. I walked around and looked at merchandise, but for the most part I just stood there and looked around. I didn't feel awkward being alone. (In fact, it was really nice not having someone to keep track of.) And besides, I wasn't the only on standing around alone.
A lot of people were lined up to go to the balcony [which was 21+]. Others were lined up for the ATM. And over by the stage there were people lining up against the gate to secure a good spot.
I put my earplugs in ten minutes before the show was supposed to start. I was still able to hear the people around me, so I hoped they would be effective. They were made of silicone putty and I had to shape them to fit my ears. I'm glad I didn't buy bright orange foam plugs - they'd be a lot more obvious. But I suppose it didn't matter either way since my hair covered my ears and no one could see them anyway.
The show started right on time at 8:00. I moved closer to the stage and was able to get a spot against the gate near the speakers on the right. I was right in front of the speakers at first, but during the opening acts I was able to inch closer toward the middle as a few people left their spots. I was still on the far right, but I had an amazing view. I'm so glad I could be in the front without anyone blocking my view!
The first opening band was Polar Bear Club. I didn't know how loud it was going to be (this being my first concert and all). It wasn't that bad - probably because I had earplugs in. And it's a good thing I had plugs since I was so close to the speakers! But yes, it was still loud. And it was really powerful. Right away I could feel the power of the bass drum as its soundwaves vibrated through my body. I got used to the sensation after a few songs. The singer was really energetic and he jumped around a lot. He really threw himself into his singing - if that makes sense. He was just really into it. But he wasn't very impressive because he sounded like a lot of the other young punk singers out there. I like originality. A lot of punk music sounds very similar, and the voice is really important because it's what makes one band different from another. Polar Bear Club wasn't bad; they just weren't memorable.
The next band was The Bronx. I thought they were better. They sounded more like an old punk band. Still, it's hard to get excited about a band when you're hearing them for the first time.
The Bronx finished sometime around 9:30. Bad Religion wasn't going to come on until 10:00. I didn't move from my spot. I looked behind me and saw a lot more people. It became more crowded closer to 10:00. Still, I was never squished. I was comfortable the whole time. I made sure to stay away from the mosh pit, which formed in the center of the floor - but even if I wanted to mosh, I wouldn't want to give up my spot in the front.
The sound check people did their thing, and then we were all just waiting. At 9:55 I heard a guy behind me say, 'We're waiting for no reason.' His friend said 'How do you know it's for no reason? What if Greg Graffin [the singer] is taking a giant sh*t right now?'
At 10:00 the lights dimmed and BAD RELIGION walked out on stage! It was cool to see them in person, but for some reason I didn't freak out like I thought I would. Watching them on stage was a lot like watching them on TV. And seeing them live made them seem less 'god-like' and more like regular guys. I was just hyped up on anticipation. Don't get me wrong - it was awesome being so close to them! And nothing beats a super loud live concert and being surrounded by fans who love the band just as much as you do. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
They kicked it off with 'Past Is Dead' followed by a great mix of songs from throughout their career. Here, in no particular order, are all the songs I know they played for sure [for those of you who are familiar with Bad Religion]:
-'Past Is Dead'
-'Overture'/'Sinister Rouge'
-'Beyond Electric Dreams'
-'Suffer'
-'No Control'
-'Do What You Want'
-'New Dark Ages'
-'Against the Grain'
-'Sorrow'
-'You'
-'Generator'
-'Recipe For Hate'
-'Come Join Us'
-'21st Century Digital Boy'
-'We're Only Gonna Die'
-'True North'
-'Anesthsia'
-'F*ck You'
-'Dharma and the Bomb'
-'Sanity'
-'Nothing to Dismay'
-'No Direction'
-'Changing Tide'
-'American Jesus'
-'Vanity'
-'F*ck Armageddon...This is Hell'
-'Infected'
-'Dept. of False Hope'
Greg Hetson [one of the guitarists, who also plays for the legendary Circle Jerks] kept coming right in front of me, just a few feet away on the edge of the stage. Jay Bentley [bassist] and Brian Baker [guitarist] were away from me on the far left side, and Greg Graffin stayed in the middle for the most part. It was awesome being so close to Hetson, but next time I'll come earlier and try to get a spot closer to the middle. (Let's be honest - everyone wants to be close to the singer.) However, my videos turned out great being next to the speakers. And at my angle, I could capture the whole band.
I filmed nine songs and got over 20 minutes of footage. [Now I start talking about stuff that happened during the show, but if you really want to know you can just watch my videos:
www.youtube.com/user/PortlandPunkShows/videos You should at least watch one just to see what kind of view I had.]
During 'No Direction', Greg changed the line 'She glances up to see her favorite video, and gets ideas from Madonna's nasty clothes' to '
Rihanna's nasty clothes' to make it current. For some reason I really
loved it when the music paused and the audience sang along to 'NO BAD RELIGION SONG CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE COMPLETE!' Everyone was so into it - the power and passion of it was incredible. [My video doesn't do it justice.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R-G3fIj3h0 You'd have to be there.]
At some point in the show, after a song, Greg Graffin noticed that someone from the balcony had climbed onto a speaker on the far left side of the stage (away from me). This guy looked like he was ready to jump into the crowd below. Greg said, 'You're supposed to jump
during the song - not
between songs...That's just bad timing.' That's when I pulled out my camera.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoHpJ2LbC9g I kept the man on the speaker within my camera's view for a little while in case he decided to jump. I don't think he ever did, at least not that I saw.
After 'Changing Tide' the band started playing 'American Jesus'. The crowd became more energetic - more people jumping around, pumping their fists, etc. Apparently I'm not the only one who LOVES that song. I couldn't decide if I should put my camera away or not - it would've been nice to just listen and really get into it like the rest of the crowd. But I already started filming it since it came right after 'Changing Tide', and I knew I would regret it if I didn't capture it. I'm so glad I have it now so I can relive it over and over! 'American Jesus' has been one of my favorites ever since I first heard it, and I used to request it all the time for Complete Control Radio.
After 'Sorrow' the band walked off stage. I hoped it wasn't over yet. They didn't even say it was the last song. Some people in the audience were chanting something, but I couldn't hear them very well with my earplugs in. The band came back on stage and Greg said that they love to hear those three words: 'One more song.' (So that's what those guys were chanting!) 'We were gonna come out and play four more,' said Greg, 'but we only want to give you what you want...it's a lot easier to play one. Thank you!'
But of course they played four. They kicked off the encore with 'F*ck Armageddon'. It's probably the most classic BR song ever. 'Vanity' came next. That song is so FAST. Now whenever I hear it I think of Hetson standing near the edge of the stage and shredding on his guitar. In fact, when I think about the concert I visualize him first since he was in front of me the whole time. After 'Infected', they finished strong with 'Department of False Hope'. Hetson tossed a few guitar picks into the audience, and if I was about three people to the left I probably would have got one. Some fans had thrown their shoes and hats on the stage and I wondered if they were going to get them back.
Of course, I didn't want it to end. I can listen to Bad Religion CDs all I want, but there's a certain power and energy that I can only experience by being at a concert to see them perform live.
When I took out my earplugs I could tell that my hearing had been affected. Everything seemed a little quieter. Luckily, it was pretty mild and I was back to normal in about ten minutes. I've heard that your ears might ring for a couple days after a loud concert, but I'm fine - the earplugs really helped.
On my way to the merch table, I remember seeing a sweaty shirtless guy with a huge crossbuster tattoo on his back.
I had $60 in my pocket and I ended up spending all of it. I bought a T-shirt for $20, a hooded sweatshirt for $35, and a crossbuster keychain for $5. (It sure is easy to make money off of merchandise - fans like me will buy pretty much anything with the band's name on it.) The T-shirt says 'BAD RELIGION' and below that there's a white 2-headed eagle emblem with a crossbuster on its chest. White arching stars at the top and bottom help frame the design. My sweatshirt is more plain. It says 'BAD RELIGION' in large pink letters across the back and in smaller letters on the front. It's actually a really nice warm sweater. I put it on while I waited for Dad to pick me up.
I made it home around midnight. The show ended around 11:30. Bad Religion's songs are so short that they're able to cram a lot of material into an hour and a half.
When Dad saw my new shirt, he told me that I shouldn't mess with the cross and that people are gonna think I'm a bad seed if I wear it. At least he didn't flip out like Mom would. I don't even know if Mom knew I went to the concert. I don't want to bring it up - the less she knows about Bad Religion, the better. I hope she never sees their logo. The crossed-out cross doesn't disturb me for two reasons: One, I mainly see it as a symbol for Bad Religion. When I see it, I just think of the band. Two, I'm not a Christian and I'm not religious. The crossbuster symbolizes the absence of religion, and that's fine with me. However, I don't want to offend anyone. I can't wear the shirt around my family, and I won't wear it to school unless I zip up my sweater to cover the logo. If I'm fortunate enough to see another Bad Religion concert, I know I can definitely wear it there.
I am so lucky that I was able to see Bad Religion! I'm lucky that one of my favorite bands is still around and making new albums after 33 years! And they still rock!! It's like they never age. God I love them. "
Whew! So there. That's the story of my first concert. Sorry if it bored you. I wrote everything out because it was all part of the experience!