VNV Nation at Das Bunker
I went with Scott on Friday to see VNV Nation play at Das Bunker and VNV kicked ass! Unfortunately Das Bunker did not. When we got there we had to park about 3 blocks away, which is to be expected in LA. Then we waited in line outside for about 2 hours just to get in. When we finally got in we looked around a little. I had been told that Bunker has 3 rooms but the only one we could find was the powernoise room, which I'm not into. So we came back upstairs and I noticed a room with music playing and it looked like there was a band playing. When I tried to go in I was told by security that I couldn't go in because I didn't have a hand stamp. I asked how I was supposed to get a hand stamp, to which he told that I had to have got it when the first set started. Of course that would have mean getting there at about 4pm to be at the front of the line. At that point I was starting to get pissed because we had paid to get in but it looked like we couldn't actually get in to see the band. I knew there were 2 bands playing, but I couldn't tell which band was on at the time. After a couple songs I could tell that it was VNV. I asked security if the same band would be playing again or if it would be the other band and he told me it would be the other band. Now I was pissed! We came to see VNV, not W.A.S.T.E., I didn't want to just listen to VNV from the other room. Well, some guy who was in the room and knew what was going on better than security apparently told me that VNV would in fact be playing again. That made me feel a little better. We went downstairs so Scott could have a cigarette and when we came back up I saw people getting in like to wait for the second show. We got in line but after a few minutes security started telling us we had to move because we were blocking the stairs. We finally moved. but it seemed like everywhere we moved, security told us we had to move. At one point I heard someone say that W.A.S.T.E. were going on downstairs, not that I cared, but at least I knew what was going on with them. Finally at about 1:15am VNV finished their first show. We waited and waited but they still didn't let us in. At that point I was really pissed and other people were starting to get pissed as well. I think everyone had decided screw standing in a line, there was just a huge clump of people behind us. Some of the people in the back started to push, but not for very long. They finally started to let us in about 1:45, but they were letting us in one at a time so they could stamp our hands. We were near the front so we got in fairly quickly. Once we got in the room was nice and cool and we actually had room to move around. They had the a/c cranked up so much that it was actually cold! That felt really good after the rest of the club. VNV came on at 2:05 and they apologized for everything that had happened. Apparently there was some issue with the fire marshal and the fact that they had sold 900 tickets. VNV were amazing! They played only their old stuff and it was awesome! I've never screamed that loud at a show before. Of course I'm paying the price now. Conclusion: I'd think twice about seeing another band at Das Bunker.