Amanda Palmer @ Webster Hall (11/21/08)
Here is my recap of the show I went to last Friday. Many pix, much rambling.
I was major pissed because my stupid doctor appointment made me late. By the time I got on the subway it was after five and the doors opened at six. Jen arrived at five, actually, and she was like the FOURTH person on line, so if I had gotten there like 15 minutes earlier we would have been on the barrier. Well, the stage actually because there WAS no barrier.
(Picture courtesy of Jen)
I met some awesome people though. We were in second row, to the left, and it was just awesome. There were some people playing music un-amplified during the wait, and that was interesting. Then Vermilion Lies took the stage. I saw them open for her last time I saw her, and they're pretty freaking awesome. I knew most of the songs they played.
This is Zoe. She is hot.
This is Kim. She is awesome.
Ugh, so hot. That was basically all we were talking about through their set--how damn hot this woman is.
Next up was The Builders & The Butchers, who I hadn't heard of before now, but who were VERY good. I was very impressed with their set. Like, openers-wise, I liked them almost as much as I liked Steel Train when I saw them open for the Hush Sound.
Then they went off, and the guy from the Danger Ensemble went on stage and talked to us about Amanda being dead. He was funny and I loved him a lot.
Me & Jen's obligatory concert picture. It came out poorly because I didn't reset the ISO haha.
Then this lady came out and played a song on Amanda's keyboard. It was pretty sick.
OKAY SO THEN. THEN. Then the Danger Ensemble came on stage while the one dude was talking about Amanda being dead, he was talking about mourning her, and one guy was playing the violin I think, and they were doing all these choreographed movements, and they started miming pulling something in with a rope, and I turned around and saw that the CROWD was being PARTED by something, and after a minute or so whatever ~it~ was was a couple people away from me, and I saw it was AMANDA with a white veil over her face, walking as if possessed, with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide and her arms outstretched. Once she got to the stage, the Danger Ensemble lifted her up by her arms and set her down at her keyboard.
That's her being lifted. It was so powerful. I started crying tbh.
When they set her down, she collapsed in a heap on her keyboard with her veil still on, as if dead. It was magical.
At some point, she sprung up and ditched the veil and started playing "Astronaut." jfdkasijfeaokdjaf!!!! It was amazing.
The set list was as follows (out of order as usual):
Astronaut
Ampersand
Blake Says
Bad Habit (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DRESDEN DOLLS SONG, UNEXPECTED TOO)
Leeds United
Mrs. O
Runs in the Family
Strength Through Music
Guitar Hero
I Google You
Coin-Operated Boy
Have to Drive
Half Jack
(Encore)
Backstabber
Creep
I think I fucked up somewhere, she may have played something else during the encore and I can't remember if she played "The Point of It All" or not.
Um, okay, can I just say how stoked I was that she played "Bad Habit" and "Half Jack"? I was like, fucking crying during those songs and fdjkadfjadiasdiojdakl!!!! It was just gah. She plays Half Jack SO WELL live. "Mrs. O" too. OMG. I love that so SFM.
K so a lot of these pictures look similar because she was sitting at the piano most of the time, so I obviously couldn't get her from different angles. Rather than sorting through them and deciding which ones are the best and just posting those, I'm gonna post them all. So deal. haha.
ohgod I love her soooooo much oh my GOD.
This was during "Blake Says." The Danger Ensemble were kinda acting it out. By the way, you know how that song is like, really quiet? Well, my stupid body chose that song to have a coughing fit during. I was SO EMBARRASSED OMG. I was sure she could hear me coughing, I was kind of in the second row. STUPID COLD.
Yeah, she talks a lot. I took pix while she talked because the lighting was good and I wouldn't be missing any ~music~
Yeah, during "Guitar Hero" she wasn't actually playing or singing. They played the track and she lip synced (or actually sang, but not in front of a microphone) and faked playing guitar. It pissed me off a little because that song is one of my favorites and it would have been AWESOME live, but like this it was awesome in a different way. It was appropriate in any case, because that's basically what the song's about. It was fun though, because the Danger Ensemble were playing air guitar and I could hear her strumming the strings and it making no noise, just the plucking of unplugged electric guitar strings haha. Plus, she was all up in my grill during this song and I was like, hay, not complaining.
She's just awesome, kthnxbye.
During Coin-Operated Boy the dudes from the Danger Ensemble entered the crowd and were walking around giving out kisses for $1. I kind of regret not doing it cause the guy was right near me, like NEXT TO ME and he was really hot. The girl next to me went for and and she said he was a good kisser haha. Also this DUDE did it, and yeah, there were two guys making out behind me and I was like aaah! afterwards the guy (the one who paid, not the guy from the Danger Ensemble) was like "I KISSED A BOY AND I LIKED IT!" ahahahaha.
After the last encore song they played "Umbrella" over the PA system and danced around to it and it was amazing.
This was during "Creep." It was acoustic ukulele and amazing.
Vermilion Lies came out for that.
After THAT she went back on stage and a techno remix of "Coin-Operated Boy" played over the PA and her and Vermilion Lies and the Danger Ensemble did a crazy dance to it. These two photos capture the essence of that.
AND THAT ABOUT SUMS IT UP. It was an awesome night and I cannot WAIT to see her again. Also, I have a burning need to see the Dresden Dolls that this doesn't quite satisfy. :( BUT OH WELL LET'S NOT END ON A SAD NOTE.
...AMANDA ROX
I was major pissed because my stupid doctor appointment made me late. By the time I got on the subway it was after five and the doors opened at six. Jen arrived at five, actually, and she was like the FOURTH person on line, so if I had gotten there like 15 minutes earlier we would have been on the barrier. Well, the stage actually because there WAS no barrier.
(Picture courtesy of Jen)
I met some awesome people though. We were in second row, to the left, and it was just awesome. There were some people playing music un-amplified during the wait, and that was interesting. Then Vermilion Lies took the stage. I saw them open for her last time I saw her, and they're pretty freaking awesome. I knew most of the songs they played.
This is Zoe. She is hot.
This is Kim. She is awesome.
Ugh, so hot. That was basically all we were talking about through their set--how damn hot this woman is.
Next up was The Builders & The Butchers, who I hadn't heard of before now, but who were VERY good. I was very impressed with their set. Like, openers-wise, I liked them almost as much as I liked Steel Train when I saw them open for the Hush Sound.
Then they went off, and the guy from the Danger Ensemble went on stage and talked to us about Amanda being dead. He was funny and I loved him a lot.
Me & Jen's obligatory concert picture. It came out poorly because I didn't reset the ISO haha.
Then this lady came out and played a song on Amanda's keyboard. It was pretty sick.
OKAY SO THEN. THEN. Then the Danger Ensemble came on stage while the one dude was talking about Amanda being dead, he was talking about mourning her, and one guy was playing the violin I think, and they were doing all these choreographed movements, and they started miming pulling something in with a rope, and I turned around and saw that the CROWD was being PARTED by something, and after a minute or so whatever ~it~ was was a couple people away from me, and I saw it was AMANDA with a white veil over her face, walking as if possessed, with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide and her arms outstretched. Once she got to the stage, the Danger Ensemble lifted her up by her arms and set her down at her keyboard.
That's her being lifted. It was so powerful. I started crying tbh.
When they set her down, she collapsed in a heap on her keyboard with her veil still on, as if dead. It was magical.
At some point, she sprung up and ditched the veil and started playing "Astronaut." jfdkasijfeaokdjaf!!!! It was amazing.
The set list was as follows (out of order as usual):
Astronaut
Ampersand
Blake Says
Bad Habit (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DRESDEN DOLLS SONG, UNEXPECTED TOO)
Leeds United
Mrs. O
Runs in the Family
Strength Through Music
Guitar Hero
I Google You
Coin-Operated Boy
Have to Drive
Half Jack
(Encore)
Backstabber
Creep
I think I fucked up somewhere, she may have played something else during the encore and I can't remember if she played "The Point of It All" or not.
Um, okay, can I just say how stoked I was that she played "Bad Habit" and "Half Jack"? I was like, fucking crying during those songs and fdjkadfjadiasdiojdakl!!!! It was just gah. She plays Half Jack SO WELL live. "Mrs. O" too. OMG. I love that so SFM.
K so a lot of these pictures look similar because she was sitting at the piano most of the time, so I obviously couldn't get her from different angles. Rather than sorting through them and deciding which ones are the best and just posting those, I'm gonna post them all. So deal. haha.
ohgod I love her soooooo much oh my GOD.
This was during "Blake Says." The Danger Ensemble were kinda acting it out. By the way, you know how that song is like, really quiet? Well, my stupid body chose that song to have a coughing fit during. I was SO EMBARRASSED OMG. I was sure she could hear me coughing, I was kind of in the second row. STUPID COLD.
Yeah, she talks a lot. I took pix while she talked because the lighting was good and I wouldn't be missing any ~music~
Yeah, during "Guitar Hero" she wasn't actually playing or singing. They played the track and she lip synced (or actually sang, but not in front of a microphone) and faked playing guitar. It pissed me off a little because that song is one of my favorites and it would have been AWESOME live, but like this it was awesome in a different way. It was appropriate in any case, because that's basically what the song's about. It was fun though, because the Danger Ensemble were playing air guitar and I could hear her strumming the strings and it making no noise, just the plucking of unplugged electric guitar strings haha. Plus, she was all up in my grill during this song and I was like, hay, not complaining.
She's just awesome, kthnxbye.
During Coin-Operated Boy the dudes from the Danger Ensemble entered the crowd and were walking around giving out kisses for $1. I kind of regret not doing it cause the guy was right near me, like NEXT TO ME and he was really hot. The girl next to me went for and and she said he was a good kisser haha. Also this DUDE did it, and yeah, there were two guys making out behind me and I was like aaah! afterwards the guy (the one who paid, not the guy from the Danger Ensemble) was like "I KISSED A BOY AND I LIKED IT!" ahahahaha.
After the last encore song they played "Umbrella" over the PA system and danced around to it and it was amazing.
This was during "Creep." It was acoustic ukulele and amazing.
Vermilion Lies came out for that.
After THAT she went back on stage and a techno remix of "Coin-Operated Boy" played over the PA and her and Vermilion Lies and the Danger Ensemble did a crazy dance to it. These two photos capture the essence of that.
AND THAT ABOUT SUMS IT UP. It was an awesome night and I cannot WAIT to see her again. Also, I have a burning need to see the Dresden Dolls that this doesn't quite satisfy. :( BUT OH WELL LET'S NOT END ON A SAD NOTE.
...AMANDA ROX