"Blonde meets Kirk in Russia" An epic tale *cough*.
"So, tell me," my brother starts, looking as handsome as ever in his stunning Muse hoodie, "why, if we have fan-area tickets, are we standing here again?"
With here, he means the Sound and Light booth, all the way at the back of the SKK Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia. The immense dome is halved by the Hexagon Stage, where in a few minutes the support act "We Are Scientists" will warm up the slowly filling floor.
Just about two hours earlier we were still standing outside, enjoying the late afternoon sun, which, in St. Petersburg means it's as bright as mid-day in Central Europe.
SKK Arena
I had tried to get close to my new friend, Nina, whom I've met through the .mu forum, but since she had been queuing since late morning there was no way I could reach her when we arrived. We waved at each other and chatted a bit over the phone, deciding to properly meet inside the venue.
Still quite empty seating area
The Hexagon Stage
The Sound and Light booth
I pull my gaze away from where I have been eyeing the entrance of the booth like a hawk, "I told you already, I have presents I want to hand over to their Media Manager before the gig."
He grins, of course he knows. And I can only love him more for not complaining once about having to stand over here. He doesn't mind one bit, as we have access to the inner-side of the crowd at any time we feel like it. He knows how important this is to me.
Big brother Marijn and me
He spends his time snapping pictures with our mother's camera and chatting to the lovely Russian lady accompanying us. After all, they are colleagues and have apparently a lot to discuss. Work related. No really.
Marijn and Veronika
More S/L booth
Not only does she look like one, but she truly is an angel on the inside as well; in her private time she has picked up the tickets for this concert for us and arranged a meeting for my brother and I at their company. The "Peters" might give off an aura of indifference at first glance, but when given the chance to show a foreigner their stunning city, they are more than eager to do so. We would find out later when both she and the General Manager would drive us around for a day, including dinner with their family, for a full local experience.
She is again a great help when I want to buy a shirt before we go inside, since I finally have the money to do so (I've always regretted the fact that I didn't have anything to spend during Wembley!). I immediately pick out a regular black-fitted shirt that has the three dates of the Russian and Ukrainian tour on the back. I HAVE to have it, Veronika checks if the size is a good fit before I decide to buy it.
After we moved in I went looking for Nina, first confirming with the fan-area security (again, thanks to Veronika) that we can go in and out as we please. Nina was holding a spot at the barrier so I managed to hug her briefly and chat a bit. We decided it would be better to meet up after the gig as I wanted to head back to where we were currently standing.
"So who is this Media Manager?" Veronika asks. I've been trying to hold back on the random Muse trivia that seems to be spewing out of my mouth at random intervals, not wanting to scare her off with the insane amount of weird facts that my brain comes up with. I'm sure she really isn't interested in the stories behind Matt's love for socks, Dom's leopard-print fetish and Chris' impregnation-glare.
"Tom Kirk," I reply with a sigh, "He's been their best friend since high-school and has always followed them around, until they had no choice but to offer him a job." I finish with a wink and we chat a bit more about him and the band. She's not a fan of Muse but the children of the general manager are, and he has asked her to keep an eye on them, buying a fan-area ticket for her on the day of the concert. (I love her boss!) She has escorted them to their (seated) spots and is now free to hang with us.
The light dims and a roar goes through the crowds. "We Are Scientists" take the stage in what would have been a great performance if there wasn't a horrible high-pitched squeak every time the guitarist touches the strings. This is clearly a technical error and we can see the sound-guy fighting to find a way to fix it from our spot next to the booth. I can't really focus on the performance after all because this could well be the perfect time for a Sony-fanboi to enter the secluded area.
We Are Scientists
The beefy looking Russian security guy keeps a good eye on me. Is it because I look ready to climb the fence while looking around wildly? I keep glancing over to the battery of camera-screens right in front of us, and the joystick- and button covered panel in front of it. That's where he'll be at, working them tools laik a pro!
Why my subconscious speaks like a rapper gangsta, I don't even know.
After the support act is over, the lights turn back on and this is where my nerves are really starting to rise. It has to happen now, rather sooner than later! I have no idea how much of a pause there will be between support and main act, and I can sense my brother's patience starting to decline.
Suddenly a woman yells harsh Russian in my ear from behind and I look back with a sneer. If she thinks she can take my perfect spot... "She was looking for the entrance," Veronika explains as the woman turns away quickly and moves forward along the fence, followed by an army of equally panicky camera people. They are being let in by previously mentioned grumpy security guard and I realise that this is the press that's allowed to take their shots from a clear spot in the booth.
I turn around to Veronika, "Ah, they are the press, they are allowed in to...OH MY GOD IT'S HIM!"
I completely forgot what I was saying as RIGHT behind Veronika, Tom Kirk is gracefully climbing over the fence and lands inside with a sleek jump. And what a sight it is. He is clad in jeans and leather jacket, a receiver perched on his shoulder and he passes right in front of me. Almost.
"Tom!" I repeat, multiple times. He looks at me and says "Hi!" with a wave then tries to move on. I'm not gonna have any of that, naturally. I reach for him. Literally stick out my hands and repeat his name, still too much of a mess in my head to say anything but "Tom" and "Please!".
He smiles and grabs my hand, shaking it and this awakes me. I bend my head while I hold on to his hand and look down, laughing, shaking, ecstatic.
Now the following are things I might've said, or might've not. I have absolutely no idea anymore. But I think it went a little something like this.
"I am so glad to meet you! I have presents for you, and the boys!"
He smiles... He Smiles. HE SMILES. Fuck, he's handsome. "Oh really? That is so sweet of you!"
"Could you please get them to the guys for me?"
"Of course! But could you do me a favour..."
Wait, what? Tom Kirk asks me for a favour? I was ready to get on my knees right there and then if he just as much suggested. And I am not ashamed to admit it.
He moves back and forth, looking for Mr. Security Guard. "Could you translate something to Russian for me to this guy?"
Tom Kirk has an amazing voice, Tom Kirk has an accent that could melt butter, Tom Kirk thinks I'm a bloody Russian.
"No, I can't, but she can!" I point to Veronika, who's standing beside me with huge eyes, taking in the ridiculousness of a Muser fan-girl with a smile on her face.
While Tom pulls Mr. Grumpy towards us he explains that there are some small children that he'd like to have a better spot. Could they please enter the area and sit on the raised platform in between the seated area and the floor?
The man is an ANGEL.
Veronika translates while I reach around for my bag-pack and pull out the plastic bag that contains the gifts. I frantically search for my brother, who's standing right behind me, thankfully.
I kindly ask him to keep making pictures.
Later, over a late-night tea of sushi and..well...tea, he would claim that never, in his whole life, had he been so truly terrified of me at that point. He still makes fun of me; pretending to be me, in slow motion, as I told him to "KEEP MAKING PICTURES! NOW! DON'T STOP JUST KEEP CLICKING!"
I look back and Veronika is in the middle of translating.
Security guy said No.
Do you even know who you're talking to!? Flashes through my mind but Tom's attention is back on me, and I can't remember how the process of 'thinking' works, again.
I stammer how sweet it is of him to try to get good viewing spots for those kids, and he shrugs and says "too bad". At least he tried.
I've got my bag out and I open and look inside it. Right, gifts.
I find my voice again and tell him that I have presents (again), for him, for the guys, even for Mr. Anderson. He bursts out laughing and thanks me again, genuinely surprised and thankful. He assures me again that he will get them to the guys. His eyes... Those pitch-black eyes. They go straight through your soul.
I hand him the bag and I ask him, "Can I please have a picture with you together?"
I managed that, and I still don't know how. I didn't tell him I wasn't even Russian, I didn't ask him if he would like the chocolates, but I managed to ask him for a picture. I could not let him leave without.
"Sure!" He exclaims and I grab him around the shoulders, look to my left and there, like a beacon of light stands my brother, camera posed and ready. I manage to tilt my head slightly toward him and... Oh my heart... Thick, musky, warm-leather drafts fills my nose. DELICIOUS.
If I look happy like a kid in a candy-store. It is because I AM happy as a kid in a candy-store.
That's Tom Kirk holding up my bag with presents with the most gorgeous smile ever.
One of my locks is tickling his neck.
*shivers*
We say bye, I thanked him again, he thanked me again, I didn't wish him a good gig, but I also didn't faint. In my mind, a massive accomplishment.
I jumped around, into my brother’s arms who was laughing loudly at my excited screams and bouncing. I shook for nearly five minutes straight after that. Showed Viktoria my hands and was looking at them with amazed eyes myself. Literally shook.
While moving to the fan-area (where we would wait for at least another 20 minutes before the boys were ready to take the stage), I went over and over the scene in my head, replaying while txt'ing friends and chatting back and forth with my brother and Veronika about what happened.
Seated-area filled up loads more before the main event
And if the night couldn't have gotten any better, there was still a concert to enjoy.
And what a concert it was! I won't need to tell you all about the amazing set-list we had, but I can show you a couple of atmosphere pictures that my brother took. I, of course, was way too busy screaming my lungs out and jumping along on everything. The sound was thankfully fixed (which was probably the cause of them playing one song less than the other 2 gigs) but I certainly wasn't counting!
I saw the big drums being wheeled out on stage so I immediately knew with what song they were going to open.
Overture's pounding intro
I haven't had a gig open with Exo-genisis - Overture before, but fuck me, it's amazing. When the vocals kick off it seemed like everything just exploded!
I noticed straight away how much more visuals, and mostly lasers, they were using. Clearly the Russians aren't so strict about them shining in the audience's eyes. No one minded that one bit.
Exo
Uprising
Sum dude with a black-shiny suit
Sum baldie with a very, very fancy new Bass
Sum very wildly-moving blond that wouldn't sit still for a nice picture
Ooh look, he can play a song called Megalomania! (And yes. I died a little inside. Of happiness.)
Dom lost Matt at one point -hilarious!- After a small speech before Starlight he looked to his left; Chris was there, then he looked to his right, bend over the kit and finally spotted the pixie smiling back at him and moving back to his spot. "Alright mate?" SO CUTE.
Helsinki Jam. I died even more. I thought I'd never see it live and I CERTAINLY didn't expect them to play it at this smaller venue
"Keytaaaar! Keytar keytar keytar keytaaaaaaar!"
"Yes, Maris, I bloody get it, it's the keytar."
Nothing prepared my brother, however, for the most stunning laser-show he had ever seen during what he also thinks is one of the best Muse songs. Undisclosed Desires.
I touched those beams, many, many times
Chorus
How it looked like from the band's point of view (One must never get tired of seeing this!)
I think this is Resistance, not sure
Stockholm Syndrome, people went absolutely crazy
This picture says more than a thousand words ever could
Take a Bow
Take a Bow from the band's view
More Take a Bow - because the lighting is simply to die for. What an effect with that powerful, powerful song building up. Shivers.
I asked Veronika at the end what she thought of it. She was thrilled! For someone not being a Muse fan ("I know them from that film, Twilight." *cringe*) she certainly didn't expect this! And well, isn't that what they're best at? Charming the public one country after another.
"So who did you like most?" I asked grinning.
"The singer, of course." She replied smiling equally wide.
I love this girl.
Finally out of the building I was able to meet up with Nina. What a simply adorable little girl she is! Finally having a fellow Muser to chat to, we hooked up all the way back to the subway, gushing over the amazing gig, the stunning lights, the hottness of the boys and of course... Tom Kirk... To have someone who understands what you're going through, at that moment; it meant a lot to me.
Bro made a beautiful pic of us together!
She's applying for a Visa to the UK as we speak, because I talked her (yet another!) into coming to Reading!
Bro and I strolled around the city until I literally couldn't walk anymore (feet = dead for the entire holiday!). Stopped by the Hermitage at night where I was still txt'ing, gushing on about the amazing night we've had.
We dove into a sushi-bar for previously mentioned late-night snack and had some huge laughs over the previous hours. I love how satisfied my brother was. He truly loved it and I couldn't hope for more than that.
Wasted, but so smug and happy
He kept scrolling back to the picture of me and Tom, zooming in to both our faces and then showing me to see me flail all over again.
The best moment was when I was drooling over the picture where he's looking at me with all the attention of the world. I kept saying: "Look how attentive he is, listening to every word I'm rambling!"
He zoomed in on the picture and burst out laughing, "He looks like he's listening alright, but he can't hear a thing of what you're saying!" Then showed me the zoomed in picture of Tom's ear, which has an earbud in it.
Tea, meet your exit through my nose.
What a night.