Lazing in the Park

I'm back now for nearly a week and the suitcase has been fully unpacked and tucked away in the little alcove by the heater, there really isn't any place for it to go in this place. The Beast still resides under the bed so no room for it there and that space was a little useless. That new case was just the perfect size, it fit everything perfectly and with four wheels I was able to stroll it nearly a mile to Paddington twice and to Roma Termini without any issues. Enough of ode to Samsonite Black Label, it's now on to the real stuff. With losing internet connection halfway through the trip when I went to Italy the blogging fell to bits and now its time to catch up. First up - Hyde Park.

Blur is one of my all time favorite bands and I saw them every time they came through Los Angeles. It was great to watch the progression of the band and watching the venues grow progressively larger. The last great show I saw for Blur was the 13 debut at the Mayan where they played the album from cover to cover, I saw shows after that but that show was really special. I was heartbroken when Graham left the band and thought I'd never get a chance to see this band again, that is until last December. The band reunion and show at Hyde Park was announced, went on sale and immediately sold out. Then a second show was announced and I decided to buy. Things the month before the show went on sale were a bit hectic with the move, fracturing my arm during said move, work was nuts and I wasn't feeling really great about how things were going and this seemed like a good way to give me something to look forward to. I wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to go to the show but I thought at the very least I can say I bought a ticket and maybe have this little paper ticket of something that was sure to be great. Flash forward to seven months later and I'm in London sweating away in a once every 20 years record heat wave in a hotel across the road from Hyde Park.

After a late start at the hotel and spending a bit of time with Jeremy Kyle, the UK answer to Jerry Springer I wandered across the road to the box office to pick up my ticket from Will Call. There was a little group of people waiting to get into the venue at the gates but at this point there were more in the box office line. It was nearly noon and the mercury was rising quickly, I found a nice little spot of grass in the shade of the fence and took my place in line. I was scoping out those that were walking by and recognized some people from the Blur message board and spent a few minutes talking to a few guys that had a Mexican flag draped around them. They were trying to organize all of the fans from Mexico and other latin countries that had traveled to the show to send the band a message that those fans were still there and wanted the band to come play Mexico. After picking up my ticket I walked back to the hotel to safely tuck it away then went off to Oxford St to do a bit more shopping and get some lunch. By four when the gates had been open I was just heading back to the hotel and absolutely soaked in sweat from the day. I could hear the sounds of the first opening band drifting through my open window (still can't believe my hotel was just over the road from the venue) and I knew it was time to get ready. I set off for the park about an hour later and saw hundreds of people scattered across the park. It was like they were tailgating, everyone had blankets out, cans were scattered about and it looked like a good time. Security was pretty easy to get through they didn't even open the small bag I brought with me. I was finally inside the gates at a Hyde Park show, this was one place I never thought I'd be able to be.

The venue was really much larger than I thought and had areas scattered about, it was the size of a small festival - not surprising with the Wireless festival on in the same venue just a few days after this first show. There were no less than six bar tents, food areas and merchandise points around the perimeter. Pick N' Mix candy vans and ice cream carts were also scattered across the field in with the crowd. I really do believe the candy van needs to make an appearance at shows here, everyone could use a bit of a sugar rush at a show. There were still two openers on before Blur were set to come on so I went to buy a burger and eat before heading into the crowd. I sat at the back of the crowd in this area that wasn't too populated and just marveled at the amount of people that were coming in and just imagined how full this show was going to get. Surprisingly it seemed that those fans in their thirties like myself were everywhere, I really was worried I'd be stuck in with lots of teens and it would be a miserable time. With Blur being quiet the past few years though and their height of popularity over a decade ago hordes of new fans were probably not going to show up. After the last support act went off the stage it was time to head in.

I found a good spot to the left of the stage and made my way in. I made it nearly on line with the stage and not too far back from the barricade. As the time ticked away before the band came out more and more people came flooding in. Luckily the area I was in had a pretty good crowd of people and the shoving was kept to a minimum. There was a huge rush to the stage during the first song and we were all picked up off our feet and pushed forward a good five feet, this is a weird feeling. I haven't been picked up by a crowd since the early 90s and didn't think I would ever be in this position again. After the surge stopped and I found myself back on the ground I checked that I wasn't standing on anyone and proceeded my task of re-claiming physical space in the crowd. The band made their way through their more popular back catalog, careful not to stray too far into the cult classic zone with really only one step in that direction with Death Of A Party. The crowd pogo'd like mad during Girls & Boys and it was no surprise when Phil Daniels came out for Parklife, how could he not be there?? The band had a handful of warm up shows and a slot at Glastonbury that had been building up these shows and it clearly paid off. The set was perfect, the band sounded great and it was exactly the show I wanted to see. The first night there were cameras filming the entire show and panning over the crowd, I'm sure there's going to be a DVD out by Christmas. I had a headband with a red bow on the side of my head so I'll have to buy it to see if I made it into the shot at any time. After The Universal the lights came on and we all started to make our way out of the venue, I was still just a bit goose bumpy from what I had just experienced and could not believe I was about to see it again the next night.

The music on day two was just as amazing as the first night but the crowd was a bit rowdier. This was the first show that went on sale and this is the one that sold out in about two minutes. It was a Friday and many people had taken the day off to make the most of the show. Lots and lots of drinks were had and it was near 100 degrees that day with a very high level of humidity. I'm not sure how much beer was at the venue but I'm sure they made millions off of this crowd. You never saw someone with just one beer, everyone had a few stashed about their person. One in each hand, one in each pocket, girls with purses overflowing with bottles - it was just everywhere. I was glad my new friend Michael was there with me that day as it looked like it was going to be a rough time in the crowd. We were off to the side watching Vampire Weekend finish their set when a full on bottle battle broke out! The bottle battle raged on for a few minutes with dozens of bottles in the air at any time, I was a little late in getting my camera out but captured a bit of it in video. Those things that look like bugs or small birds flying around are bottles.

The remnants of the crazy night could be seen after the show, everywhere you walked there were bottles, sometimes three or four deep you were just wading out of the park in bottles, the sound of which was rather rhythmic and could probably be remixed into a Parklife single. It was all plastic so no one was hurt too seriously in this melee but at one point Damon did have to ask the crowd to be a bit nicer to each other especially down front. On the message boards after the show there was a report of a brutal and unprovoked attack near the back of the crowd with some pretty serious injuries. Other than some drunk boys in my immediate area that I had to show them I was not to be messed with there wasn't too much trouble the second night.

I'm glad I went both nights of the show and am really grateful to the Blur fan from France that sold me her ticket for a very good price. I still can't believe I was able to see both shows, I was very happy to have had company the second night when the crowd was rougher. I don't know if the band can ever top these two shows, I mean really how could they? A warm summer night, a crowd singing along to absolutely every song, everyone bidding good night to the sun and welcoming the full moon. Even with the bottle fights and Damon's odd choice of sporting a gold tooth and pot leaf bracelet with his Fred Perry it was near perfect. Even Graham and Dave seemed to be having a good time with smiles all around, it must be quite a sight from the stage and to see the crowd jumping in waves.

Surprises from the days and venue were to find the water fountains that were pumping out free ice cold water and plenty on hand all over the field, the flushing port a potties! So weird to have to flush one but it kept the experience slightly more pleasant. Also the amount of celebrities in the crowd - I saw Daniel Radcliffe, Jarvis Cocker and Ewan McGregor all just running free range through the crowd and not really being bothered by anyone. So that's it, two days at Hyde Park - covered in dirt and everyone else's sweat I'd happily do it all over again. Next up is Rome, Oasis at Wembley and the last few days in London with visits to Trafalgar Square and the Bayswater bowling / arcade / ice skating rink. Not to worry I didn't get on any ice skates, after seeing what happened to Marisol's knee I think I'm staying well away.