Taken from other topic:
Alright, I'm back home now and here's my longer report.
I first arrived at Congress at 1pm, and met Ben and our friend Matt up there too. First thing I couldn't believe was the neighborhood the theatre was in. It was insanely trashy and to go from AllState Arena (which was beautiful) to this was very disappointing. But whatever, we waited.
They had the doors to the theatre lobby open so we first waited in there for the show. Then some girl comes out and asks "Um, are you guys waiting for something?" and us four just look at her like "Are you fucking dumb?". Well then she tells us we can't wait inside for that long so we all had to go outside and wait.
As the hours went on, mainly from 1-4pm, the line stayed short with maybe 10 people. They had changed the time for the Will Call tickets to be picked up to 4pm so a lot of people came expecting tickets and left pissed. However, around 5:30, the line got longer and it looked like there was going to be a good crowd.
6pm and the doors opened. We all rush in and the doors to the actual theatre are closed with guards at each one. We were all surprised, especially when they open the doors only to have us wait again. I guess at the last minute, Scooter had asked to have an extended stage set up so HP could be closer to the crowd so they had to allot time to set that up. Around 6:30, those doors opened and we all rushed in. We all got front row just like we wanted. We were on the right side (Rick's side).
The show started with Erik K, who I had enjoyed a lot from last year. He played a great set with lots of prog and trancey-house tracks. He did a good job of getting the crowd involved which is always good for an energetic show like Scooter. Around 8, he finished and Markski came on.
Let's get one thing straight. I HATED Markski last year and I knew I would hate him again this year. And in all honesty, I felt like he ruined the show. Erik K did a great job and Markski came in and completely ruined the vibe. All he played was his boring BOOM BOOM BOOM music and everyone was just standing there like "What is he doing?" He had no crowd involved and even answered his cell phone mid-set. A few times, me and Ben got a Maria chorus chant going and I knew he heard us a couple times. I despise this man with every fiber of my being. He played a longer set until around 9:30 when one of Scooter's stage crew literally told him to stop. That was the part I liked best.
The lights go off, and the intro begins. Everyone goes nuts. The inflatable Scooter megaphone begins to inflate and I get goosebumps. And it's quite evident now that the volume that Erik K and Markski was NOTHING compared how loud this was going to be. The bass "explosions" in the Intro were enough to collapse a rip cage.
The intro ends and HP, Rick, and Mike explode on stage. However, I notice there was a gap of silence between the intro and what I thought was going to be "Hello!". Instead, they open with "Maria!" which was very surprising since I had never heard it played with the WGTLLN? intro. Anyway, I'm jumping up and down like a maniac, me and Ben are yelling lyrics at each other, and by the end, I'm already out of breath.
The concert continues and one thing I notice right away is how much fun the guys seem to be having. H.P. is constantly smiling and Mike is just going absolutely crazy. Even Rick seems to be having a great time.
Towards the end of the concert, Ben and I began to focus more on Rick and he'd interact with us so much! He'd jump up and down with us, give us thumbs up, tell us how awesome we are (sign language), and I think that's what made this concert so special to me (and I think Ben as well). I think the best part was when the show was over and they were thanking the crowd one last time, Rick didn't look at everyone, he looked at us as to say "Thanks for making this show so great for me".
Another thing that was really special to me is that Mike recognized both me and Ben. I had sent Mike a long message on MySpace the day before (basically how I think he's really great and that he doesn't deserve all the crap he's been getting from the fans). During "Maria!", when he was playing, I saw him look over at me and stare for a few seconds like "I know him!" And after that song, instead of turning to face the crowd, he just faced my direction and pointed directly at me as to say "Thanks for your support." Towards the end (I think the last song), Mike went over to Rick's platform and recognized not just me but Ben as well. It was a great feeling.
Overall, a fantastic show without a doubt. No single and no pyros but I didn't care. Scooter is Scooter and Scooter is the best. A few small chants for "Behind The Cow" (mainly us in the front) and although I could tell HP heard them, he continued as planned.
My final message. If you think Mike doesn't fit in Scooter, you have no idea what you're talking about.
- Wil