Here is a post that has nothing whatsoever to do with Luken or Keeley, save that they were having fun at home with their new babysitter! :)
I have been a big fan of OMD, or fully, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, since I was about 12 years old. Most people know of them from their hit from the soundtrack to Pretty in Pink, called If You Leave. They had been around a long while before that, and continued making music for well after, as well. I've been following them on Facebook for a while, and knew they had put out a new album called History of Modern, and had been touring in Europe, but only dreamed they might come to the US, as it had been 20-something years since they were last here, and they never were as popular here as overseas.
However, much to my delight, one morning in January I read their latest status announcing a US tour in March! And they were coming to Dallas! Not only that, but they were offering a certain amount of VIP passes which included entry to the soundcheck and an opportunity to meet the band! Woohoo!! Perfect birthday present for me!
Sunday, March 20th was the day of the show, and it was a beautiful day! We got ready to go, the sitter was right on time, and we were off to Dallas!
When they opened the doors for us, we walked into the venue and saw the band already playing and tinkering with settings. There were probably only 50 or 60 people there, and we had no problem finding an excellent spot to stand and watch.
(Thanks to my neighbor, Kelli, for letting me borrow her little point-and-shoot camera, as I was not lugging my big camera along for a concert!)
It was really cool to hear snippets of all the songs, and see how they fine-tuned their setup, as well as their banter between band members and crew members. Once they were satisfied with their soundcheck, it was time for the meet-and-greet. We all lined up, and took our turns chatting for a moment or two, having various things signed, and getting a quick photo snapped by a venue employee. It was really amazing to get to meet the members and shake their hands, and thank them for so much music that has been in high rotation on the soundtrack to my life!!
Of course, Todd was with me. :) Even though he's a more guitar-driven rock kind of guy, I think he enjoyed the experience! Once our turn was over, we headed out to stash our swag in the car. As part of the package, we received the new CD, a T-shirt, a bag, and a tour book. We had some time before the doors opened for the actual show, so we went next door to grab some dinner at Snuffer's.
Self portrait!!
Time to line up for the show! A man in front of me was trying to take a photo of himself out front, so I offered to snap a photo of him in front of the marquis, and then he offered the same for me. :)
Our VIP stickers also afforded us priority entry back into the show, and we were ready to grab a prime spot! We hustled in and decided to go ahead and stand in the very front row! Neither of us have ever been in the front row for a concert before. The opening act, Oh Land, was doing a soundcheck as we walked in.
A little later, the show opened!
Oh Land played for about 25 minutes, and then we had another 45 minutes before OMD came on. There were two large screens up on either side of the stage, and on one side, they showed their Twitter feed. The tweet on the bottom cracked me up!
The other screen rotated information about upcoming shows as well as some other advertisements. I was excited to see this one, as it's the music forum owned by some good friends of ours!!
While we waited, we anxiously kept an eye on the score of the Arizona-Texas basketball game, and were thrilled to see AZ had won 70-69. Go Cats!
Finally, it was time for the SHOW!! The band came out and the crowd cheered! By then, the reportedly sold-out show seemed pretty full - the venue holds around 1,100people, and it was awesome to look back behind me and see ALL of them!
(Those are Todd's hands clapping!)
The lead singer is known for his windmill wacky dancing. :D
Then they performed my favorite song of all time, (Forever) Live and Die, which was fantastic!
Sax solo!
When they played If You Leave, somebody threw a dress up onstage.
I later read on the band's website forum that a fan had bought a pink "prom" dress at a thrift store as a humorous homage to Pretty in Pink. :D
A slower song.
Did I mention that during the whole performance, I could have reached out and untied the singer's shoes?? :D And at times, he was practically above me, and I could see a tiny scar under his chin, probably from some childhood injury.
Also, though I have already forgotten the precise moments of these highlight events, I also got to experience: Hand slap from the lead singer; Being sung
directly to; And ME singing directly into the microphone!!!! Unfortunately, the set had to come to an end, and the show was over. :( We waited around for a bit and watched the crew break the set down, as we were at the back of the crowd to get out. One crew member took the set list off of the keyboard, and brought it over to hand out, and the crazy lady next to me got it, very excitedly. :P Todd caught the eye of another crew member and asked if there was another, and he nodded that there was, so he took it off the drums and walked it right over to Todd! Like nothing! How cool is that? My hubby, my hero. <3
We finally headed out and got into the car to drive home. I took my shoes off and my feet were sooo happy! I'd been standing on them in heels for the better portion of 7 hours. It was so worth it, though! Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime, top-life-moments kind of night! I'm a lucky girl!
Here's a link to the
Granada's Facebook OMD album, if you care to see more photos!
Can you spot me in
this one?? :D
