The concert was
AMAZING!
was there ever any doubt?
The whole trip was awesome and much needed. I went with my friend Jordyn and we drove to Portland pretty much straight from school (after getting much needed sustenance from Barracuda's first). The last time I went to Portland with a friend, she fell asleep and it was rather drawl. Thankfully, Jordyn didn't--especially since she was driving.
With relatively few tactical errors or difficulties getting to the venue (thanks to The Google and the power of the iPhone), we arrived early and parked in a cozy garage. As we were pulling in though, I looked across the street to a small park and saw a small crowd of people with giant, green, blow-up alligators. One in the crowd was "riding" the alligator in a (f)risky manner. I stared at Jordyn and proclaimed, "Why is that man humping an alligator?" When we crossed the street we saw it was a woman and I was embarrassed, especially because I had forgotten that the alligator represented Tegan and Sara's new single, "Alligator". She then pulled out a boombox and proceeded to teach the surrounding fans the dance from the music video. It was disturbing and I am glad I am a super-fan, but not a CRAZY-super-fan.
After chilling in the park and then walking through a cloud of pot smoke, we entered the venue and got our seats. Unfortunately it wasn't general admission and everybody had assigned seats. We weren't in a terrible spot though. We were in the center column, about 2/3 back to the point where we were about eye-level with whoever was on stage.
Example:
The opening acts were semi-decent. We both agreed that Holly Miranda would have been much better as a solo act, though her cover of "I'd Rather Go Blind" by Etta James was stellar. Steel Train...let's just say I'd never go see that euphemistic band again unless they were an opener and I had no choice.
Finally, after two hours of sitting, the glory arrived. The backdrop fell and everybody screamed. The first words out of Tegan's mouth were, "Thank you, we're Tegan and Sara and we're from the socialist nation of Canada so you have the choice and if you feel like standing up, you go ahead!" Done.
From start to finish Jordyn and I were screaming and clapping and singing our lungs out. So epic.
The only thing I wish had happened would be that they bantered more. T&S are famous for telling stories and bantering at length between songs. I don't know if it was because this was the last night of the tour or what, but there were only 2 or 3 stories and Sara said very little at all.
But whatever because I am a content fan who saw my favorite band live and they were superb all the same. I wish I could go back and live in that night whenever I want.
I'm presenting to you this: it's one of their older songs, but they played it in the encore without the rest of their band and it's such a beautiful song Tegan wrote about when she didn't think that they would make it and Sara wanted to quit the band altogether.
and lastly, because I can't resist, I bring you: "Alligator Humping (wo)Man"
You have been warned.
-KL
