Monday, September 8, 2008

Fiercy Piercy

Last night a group of us headed up to the Hollywood bowl to see radiohead. Carrie, Stefanie, Pierce and myself were in the furthest possible seats from the stage. Fourth bench from the back of the amphitheater. If you've been to the Bowl, you know that the air may or may not be thinner up there. One girl was trying to find her seat and remarked that her " nose was bleeding", seemingly due to the altitude. Alright, I'm exaggerating...but they were pretty bad seats. The show was still amazing, bringing me near tears at times. Even though I have been repeatedly criticized for not being the biggest fan of radiohead. However, things took a turn for the better when we decided to stick around in our seats to wait for the crowds to disperse. That delay allowed us to find ourselves in front of the "Artist Entrance" just as a small crowd began to gather. Rumors of the band's possible exit through the mentioned door, began to circulate through the small cluster of fans. Soon Phil the drummer was gracefully making his rounds up and down the guard rail, signing shirts/tickets anything sign-able and taking pictures.

Our foursome decided that the only way to prove that this miraculous event took place, was to snap a picture with Phil. He graciously consented and we all gathered in, my head blocking his view of the camera and Pierce mistakingly clutching Phil's shoulder instead of Stef's. Someone offers to take it for us, but around the time the camera SHOULD have been flashing: the lens recedes back into its place and the camera shuts off. Someone else steps in and heroically attempts to fix the camera and take the picture. After what seemed like an eternity, the camera still was not working. Finally, some random kid is like "Here I'll take it!" and FINALLY we get a picture. (Carrie, if you're reading this: Email him!). Anyway, super awkward moment. Everyone staring at us, waiting to get their stuff signed and pictures taken. And us, holding this stupid pose for seriously at least two minutes.



Then, the security guards announce that Thom is coming out...we all have our tickets, albums, ipods/iphones out and ready to be signed. At that moment, the realization hits: Thom Yorke is coming out through the door directly in front of us. After several false alarms, he walks out, black velvet in hand (A drink Bono introduced him to: Champagne and Guinness) and graciously makes his way to the crowd. Everyone of us, are in awe. Completely silent. However, leave it to Pierce to say what he thinks. He remarks, rather loudly, "Wow, he's a little guy." Every head turns in our direction. I am not sure if Thom heard, but...needless to say: awkward moment number two.



This is Pierce. Pierce is probably one of the most enjoyable people to be around, simply because Piece is: awkward. Entertainingly so. He is one of the founding fathers of the wolf-pack, former barista to the stars, and the guy you hope makes your non-fat vanilla latte every morning...just so you can hear his stories. Beloved Pierce managed to make something so amazing into a comically awkward situation.

Anyway...awkwardness at a radiohead concert: dedicated to Pierce.