Concert Culture - My U2 Experience
Growing up in a very small village in the Austrian countryside, going to a concert was a logistical challenge. Even more so because I didn't have a car. And I lived a 45-minute walk away from the next train station. And the buses stopped running at 6 PM. Just listing all obstacles is exhausting... I saw REM in Vienna when I was about 17-years old and my friends and I spent the night hiding out in a train carriage waiting for our 6 AM train to go back home. We thought we were so adventurous and such outlaws!
Living in LA opened a lot of concert opportunities. In fact, it was hard to keep up. EVERY band played in LA. Some bands never even came to Austria but in LA it seemed like they were competing over venues. I was so excited to go to my first big concert, which was U2. They played in Anaheim, which was over an hour away but I was sure it was going to be worth it. My concert experience up until then had been crowded venues with lots of drunk people and me trying to dodge elbows and beer spills. Concerts are a little more stressful for short people... So when I was getting ready for U2, I put on my oldest pair of jeans, comfortable tennis shoes and a t-shirt that can absorb all types of alcohol. I was ready for Bono & Co.
As we pulled up in the parking lot, I saw tons of stretch limousines. I wondered if those were for the band. The doors opened and I looked on in anticipation. Out stumbled groups of tipsy young ladies in cocktail dresses, mini skirts, tube tops and high heels. My concert companion told me that people in LA rent limos and dress up for concerts. What?!?!?! The decadence! The decadence! How can they stand and dance in high heels for 2-3 hours??? Was there some kind of high-heels-training school I hadn't heard of yet? Did the champagne they had in the limo numb the pain? Maybe they took painkillers?
And there I was among them in my jeans and t-shirt and without make-up: the frumpy girl from the farm. I looked at them thinking they were crazy. Was I the only rational woman in this town? Or the only one who is afraid of callus?
Over the years, I adjusted my concert outfits to be more 'L.A.' but I never wore high heels! I just could not figure out how to numb the pain of standing in high heels - or where that boot camp for walking in high heels was.
I have no photos of the U2 concert but here are some other highlights: Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney at Coachella and Green Day
Living in LA opened a lot of concert opportunities. In fact, it was hard to keep up. EVERY band played in LA. Some bands never even came to Austria but in LA it seemed like they were competing over venues. I was so excited to go to my first big concert, which was U2. They played in Anaheim, which was over an hour away but I was sure it was going to be worth it. My concert experience up until then had been crowded venues with lots of drunk people and me trying to dodge elbows and beer spills. Concerts are a little more stressful for short people... So when I was getting ready for U2, I put on my oldest pair of jeans, comfortable tennis shoes and a t-shirt that can absorb all types of alcohol. I was ready for Bono & Co.
As we pulled up in the parking lot, I saw tons of stretch limousines. I wondered if those were for the band. The doors opened and I looked on in anticipation. Out stumbled groups of tipsy young ladies in cocktail dresses, mini skirts, tube tops and high heels. My concert companion told me that people in LA rent limos and dress up for concerts. What?!?!?! The decadence! The decadence! How can they stand and dance in high heels for 2-3 hours??? Was there some kind of high-heels-training school I hadn't heard of yet? Did the champagne they had in the limo numb the pain? Maybe they took painkillers?
And there I was among them in my jeans and t-shirt and without make-up: the frumpy girl from the farm. I looked at them thinking they were crazy. Was I the only rational woman in this town? Or the only one who is afraid of callus?
Over the years, I adjusted my concert outfits to be more 'L.A.' but I never wore high heels! I just could not figure out how to numb the pain of standing in high heels - or where that boot camp for walking in high heels was.
I have no photos of the U2 concert but here are some other highlights: Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney at Coachella and Green Day
Comments