Post by paulb on Jun 7, 2018 11:15:04 GMT
So I thought I’d write my little piece following our recent mini P!NK US tour with Dani & Jeff.
After waiting and waiting and waiting for it to come around it was amazing how quickly it passed and despite us sometimes wanting to kill each other we all came out the other end unscathed.
So my trip started on the 23rd May flying from Manchester to LAX, not a huge fan of long haul flying but the reason we were going made it worthwhile. After arriving I stumbled around the airport till I found a lost Swedish girl, although I found out on the trip she actually isn’t Swedish so it was educational too! she did however have far too much luggage and all of it Pink so off we went to the car rental depot to arrange an upgrade to accommodate her luggage, Lucky I only took a plastic bag right Dani??!
We had a stopover in the Marijuana capital of the world aka Inglewood before setting off the following day for the drive to Vegas to meet up with our other partner in crime Jeff. After a leisurely drive through the Nevada desert we arrived at our not too shabby accommodation on the 50th floor with views of the strip and a Jacuzzi. We found Jeff in a casino with a drink in his hand, which was pretty much how he spent the next 4 days although we hung out at the pool too!
So show number one was Vegas and the T Mobile arena can’t recall what time we arrived but it was around 5 and we were about 20th in the queue for early entry however we got our preferred positions once inside, as mentioned in other threads the pit area certainly on the US part was very roomy with plenty of room to move around and easy to get to and from the bar which with hindsight given the costs of $27 for two beers it might have been better for our wallets certainly if the bar was off limits. They do have this strange 2 drink policy rule though in the US which when there’s 3 of you isn’t ideal.
Anyway show started about 8 I think with Kid Cutup as the support act, he actually wasn’t too bad though he’s simply a DJ playing records so doubt he will be seen on the Australian or European legs, then after a 20 minute or so intermission the main act commenced, not sure on the time but slightly after 9 I think.
A lot has been said in other threads about the show and I would agree though it probably took a couple of shows to fully take it in but for me it is her best tour to date, the tempo never drops and the huge number of dancers on this tour, one who is the new love of my life lol, mean there is always something happening on the stage. Even in the interludes the videos played before songs like What About Us and Raise your glass send an extremely powerful message which made the hairs stand up and showed that she is far more than just a decent singer. Dani got to give the book to P!NK during this show which she put a lot of hard work into and it was great to see the look on her face when her mission was accomplished and the book had been safely delivered.
Hard to pick a favourite moment of the show but ‘Secrets’ was amazing when you see it close up and directly above you and also the high tempo of ‘I am here’ were probably my two highlights. The only problem with a great show is before you know it it’s over with. It was Justin’s birthday that day and we got to see Mark, Eva & Jenny after the show albeit briefly as they were off to celebrate his birthday.
After Vegas it was off to San Diego and this to be our next mistake (after the luggage situation) We had arranged to travel on what I now know to be Memorial day, a public holiday in the US so to say traffic was bad was an understatement, we were part of a 300 mile traffic jam that never seemed to end and eventually after a lot of will we/won’t we make it arrived in San Diego after a 10 hour journey. Luckily my brilliant planning had seen us book a hotel just two minutes from the venue so after throwing our bags in the room and Dani taking the quickest shower on record (timed at 31 seconds) we ran to the venue to arrive about 8.30. Missed Kid Cutup but in time for the main reason we were there. We also saw PINK’s tweet thanking us for the book so it was clear she had not only received it but had kept it and read it which gave us all a happy feeling going into the show.
San Diego was probably my favourite show, not sure why, maybe because I was amazed we finally got there in time and also we didn’t get tickets till the last minute so the fact we were there I guess was a bonus. During the show P!nk whispered to me ‘Thankyou for the book’ though Dani might argue she was saying it to her lol, guess we will never know! Got a handshake with my new favourite tour person and P!nk too. After the show got to talk to Mark, Eva, Adrianna, Remi and Justin and I bought Justin a belated birthday drink and then it was off for a midnight stop at Denny’s (that place never closes) before heading to LA the following morning.
The first LA show was Staples and this was the show Dani & Jeff had decided to go dressed up, sure you’ve all seen their costumes by now and it’s fair to say they took a large chunk of the day getting ready but they looked awesome and got plenty of attention on their way to and around the venue. During the show they took a photo however sadly it was ruined as P!nk photobombed it!!! J This was also the show where Gwen Stefani graced us with her presence on stage, luckily for me I was recording the song at that point so I now have a you tube video with over 20,000 hits which is a far greater achievement than my previous best of 454!
Got to meet a few people at this show for the first time, Christina who I have known from Facebook but never met and also Valeria from Buenos Aries, I was amazed to find out Buenos Aries is further from LA than England so another useful educational lesson from the trip.
Our final show and indeed the final show of the 1st US leg was at the Forum in Inglewood, we were back where we started at the Marijuana capital of the world! This was a contender for my favourite show and it really was close between this and San Diego. Despite having what in my view was our worst standing position of the 4 shows to date during I’m not Dead she sang too me and held my hand for five minutes, OK maybe a slight exaggeration lol but it seemed a long time anyway! Was kind of hoping for a special guest, Eminem maybe, but there were none and nothing really any different to other shows though I guess with hindsight it’s only the end of an actual leg not the tour so why should something different happen.
So before we knew it Glitter in the Air came and went and that was that, end of the 1st leg & end of our trip. So many memories, so many happy moments, a few forgettable moments too but big thanks to everyone who shared this experience with me. It still amazes me that as I write this I am back in work in England, Dani is working back in Sweden. Jeff is probably drunk somewhere in Seattle, US (only kidding Jeff we know you don’t drink!, though you do work some crazy hours!) and Valeria is back In Argentina.
P!nk really does unite people from all over the world! Can’t wait to do it all over again!
