not too old to dream about destruction

I went with epershand and some people to see Fall Out Boy at the America's Cup Pavilion last night. FALL OUT BOY ARE PRETTY GREAT LIVE. I had only ever seen Patrick Stump before--and that was one of the best shows of my life--I may have been the only person there who cared more about Patrick Stump than about Pete Wentz. I had kind of forgotten how much I liked Patrick Stump? Or rather I had forgotten that he was in Fall Out Boy? I was glad that I have gotten into the habit of just saying "yes" to concerts with E and 15dozentimes, because though I didn't have much concept of FOB, they were awesome and I loved them almost immediately. In the middle of the set they left the stage and did a mini-acoustic set in between the floor and the stands! That was cool.

The America's Cup Pavilion is the open-air concert venue that has been erected at Pier 23 as part of the interminable America's Cup folderol, which thankfully should come to an end today when New Zealand finally kicks Larry Ellison's Team Oracle's ass. (There have been wind and rain delays, and the Kiwis are stuck at 8-1. They need nine races to win.) The America's Cup Pavilion, as a concert venue, is one of the strangest I've been to. There were no toilets, only port-a-potties, and the "floor" section of the "arena" had…AstroTurf laid down. Which was weird, but certainly helped my knees not be totally shot by the end of the night. And it was pretty cool, in the end! We were right below Coit Tower and the moon rose over the stands in the middle of the FOB set and the fact that it was open air kept the pot smoke from being too thick and it was also more than a little magical. The lighting in particular was pretty great, and also the crew were some of the most efficient I've ever seen. The concert started with Twenty-One PIlots (whatever) at 18:58 on my watch, and they changed from the opener to Panic! at the Disco in literally ten minutes flat (WHAT). (Also, the exclamation point is definitely back.) The Fall Out Boy transition took a bit longer, but was still pretty speedy. We got into the habit of blaming Larry Ellison for any and everything: "Larry Ellison, bring out Fall Out Boy! Larry Ellison, why is there no toilet paper! Damn it, Larry!" (Yes, like all right-thinking people in the Bay area, we basically loathe Larry Ellison, for so many reasons.)

I took a ton of photos--probably more than 300 on two cameras--for a class assignment, which was interesting as a way to interact with the show; I found myself way more interested in the reactions of other people than I normally am, when I'm trying to concentrate on the music. (I took 300+ photos to get five.) And then I went home and downloaded the new FOB album (yes, I know), and as usual I have the post-concert sadness that the album cuts aren't as good as they were when performed live. Come back to San Francisco, Fall Out Boy! 

(Also: it would be pretty cool if there were a venue like the America's Cup Pavilion on the waterfront permanently, I think. It's an amazing location and San Francisco could use more large-scale concert venues. No, I'm not really a fan of the Greek Theater in Berkeley, why do you ask?)