<< June 9, 2008 >>
radiohead: paris 1

Paris

i ended up back in the same square as yesterday for breakfast, and decided to try a different place. success! they had croque monsieur on the menu. i stumbled through ordering, and made do with tea to drink.

unfortunately, the croque monsieur was not the classic baguette that i remember; this was a grilled, open-faced variety. i ate it disappointingly.

after wandering around for a few hours, i decided it was perhaps time to check on the line for the show. i stopped in a little bakery to get some food for the line, and they had some baguette-based croques. but when it became clear that i didn't speak french, the woman made the other girl take my order, and it was clear she was not interested. this made me feel pretty bad, i don't know.

there was already a bit of a line when i got to the arena around 1 or 1:30. i sat down and started reading my kindle. it was terribly hot, and i didn't have any water or anything. somehow the hours passed, and we were let into the venue. i was way up front, possibly even closer than friday night, and again no pit.

the wait was excruitiating. it was hot, everyone was crammed in, i was thirsty, and wouldn't mind a trip to the bathroom. i decided that this just wasn't that much fun - tomorrow i wouldn't wait in line like this. i toughed it out for the opener, but since my mind was made up for tomorrow, i gave up my prime spot and headed to the concessions and restrooms.

it turns out that you can see well enough from the back of the floor, and in fact the sound is better than when you're up front. it's not as fun in that crazy sort of way, but then again you can move your arms around you without hitting people, and when they play the national anthem you can sneak off and get a drink without having to wait in line.

and exiting was a breeze. i think i was back in my hotel room, after riding two metro lines, in less time than it took to even get to the dart station in dublin.

as for the show, the first half was basically the same as dublin, but then morning bell, exit music, street spirit, like spinning plates, and finally open pick/jigsaw falling into place... a great show.