So I purchased a ticket 3 months ahead, 2 weeks after they went available online. SG wolfpacks all over North America and Europe devoured on the first few good seats so I had to make with the remaining seats available that would depend on the large screens provided. But for the heck of being in the same place at the same time with one of grunge's historical giants, I had no reason to think twice. No credit card to purchase the ticket with, I relied on my good friend, Olive, to buy the ticket for me. Kaching! And there went my exciting 100-dollar expense. Everyday from that moment on, I would listen to Bad Motorfinger, Down on the Upside, Superunknown, which their setlist from Lollapalooza 2010 was mostly taken from. Listening to them from the instant I wake up till the wee hours of night took me back to my mid-teen years to early 20s, back when all I had to worry about was how to ask money from my parents by keeping up satisfactory grades and later transitioning to being independent.
Three months of waiting and preparing for the day is like getting married. Bought shoes just for the event and anxiously searching on the net what to wear that would make me look like a fan but still age-appropriate. I must admit, I fancied dressing up in a grunge-like fashion, but I realized I'm a fan of their music and my fashion sense doesn't have to go with it. It was summer so I put on a grey, lightly metal-studded tank, black capri pants from GRG clearance sale, noir nail paint, and a pair of Sperry's (classic!).
With nobody to tag along, realizing that most of my friends are busy waiting for a Sarah Geronimo or Lani Misalucha concert, I went by myself. I do like OPMs, but I won't go an extra mile of spending a buck for their concerts. Listening to them once in a boring while and belting their songs out at any given Pinoy karaoke night are good enough. The concert was at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on July 2, 2011 and it was the first leg of their North American concert tour, the first since they called it quits 14 years ago. For a year-and-a-half since I came to Toronto, I've never been that further downtown. I felt like a newbie again, getting on and off the bus and subway with a map! The amphitheatre is in Lakeshore West, Toronto and when I got there, it was so surreal because it felt like I was just walking along Roxas Boulevard. When I snapped out of it, I realized I was walking westward instead of eastward. And no one likes to walk on a new pair of shoes! God, was that so painful! After 20 minutes of agony and two blistered feet, I finally touched down, had my bags checked, and looked for my seat - #401 J. Soundgarden was expected to be on stage at 8:30 and I got there at 5:00. No biggie. I brought a book to kill time while they were doing the sound check. 6:00 PM ,came out Coheed & Cambria, whose lead singer has crazier fro than that of William DuVall's and Lenny Kravitz's. The band's name rang a bell, but honestly, I knew nothing of their songs until that night.
The mosh pit was getting thicker by the minute. By 7:30, almost all seats were filled and I was busy between reading the book I brought along, clapping after every C & C song, and checking out all sorts of people coming in. My seat was at the end side and perfect enough that I wouldn't have to deal with two strangers. Oddly enough of me reading a book in a concert, it attracted two couples from the other side. One of them stood up and sat on my then-empty side and asked if I am expecting company. I put on a tough face because I smelled alcohol and trouble. But when he said, "There's my wife and our friends" and they seemed to be decent-looking people, I gave in to their invitation and had a nice chat with them. Turned out to be a nice how-are-you and good--for-you chat and they later told me that they drove 4 hours all the way from Windsor, Ontario to Toronto to watch Soundgarden and they are definitely huge fans. One of them was wearing a black shirt with Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger insignia. I had so much fun warming up with them, plus the Molson Canadian beer I didn't turn down, but it had to end when a group of guys came to take their seats.
It was 8:00 PM when the venue really started to pack with people, alcohol and weed-loaded alike. The air was filled with strawberry joots and I had no choice but to be stoned passively. Hell broke loose that night, at least from my moral standpoint because I got stoned! LOL Soundgarden finally went on stage at exactly 8:30 and opened with Spoonman. A point-and-shoot camera and an iPod were witnesses of the vocal-splitting singalong I did, trying to keep up with Chris Cornell. Rusty Cage I think came next and I videoed myself singing that mouth-seizing song, which I decided not to post on YouTube for public consumption and possible humiliation. All in all, it was an awesome, unforgettable night. We got rained on coinciding with Black Hole Sun but nobody cared. They played Burden In My Hand, one of the mostly played songs on my iPod, 4th of July, Searching With My Good Eye Closed, Superunknown, and the rest I can't remember. They wrapped the night up with Slaves and Bulldozers, which I butchered a tiny part of, but hey, blame it to my getting high LOL.
"Thanks to all our fans all these years, we appreciate it. I looked at one of three young guys down here, and he's sort of normal-looking guy and he mouthed the words 'I LOVE YOU' very softly and it wasn't gay. It was manly, not the best manly words. And that sets the tone." -Chris Cornell, July 2, 2011 @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
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