"When you don't care about
what's real it's all right"
 

Powerman 5000
November 26, 1999
San Jose Event Center
 

Um, okay....WOW.

First off, a couple of things about this concert.
I really really really don't like Kid Rock so it really sucks that I had to buy a ticket that says "Kid Rock" in order to see PM5k. The major dilemma about this concert? Well, it was the day after Thanksgiving and for that particular holiday, my parents and I go on vacation to Monterey. "But the San Jose Event Center is on the way home from Monterey," I tried to calmly explain to my mother. After much begging and playing on the fact that my dad liked the idea of the concert, my mom agreed as long as we didn't "swing by" the concert on the way home from Monterey, we had to get a room at the Embassy Suites in Milpitas, which was cool by me.
Another thing about this concert: I really really really wanted to go into the pit. I wanted to be like, right there. In front of them.
One more thing: since we were going to this concert while coming home from vacation, I had NO friends with me. NO ONE. I was going to be freaking *ALONE* in the pit. And that scared the crap out of me. Kinda. Cause I have only been in one real mosh pit before (for Green Day) and that was with some of my big Amazon-y friends so I was okay.

The day of the concert I was like, "EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeEEEEE!!" I wanted to show up early so I could get a good spot. We didn't get to the hotel until um, 4...my dad and I carted everything up to the room and then we were like, "BYE!"
We got to the Event Center and got a parking spot I swear to God it was like twenty feet in from the toll gate. For the Tori concert we were on like the fifth or the sixth level. We walk over to the place and we are greeted by a line, not too long but not short. It was 10 past five.

At 6:30, they start to let us in, 100 at a time which was pretty cool since we were in the first hundred. I ran in, bought a shirt and zoomed down to the floor. Haha, it took me a while to notice but the stage was at half court, not all the way back.

I get down to the floor and kinda sit down near the front. I must've had the lost puppy look going on or something because immediately after I sat down, this chick a little ways down calls me over. I scoot down and we start talking about PM5k and how much Kid Rock sucks. It turns out that we both walked out on him at the Live 105 BFD. We talk about concert and stuff. I also start to talk to two girls sitting in front of me. In the course of our conversation, they mention Pittsburg and I'm like, "Whoah, I'm from Pittsburg." Their jaws practically drop. "Pittsburg CALIFORNIA?" It was hella funny. So the four of us talk for like an hour and kind of make fun of the guys behind me cause their like 40-50 and wearing Grateful Dead shirts and stuff like that. The chick that called me over, Danielle, started scaring the Pittsburg girls by telling them about the pit and how rough it's going to be. After some scooting, I get in between them so I am like right dead in FREAKING front of the mic. Duh, how did I manage this? Concert gods must have been smiling on me.

The lights dim and the opening band comes on. They mumbled their name so I have no idea what it is but they're going to be on the End of Days soundtrack. They sounded okay, a little typical....honestly, they were like the children of Korn and Orgy. Scary. This was the only time that the pit was "rough". We got slammed around a bit but I had a firm hold on my section of the rail and I held onto the girls next to me. Luckily for us, we had the Dead Heads behind us and they kinda protected us.

After that band was done, the two girls from Pittsburg left and a girl as short as me took their place so we were talking about how we deserve to be in front because we're hella short. It was starting to get crowded and I wasn't hot or thirsty but everyone around me was sweating and begging for water from the security guards. It was really neat because there was a photographer there and the girl next to me got into a conversation with him about the business.

After a while the lights dim and I start shrieking like a frigging banshee. In the dark, I see Al stumble out to his drum kit. Then Adam 12 sneaks out to my far left. Then Dorian comes out and I am so into watching him I almost miss Spider coming out. I hear shrieks and look over to the right and he is coming slowly up to the front of the stage. I'm like, "Eeek! Spider! Oh hey, there's M33...." As he is walking up, An Eye is Upon You starts playing. Then he gets up to the mic and they bust out with the first song. Here is the semi correct set list:

An Eye is Upon You
Supernova Goes Pop
Automatic
Tonight the Stars Revolt!
Car Crash
When Worlds Collide
(Spider babbling)
System 11:11 or whatever it's called
Nobody's Real
Operate Annihilate
They Know Who You Are

It was great. I just can't describe it in words. To have them right THERE. I mean, I was dead center with Spider, actually, a little to the left to avoid the big box. But right there. I loved it. I didn't even watch Spider that much, I mostly watch Dorian. And M33, when I remembered to look at him. Haha, I'm sorry but I totally forgot about Adam, I only looked over to him a couple of times cause like Dorian was right there. And other than when I saw him get on the stage and when he left, I didn't see Al. It was just so cool. Spider was doing all these freaky things and during the music parts of Automatic, he and Dorian went into this spacey roboty thing and it was super trippy cause there were all these strobe lights and stuff.
I was kinda disappointed that the only song they did off of Mega! was Car Crash. I would have died if they had played Earth vs. Me. But I was just as happy with System 11:11 and Operate Annihilate, two of my faves from "Tonight the Stars Revolt".
At the Spider babbling part, he was just talking about....erm, Kid Rock and stuff, I don't remember. Looking at Dorian and M33 again. Hehehe.
The COOLEST part of the whole thing was catching their eyes. With Spider it was *hella* hard. I only caught him once really. I think it was during When Worlds Collide or something but I finally caught his eye and started smiling and stuff and he pointed to me, leaned in and winked. After that I was like, "Yay, now all the teenyboppers can have him, I don't care." I was after Dorian the whole time and I caught him a bunch of times. I was watching him during Car Crash and he saw me singing along and I'm like, "Yeah, I'm not a poseur, I came here for you guys." The best part was um...I don't remember what song it was but I was watching him play (again...still...), he saw me so I started laughing and waving to him or whatever so he kept my eye, walked over to the edge of the stage and started pointing his bass down to me while playing. Haha, he kept sticking his tongue out at someone about ten feet left of me. It was soo cute...and every now and then he would walk up to the edge of the stage, ruffle one of the security guards hair and then run away. He and M33 played off each a lot during the show, it was fun to watch. At one point, they traded sides for like, 2 minutes, so M33 was right to the left of me. I caught his eye but he didn't really do anything...so I just watched him.

I don't know what else to say. It was sooooooo incredible. I didn't even get that beat up. It was mostly pressing and pushing against the barrier. I have a huge sore mark across my chest and at certain spots in my shoulders from all the pressing. And three crowd surfers went over me but it didn't hurt, I just put my head down and chucked them onto the security guard.
After it was over I was like, "....." This nice girl behind had been pulling on my hair for half the show and apologizing for it and I'm like, "It's cool...hey, I'm leaving, do you want my spot?" and she's like, "YEAH! THANKS!" and all the guys behind me groan cause they wanted it. Haha. So I pressed out and she squeezed under my arm to get in. It was hard to get out the first couple of feet but after that it was just all about maneuvering around people. I got out to where my dad was sitting and I started babbling and I was soaking wet with sweat, I stank of weed (I don't smoke though, it was just from the pit), I felt all weird cause I wasn't being compressed and I was hella hyper because it was one of the most incredible experiences.
And y'know, now that I look back on it, I'm kinda glad that none of my friends were there. It's like the memory is all mine and mine alone. I don't have to share PM5k or the memory with anyone. It's all in my head.
 
 

you coward, you servant, you blind man
back to the front!