" I had such a fabulous time, and it was the best concert yet! This was the 8th time I’ve been lucky enough to see 100 Monkeys play live(I think, I’m starting to lose count). It was a gorgeous day, and I headed up to L.A. early in order to get a good spot in line. I got to the El Rey at about 3:30pm, and there were already 10 people ahead of me. These crazy fans are getting there earlier and earlier, lol…looking over my shoulder both ways, not me! Anyway, the wait in line is always fun because it’s a chance to hang out with my friends or chat with someone new, or even someone who I might have seen at earlier concerts but haven’t officially met. With me for this concert were my friends Sue (TwiloveSue), Sue’s daughter Nicole, Linda (Twifixx/Sidewalk Candy), Linda’s daughter Megan (who joined us after work), and Christina (VampiresWeLove). Ben Johnson even stopped by for a few minutes and talked with some of the people at the very head of line. He’s very nice, and probably the most shy of the band members. Also, we saw Paul McDonald arrive with Nikki Reed at the wheel. They pulled into the valet parking area and ran inside. By the time the doors were to open, the line had grown quite long and I was thankful that I had arrived early. After going through security (this is the first venue I’ve been to where there is a very large metal bucket for you to spit your gum into, ewwww!), we got in and found a spot at the center of the stage, behind a girl in a wheelchair who was right up against the stage. Poor thing, she had some severely injured feet and had to stay there all night. This worked perfectly for me and my group, because we had an unobstructed view perfect for watching and taking pictures. The El Rey is a very nice theatre that has been around for a while, with lots of art deco, beautiful sweeping red drapery, and giant chandeliers. Once everyone was in and had secured their places, I went to the merchandise table to pick up my autographed cd. I was so excited, it was hard not to squeal out loud and skip back to my spot. I was tempted to sleep with it under my pillow that night, but was afraid of what my husband would think. He’s already convinced I have lost my mind.
More photos and her story after the break!
The first band to come on was Toy Bombs, an upbeat rock group. They played a short set, and then cleared the stage for Sabrosa Purr. This band had a very unusual sound which I loved, but some of the people I was with didn’t care for them at all. It’s one of those love ‘em or hate ‘em situations. After Sabrosa Purr, we were expecting Paul McDonald from American Idol to come out and do his thing, then 100 Monkeys. We knew Nikki Reed was there to support boyfriend Paul, but Ashley Greene was also there, tweeting from the back of the room. Things were getting really exciting! When the curtain went up, instead of Paul McDonald, the 100 Monkeys were standing there, ready to play! Squee!! They went straight into their set and rocked it for several songs, then they did the “Thank You Song” which brought a frown to my face. The Thank You Song, already? Wha??? That’s usually the last song before they take off and I was really disappointed that they were leaving so early, starting to get a little upset that maybe Paul McDonald had kicked them out of the headliner spot, or maybe they were in a hurry to get to their after-party. They introduced Paul McDonald and left the stage. Meanwhile Nikki Reed had arrived flanked by two bodyguards, and proceeded to work her way through the crowd until she was directly in front of me, front and center stage! -You’ll have to forgive me here, I was in a Monkey frenzy and cannot remember if she came out during the break or after Paul had started - She was very sweet and turned around and said “Hi guys!” with a beautiful smile, and watched her Paul sing his little heart out. During most of his set, he was either smiling at her or singing directly to her. It was as if she was the only one in the audience, and it was very cute. He seems head over heels in love with Nikki. After his last song he thanked 100 Monkeys for letting him join them, and then they came out and jammed on a couple of songs together. They truly looked like they were having so much fun, dancing around making great music.
Once Paul McDonald left the stage, the 100 Monkeys stuck around for another full set, much to my delight! They were really on fire, and Jackson in particular was feeling very playful and enjoying the crowd. You could tell they were all feeling good. Beer? Maybe. I don’t care, it was magical. Nikki Reed stuck around for a couple more songs, was very nice and spoke at length with Twi-daughter Nicole, and also signed some pictures that people had stashed in their purses (with Sharpies, which are outlawed at the El Rey along with gum, haha). Even though she was right in front of me, I didn’t want to interrupt her concert experience or crowd her, so I did not ask for an autograph or a picture with her. I was however, able to snap a few pictures of her, along with the back of her bodyguard’s head. After that she headed back out, and we resumed our previous spots in the crowd. Everyone who attends these concerts are for the most part very well behaved, and if someone needs to leave to go to the bathroom or get a drink, it’s not a problem and they can always get back in. After waiting in line outside for several hours, and then through two or three warm-up bands, you know who your neighbors are and everyone becomes friends. It’s when someone shows up late and tries to barge their way to the front with some lame excuse like “Oooh, oooh, I need to get up there and be with my friend”, that there is a problem. This happened a couple of times, but we were strong and didn’t let anyone in. Be reasonable people! If you arrive late, then you need to be satisfied with a spot towards the back. Enough said.
To wrap it up, the band played until 11:45pm and left the stage for a couple minutes. Then they jokingly came back on, said they were just kidding, and played two more songs with the last note sounding at exactly midnight (there was a digital clock off to the side of the stage where the engineer board was). Sigh, it was so great. As the crowd dispersed, one of the Twi-daughters noticed Ashley Greene off to the side toward the back of the room and went up to her. She was very nice, talking with them and I had my camera ready so I was able to snap a couple pictures of Ashley with both Nicole and Megan. Ashley is incredibly beautiful in person, and I would die to have skin like hers. Once we got outside we discovered that some of our friends who had arrived separately, had left after the first set to go to a club called Angels & Kings where the band was supposed to be headed for the after-party and were giving out free shots if you showed your ticket stub. Apparently the band didn’t show up until around 1:00am, there was a huge crowd around them, and some of my friends had already left. I am really glad I stayed for the whole concert and blew off the after-party. It was such a wonderful night, and I’d like to thank you, Breaking Dawn Movie.org for making it all possible, along with my autographed cd. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!"
Sincerely,
Zina (Z Any Mouse)
Gracias a Ziana y a http://www.breakingdawnmovie.org
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