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First of all, I won 2 tickets to all 3 days. I like to think of it as a talent but I just get really lucky with radio contests and win a lot. The tickets were super expensive and it seemed like a great line up so I was thrilled when I was announced as the right caller.
I have to admit, I only went to 2 out of 3 of the days (Saturday and Sunday). Sorry if that kills anyone who is a fan of the lineup for Friday. I know, free tickets and I missed it.
Anyway, Saturday and Sunday were both incredible. The weather was beautiful and the atmosphere was perfect. It's a fun place to be. Everyone is there to enjoy some good music and there are people from all ages and backgrounds. The set up is really convenient. Everything is close together including the stages and there are places to sit even with no real "seating."
I was most excited to see Bleachers, Lorde and The 1975. Bleachers were the first to perform out of those three and they were amazing. I didn't know every single one of their songs but they managed to get everyone singing along and created a lot of fun between them and the audience. I wish I had more pictures to show you but I was trying to forget about technology and enjoy the music. That sounds pretentious but I'm glad I did it. My favorite songs were: "Wake Me" and "I Wanna Get Better"
During Saturday evening, a storm hit. A bunch of workers announced to everyone that we had to evacuate. Some people left the area completely while others stayed in the V.I.P section which is what I did after explaining my disability to someone. By the way, I have A LOT more to say on disability accommodations at Boston Calling so stay tuned.
So, my friend and I watched the storms winds, lightning, thunder and rain while waiting for them to announce they were continuing the show. Alas, they sent us out of the area completely due to lightning and live wires, and told us they would announce on social media sites when they would re-open. A minor set back but it was for our safety so it was totally okay with me. Plus, my friend & I got dinner near by.
When they finally let people back in Lorde was up next. Two previous groups were cancelled due to the storm but I was siked to see Lorde. We got a place pretty close by to the stage due to being back so early and boy was it crowded! It was so packed I was a bit nervous. Once she came on stage though I completely forgot about the overwhelming amount of people surrounding me and was in awe of the 17 year old star.
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| Lorde at Boston Calling 2014 |
Lorde managed to come across as incredibly humble and sweet but also as the coolest teenager ever. She played a ton of songs off of her CD "Pure Heroine" and I had a blast singing along to every one. She thanked us over and over for staying even with the storm and gave an overall great performance. My favorite songs: "400 Lux", "A World Alone" and "Ribs".
We stayed for a little bit of Childish Gambino who got the crowd wild and on their feet from the first couple of seconds. My friend had to catch a train and my disability was wearing me out so we headed home and ended our Saturday.
On Sunday, I met a different friend who was excited to see Twenty One Pilots. There was a huge crowd for them. I didn't really know their music but I was pleasantly surprised by them. They were fun, energetic, funny and CUTE. Yeah, I said cute. I thought it was cool that they also kept standing on the crowd. The crowd would hold them up and they would just calmly balance there.
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| Twenty One Pilots at Boston Calling 2014 |
The 1975 were up next and they were the ones I've been waiting for. I got a spot pretty close to the stage. I was blocked by some tall heads due to the fact that I'm only 4'10" but it was okay. I could see pretty decently and I met some friendly girls in the crowd to talk to and dance with.
I may be biased because I'm a fan but I thought their performance was really fantastic. Matty (the lead singer) interacted with the crowd a lot. There was a lot of energy and fun throughout the crowd as well. He even invited a girl in the audience up on stage to sing along during one of their songs. We (the fans) died. I was of course super envious but excited because this girl was crying she was so happy. I can't be too jealous though. I met Matty and Hann after the show! They were standing by a barrier between the arena and backstage and were extremely nice and friendly.
My favorite songs: "You", "Robbers", "Chocolate" and "Girls"
Now, for the disability issues. Although I had a great time and would go again, Boston Calling REALLY needs to fix their disability accommodations. I had a lot of issues that made me feel really uncomfortable.
The disability entrance was past where they checked tickets... so I had to enter and then tell a security guard that I needed my ticket checked, which caused them to question me multiple times why I didn't get in the regular line. That's okay that they questioned me but he asked me multiple times after I told him I was disabled multiple times and then finally figured it out.
The only bathrooms that were handicap accessible were the V.I.P bathrooms. That was really frustrating since I wasn't V.I.P. The security at those bathrooms seemed very annoyed when I explained to them I couldn't use the stairs for the regular bathrooms. I had a doctors note and everything but I received some eye rolls and feelings that I was bothering them.
During the evacuation, they had no plans for the disabled. I could either walk across the street to the parking garage or up the stairs to the V.I.P area. Believe it or not, the V.I.P stairs were easier. When they evacuated us out of the arena I had to go back in through the exit because the entrance was really far from me. Again, when I explained that to security they seemed very annoyed and like my disability was inconveniencing them!
With the disability issues aside, it was a great weekend. I hope they have more accommodations and less dirty looks next year for disabled people so that if I do buy tickets I won't worry as much.
Hope this post wasn't too long, I hope that if you went you relived it a little bit and that if you want to go next year, this helps!
