Projekt Revolution, Pt. 1, Noblesville, IN

As C and I hurried to collect some coins for the 294 toll booths headed out of Chicago yesterday, I could tell that something was welling up inside. It was a kind of hopelessness you feel when you suddenly hate what you are rocketing towards: life, reality, home. All I could think about was the cavernous apartment I call home that is surely infested with ants once again, the fact that I am a few weeks from moving and I haven't saved enough, and that J should have been with us on this trip. It wasn't so much the fact that my life truly sucks. It doesn't. What I was suffering from was the inevitable crash from the euphoria of the last 36 hours. It was an incredible weekend. So let me tell you about my weekend at Projekt Revolution.

Last Friday morning I picked up C and we headed towards Indianapolis. I felt the need to prepare C for the weekend. I explained that "I will probably do a lot of scouting" and "if by sheer luck I happened to be standing in front of Gerard Way or Ville Valo I may need you to take over the camera". Being uninvested in these two creatures, she should feel free to request that Ville stand closer to me or whatever, blah blah. Ever the trouper, she assured me that this would not be a problem. I tried not to bore her, but I couldn't help telling her about the first time J and I took a road trip together, how Gerard Way sat a few feet away from us, and how on the Red Bull-fueled overnight drive back to St. Louis we were sandwiched in between the convoy of buses taking a plethora of bands to the St. Louis Warped. Of course, this convoy included MCR's bus, so it was pretty much "life changing." I mentioned that I had no idea what MCR's set would be like, that it would more than likely be bigger than anything I had seen them do, and that seeing HIM again, well, they were basically the main reason I had purchased these tickets. I went on to describe how I seemed to have terrible luck when it came to HIM (cue more stories including a cancelled meet and greet, cancelled tour, etc.), but that I was looking forward to see a recently rehabbed Ville. As soon as I finished blabbering my phone rang. It was J calling from London. My heart pounding from excitement to hear her voice (it was the first time since she left), I listened as she seemed to fight back tears declaring that she so wished to be on this trip. It was not the first time J would be present that weekend. Not in person, of course, but in spirit.

We sailed into the venue with no issue. When we arrived around 4:30 PM, the Revolution stage had already finished with its up and coming bands like Madina Lake and Mindless Self Indulgence. The temperature outside was in the 80s and sunny. Perfect. I grabbed C's hand and rushed her to the lawn as smoke began pouring out from the side of the main stage. We grabbed a program and saw that HIM was scheduled to perform at 6:00 and MCR was on at 8:00, so we had time to wade through the crowd and find the optimal spot on the lawn. Julien-K was just beginning their set and so we decided to get up and scope up the grounds.

We stood on a small hill with a few other HIM fans that overlooked the buses hoping to catch a glimpse of our boys walking around off the clock. Why is that so fascinating? Seeing a various amount of security guards, roadies, and lucky fans being herded into the area to meet one of the bands, we decided to head back to the lawn. It was time for Placebo after all, and I'd never seen them before. The lawn was an interesting place. Besides the ever present scent of pot, which we endured throughout the evening since we sat next to a group of very brave kids who smoked continuously, there were a lot of drunks. Uch, even though it was not as hot as it had been for the last week, I felt sick at the idea of being drunk while being baked in the sun. A fight broke out by us, we saw an amazing amount of ass crack and passed out drunks were awoken and kindly escorted out.

The only song from Placebo I recognized was their opening song "Without You I'm Nothing". Placebo put on an energetic show, but it was obvious that they were not performing to their audience. They seemed to come and go with not much notice. I was shocked at how efficiently and quickly one band's set was broken down and the next band's erected. Perhaps showing our age, C and I often noted this and nodded in approval.

The well-known heartagram symbol appeared onstage and the crowd screamed. The letters H I M were written over the symbol which for some reason cracked me up. I guess since HIM is not that well known over here the usual lone symbol wasn't enough for people to know who they were. I kept thinking "this must be their away backdrop" (you know, like team uniforms).



We couldn't see shit from the lawn, but the jumbotrons helped, which is why my collection of photos from Indi are mostly of jumbotrons. They will make good wallpapers, I will say that.



Around us people were making out and C got her first taste of the effect this band's music has on some people. As an old friend once said "HIM is sex." Before beginning the last song "Kiss of Dawn", Ville thanked the street team for working so hard to spread the word and introduced the mother of his friend who committed suicide last year, about whom he wrote the song.



There's not much to say about the live show because they are always so inanimate onstage. Nothing outrageous happens, they just play their music. This they did extremely well. Ville hit every note and sounded great. After that set, I, along with a lot of people around me, lit up a cigarette to bask in the afterglow.

Setlist:
Passions Killing Floor (new)
Wings of a Butterfly
Your Sweet 666
Vampire Heart
Dead Lovers Lane (new)
Killing Loneliness
Drown in This Love (leading into a short dedication to The Stooges' TV-Eye)
Wicked Game
Kiss of Dawn (new)

The band left the stage and in two snaps the stage was ready for Taking Back Sunday. This performance was a little underwhelming. The band put a lot of energy into the set, but the audience around us seemed kind of indifferent like us.

Next was MCR. By the sonic screams that you heard when the black and white backdrop came up you would have thought that the band was already performing. When the lights went down and the band did come out, C and I took notice. No one was sitting by the time Gerard marched onstage with a look on his face that told you were about to be blown away whether you liked it or not. The band opened with "How I Disappear" and as soon as the guitars exploded C was hooked. I saw a potential conversion in the making with her movements and smiles. It's not often that you walk into a show and come out a fan, but that's what happened with her. She commented on how the band seemed to put everything they had into the performance. "That's MCR", I said sentimentally. But I'm getting ahead of myself...



I've always liked how Gerard yells at you to "get the fuck up" and before you even have time to react you're doing it.



We are far from the days of the minimal sets from Warped and the first headlining tour of 2005. Accompanying the set were pyrotechnics, a rotating drum kit, and fireworks.

This looks so much better in its normal size, I swear.

Gerard donned a feather boa for "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison", before which he told the men in the audience to take off their shirts and swing them in the air for the song's duration. Wouldn't you know it, the guys did it



Gerard has gotten a bit more risqué. At one point he simulated masturbation on stage and put his hand down the front of his pants. C and I were pleased by this, hahaha. Gerard ended the set with a solo performance of "Cancer." This was a surprise because after such an energetic set I didn't expect such a sad song, but it worked. He sounded great as well. When they left the stage C and I couldn't stop smiling. As J said, I came for HIM, but in the end it was MCR that satisfied me.



Setlist:
How I Disappear
The Sharpest Lives
I'm Not Okay
Famous Last Words
House of Wolves
Give 'Em Hell, Kid!
Dead
Mama
Welcome to the Black Parade
You Know What They Do To Guys like Us in Prison
Teenagers
Helena
Cancer

We took off before Linkin Park came on and headed to our hotel in Indianapolis. We reflected on the day's events and drifted off, mentally preparing to do the same thing in Chicago the next day... -K