Rob the Concert Guy

Fenway Park. Boston, MA. My initial thought is, one night only just doesn’t work. It’s time she does a proper tour for her fans, because this was a bust. For me the concert is beyond the artist. The crowd, venue, and overall atmosphere play a huge part. This is what creates “the concert experience.” For this show…it was the 3rd worst concert experience I’ve had so far:

1. Great White in West Warwick, RI where 100 people died. I was there. It was horrible and I have to believe nothing will ever top this.
2. Woodstock ’99 because staying awake for like 4 nights straight due to raves and riots isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Also, while $5 water may be commonplace at concerts today, in 1999 it was just completely absurd. Then getting in a major car wreck on the way home just added to overall suckiness.
3. Lana Del Rey, because…

Let’s talk about the overall experience before we get to the performance. First off, it’s not all Lana’s fault. We arrived in Boston about 6:30pm. A little less than an hour after actually getting into the city, I was finally inside the venue. Traffic sucked worse than usual and with a 7:30pm scheduled start time, we were concerned we may not make it in time. But being the great dad I am, I dropped off my daughter and her friend so they wouldn’t miss the show that was supposedly going to start around 7:30pm.

Due to the pre-sales, and general Ticketmaster BS, we were unable to secure tickets during the initial sale and had resale tickets. I didn’t originally plan to go so I bought an extra seat for myself later on that wasn’t with my daughter’s seats. Her seats were fine, mine was directly behind the sound booth with no view. It was going to be a “watch the screen” kinda night by necessity. But that’s fine, I wasn’t here because I’m a massive fan. I just like concerts and had to drive there anyway, so might as well stay.

By 8:20pm the show hadn’t started yet and clouds were rolling in with a breeze. Thunderstorm warnings were hovering over Boston. By 8:40, an announcement had been made that due to storm warnings, everyone on the field and in seats without overhead coverage (ours) needed to exit that stadium and pile into the concourse. Did I mention it was 95 degrees in Boston all day? Take 95 degree weather, thousands of people, and a narrow and low concourse built in 1918, and you’re not going to have a good time.

Fenway failed! It was so hot, jam packed, and no air flow. Unless you were near a field entrance or an exit, it was hard to breathe. As time went on, I saw people having panic attacks, people were passing out or close to it, many people were visibly upset/shaken and just not doing good with the heat and crowd. Medics were busy for sure as they kept having to part the crowd to get through with wheelchairs and such. You might be thinking, “Fenway probably made sure people were hydrated, right?” Yes they did…if you could get to a concession stand to buy a $7 water. No room to move, no information being given, and personally my cell service sucked as if it the network was congested so I couldn’t reach my daughter for a bit either (but finally found her). Fenway was all too happy to keep selling drinks and food though. Total greed. Also, while the concourse was so packed you could barely move around, not a single member of Boston FD was ever seen (at least by me).

This was supposed to be “one night only” and many people drove some distances, some flew in, many booked hotel rooms, and more. Not to mention that due to so many tickets being scooped up by scalpers, some people spent thousands on their tickets. Lana took to Instagram to put out a poll asking people if we should wait for the storms to subside, though it would be a shorter show, or reschedule for Saturday. She opted to side with a shorter show. At about 10pm we were finally let back in to the stadium and the show finally started at 10:33pm.

My daughter and her friend Kim really love Lana. And they enjoyed it, which is what matters in the end. But….they didn’t have to pay for their tickets or drive, so there’s that. If one of my favorite bands had done this, I’d have to think real long and hard before considering seeing them again.

Also, while I don’t fully understand the curfew ordinance and penalties, my opinion is Lana’s team and Fenway should’ve pleaded with the city to do the full show or paid whatever fines would’ve been incurred. You did your fans dirty Lana!

Are Fenway concerts really worth the hassle? After this experience, I’m going with NO. Though I already have tickets for another Fenway show this summer. What will it be and will it be the last one for me?

So how was the actual performance? It was fine. I don’t know what she opened with, but she did shorter versions of Without You and West Coast and then moved into Summertime Sadness. This was only the 3rd or 4th song and she started holding the microphone out to the crowd to let them sing. Really lady!? Gates were at 6 or 6:30, some people got there very early if they sat in a General Admission section, and after waiting for 3 to 4 hours for the show to even start you’re NOT going to sing one of your biggest hits? C’mon!

She brought out the “Walmart yodeling kid” Mason Ramsey and they sang Blue Over You together. Meh. A shorter version of Ride was played and then Born to Die. For a show that was being shortened, there seemed to be a bunch of disorganization in between songs. I get it because they were having to change plans on the fly, but still it was annoying.

There were a few other shortened songs in the mix, and she made heavy use of her backup singers. They made her sound good. Not that she doesn’t sound good on her own. My daughter says, “she has the voice of an angel” and the girls around my section crying would further support this I supposed. But I will say that I swear there were times I heard her voice when she wasn’t singing. And other times, I heard her voice, she was singing, but she wasn’t holding the mic. So, I would say there was some pre-recorded vocals taking place.

Chemtrails over the Country Club and The Grants (shortened version) made an appearance. Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd was cool and done as a choir with her backup singers who ended up being “up front” singers? A bit later (not much later, but still later) she brought our Stephen Sanchez and they played his song Until I Found You. Then she did Tough with Quavo (another guest). That was pretty much it. Played Video Games and that was a wrap. She said something about trying to make up with a 2-hour show, but I couldn’t hear her.

If you’re a mega fan like most people there, you probably loved it or would’ve loved it. For the guy who just love concerts, it was not worth the hype, money or time. But I could be wrong.