[Brian Mansberger]

May 1st was an EXCELLENT show -- unfortunately I feel compelled to complain 
about a few things:

1) Having the front center rows of the standing room only crowd dominated by 
7-foot tall behemoths (thus blocking the view for half of the crowd) who 
refused to move/yell/show excitement for the Oils was kind of disgusting.  
If you are tall and are TRULY excited about the show, fair enough -- get in 
front and make some noise and dance to the greatest band on Earth (and some 
did -- this is not in reference to the tall Powderworker I saw in front.)  
BUT, if you are simply standing there, COME ON...couldn't you do that 
elsewhere?  And give some room to those of us who want to be active?  It's 
like that old mentality of having to simply be up there just to be there.  
Mind you, this is coming from a 6'1 guy.  (And I danced and sang myself 
hoarse)

2) Part of this mentality showed itself when these same lame zombies -- who 
had staked out "their" land near the front -- started yelling insults at 
these people who were trying to slide into the liveable spaces between 
people in anticipation of the Oils coming on.  "KEEP MOVING, ASSHOLES" was 
only one of the things I heard directed at these people.  (By the way, I was 
not one of these people, having positioned myself well before)  COME ON -- 
"standing room only" does not imply ownership of a certain spot of the 
floor, and for a great show, well, OF COURSE it's going to be packed up near 
the front -- what do you expect??  Part of the experience of seeing a good 
band and seeing a good show is reconciling yourself to the fact that, YES, 
it's going to get damn packed, sweaty, and the guy/girl next to you is going 
to have a good idea of your basic anatomy.  Give me a break.

3)  The worst of it.  One of these people trying to edge in was an Aussie, 
who, perhaps had a little bit to drink (I'm not sure)  but was trying to 
move in near the front and this tall American prick started yelling 
nationalistic insults, saying, "Step back, asshole," "Why don't you act like 
a true Australian" (motioning over to a more docile bunch of Aussies behind 
him) and other derogatory slurs and basically getting ready to throw down 
with this guy.  Since when does nationality have ANYTHING to do with getting 
excited at a rock show?  I hope you're a member of this list buddy, because 
I'd like you to know that if things had come to blows you would have found 
yourself in a minority.  I later went up and apologized to the guy for this, 
saying, "he was just drunk" (which he was, very much so) and the Aussie was 
like, "He's just upset because I'm a hardcore Aussie fan."  TRUE.  Side 
note: this tall waste of space maybe yelled a little, but his actions fell 
into the "sedentary" region of activity -- step back and give some front 
space for the less inhibited (yet still considerate) among us, okay, pork 
chop?

The final good note is that this is the best Oils show I've seen, and PG 
seemed much more at ease with the crowd, easily sliding into rambling and 
entertaining speeches, and the band's intensity was fabulous.  I'm sorry I 
couldn't make it out to see tonight's show (with the promise of rarities 
being played) but I'll be there for Taste of Chicago.  Go Oils!  We here in 
the US have missed you terribly -- you certainly have "been away too long" 
(as you opened with last night.)

Peace,
Brian
Ps- Sorry for the language, but it's only being reported as it was said and 
heard.


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