Gotta get this off my chest (Oakland, Ca show).
 

Current mood: Pissed! :smiley35:

Look, sorry to do this but I just gotta get this off my chest. Last Wednesday (Dec. 6th) I had the great fortune of seeing Damien and the band from the absolute front row of The Paramount Theater in Oakland, Ca. But here's the thing, I'm not gonna complain about the show because I absolutely loved it. What I want to discuss is what happened afterwards while I was meeting Damien face to face.

Now, after waiting for about 45 minutes or so, our group of people were told to get any of our cars out of the parking garage before they closed. But you know, I knew that by the time I got back, everyone else would already be meeting up with the band while I searched drastically for a parking spot. And this is exactly what happened.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally found one and this stupid a$$ security f*ck told me to get out of there because apparently it was his turn to f*ck with me that night. Now I'm a very easy going guy and am cool with everybody, but this guy had something to prove. Anyway, I ended up moving my car and parking elsewhere and finally got a chance to meet Damien. He was soooo cool and really kind and I actually shook his hand twice and wished him Happy Birthday @ 12:08 am. Now, I really wanted to meet with Lisa especially and then the rest of the band but if I didn't meet them all, Damien and Lisa were the top priority. And I know this comes off as being a snob but this is not the case whatsoever and I don't need to write another paragraph explaining myself. Moving on...

I am now finishing shaking hands with Damien and about to start a conversation when that same security dude comes back saying how my front tire is in the "white zone." Man, I seriously wanted to knock him out (I'm a very well-trained boxer so this wouldn't be a problem :boxing: ). Now I know he had no idea that I travelled from Sacramento and spent everyday for the last month trying to get these spectatular seats. Noooo, someone obviously put sand-paper on his toilet seat and I was the first one he saw. So I guess what my point is these low-life security wannabes better know their place because the last thing I wanted to do was erupt on this idiot and have Damien's first impression of me be a bad one. In the end, I kept my cool and Lisa, if you're reading this, I was the guy who blew you a kiss while you were sitting in the van next to Vyvienne and I was walking back to my van with my sister. You and Vyvienne both responded wonderfully and I only wish we could have met personally.

Back to the security loser, the last thing I wanted to do was be responsible for putting some dead-beat in the hospital but if anyone out there can tell me if they've ever encountered a situation like this and how they dealt with it, I would be very thankful. Oh, and by the way, a certain someone (you know who you are) was supposed to get back to me about an extra ticket for the Saturday night show but ended up flakin' on me. Look pal, next time be honest with people and that way you don't end up ruining your reputation. Peace.

Awesome. I wanted to meet Damien too, but I thought it would be too tough with everyone else wanting to meet him too.

glad u got to see damien in concert. sorry some aspects you looked forward to didn't pan out, but at least you met damien, and saw him in concert...thats more than a lot of people can say...just trying to help you stay optimistic

Yeah, I totally agree with you 100%. I'm just extremely thankful to have even been in his presence, let alone meet him. But next time things will definitely be different. Mark my words, I'll be taking a train in instead of driving (no one will ever say, "Excuse me sir, but can you get your train out of the parking garage? We're about to close..." or "Look sir, I don't think I'm making myself clear! You need to move your train 1 foot back from the white zone!" And another thing, I'm also gonna have a backstage pass next time around. Fo' sho'. Thanks again for the optimism. Peace.

that totally sucks. Security people can be so stupid sometimes.

Like the others, i would say, be glad that you got to meet damien, and see him play music.

Another thing- be sure, if you take the train, to go early. Trains in California aren't great, in my experience. Nothing like the efficiency of trains in Germany or Switzerland. ... or other rich european countries. Due to bad experiences, i don't think i'll ever count on amtrack or metrolink to get me where i need to go on time.

Get a life. What really is the point of meeting someone like Damien or any star for that matter. Are you going to sleep better at night knowing you shook his hand. Do you think you two are going to become best friends and hang out everyday? Cause I highly doubt he'll even remember your face in the morning. Appreciate the music for what it is. Leave the security guard alone he is there doing his job. Would you like someone coming in to your work and telling you how to do your job? I just don't get why people get such satisfaction from meeting someone or having them sign their name on a little piece of paper.

you shoulda socked him in the genetalia

Alright tokked13, let me set the situation straight. I'm not some lame groupie who has nothing but dreams of skipping in the fields during spring time holiding hands with Damien, or any celebrity/musician for that matter. I don't see why there is always one "you" in forums like this. You know what I'm talkin' about, people who are constantly trying to feel important by making weak attempts at putting others down. I don't know where you're coming from or the reason for your pessimism, but you've completely misunderstood my post. And if you're so disenchanted by what I wrote, "Get a life?" you say...If I'm the one who needs to "get a life," then why did you spend the time to read my rather long report if you weren't interested in it in the first place? :icon_scra

Don't get things confused here buddy, I'm not a stalker and definitely understand the busy schedules of musicians and the like. But like many others, I really enjoy just meeting the people who have created such beautiful things and to actually shake the hand that wrote these wonderful songs is absolutley mind-blowing! Don't even act like if someone offered you a chance to meet Damien, or any talented person for that matter, and you would refuse. And in regards to security guards just doing their jobs, yeah that's totally cool. But when one single guard in particular is only targeting you, then that's completely uncalled for. I'm over it and definitely not glooming about my home while eating a tub of Ben & Jerry's, lol. Stop being a retard and don't waste other people's time pretending to be some hot shot.

P.S.- To any of those who are still in question, I am completely satisfied with the chance to see the band from the first row and then meet Damien afterwards. The confusion and anger came with the security f*ck who was tryin' to be a party pooper, that's all. And yeah, I wish I socked him in the gentalia as well, nicely put SWS.

Point taken. I used love getting autographs from my favorite hockey players when I was younger but now I just don't see the point anymore. They are just ordinary people that have exceptional skill at what they do. The only reason I responded like that is because you felt the need to let everyone know how tough you are. It sucks that you felt like the security guard was singling you out, but regardless he is still doing his job. Sorry if I came off a bit harsh before but sometimes I just understand peoples need to with meet celebrities.

It's cool bro, no hard feelings here. Just wanted to make sure my point was clear and it's obvious you came around. By the way, just on a little side note...While a bunch of us were gathered around Damien that night outside the rear entrance of the Paramount, the same security guy mentioned in the story above came out of nowhere behind Damien and was like :director: "Excuse me people, you need to get out of the way cuz you're makin' it very hard for me to do my job!" What an idiot, he had no idea that he was pushin' along Damien while he made his way through the crowd holding 3 yellow highway cones. Apparantly he had b*tch duty that night which explains his lack of proper manners. After the guy passes, Damien said something funny about the guy but I can't remember what exactly. Whatever though, can't wait till we cross paths again. Peace.

why bother posting on a fan site if you talked bad about meeting someone who entertains you? you sir, need to get a life. if you follow your logic.... whats the point of even going to a concert when you can hear the music at home or in your car? its to be in the presence of the creator of the music. to actually meet someone who has written music that has been influential in your life.

people like you ruin the igloo

hehe, wish i would have been there... we could have ganged up on the dude. you could show me some boxin moves and i could show you a few moves i know myself, but they are generally more damaging then just boxing moves seein as how the point of them is to disable and then kill, but i tend to avoid that lest step of killing in day to day life ; )

Yeah, I'm not too fond of the killing thing and would rather not let this post go in that direction. Just a little too heavy for me if you know what I mean. A friend of mine is in the Marines and one day after returning from boot camp decided to show me how to really mess someone up and I had to stop him short of his explanations cuz I'm just not interested in that kind of savagery. I will never find myself in Iraq or any hostile situation like that and don't need to worry about any guerilla tactics. However, I can tell you have a sense of humor so I'm not too concerned about it. Take care and thanks for defending my position. Best.

P.S.- I know this won't ever happen but Rage Against The Machine would be an amazing band to see get back together again. Too bad Zach left and was replaced by Cornell...tsk tsk. Do you happen to know if he has any solo stuff comin' out?

You kind of missed my point on that one. I posted what I did because of his comment that he is a boxer and should have knock the guy out when he was just doing his job. And I understand that it may have seemed like the security guard was single him out but I don't need to know how tough Valentino is. I'm sure he would probably whoop my ass. I love going to concerts. I usually plan my summers out around DMB shows. I just don't get the satisfaction out of meeting celebrities. If Dave Matthews was walking down the street I wouldn't feel the need to go up to him and ask for an autograph. But thats just me.

you think security power trips about **** like that, try openly taping a ****ing show at certain venues. these pricks have no power in any other aspect of their lives so they have to take it out on people at work. it's rather sad actually.

Nicely put ATL, I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way about 'em. By the way, Allthatlies is an amazing person who's been generous enough to provide torrents of live Damien shows. They're absolutely amazing in quality and a nice treat for those of us who weren't able to make it to any of the LA shows. By the way, do you happen to have any recordings of NIN or the Saturday night Damo show?

There are some recordings of NIN on Dimeadozen.org. Also another good site to look for NIN shows is thetradersden.org. I'm assuming you know how to use bittorrent you just have to watch your ratios on those sites. Also I think ATL said he was not able to tape the show on the 9th.

yea, sadly something screwed up and it didn't come out. i still can't pinpoint what it was. it was just a bad day in general for me (was sick & other stuff)

Thanks for the heads-up about those sites. Have you every heard of or checked out www.piratebay.org? I've found some amazing stuff there and it's very up to date.

Yeah I've heard of that one, but I try to stick to private torrent sites.