The Joy Formidable.... A little band from North Wales

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

Yeah, my wife didn't see the step . . .

We had Foundation room passes, which turned out to be a bust since they closed the door to the lower level. It left us scrambling around, trying to find it (no thanks to an utterly indifferent security guard on the second level).

We found the stairwell and made a break for the stage. My wife didn't see that step and did a full Pete Rose dive, spraining her ankle. Needless to say we didn't get the rail.

 

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

Here are a few from Portland. I didn't get many good ones in Boston because I ended up side stage.

 

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

Again, I didn't get much of anything good from Boston since we ended up in the "injured" section on the side of the stage. Still a great show, though I was a bit down in the dumps that my wife was hurt and that this whole thing was starting to feel like a bit of a letdown. I did get a few strums in during Whirring when Ritzy came by.




Now here's where it gets interesting. Talk about a turn around . . .

We hang out inside after the show, since she's hopping around and we hardly wanted to be in a crowd trying to get out. We hung around and talked to some fans, including one who'd previously opened for TJF. We went over to the merch stand and talked to Emma (who works with the band in selling merchandise and other promotional areas). Then we hobbled outside and waited by the alley with maybe two other fans and talked about the show. There really wasn't anyone other than security or crew around, so we weren't hassled to leave at all.

About 10 minutes later, one of the other fans points over by another one of the doors - Rhydian was having a cigarette outside. He came over and we talked for maybe 15 minutes. Then the rest of the band and crew came out. Ritzy immediately noticed my wife's limp and hugged her. Me, my wife and two or three other fans talked for another several minutes, then headed across the street to a mostly empty bar right next to Fenway. Spent the rest of the night talking to Matt and the drum tech Sebastien, until we got booted out of the bar around 2:30 AM. I got a few things signed, but it didn't really occur to me to take any photos until we were about to leave. It ended up feeling more like we were hanging out with friends than meeting the band as fans - much different than the organized meet and greets for sure!

This is my wife with Emma.



And with Ritzy . . .

 

[MoodyJ]

That's awful. I hope you're wife's ankle is feeling better. They really do need to add better lighting to the entrance/steps something. I've seen numerous people take a tumble despite their warnings.

I debated hanging around after the show, but with over an hour drive ahead of me, and work in the morning, I decided against it.

Although it certainly doesn't make up for what happened earlier in the evening, it's good that you got to meet and hang out with the band. It's a shame your experience at both shows wasn't better.

 

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

Well, she'll be on crutches for a few more days, but she'll be fine (no breaks).

The funny thing is, that despite the less than ideal concert experiences both times, my wife really liked this band - a bit rare, as she doesn't really like concerts in general. Makes me wonder what would have happened if we had a truly great experience like the one I had on the rail in Milwaukee and Chicago a couple months back.

We felt like the experience afterwards actually more than made up for this. It really was cool getting to talk with each them at length. My wife really liked Ritzy, who was an absolute sweetheart to her both in Portland and Boston (she felt pretty bad about the injury). All of the band members are really easy to talk to (though I have to confess, I still do tend to go blank with Ritzy).

 

[trojanchick99]

Your wife is tough! Sprained ankle and she still went to the show.

 

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

Your wife is tough! Sprained ankle and she still went to the show.

Well, we got chairs on the side of the stage, so that helped

Yeah, she was a good sport though. Of course, it might have been a different story if she didn't like the band's performances (or them personally).