Duran Duran Plane Trip 2000

17/12 - London's Wembley Arena

I mistakenly thought the pub to meet up was located near Wembley Arena, when it was really located next to the subway station. So I walked all the way to the venue and asked a policeman then walked all the way back. I got there, looked around and didn't recognize a soul (no Sandy and no Astrid). I went around outside looking for an upstairs entrance or something, then went in the back entrance and asked about it. I was told that was the only floor. I decided to go ahead and eat some dinner and see what happened. I asked for something on the menu and was told they only served certain items on concert days, so I went ahead and got the fish & chips to see if it was as good as I remembered (having been a vegetarian over a year, I also wondered if I was missing out). I then asked for tea and was told they didn't serve hot drinks, so I asked for a coke. The got it for me even though I was supposed to order it from the bar section and not the food section because he took pity on me. Also, I had to sit and eat in a certain section--near a telly with football blaring from it where a bunch of men were yelling and swearing at the telly. Hmmm, it reminded me of how my dad got watching hockey, basketball, and baseball. It was very uncomfortable being there alone. I tried the fish and while I'm sure it would be delicious to most folks, I didn't care for it, so left most of it and ate the fries. No one had shown up by then, so I left thinking I had missed everyone and wasn't sure what to do--then decided to call Astrid's cell phone number--didn't work (UGH!), then I tried Sandy's cell phone number--success, she was at her B&B and was running late. So I walked back to the pub and finally saw someone I knew-- Astrid and her friends were there. It was so good to talk to her again after meeting her for the first time in the U.S. and having written countless e-mails back and forth. Her friends all seemed very nice. There were people there from all over the world: Dutch, Belgian, Italians, etc. It was very loud in there and there were many, many different languages being spoken. Sandy finally showed up as well. I had left my dress shoes at Sandy's and didn't catch her in time to have her bring them with her so I had to wear tennis shoes with my dress up clothes. It was nicer for walking, though.

We went off to the venue on foot in a small group and it went by quicker and more enjoyably this time with someone to talk to. I had bought the ticket for this show from someone else that had e-mailed me in response to my post at Plastic Girl. I believe their name was Chris and they were very generous about the cost. I was a bit closer seatwise, however, I was next to a guy that smelled like sour milk and b.o. who kept needing to go out and get more beer or go to the bathroom to pay the beer tab. There was also a little boy that needed to go out once (I can understand the little boy, though not the adult right next to me). We once again had to put up with the VegaStones, and after more waiting finally heard "Teddy Bear".

Set List

Fragment

Kiss Goodbye

Last Day on Earth

Hungry Like the Wolf

Planet Earth

Playing with Uranium/p>

Come Undone (Terri Goyder I think Si said her name was sang backup - she gave him a big kiss)

Ordinary World (It got harder to blow bubbles (crappy wand?), though I managed a few)

Save a Prayer

Halluciating Elvis (the 'enhanced reality' had Simon on the screen with Elvis)

White Lines

Mars Meets Venus

Skin Trade

All She wants Is

A View to a Kill

Too Much Information

Wild Boys

Encores

Notorious (they brought out the big balloons again as for the previous two shows)

Rio

Additional Encores

Girls on Film (no 'enhanced reality' they started the show early and ended it early so we could catch the tube 'home' before they stopped running for the evening, which is a good thing because I couldn't afford a taxi. So there was no waiting around trying to figure out how to catch up with them.)

Warren was wearing a tight black muscle shirt and jeans with his sunglasses and hat, Simon wore a white jacket and pants, Wes wore a black short sleeved shirt and black leather pants with his sunglasses, Nick wore a black suit and red tie, and Joe wore a short-sleeved blue shirt. The crowd for this show was the most enthusiastic of all the shows I went to and was the closest to being in an American audience. I enjoyed this show best of all. It was raining that night, as it did through most of my trip (while it rains a lot that time of year, there was an unusual amount of rain and some flooding--I could tell on my way to Liverpool and on my way to Bournemouth). Right after the show there were some people selling huge posters for a pretty decent price, though I later heard the other side had them cheaper, so Astrid and company bought some. It was nice to be able to share a room with someone, though we didn't stay up late and talk as I had to leave for Bristol early the next morning. After tea and rolls with Astrid and company, I headed to Victoria coach station once again, which takes me to the next adventure...