Previous Post Justice Friday
It all started on June 21, 1997 at the Los Angeles Olympic Colosseum. Rage Against the Machine was opening up for U2 on their Pop Mart Tour. My friend Chris Boeltl and I were volunteering with YWAM in LA and wanted to go to the show, but didn’t have a cent to our name.
We decided to go down to the even even though we had no money and see what would happen. I remember us walking around the venue listening to the sound check and watching thousands upon thousands of people pass us as they walked into the Colosseum. After about 2 hours we saw a lady standing around wearing a black business suit and looking like she had some authority. Chris and I walked up to her and asked her if she had any tickets to the show. She told us that we should come back in an hour, just as RATM came on and she would let us know.
Excited and wanting not to get our hopes up at the same time we walked over to Burger King to get a burger and pass the hour. One hour later we walked over to the same girl and as we were walking she turned to us and handed us 2 free tickets to the show. What? Did this really happen? Yes it did, and it would continue to happen to me dozens and dozens of times over the next 11 years.
My intent for this weekly Saturday evening post is to share with you the experiences and miracles that have happened to me over the years in getting into free shows. Some I have just been curious of and some have been life long dreams come true. I look forward to walking through these memories with you and hope it will be as fun for you as it will be for me. See you next Saturday.
ok, I can’t talk to you anymore, see the blogs about rage at my site, and I’ll say that popmart goes down as one of my best ever concert experiences as well. the fact that you saw them TOGETHER makes me jealous. Very very Jealous.
yea Stu, it was amazing. I was just getting into RATM at the time. The 1st time I heard them I was camping and trying to sleep, so it didn’t go over to well. My buddy swears I saw them in 98 with Live, did they ever tour together? I think it may have been the throwing copper tour. Then I went to the Democratic National Convention in LA and they did a free show, but it was getting crazy just before RATM came on and Amy got freaked so we left pretty much as they were walking on stage, crap.
Laters.
i’m glad you’re blogging about this. i’m still convinced there are key life lessons to passed on from all your free-ness so i’m looking forward to figuring it out as you post.
p.s. i want hallowe’en pics of your girls!
yea, i’m looking forward to seeing it again as I write about it. Thanks for the comment.
I am very excited to read all about your free time. you encouraged Jeramiah and I to try free event at the Huskies foot ball game and it worked twice. you da man
thanks so much for the links! I can’t wait to check them out.
awesome Nic, i am always wanting to inspire.
I just can’t seem to do stuff like this. You’re like those guys who run and slide on an icy patch in a parking lot…you just stay up and everythings fine and fun. I, however, fall…I fall hard on ice in a parking lot and it hurts. Teach me…teach me oh wise one. How can I get this free stuff?!
[…] Philter « saturday evenings at the concert hall part 1 […]
haha Chris, that is great. Yea, it’s one of those things. You have one on me, I haven’t fallen on the ice in quite a while now. Maybe this winter will be my time.
I trust that the final post in your “free shows” series will be a “how to” article?
a how to article, that would be great. It will consist of me saying “don’t be afraid to get laughed at and even mocked, but push on, ask on and you will receive.”
Hey,
Who is Chris Boeltl???