The Stage Is Set...
Between bands, I got up and stood, looking around the arena and watching the crew take down and set up the stage. Something that kind of caught my attention while they were setting up - two guys were carrying a big piece of the stage set, one walking forwards and one walking backwards, and other pieces of the set were lying on the stage. The guy walking backwards tripped over one of the pieces on the floor, and two other guys setting up equipment were right there, ran right over, didn't quite get there soon enough to catch him from falling completely, but caught him under the arms and made sure he came to rest gently on the stage. Then they picked him back up. He never let go of the piece of scenery, and when he got back on his feet, they all went back to what they were doing within seconds. Only I would think that was cool, but I thought it was way cool. I was like, WOW - is that a well-oiled machine or what?
After about 20 minutes, one of the security guys came up through the aisle asking those of us who were standing around to go back to our seats, since the show was about to start. All right! Back in my seat and on with my gloves! (You understand the gloves... right? If not, check the Tweeter Center show!) Sure enough, in a few minutes, the theme song to the HBO series "The Sopranos" started to play. This is what they play every night right before their set. About halfway through this song the stage went dark, and I could see Keith, Styx's production manager, standing at the top of the stairs at the back of the stage, leaning on the stair railings and waving a little flashlight around on the stairs, laughing and chatting with someone at the bottom of the stairs - the band, I presume! Just kind of nice to see Keith so relaxed and happy at the beginning of the show - he is so all business during the setup!