Minneapolis, Apr. 18, 1997

By KATIE (chairsgirl@aol.com)

I arrived at 1st Avenue in Minneapolis, MN with my friend Nicole and my uncle and his friend. Fortunately they stayed far away from us the hole night...We first got to the show at about 10 mins. to five...Stood outside for about 20 min. and then entered the biulding to see about 100 and up more people standing and sitting on the floor watching cartoons on a huge screen...For about a half an hour.

Finally the screen rised and handsome came out with a loud crash of wonderful music...Even though I'd never heard them and some of the songs sounded the same they were a pretty good band. Very energetic. After about 45 min. of handsome playing, which was the only time i moshed since i got stuck hugging a guy I didn't now trying to keep balance the whole time and my friend didn't want to mosh so i decided to stand out with her for the openers. Local H came out and preformed awesomely. I didn't think I'd enjoy the openers since i had been anxiously awaiting silverchair for a month....but i liked it a lot even just bobbing my head in the back of the crowd...Finally the time came when the screen came down and i pushed my way ahead slowly but surely towards the front and sat behind 5 rows of people for about 15 min. which seemed like 45 being squished between tall sweaty teenage guys. Then right before the screen was going up I finally pushed up to the 2 rows of people...

Then the screen came up with the first bang of music of silverchair's "slave." Pausing between each music sections....The crowd was wild! It was unreal I hadn't been more excited about anything! Already i was sweating like never before but still able to get my hands up and bang away...Going right onto the next song "roses," Daniel was already heavily head banging to all the heavy parts....Ben looking oddily different yet still adorable with his new hair cut and shirtless seemed just as hyper as ever and happily banged as well....While Chris was bobbing his head up and down gazing at the crowd with cute expressions on his sweaty face...barely any teenies were up front, probably scared of getting crushed and not being able to see Daniel from being pushed back and forth stayed behind....

A lot of crowd sufing went on above me and finally 2 people next to me got kicked out for pushing people over the railing at which time i pushed a guy away and moved up to the very front having the railing pushed in and under my ribs...while having a sweaty guy lean on me and being crushed from both sides by taller guys....Thinking i was going to die at some points from asthma attacks (stupid me forgot my inhaler in the car) i had to stop screaming and signing along and banging for about 10 sec. in 2 of the songs...During a time when people where aggresive toward the security guards Daniel had said "Settle the fuck down!" saying "They have athority!" they being the security...at which point I had to scream "NOOOOO!!!!!" right to daniel with a reactions of hime smiling shaking his head staring straight at me!

A few other quotes I can remember and understood (since i was told from my friend the mics didnt work to well at first thats why it was hard to understand him) was before No Association he said "This song is about having sex with a chicken on a monday! Its track number 5", and "This is a cold country! I come from a warm place! We like beaches and tans!",and "Can you understand me? the mics arent working...(people playing with the equipment) Okay it's better now right?" and "You guys rock!!!! Are you ready to rock?!?!" and everywhere at random he'd say "thanks! Thank You!" He even learned to say "thanks" in a different language and was nice enough to share his hidden talent with us which he is extra good at!

The first 2 songs I know where slave then roses but after that in to particular order silverchair played wonderfully: The door, Madman, No Association, tomorrow, Pure Massacre, FREAK, Cemetery, Abuse me (where he introduced Bailey as "This is Bailey Holloway. He was in Black Sabbath....He's going to play the extra guitar part for this song." I remember pop song for us rejects but my friend doesn't so i might be going insane from actually having them 5 feet away from me, faultline, and suicidal dream and a beautiful guitar...But that might be me going insane again...Adding his special scary dark voice in at the "STOP SUCKING THE BLOOD RIGHT OUT OF ME!!!!" part and a few other areas of songs and pointing to the crowd while singing "If only i could be as cool as you" and doing scary awesome hand motions like guiding his hand down a pretend path singing "Need a pathway" and bringing his hand to his stomach singing "need a guide" and banging his fist into his head at some heavy singing parts. Also singing in that scary cool pitched voice at the "well get a different disease" part in "freak."

The crowd was going nuts for water they were drinking and started screaming for it so later in the show chris went back stage and came out with about 8 bottles or so of water and threw them into the crowd and daniel took a sip from his and threw it and took a new one which he took a sip from and then took the cap off and threw it also...Then Jeremy from handsome came out singing something like"you wanna have a drink?" over and over...At the end, daniel being the only one left on stage since chris and ben had walked off after about 2 min. of random playing, was twisting and yanking at his guitar putting it on his back and flipping it had which seemed to be a hard time getting it off...he tried untwisting it and seemed to keep hitting his leg with the neck of it so he pulled it over his head flipping his hair and scrunching his nose! It was entertaining of course! Before they came out to play israel's son the croud started chanting "SIL-VER-CHAIR! SIL-VER-CHAIR!" while the two stupid fucks next to me chanted NIR-VAN-A! Only 2 thogh...after someone told them to shut up....The crowd was wonderful...almost as hyper as daniel...but i had to admit he was probably the most hyper one thrashing his head off every chance he got!

It was the most unreal night of my life! I will never forget it! And if you have ever been to a silverchair concert I hope you wont either! I never felt so alive and so wanted and so happy anywhere with anyone else at any time in my life...It was worth the pain I have in my neck today from thrashing and spazzing and the bruises all over the sides of my body and more! I'd kill a family member to do it all over again. The only sucky part of the night was when it was over...But all good things must come to an end. The night ruled and nothing will rock better unless silverchair put on a better show...which only they could do if even them.