Sweden Day Eight

With aching feet, we arose yesterday for the final day of Way Out West. We arrived around noon, just after the gates opened for the day.



I posed for a photo at the entrance, next to the VIP/Press line.



We headed for the VIP/Press area for a few minutes, and snapped some photos before too many people arrived.





After that, Twin Shadow was first on our schedule. We had some time before their set, so we watched the sound check from a nearby beer garden.





We sat with some of the other photographers waiting for pit access, and chatted for a while. One was from LA and had been living in Stockholm for the past few years. Twin Shadow was good, if a little tired from playing all night in Norway the night before. I was glad to finally see them.

Next came The Tallest Man on Earth, whom I really liked. We caught a Swedish singer over on the smallest stage, then Noah and the Whale followed. I liked them very much as well. They had cute Beatles-esque suits and played a cover of a Robyn song.





After this block of music, we grabbed two falafels for lunch.



We headed back to VIP to wait for Madeleine, and were joined by Anna and Dennis as well.





Dennis and I chatted about what we like so much about each other's countries. We both said food. I said the food here tastes like it's made of food. He said he loves our hamburgers. Different strokes. I ordered beer and wine in Swedish, and the bartender said "nice try." My Swedish is hit or miss I guess. Other bartenders have told me it's great, but maybe they just thought I was cute for trying.

Once we left the press area, it was time for Wiz Khalifa.



Though he was great, we couldn't stay long. Pulp was next, and they are the band I flew thousands of miles to see. I was determined to get as close to the front as possible, so we had to go early. I shot some photos of the eager crowd:





And I waited. Though the rest of the day flew by, time slowed down as Pulp's set approached. They started right on time, and Jarvis Cocker told many jokes during the performance. The first three songs were from later albums and were pretty calm, so I got a few decent photos.





As you can see, I was very close to the stage. Maybe five or six people back in a sea of 20,000. This is where my story turns ugly. (Mom, don't panic. I'm fine.) Once those first few songs were done, Jarvis said "we're about to play a dance song that used to be about the future, and now it's about the past." I knew it would be "Disco 2000," as did the rest of the massive crowd. As the opening notes played, a crush of people began dancing furiously, singing along and jumping on top of each other. It was chaos. Many people were clamoring to get out, and couldn't. They were trapped dozens of people deep in this madness. My heart started racing and as exited as I was to be there, a scrolling marquee began running in my head. "Breathe slow, stay calm, stay upright, survive," it said. I protected my face and my bag, and moved with the crowd until the song ended. It's been a long, long time since I was so terrified at a show. Fortunately the calm returned. Pulp ended with "Common People," as is expected, and I was ready to get out of there and go find Bobby. However, as I tried to leave, every single person began rushing toward the stage. I couldn't understand why. Sure, Kanye was up next, but that wasn't for two hours. There was no way out, it seemed, but I needed to escape. I couldn't get trapped by this mob. This is when the roller derby instincts kicked in. I exploded through the rushing masses, clawing and hip-checking to freedom. High on adrenaline, I ran past the last few people to find Bobby, who was standing at our agreed-upon meeting place. I think I had a pretty serious look of terror on my face, because he seemed a bit worried when he saw me. Still, I made it, and I got my stupid front row spot for a band that hasn't played together in 15 years. Lesson learned. Don't do that again.

We rested in the swanky press center (which Bobby discovered earlier in the day), and I guzzled water while we waited for Kanye to go on.



He closed out the festival, and we trudged back to our hotel. It was quite an adventure, let me tell you.