I wasn’t too sure why I went with VIP for this show, but I was glad I did since it turned out street parking was nearly impossible so the valet was a necessary thing. The drink ticket was a nice thing to have too. I didn’t use the VIP seating area since my friends didn’t all have it, but still got pretty good photos of TOY while seated in the regular area.
It was really hot and poorly ventilated inside the church, so I didn’t even try going in during the Horrors set. Fortunately, there was a really cool laser light show that you could see from the back of the venue near the doors, which is where I was for most of their set. I hadn’t seen them live before, but I did like what I heard of what I assume was mostly the new album.
Sadly, I missed the guy selling the CDs of the new album Luminous, but since it’s out now – I can get it anywhere. Among my friends who attended that night, I may have been the only one who enjoyed TOY’s set. Maybe they are an acquired taste – or perhaps the being seated in a hot stuffy room is not conducive to the enjoyment of new music.
The nice thing about this venue was the outdoor area, which included a bar and giant Jenga setup projected on the walls. There were plenty of places to hang out, which made enjoying the music from afar more fun and enjoyable. I can’t say this is my preferred way of seeing a band, but it was nice to have room to get some fresh air.
Mini Cooper left a bunch of free swag bags (hurray for BritWeek!), which was also pretty cool. Before and after the show, there were also food trucks nearby to those waiting in line and hanging out in front of the venue. A church is probably not the ideal venue for most concerts, but the nice thing was that it had other parts to enjoy the show from – which almost made up for the heat.
