".....I'd like to stay"

LOCATION: The Circus, Berlin
Tonight's Show: Berlin (Wuhlheide)

Set List: Go, Save You, Animal, Do The Evolution, Rearviewmirror, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Severed Hand, World Wide Suicide, Marker In The Sand, Even Flow, Present Tense, Big Wave, Grievance, Daughter(W.M.A.), Green Disease, Black, Porch
1st Encore: Given To Fly, Come Back, I Believe In Miracles, Crazy Mary, Alive
2nd Encore: Last Kiss, Footsteps, Lukin, Comatose, Why Go, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Tonight's the last show of my tour, and even though I'm painfully exhausted and desperately looking forward to a real shower and sleeping in my own bed, I'm really sad its coming to an end. Monica added Berlin to her itinerary so she could see the city and I wouldn't have to be alone. She was supposed to just see the Verona show but ended up seeing four of the Italy shows, Prague and now Berlin - that's what these crazy kids do ;)

We checked in at The Circus, which is quite possibly the coolest hostel I have ever seen in my life. If you're ever in Berlin, I highly recommend it - even if you can afford a real hotel! It's run by a bunch of young people and the atmosphere, the setting and the whole vibe is just insanely fun. I took a nap before the show, since we were up all night and I really wanted to enjoy tonight's performance. When it was time to leave, Monica and I received clear directions on how to get to the venue, Wuhlheide. We had no idea that getting there would require three separate subways and almost an hour of travel. Like most venues on my tour, this one was way outside the city center, and although I was looking forward to an outside performance, getting there was as big a hassle as the others were. When we got off the train, we followed everyone and walked another 10 minutes to the venue. Wuhlheide is in the forest. There are no buildings, no pavement, no roads - no nothing. We walked through a long trail until we got to the back of the line for the entrance - it was all very Hansel and Gretel. Thank God Monica was with me, because walking that trail after the show alone would not have been good.

The amphitheatre itself was striking. Because it was in the middle of the forest, the scenery was gorgeous - the long haul was well worth it. We found a nice spot on Mike's side again, but because the stage was so big, we weren't as close as before. It was fine, though, as our view was perfect. I tried so hard to look for Jess because this was her 100th show, but I couldn't find her. I was certain she was on the rail since she wanted this one to be extra special, but there were too many people to make her out.

Although I wouldn't rank tonight's show as the highlight of my tour, it still holds a special place because it was the last one. They opened with Go.....again! So that makes 4 out of 8 - I can't say I wasn't disappointed, but I also can't help but wonder if Go has been a deliberate choice for a lot of the shows in Europe. The crowd tonight was great and they responded beautifully to the entire setlist. I loved the WMA tag with Daughter; I heard it the first time in Buenos Aires, and since then, it has been one of my favorite tags. Even though this had nothing to do with me, the highlight of the show was Present Tense. It just so happens that this is Jess' favorite song, and to hear it played at her 100th show was so great. It made me so happy knowing that she got this tonight - almost as if they knew. It's such an awesome song, and lyrically, its among my top three. After Present Tense came Big Wave; I hadn't heard this until Europe and I love it live. I like how the audience sings out the 'whoah-ohhhhh'....'yeah-ahhhh'....you know what I'm talking about, right?!? RIGHT. Black was awesome, as always. In Europe, a lot of people still take out lighters instead of their cellphones, and it's such a sight - especially outdoors. There were a few people who had these sparkle-lighters in the audience, and Monica and I were blown away with how beautiful it was to look out into a sea of fans with these sparkles illuminating them. Audience-wise, the coolest part came during Crazy Mary in the first encore. While Boom was doing his thing, Ed jumped down to the area that separates the stage from the crowd, and was running around with his wine bottle. I think he left it with someone on the rail, because when he was coming back up, he stopped in front of these guys that were in the front row and took a sip of their beer. The look on these guys' faces was priceless. I only wish I had a shot of that.

I remember thinking during this show that this just doesn't get old. Every time I've seen a performance, it feels like the first time all over again. Maybe it could get tired - there are people whose show numbers are in the 3-digits. I'm sure it doesn't feel like the first time for them every time, but they keep coming back, so it can't get that old. I easily could have kept going all the way through to Athens. Logic, a responsibility to my job and yeah, a lack of funds dissuaded me.

During Yellow Ledbetter, I finally put away my camera for good. Silly and ridiculous as it may sound to those who just don't understand, it was a really emotional moment. Two weeks in Europe following a band you love, meeting amazing people and seeing the world was quickly coming to a halt, and I guess it was appropriate to acknowledge this during YL. In the middle of a German forest, as the house lights lit up the sky and a cool breeze had its way against our skin, there it was....the end of the end.