Flag

From: Pedro Martins

The Gig in Gaia, Portugal of 28th July was absolutely Awesome!!
Let's see...I Only slept 4 hours the night before of the day of the gig, so i was tired, but anyway i woke up with a lot of energy to went to Lisbon to the Train of 9am and i arrived in Gaia at 12:30. From Lisbon i went with 2 friends(Filipe & Catarina). To Gaia the time passed fast cos we were talking all the trip.
We arrived in Gaia and 4 friends of there were waiting for us(really nice of they-Daniela,Vera,Joana,Sandra),so we went to the pizza hut eat something and then we went to the meeting of the club in front the city hall of Gaia. From there we went to the festival site and when we arrived There we went to the festival site,and when we arrived there GA were in the soundcheck :-)As soon as i arrived there, i asked for Kirsten, tourmanager of GA(really nice person),to talk with her about the flag. The Securities in Portugal are still be dumb and arrogant as well.
When Kirsten went inside take the passes, Björn,the manager went where i was and ask if i'm Pedro, i told yep. It was nice meet. i was very happy to meet him, because he is really a very nice person that always try to help me promoting The Apes in many stuff,and only say no when he can't. Then after the passes we went inside, Dennis come talk with me a little while and now i think this is interesting you know...i ask him if they will play any new song and he told me Only Cuts and i ask him "and Kumba yo"?He said they will not gonna play it because the single wasn't released here so the people Don't know the Song. I told him he was wrong, that the fans know this song.
After that i started arranged the stuff about the FLAG. The Flag is Huge, gave me 5 months(Susana was really Great too- it was impossible make something like this without a big help, and She was Definetely The Help i needed)of work. Before i knew GA will play here i started to work in the Flag. The Flag was a Huge Flag , of 300 m2 (20m X 15m), and inside the Message was "In Portugal you'll never be Living in a Lie, we Love you 4ever"...Something Really Huge!!!
Of Course i've been talking in the last 4 months with Kirsten, Björn and the Portuguese Promotor of The Concert to arrange everything for the Great Surprise to the Apes. Everything's was very well organized and worked as we planned. Of course The Band don't knew nothing of The Flag :-)
Was a secret very well hided.
After Guano Apes Finished The Soundcheck we prepared the Flag Between the gates and the audience- The Security zone- to be ready to use. the idea was easy before Living in a Lie, we will start rolling out this huge flag and the audience passed from the first row until the band could read the all message inside. For That We Fixed The Flag and when the Band read the all message we started to Pull the flag cos we wanted to give the flag to the band. Because that Kirsten gaved me the playlist and living in a lie was the song number 9,before was heaven, so we talked with the portuguese promotor of the concert and he talked with the securities to know that the flag will start to be rolling out before Guano Apes started to play living in a lie. And in the song before ,Heaven, i go down there to prepare and give the order to the securities start to rolling out the flag. Everything Worked as Planned and The Result was Awesome!
The reaction of the band,management was really Awesome,they were moved for what we made, and Sandra After the gig told me they were The Only Band in The World that the fans made something like this. Dennis even told us that we almost made him cry.
Before the Gig of Guano Apes, The Support Band Was Donots and Like GA were in The Hotel giving interviews i talked a lot with Guido, The Guitar Player of Donots, and also with the singer,Ingo. They told me they don't slept in the last 2 days and were very smashed up, but in other hand i told they that The Portuguese People Love Rock Music and Definetely they will have a lot of fun in the concert.
After the Show They were Very Happy and said that i was right!
I saw Donots From the Stage, and when i was there a security called me and Sandra asked if i've the Rain Lyric, i said Yeah, cos Luckly i went to Gaia with my discman. I had the Lyric but the cd was a bootlegg from Live album, from Köln 97, so i laughed a lot with Kirsten & Björn because that.
We Know that we really make something very special :-)Everything worked as we planned, so it was GREAT!
About the Gig The PlayList was Really GREAT, more than 2 hours (The Playlist was Open Your Eyes, Mine all Mine, Crossing The Deadline, Gogan, No Speech, Cuts, Dödel Up, Heaven,(Flag) Living in a Lie, Innocent Greed, Wash it Down, Move a Little Closer,We Use the Pain,Anne Claire,Money & Milk, Big in Japan- First Encore, Kumba Yo,Rain, Ain't Got Time,I want it- 2nd Encore-Instrumental,Lords of the Boards)
I saw all The Gig From the Stage, and was really cool see they from there, at least is another way to feel and living the gig. Appart i was there you think i don't dance and sing?Of course not. Kirsten and Björn was near me and i was seeing another gig of my fv band so i felt confortable to sing and dance around:-)
Before the First Encore, Sandra gave me a very Special Hug,and definetely was a simple atittude that is more worth it than millions of words.
But thet also have a surprise to me :-)oh Yeah, and what a Big Surprise :-)After the entered on Stage again Sandra talked with the Audience, that i'm a big fan,i make the website for the club,the members of the Fabclub of GA want say thanks, as well they for promote they over here a lot...SO...Sandra Looked to my eyes and said come on stage Please...When she said that i was so nervous, but Kirsten said to i go, and i went...Sandra talked about the flag, asked me stuff, and ask me if i knew Kumba Yo Lyric... OH, then i was much more nervous,i told Sandra i don't know the all lyric, but she said "Sure you Know!"and they gaved me a Microphone..They Started to Play, i looked to the audience, saw so many people(persons of the organization of the festival told me 40.000 peopl were there) and i told to me" What a Hell i'm Doing here?" but then i thought "you're a Fan, so you can sing the refrain and a little bit more and Jump Around like i'm in the Audience" That's What i did, i sing the refrain and a little bit more i know and Jump Around...i asked 2 times for the audience jump and they did that! Right now i don't know how i could ask the audience to made that and sing with the Guano Apes!WOW, is something that i never thought and dreamed about and was a Huge Tribute They Made to me(Band & Management & The Fanclub Members). Thanks a Lot Guys!Thanks so very very Much!!
After Kumba Yo Finished i said thanks to the band on stage, and then i went near Kirsten & Björn, all the rest of the crew, and also the singer of Donots was there, and he said i was very well on stage and that i must be a singer, i just laughed :-)Then in The Backstage i asked To The Band from who was the idea me playing Kumba Yo With they and They said was of the All Band.
After The Gig finished i went to their backstage to they give me the 4 backstage passes and give to the fans that had the right to meet the Band after the show. Then i went there, i gave Sandra 3 Bootlegg Live Albums of Deftones. Sandra Liked Very Much The Cds, and Said "what i can give you?" and i said "nothing, just be you", and she really was. She is So Nice and Down to Earth!She Asked me a lot of stuff about the Flag:-) Sandra was really Impressed with Everything We Made :-) I asked Henning if they want the flag to Germany and He said yes, so took the huge flag to the backstage area. and They Helped us "Double" the Flag.
I didn't slept more than 30 hours, but right now i'm very happy for saw again my Favourite Band, be with They, meet some fanclub members, their Great Surprise to Me, but was also Great See Their reaction to The Flag!
I want Say Thanks Very Much to Björn, Kirsten, Sandra, Dennis, Stefan, Henning, all the Crew & last but not the less important the Fanclub members that Helped With the Flag and make this day so special to me! Danke Schön und auf wiedersehen!
I will Finish with a Sentence i think they certainly remember and is really the true "In Portugal you'll never be Living in a Lie, we Love you 4ever!!"