Psychedelic Furs July 26, 2016

The second Psychedelic Furs concert I went to was at the Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon in 2016, and as I said on my previous post, it is my favorite concert of all time because so many awesome moments happened on that day.

My brother went with me again and we left at about noon. After we entered Portland we found where the Revolution Hall was and went to look for a parking spot. We found one close by and walked over to the venue. While we were walking over there, at a distance there were two guys heading toward us. When they came closer I realized one of them was guitarist Rich Good, and as we walked by I said hi to Rich and he said hi back. After we said hi my brother asked me if that was the guitarist and I said yeah. He asked me why I didn't get a photo with him and I told my brother I was nervous. Also I was afraid I would be a bother but I didn't mention that to him.

We got to the Hall and walked around to take a look at the venue. After looking around we saw Rich and the other guy again. My brother asked me if I wanted a picture with Rich and I remember saying, "I'm nervous but it would be so awesome!" We went up to Rich and my brother asked him if he could take a picture of me and Rich together. Rich said yeah and we both introduced ourselves and got the photo taken. I was very shy, but Rich was so kind and after the photo he gave me a guitar plectrum! I hugged Rich and told him thank you, and then we said farewell. I was happy that I got the chance to meet Rich Good and getting the plectrum was exciting. By the way, when my brother and I were checking out the venue we saw saxophonist Mars Williams by the tour bus, but we were far away from him.

My brother and I stayed outside for a little bit, then we went inside the Hall. The Revolution Hall actually used to be an old school called Washington High School and was built in the late 1800s. Right when we went inside we bumped into Rich again! He said to me, "Hi, how's it going?" and I said "Good!" Rich had his guitar with him and he went away to rehearse with the band.

My brother and I went up to the second floor where the auditorium was (where the show will take place), and there was also a third floor which led to the auditorium's balcony. At the second floor there were benches lined up against the outside of the auditorium and so we both sat on the bench. It was very quiet and we were the only ones in there. Suddenly we heard music coming from the auditorium and we realized The Psychedelic Furs were in there soundchecking! They did the songs "The Ghost In You," "Love My Way," "Like A Stranger," "Angels Don’t Cry," and "Mr. Jones." It was amazing hearing that and the vocalist Richard Butler sounded fantastic.

A couple hours later more people showed up in line, and as the doors were opened we went inside and made it right up to the center of the stage. But the awesome thing was there was no barrier at all! The opening band was The Church again, and it was nice they came back to tour with The Psychedelic Furs for the second time. After The Church played we waited for The Furs to come on stage, and at last the walk-on music started. The song was David Bowie's "Warszawa" from the album Low (1977), and when my brother and I realized what that song was we looked at each other and cheered loudly in appreciation. I got emotional because I knew it was a tribute to Bowie, who sadly passed away in the beginning of 2016. Then the band members arrived, and after the intro to the opener "India" Richard Butler came on stage. Rich Good recognized me in the crowd and he smiled at me as I waved at him.

Out of all the PFurs concerts I went to the setlist for this show (and for the 2016 tour) is the best one for me because "All Of The Law" and "Angels Don't Cry" were included, and it was great hearing those songs live. Even bassist Tim Butler said in an interview once that the latter was his favorite song to play during that tour. Speaking of Tim, he sang right back to me many times and at one point as I was taking pictures of him, he noticed and looked at me!

One of the reasons why this concert is my absolute favorite is because of what happened during the show. I had gotten four handshakes from Richard Butler! At the start of the second song "Fall" he went over to where I was to shake some of the people's hands, and when I lifted my arm he shook my hand. I looked at my brother with a huge smile on my face. At the first concert I tried to get a handshake two times but I wasn't able to, so when I finally got one I felt deep satisfaction. Richard shook my hand again I think during "Like A Stranger," and the last two occurred during "The Ghost In You" and "Heartbreak Beat." But the third handshake is the most special one...

Richard Butler was on the right side of the stage during the first chorus of "The Ghost In You," and when the second verse began he headed over to my direction. As Richard started to sing the line "Stars come down in you" he shook my hand and I looked at my brother again excitedly. But when I looked at my brother I realized my arm was still lifted, and as I looked back Richard held my hand and was singing to me, looking at me! I honestly never expected that would happen, and when he was about to go I yelled out hi to him. It was a very special moment and I'll never forget it for the rest of my life.

At the end of the last song "Pretty In Pink" Richard Butler left while the band was finishing the final part, and after when the music ended the band members went also. While they were leaving Rich Good was walking by and stopped to shake some hands. He saw me, shook my hand, and said to me "Hi again!" and I said hi back. The performance of "Pretty In Pink" from that concert is on YouTube, and it showed Rich shaking my hand!

Screenshot of the video by uploader Steve Herzog.

When my brother and I got in the car after the show I was overcome with emotion and cried. I turned my face to the window to hide my tears because I didn't want my brother to see me cry. I was feeling total happiness from the concert but I was also sad that it was over. The whole night was wonderful and I really didn't want it to end.

A year later The Psychedelic Furs came back to the Revolution Hall and I was happy about that because The Hall quickly became my favorite venue after that night. I went there for my third PFurs concert, and once again the Revolution Hall gave me another special moment to remember.

Setlist:

1. India
2. Fall
3. President Gas
4. Love My Way
5. Like A Stranger
6. Mr. Jones
7. The Ghost In You
8. Little Miss World
9. All Of The Law
10. Angels Don't Cry
11. House
12. Heaven
13. Danger
14. Heartbreak Beat

Encore:

15. Into You Like A Train
16. Until She Comes
17. Pretty In Pink

Tickets and Rich Good's guitar pick.

*Note: All photos are by me, except the screenshot from the video*