I arrived at Valentine's almost exactly at 7 PM only to be told that the doors weren't open yet as they had expected. No worries, though; I saw two other people roughly my age sitting on a bench near the door dressed in Hot Topic-style clothing. We tentatively asked each other if we were there for the Crüxshadows and once that was affirmed, we talked about the band and college while waiting rather impatiently for the doors to open and listening to a local band playing popular songs further down the bar.
(One clue that you're at a Crüxshadows concert is that almost everyone will be dressed either in all black or in gothic clothing; I wore all black myself [though that's not exactly unusual for me] along with my spiked and studded leather collar.)
Valentine's has two entrances, the main door and one on the side that leads directly to the stairs that go up to the second floor. When you enter through the main door, almost all you can see is the bar -- a long counter with stools, glasses hanging from the ceiling, three small televisions, and other typical bar accouterments. The bar wasn't exactly crowded, but the aisle between the stools and the bench was rather narrow, especially with other Crüxshadows fans milling around the entrance. Further down the bar is a standing area and the downstairs stage; Valentine's can have an upstairs and a downstairs band playing at the same time. The Crüxshadows were upstairs.
It was 7:50 when the side entrance to the upstairs was finally opened up. Because I had emailed them in advance, my entrance fee was $10 instead of $15. Going upstairs, there was a large merchandise booth set up on the right for all three bands -- Angelspit, Ayria, and The Crüxshadows. They had quite an assortment of Crüxshadows items, from CDs to postcards to posters to pins to T-shirts. There was one particularly lovely T-shirt based on the song 'Sophia', but I decided against buying it. Instead, I got a bracelet and a CD. The bracelet is made of flexible material and is white with black text; the outside has The Crüxshadows' name and motto ['Live. Love. Be. Believe.'] written on it while the inside has the signatures of all of the current band members. As for the CD, it's a re-release of The Crüxshadows' very first album (...Night Crawls In, originally from 1993); from what I've heard, it's only sold at live performances because Rogue is somewhat embarrassed about it and doesn't want it to be the first album that any potential fans listen to.
( Angelspit. )
( Ayria. )
( Aaaand . . . The Crüxshadows! )
If ever I'm in a position to see The Crüxshadows live again, you can bet I'll be there.
Photos and videos will hopefully be uploaded tomorrow.
Edit: I wrote this at two in the morning, so I apologize for this not being some of my better narration. Also, added LJ-cuts for length.
(One clue that you're at a Crüxshadows concert is that almost everyone will be dressed either in all black or in gothic clothing; I wore all black myself [though that's not exactly unusual for me] along with my spiked and studded leather collar.)
Valentine's has two entrances, the main door and one on the side that leads directly to the stairs that go up to the second floor. When you enter through the main door, almost all you can see is the bar -- a long counter with stools, glasses hanging from the ceiling, three small televisions, and other typical bar accouterments. The bar wasn't exactly crowded, but the aisle between the stools and the bench was rather narrow, especially with other Crüxshadows fans milling around the entrance. Further down the bar is a standing area and the downstairs stage; Valentine's can have an upstairs and a downstairs band playing at the same time. The Crüxshadows were upstairs.
It was 7:50 when the side entrance to the upstairs was finally opened up. Because I had emailed them in advance, my entrance fee was $10 instead of $15. Going upstairs, there was a large merchandise booth set up on the right for all three bands -- Angelspit, Ayria, and The Crüxshadows. They had quite an assortment of Crüxshadows items, from CDs to postcards to posters to pins to T-shirts. There was one particularly lovely T-shirt based on the song 'Sophia', but I decided against buying it. Instead, I got a bracelet and a CD. The bracelet is made of flexible material and is white with black text; the outside has The Crüxshadows' name and motto ['Live. Love. Be. Believe.'] written on it while the inside has the signatures of all of the current band members. As for the CD, it's a re-release of The Crüxshadows' very first album (...Night Crawls In, originally from 1993); from what I've heard, it's only sold at live performances because Rogue is somewhat embarrassed about it and doesn't want it to be the first album that any potential fans listen to.
( Angelspit. )
( Ayria. )
( Aaaand . . . The Crüxshadows! )
If ever I'm in a position to see The Crüxshadows live again, you can bet I'll be there.
Photos and videos will hopefully be uploaded tomorrow.
Edit: I wrote this at two in the morning, so I apologize for this not being some of my better narration. Also, added LJ-cuts for length.
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