Great Woods used to be our playground for us and then over 10 years later, we hopped it yet again-- 20 foot fence and 40 years old recapturing our youth. Yeah I know, 40 years old and hopping fences to rock shows. Well, this being the summer of our newest born Mathew, me and Robin had already written off the summer as a lost season, back in December. We knew we weren't going to be able to do CRAP and that all our attention would be on the new boy. That said, I had two things circled on the calendar- my fortieth birthday (another blog itself) and the Radiohead show.
I tried to get tickets over the phone and by the end of the
session I was going to pay like twenty extra bucks or more for all these stupid
little clerical charges and I kindly said fuck you and hung up the phone.
I decided I'd go to the show with money in hand for a ticket and if they were
sold out I'd hang in the parking lot or if possible I'd hop the fence.
The show came and the three of us, Rich Rick N and myself made the
drive. Rick worked there so he was walking through the front gate anyway pretending
to pick up his paycheck. I was going to buy my ticket. They weren't sold out.
But, Rich had a tough financial week and had come to Great Woods to jump the
fence. The three of us walked out back and cased the fence. We came to a seam
where the chain link became wooden fencing and it was here we were able to get
holds with feet and hands and climb over it. That was easy. Getting over the
second fence proved to be the tougher task.
This picture doesn’t really do justice to the actual scale of the
fence when you are standing looking up and studying how the hell you will go
over them. At bottom of picture there is a chain link about 15 feet high I
guess and at the top of the hill is a higher wood fence, at least 20 feet high.
The fences have changed much over the years. Security measures too. We started
hopping it when Great Woods first came into existence sometime in the late 80's
and continued to find new ways into the arena. By 1990 we had mastered it and I
even wrote a college paper on how to get over the fence. Around 1996 I
started hopping over the fence to get out and avoid the slow ooze of people
exiting the concert and the last time I did I landed on the ball of my foot and
was limping for a month. Besides I had a new girlfriend and it wasn't too cool
to be hopping fences in my early 30's while romancing her. Until August 2008
that is.
We were
surprised there were no roaming security buggies scooting around on the dirt
paths out back-- no one. We kept waiting for them all the while debating if
that spot was better than this spot and all that procrastinating and doubt. So,
the second fence had no joists or 2X4's to grab on to so we had to find a way
around it or through it. We cased that fence, ducking in the shrubs, rolling
past openings where security were keeping vigil until finally we came to the
middle of the fence and there were holes dug under the fence-- just enough
where a body could wriggle beneath it. The problem was rows of lights shown
down on the area. Radiohead hadn't started yet and we knew the lights would go
down as soon as they did. We thought it might be a trap too-- that security
would be there waiting. So we cased the area again and actually as we tried to
slip through a break in the fence, they busted us and chased us off and we
watched to see if their flashlights would follow which they didn't. Guards were
not paid enough money I guess. At this point there was no way in but under so
Rich decided to go first-- as soon as the lights went off and so The Reckoner
came on, the lights went down and Rich shot under the fence. I was on my knees
watching his progress-- his feet actually waiting for his signal but suddenly
there was another set of feet and I heard security demanding if he had anything
illegal on his person-- fuck, busted. At this point I turned and ran back
toward the direction I came thinking, "my god I'm 40 years old still
hopping the fence and I'm gonna be busted and embarrassed and what the hell am
I doing?" but then like an oasis before me-- back past where we had hopped
over, I came to a vacant hill that lead down to a four foot fence and the beer
stand," should I... should I... oh fuck it I came this far," I told
myself. The little kid in me took over. I duck walked down the hill until
I got to a door and past the door was the general concert area. as I worked up
the courage to go through it, it banged open and a man in a yellow shirt walked
passed me into the chiller to get beer. He looked at me oddly but then I bolted
and there I was-- and actually the security guard had let rich go-- he had only
been walking past at that moment to go the bathroom when he saw Rich. The three
of us met up again and it was a top five show -- right up there with Dark side
of the Moon a couple years ago. But the best thing about hopping over the
fence? You bring in your own alcohol in your backpack.
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