Riga (Latvia) - The Concert Series - Part 3 - Foo Fighters

RIGA (Latvia)
21 June 2017

I'm on Foo Fighters mailing lists, I'm also constantly on the look out for bands that I like playing near to where I live. The Foo Fighters are one of my favourite bands, in fact, on my list they're only second to U2. You would think therefore, if they were to be playing in Riga, Latvia, that I would have been ALL OVER IT.

Looking back to Christmas 2016 in Belgrade, Serbia. Inga and I are exchanging gifts and in a moment of inspired Pictionary Inga decided to draw a vision of my gift on a piece of paper.

That's pretty much what it looked like, and then she added, they're playing in Riga!

In fact, just rolling through my various folders I managed to find the actual drawing that Inga did!!

My Christmas present before my eyes  - Belgrade - Serbia

Foo Fighters on paper - Belgrade - Serbia

I think I fumbled few several words before coming out with this gem, WHY? I was literally dumbfounded. My response encapsulated several elements, the fact that I'd not picked up on the band actually setting a gig for Inga's hometown, and then, the fact that actually decided to do a gig in Riga! I mean as much as I love Riga it's not an enormous city, in fact estimates say that it's home to about 650,000 people. Although with that said, it is the largest capital in the Baltics and sits in between Estonia & Lithuania, so as a location for a Baltic show, it made sense.

Foo Fighters in their way - billboard in Riga - Latvia

So we were set. The only issues that we had was logistical. Guns N' Roses were playing in Gdansk on June 20th, what this meant for us is that we would need to do a 700km+ run from Gdansk on the day of the show. We estimated that including stops it would take in the vicinity of 11hrs. In order to get back home, have a bit of a sleep and head out to the show we set ourselves for a 5am departure from Gdansk.

The run to Riga actually progressed quite smoothly and I think we made it there by 4pm. Enough time for a bit of food, some sleep and a couple of inspirational drinks to get us ready for some good 'ole fashioned rock!

Now when I say that the Foo Fighters were going to be playing in her back yard, I'm saying that they were literally in the same suburb, within 2kms walk from her place. As a kid, living this close to a concert venue was just some far fetched dream, although these days we live within 1km of Marvel stadium, so perhaps that dream has become a reality for me.

What you need to know also about this time of year in Northern Europe is that the sun never sets in the conventional 'see you tomorrow' sense. In the height of Summer you always have the afterglow of the sun lighting up the horizon and its quite spectacular. What that also means for 'showtime' is that the starts are later. Little did we know that the Foo Fighters would be kicking off proceedings at 10pm!

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

....But when they came on, boy, didn't they just give it everything. The crowd estimate was in the 30,000+ vicinity, and hey, wasn't Inga absolutely correct with her drawing when she said that we would be right at the front. We were in fact 1st ROW!!! Right on the barricade. Close enough to have Dave Grohls' hair waving in front of us when he was head banging, close enough for me to give Pat Smear a thumbs up and for him to smile and return one to me, close enough to be jumping up and down like lunatics when they started All my life  and to look back at a wave of jumping Latvians going absolutely nuts also.

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

What an experience it was. Despite the cold in the midst of Summer the boys cut through song, after song, after song. As midnight came and went they just seemed to be playing better and getting stronger. Amazingly to me the show didn't end until a little after 1am!!!! I've never been in a situation where the band playing has finished their gig the next day!

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

Foo Fighters - Lucavsala - Riga - Latvia

What a show!

What an EXPERIENCE

Thank you to my wonderful wife Inga for a fantastic Christmas present, and,
Thank you to the Foo Fighters for turning up and playing in our backyard!!!

Foo Fighters Set list

Performer: Foo Fighters
Tour: Concrete & Gold
Location: Lucasvala, Riga, LATVIA

1. Everlong
   Play Video
2. Monkey Wrench
   Play Video
3. Learn to Fly
   Play Video
4. Something From Nothing
   Play Video
5. The Pretender
   Play Video
6. Cat Scratch Fever / Another One Bites the Dust
   (Ted Nugent / Queen snippets… more )
   Play Video
7. Cold Day in the Sun
   Play Video
8. Congregation
   Play Video
9. Walk
   Play Video
10. All My Life
    Play Video
11. Skin and Bones
    Play Video
12. Times Like These
    Play Video
13. La Dee Da
    (with Alison Mosshart)
    Play Video
14. These Days
    Play Video
15. My Hero
    Play Video
16. White Limo
    Play Video
17. Arlandria
    Play Video
18. Wheels
    (Slow version)
    Play Video
19. Run
    Play Video
20. Breakout
    (sign request)
    Play Video
21. Best of You
    Play Video
22. Encore:
23. The Sky Is a Neighborhood
    (with Alison Mosshart)
    Play Video
24. Breakdown
    (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
    Play Video
25. Sunday Rain
    (live debut)
    Play Video
26. Rope
    Play Video
27. This Is a Call
    Play Video

Note: first Foo's show in Baltics, 3hrs long

Riga (Latvia) - home for Christmas

Riga (Latvia) 
23 December - 27 December 2016

Inga & I made the deal that in alternate years Christmas would be spent in Riga or Belgrade. That deal was meant to last for as long as we were living in Belgrade, or indeed Europe, had that move eventuated. Our deal came within a whisker of failing at the first attempt.

Riga was going to be our first Christmas with family, be it Inga's or mine, but the idea unraveled so rapidly and abruptly on the afternoon of the 23rd of December whilst in terminal 1 of Nikola Telsa airport in Belgrade that the minor Christmas miracle that took place immediately after I believe has now ensured us for some time.

We had booked flights out of Belgrade to Riga, from memory, at about 16:45 that afternoon. Now these flights had been booked months in advance, so much so that from the booking date to the actual date, specifics tend to either become a little hazy or get mixed up along the way. For what seemed to have been weeks, the 16:45 departure time stood steadfast in our minds. In fact both of us had independently written down the time in support of our own understand of travel requirements.

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

Spa treatment Christmas present - Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

Arriving at the airport around 15:20 we casually strolled into the terminal. Considering Belgrade is a small airport with low traffic, especially on the route we were flying, checking-in is usually a casual process. Over in 10-15 mins before easily passing through the 1st security check and passport control. This is what we had mentally prepared for.

The first thing you do when entering the airport is check the departure board.

DESTINATION            FLIGHT NO              DEPARTURE              

VIENNA                       JU604                       15:45                      FINAL CALL

ALERT - ALERT - ALERT - ALERT

I knew exactly what that meant. For those of us that travel enough a 'final call' is the death-knell if you've not completed the necessary stop of check-in, or, if you haven't checked-in online.

I could see that rush of panic on Inga's face and I knew where the realisation was going to end up. First, there was going to be a rush for the check-in desk, only to be told, I was certain, that checking in at this late stage was going to be impossible.

Correct - we tried, and yes, we failed.

I knew now that the scramble for a resolution would inevitably dive into why we tricked ourselves into believing that the departure was later than we thought, and in addition, had we know lost what we had paid for our ticket.

Yes, on both counts.

It's an entirely unsettling situation to be at an airport with your flight still at the terminal, not having even moved an inch but still, being forced to concede that you'd already missed it. It's infuriating and drives your anxiety levels through the roof.

Riga - Latvia

Where it all started in 2010 - Shot Cafe - Riga - Latvia

Where it all started in 2010 - Shot Cafe - Riga - Latvia

Doing some shots at the Shot Cafe

So now what?

Well, this is where we kind of flipped it. From being angry, to feeling defeated and accepting something of what our fate should have been we both stepped up to the flight and decided to treat the situation like an episode of Race Around the World.

Initially thinking that we could head for home, jump in our car, drive to Vienna and be there in time to catch the connecting flight to Riga, the reality of the situation and our own common sense prevented us from making a true hash of the situation. What we did was took up residence in from of the departure board and analysed all flights leaving Belgrade that evening, where their destination were and how likely we could get a connecting flight later that night.

There they were, Rome, Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Frankfurt. We quickly processed them all and then each undertook a connecting flight search via Skyscanner. This is where the 'tricky' part comes into play. In this circumstance don't just have to be able to get out of Belgrade but you have to be able to locate a Riga flight from that location a delay long enough that would allow you to pick-up luggage and check-in at your next location in order to make the flight in the allotted time.

 A Kelpe family Christmas lunch - Riga - Latvia

Christmas in Riga - Latvia

Christmas in Riga - Latvia

That time when I got myself a MULLET!

Riga - Latvia

We must have scanned the board for 30 mins, filtering through connecting flights before we landed on a possible option. An Air Serbia flight to Frankfurt and then a connecting Air Lufthansa flight to Riga - could this work? Did we really have the skills to make this? Could we actually have the skills to be successful contestants on Race Around the World? We headed straight to the Air Serbia counter to find out.

With our online Skyscanner connecting flight from Frankfurt to Riga ready to go, the Air Serbia agent confirmed that there were seats on the flight.

'Book 'em Danno'

I think the Hawaii Five 0 reference was lost on him as he asked, 'Would you like me to confirm the flight for you sir'

'Yes, yes I would Cha Chi'

Once Air Serbia was confirmed we immediately booked our Lufthansa flight online, and HEY PRESTO - we were locked in to make it to Riga. All we needed to hope for is an on time departure by Air Serbia from Belgrade - which thankfully happened.

Christmas in Riga

Christmas in Riga was really very nice. Aside from the city itself, which I find to be very attractive, it lends itself brilliantly to this time of year. Somehow Christmas in a Northern country, specifically a north European country, feels much more appropriate and real than being under 40 degree skies in Australia. With that said, I have missed having an Australian Christmas every now and then, so admittedly I try to have it both ways.

Skyline Bar  - Radisson Blue Hotel Latvija

The view from the bathroom - Skyline bar - Radisson Blue Hotel Latvija

Inga's family was fantastic for Christmas Eve. We had a nice family dinner and enjoyed on another's company. It was a far my pleasant experience than what has historically transpired in the Elisher house hold. Our Christmas Eve's were very predictable, boring and at times unpleasant. My mother, as great as she is, would often drink way too much, my aunt would be demanded and sometimes nasty. There were many times that I wished Christmas Eve's away...I mean they weren't bad, they just weren't anything that I really looked forward to.

Of the next few days I got to meet Inga's extended family as we had a post Christmas lunch to celebrate the time of the year and the newly engaged couple. From memory by that stage I do recall that we had nominated Summer of 2017 at the time that we wanted to get married. Outside of a rough time frame we really didn't have too much additional planned - with only 6 months to go getting everything together, I had assumed, was going to be quite
 chaotic. 

The new style of boutique barbers  - Wood Religion - Riga - Latvia

Inga's father at Wood Religion - Riga - Latvia

A Christmas Ginger bread house - made by Jurijs Nadiradze

Heading back to Belgade - Riga Airport

Somewhere over Poland - this is my Terminator look?

...and that was that....

2016 was an incredible year for travel. We had a lot of great experiences, celebrated some major events and were setting ourselves up for an even bigger year in 2017.

Not a bad life