Again, here are random impressions put to keyboard.Maybe you will find a tidbit or two of interest.
1. We will start near the end. Yes, the gig was cut short. After
First and Last and Always, the band left the stage. After a minute, a voice boomed out that the fire marshal had called off the rest of the show. Ha ha, everyone thought. The a minute later a similar message was broadcast. Lights still had not come on to chase us out of the place like roaches, nor had music come back on, but it slowly became clear that indeed the end had come. A lone bottle was flung onto the stage. A minute later, the hall lights came on slightly. The stage was still dark, however, so we had yet more mixed messages. Much grumbling was heard among the audience, some in German. Rumors spread that someone had started a fire, but I doubt that anyone believed that. The place was not evacuated for instance. By the time the lights really came on and the music chimed in, the writing clearly was on the wall. One young woman (if you need visual aids, she looked as though she fit well in Underworld) was balling her eyes out in front of the stage by Andrew's mic; her friend shouted insults to the fire marshal sitting calmly in a balcony seat. Her kicks to the security barrier and complaints did little to change the situation.
The fire marshal's version: The fire marshal (or rather two) was on the floor by this point. I went over and asked for an explanation. He insisted that it was not his fault that the show ended, rather than band's. During pre-gig preparations, the smoke had been too thick, he explained, but after lowering the output, they got acceptable levels. During the show itself, he contended, the machines were pumping out at full force. He said that he could not see from the balcony, and implied a hazard. The alarms were going off all evening. When he asked the band to lower the amount, they instead pulled the plug on the gig. I noted how other venues, like in Washington, were smaller, tighter and had fewer exits, yet there had been no issue. He countered that all places are different and said that ventilation or number of doors can make.
The band's version: Chris was at the merchandise stand by this point. With his personality, he is great at public relations and was trying to diffuse the situation. He said that there had been concerns about the amount of fog early in the gig, but that they turned off the machines. An hour later (although it must have been less time, as they did not play a full hour, I think) they were told that the smoke was too dense. The band had no choice but to shut shop. The contract with the venue states that the band used smoke machines in performances, so there should not have been any surprises. I may be off on this one, but Chris may have added that they were not pumping out more than earlier. He at least gave the impression that the band was not beyond what should have been acceptable. The band wanted to play on, but really could not.
Conclusion: I just gave the details which I remember from 14 hours ago, so draw your own conclusions. What I see is that, while the fire marshal may not have cancelled the show per se (it was not his voice who announced the end of the show), he may have put the band in a position where there was no alternative. The fog on stage by the end (while the band still played) had been minimal or even off for a few songs, so the band had complied with requests. Nobody is accepting blame, so point the finger where you feel it belongs.
Other than that, there were some other memories:
2. I suggested that we make an Eva mask for someone to wear for the rest of the tour so that Chris is not distracted that she is not in the audience directly in front of him. He possibly could become concerned or worried and may become too distracted to play well.
3. The venue itself was impressive. It had been an old theater. The floor has seats removed, but the upper tier and the side balconies/loges still had seats. The upper levels were closed off to the public for this show, although early on some did manage to go up there, which caused some of the staff to track them down. The high ceiling was what you expect to find in theaters.
4. The stage was about a meter off the ground again, and about three quarters that from the security barrier. The monitors were pushed back a bit from the edge of the stage.
5. The crowd was like other gigs (leather jackets, t-shirts, jeans, some shaved heads), but there were more of the Goth crowd than previous shows. maybe 20 percent could fit that bill.
6. We found what appeared to be a black scarf on the floor next to us. We offered it to the young lady standing near it, when we realized that it was a pair of leggings. For some reason, she declined, quite confusedly, some stranger's tights.
7. We considered throwing them at Chris in a classic crooner scenario, but we never got around to it.
8. Hypernova were good as usual. They play consistently each time Maybe the New York left me with the best feeling, but all time were on par with one another. One guitarist plays on the first two or three songs before he heads off stage. (Did he join the band recently and is only on a few songs so far?) He or another man connected to the band often took video of them and the audience. Perhaps some will come to light at some point to show the audience.
9. The sound here was the best thus far. Perhaps the place, as a theater originally, was deigned with acoustics in mind. Andrew's voice was more in the mix, and he offered more reverberating howls earlier, like during
Ribbons.
10. There may have been some problems with Ben's guitar, though. At least in
First and Last and Always, it appeared to be very faint. Initially I thought that he left the stage after the song for an equipment check or replacement, but alas that was due to the smoke matters.
11. The setlist was similar to the one in New York, but not quite the same. I do not mean due to the truncated performance. For example,
Summer was followed
by Still. Did stared with Crash and Burn and Ribbons and Train, though, and seemed to have the basic flow of the previous gigs.
12. Like starting a gig with one, is it a good idea to have two unreleased songs back to back?
13. Chris wore boots this time, not soft soled shoes. Andrew had on a black shirt, so he did not glow as he did with his bright yellow one earlier. Ben, as usual, wore a black sleeveless top. And pants.
14. I think that Ben's arms are rounder than four of the five members of Hypernova (Persian Ramones?). Only their bass player has bicyclist legs.
15. Especially the riff,
Still is growing on me. Not surprisingly, their guitar styles work well with it. The vocals have not grabbed me as much, but that simply may be due to the fact that it is new and not entrenched as a Sisters song yet.
16. Among others,
Summer still is worthy of a studio version. Even though I sometimes miss Adam's power chords on it, I am quite glad that this is a staple in setlists.
17. The lightshow during
Ribbons and
Summer is still among the highlights. The falling lights at the rain lyric in
Flood is cool too.
Marian gets green. Had that been red previously? That is what I recall.
18. There was not as much karaoke this time, but some during Floodland tracks. As far as I could tell, very little during
Dominion, but
Mother Russia got much more.
19. We could see the Nurse this time as he performed his services behind equipment on Ben's side of the stage. He bounced around slightly. With the setup arranged as it was, he sometimes looked as though he was playing pinball.
20. Ben ventured to the center and front of the stage for some of his solo spots. Andrew played right of center close to Chris for a song or two. Chris kept within his prancing ring, with plenty of moments up front to interact with the crowd.
21. Sometime between Washington and Richmond the tour shirts apparently were delivered. They are dark grey with shiny black lettering. The Sisters name is large on the front, with the tour overview of the back. If anything, the tour has been named "Ocean to Ocean", which we can add to the tour list at some point. For those keeping score, it seems to be a North American tour now and a separate European tour as of February.
22. The sales of knit caps may increase stateside if they stop calling them
beanies. While they can be called that, some will expect them to have propellers.
23. Needless to say, Chris is a fine person to interact with the crowd offstage. He was more than willing to talk to people and answer the usual questions repeatedly. Tonight they dealt mainly with the likelihood of a studio release ("stranger things have happened") and the issue with the fire marshal. He took them all in stride. He would come out from behind the counter to have photos taken. He also said how much he enjoyed Richmond as a city, as well as the venue, which included a pool table and jaccussi.
24. I think that Ben was elsewhere putting out fires, so to speak, so kudos to him as well.
25. Even Chris' mother knows that he stopped smoking dope. How much more open can you want an band member?
26. He saw my Heartland shirt and knew immediately what it was. No need to recant everything which he said, which probably makes him happy. (Jokingly I asked if I could quote him on him ending his smoking choice. He laughed and did not care.)
27. HLers acknowledged were, no surprises,
Eva,
Eggi, and
Multifaceted, who were the first three in line when my sister and I arrived.
28. Does Aaron say "hi"?
29. Is a recording surfaces, it should fit on a single CD.
30. Do not grab on to Eggi. Enough said.
31. There was some onstage banter, but not too much. Much of that came n Washington, though, was later in the show, so maybe it would have flowed a bit more. Unfortunately for rivet counters, I do not remember what exactly he said.
32. Crowd banter was fortunately limited in terms of numbers having conversations. Unfortunately it was not always the case, especially in the slower songs during the middle of the performance.
33. Early in the performance I did hear what sounded like a siren. Nobody reacted, so I figured that it was simply someone cheering in an odd way, especially as it happened repeatedly over different songs. I guess that my initial reaction was accurate.
34. The strobe lights which kept going on the side of the stage after First and Last and Always indeed were more forward than I had noticed previously. That is because they were the alarms having been triggered, not part of the performance.
35. My gut feeling is that three or so songs were still due before the first interlude, and then the usual five after that. I did not check to see how long they played, but I am guessing about 50 minutes or so.
36. Eva did prophesy hat someone ting bad always happened during a gig when Eggi where his shut.the.f**k.up shirt. How did she know?
37. For future bookings, I heard that at least two parties showing up came from Raleigh. Mark that on the map for potential spots in the next tour (not expected for at least a year).
38. It dud not look sold out, even if the balcony levels are discounted. Nevertheless if was a decent size crowd for a city the size of Richmond.
39. The mood in the crowd seemed to be building as the gig went, especially when familiar songs were played. It was building to be a fun second half.
40. Chris did not recall how long he had been in the band so fsr. He thought four years. Has tie been dragging for him?
41.. Eva is indeed worthy of the Swiss Miss.
Ultimately, this was a fine gig prior to the abrupt end. Had it continued, it probably would have been a very memorable one to experience. As it was, it became memorable for other reasons. Yes, I was disappointed for the events which transpired, especially as it was the final gig or many of us during this tour. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the time which I had. The most memorable element will be the sudden end, but I at least made the best of it nevertheless. I wish Eggi and Eva well on their flight back and look forward to the next tour when our paths will cross.
Seriously - I would love one if any kind soul would consider getting me one. 
It seems I missed Prescott and a lot more, though; I must have got out back late.
