Honeymooner

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

Forgot to mention in my recount that I was surprised that she did NOT perform "Old Money."  She only started including that song last October, so I was somewhat shocked that it doesn't seem to be in the set list for this tour.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

She did perform 5 songs from UV.  I missed "Old Money" though; I wish she had performed that.
 
Since "Florida Kilos" and "Flipside" are both bonus tracks, I doubt we'll ever see those live.  FMWUTTT has probably been replaced by one of her unreleased songs.  I don't know if PWYC or SG were ever performed live.  But some things have to give to make room for the new stuff.  She only performed one song from Paradise for this tour so far, which was "Cola."  "Summertime Sadness" and "Video Games" are staple songs for her; I'm sure she'll always perform those, as well as "Born To Die."  She may eventually dump "Blue Jeans" from the set list in favor of more unreleased stuff, or "Honeymoon" songs after that album comes out (for her next tour, of course, not this one).

I posted my recount of the concert in the "May 16 - Chula Vista" thread.  I will say that I loved hearing Brooklyn Baby live.

Thanks @@VelvetNight!  (How many times have you changed your username now? LOL)  I did manage to get some rest last night.  For the record, smelly-hair guy wasn't the one yelling "Fuck me"; that was the guy on the other side of me.
 
BTW, turns out that my friend had to leave because she had a kidney transplant several years ago and has to take transplant meds every day at 11 PM.  Since she didn't have them with her, nor did she have any water in the pit, she had to leave to go take her meds.  But at least she got to see most of the show.
 
Another thing I forgot to mention:  @ got a shout-out from Courtney Love!  He had hoped to get center pit, but was way off to the left side.  He had a sign meant for Lana that said he was missing his Prom AND his dad's graduation from SDSU to attend the concert.  Apparently, Courtney saw the sign after she tossed a rose out to someone in that direction, and a person right next to him caught it.  She then said something like "Don't be an asshole, give it to the guy who missed his prom and his dad's graduation!"  So way to go, WCL.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

Thanks @@VelvetNight!  (How many times have you changed your username now? LOL)  I did manage to get some rest last night.  For the record, smelly-hair guy wasn't the one yelling "Fuck me"; that was the guy on the other side of me.
 
BTW, turns out that my friend had to leave because she had a kidney transplant several years ago and has to take transplant meds every day at 11 PM.  Since she didn't have them with her, nor did she have any water in the pit, she had to leave to go take her meds.  But at least she got to see most of the show.
 
Another thing I forgot to mention:  @ got a shout-out from Courtney Love!  He had hoped to get center pit, but was way off to the left side.  He had a sign meant for Lana that said he was missing his Prom AND his dad's graduation from SDSU to attend the concert.  Apparently, Courtney saw the sign after she tossed a rose out to someone in that direction, and a person right next to him caught it.  She then said something like "Don't be an asshole, give it to the guy who missed his prom and his dad's graduation!"  So way to go, WCL.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

Hi all,
 
I'm going to the May 16 concert (tomorrow!!) at Sleep Train Amphitheater.  I have the Silver VIP package.
 
Despite being an old guy, I've never done the whole bit where you wait outside for hours and hours to secure a good spot.  This is the first time I've gone to a concert where I had a pit ticket, vs. having an assigned seat (except for Hollywood Forever, since there are no seats there).  So, I'm looking for a bit of advice from people who HAVE done this before.
 
For example:  Presumably, you take food and water to keep you going throughout the day.  But what do you do about bathroom breaks?  Assuming they have facilities nearby, of course, do you just make friends with people in line and ask them to hold your spot, or...?  Or do you just hold it all day?? LOL... As I said, I'm a newb at this.
 
Also, how early have some of you arrived for your VIP packages?  I got an e-mail from LiveNation the other day saying check-in at the VIP table starts at 5 PM.  Early admission starts at 5:30; general admission at 6, Courtney Love comes on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  So presumably, I'll be waiting in line by the VIP table, assuming it's set up when I get there.  I was thinking of going down at about 8 AM to see what it's like.  I live fairly close to the venue, but it still takes about 15-20 minutes to drive there.  I was figuring on parking somewhere away from the venue and then just walking down.  I don't mind walking a mile or so.
 
Any thoughts?  Suggestions?  One person I talked to the other day suggested something like a Camelback for water.  I have one that I use for bike riding, so I'll fill it up and have it on me.  Other than that... no clue.
 
Thanks!

One thing I didn't get, though: It sounded like he said something about her performing "for the first time" in the U.S.  What was that all about?

You're all gonna think I'm crazy, but I really hate it when, during live performances of "Born To Die," she changes "Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain" to "Let me f*** you hard in the pouring rain."  To me, that's her worst lyric.

Like others here have said, no one can predict the future. But I sure hope she will stay in the business and keep making music for a long time to come. She has talent! Gaga has talent, too (her Julie Andrews tribute during the Oscars recently is proof enough of that)... Lorde has talent, lots of people have talent. I suspect Gaga will be remembered more than Lana due to her flamboyancy. But Lana has a unique style, and it's something I'll listen to for a long, long time.

Now that I have your attention... I know it sounds weird, but in listening to some of Lana's songs in comparison to other singers (I'm talking album recordings, not live), I've noticed that you hear her intakes of breath a lot more strongly than most other singers. Whether her breathing is naturally louder than others because she smokes, I don't know, but it makes me wonder if some others make it a point to back off of the mic a little when they breathe in, and Lana doesn't. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just something I noticed... it actually adds an air of realism, and, dare I say it, sexiness to her voice. She does it in "Once Upon a Dream" a lot, and in that song, it actually adds to the haunting quality.
 
Any thoughts/opinions?

Like others here have said, no one can predict the future. But I sure hope she will stay in the business and keep making music for a long time to come. She has talent! Gaga has talent, too (her Julie Andrews tribute during the Oscars recently is proof enough of that)... Lorde has talent, lots of people have talent. I suspect Gaga will be remembered more than Lana due to her flamboyancy. But Lana has a unique style, and it's something I'll listen to for a long, long time.

National Anthem: I know what it's supposed to be, and perhaps it's the IT guy in me, but I keep hearing:
 
"See what you've done to me / keep your server on"

THIS. OMG. I love it when she smiles.
 
We need a "swoon" emoticon.
 

I've actually also expressed an interest in that very same thing!  I'd love to hear what UV sounded like before Dan Auerbach.  At least, the songs that they re-recorded.  Some of the UV songs, like "Old Money" and "Black Beauty," weren't re-recorded.   Also, there are suspicions that the "Radio Mix" version of "West Coast" is actually the original pre-Auerbach version, but there's no confirmation of that.

Like others here have said, no one can predict the future. But I sure hope she will stay in the business and keep making music for a long time to come. She has talent! Gaga has talent, too (her Julie Andrews tribute during the Oscars recently is proof enough of that)... Lorde has talent, lots of people have talent. I suspect Gaga will be remembered more than Lana due to her flamboyancy. But Lana has a unique style, and it's something I'll listen to for a long, long time.