MOSCOW -- The scalpers were out in force next to Moscow's Luzhniki stadium at Michael Jackson's ground-breaking concert there Wednesday evening. But unlike ticket touts the world over, these men weren't out to make a profit.
'I don't want to go,' said Ivan, wrinkling his nose at the driving rain. He had bought his ticket for $11 but was selling it for a dollar less. 'I can't stand in the drizzle all night.'
Hundreds of other concert-goers hawking their tickets by the stadium gates next to puddles felt the same way.
The Russian press said Jackson was unlikely to cancel his Moscow concert due to dehydration, the way he did in Hong Kong and Bangkok -- and they were right. In Moscow Wednesday night the problem was too much water, not too little.
'It's like ice up here!' cried the 35-year-old 'King of Pop,' his breath billowing in clouds in the chilly September air as he greeted the 70,000 fans filling out Moscow's biggest stadium.
The crowd knew too well what he meant. Jackson had kept them waiting two full hours in the drizzle and cold before emerging onto Luzhniki stage.
'This is so badly organized,' said Jackson fan Natasha Frolova, a designer. 'Why did they bank on good weather in Moscow? They must've been mad! It should have been under cover. I was ready to go home by the time he came on.'
But the anger was quick to pass. Russians are suckers for a fireworks display, and Jackson's 'Dangerous' show hit off with a profusion of pyrotechnics. Each explosion, flare and flame was greeted with a squeal of delight and applause from the crowd.
The pop legend's Moscow concert, with its 200 tons of equipment, two enormous video screens, 168 amplifiers and 4 electricity generators, was the most sophisticated rock concert Russians have ever seen. Moscow hasn't experienced anything like it since the Scorpions played here four years ago.
Businessmen Vadim Aleksandrov and Kostya Golovanov, young and proud in trenchcoats and Italian suits, were glad they shelled out $90 a piece for tickets -- twice the average Russian's monthly salary.
'It's definitely worth it,' said Vadim. 'It's not like anything I've ever seen. Such quality, such great sound ... It's amazing.'
The performance was certainly a far cry from the tawdriness of most Russian pop.
Jackson shimmied, stalked, swaggered and strutted across the stage like a consummate showman. He was his crotch-grabbing, heel-shaking, high-kicking best, and the crowd loved him.
The pop star's repertoire spanned 19 years, stretching from the 1972 Jackson Five hit 'I Want You Back' to the title track of his 1991 album 'Dangerous.' But fans reserved their most ecstatic applause for classics like 'Billy Jean,' 'Black or White' and 'Thriller.'
Jackson's world tour has been dogged by child molestation allegations levelled at him back home in California, but his Russian admirers laughed off the claims. A 13-year-old boy filed a law suit in a Los Angeles court Tuesday against the pop star relating to allegations the boy made to police that Jackson molested him.
'It's just people trying to speculate on his name,' said Tatyana Vasilieva, a chambermaid at Moscow's Metropol Hotel, where the star is staying in a $1,500-a night deluxe room. 'He must feel terrible. We are all so sorry for him.'
'But I do wish he'd performed indoors,' Vasilieva added, buttoning up her coat as the rain started up again.
