My Great Adventure: Day Two
Aug. 27th, 2017 10:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
outsdr
Already, my memories are getting jumbled. I apologize if I leave anything, or anyone, out.
I passed through TSA at the airport, grabbed something to eat (I forget what) and made my way to my gate. I was worried, because once I landed in Charlotte, NC, I only had 20 minutes to make it to my connecting flight in the next terminal.
My flight began boarding, and soon we were in the air. I did my best to doze, but as always when traveling by plane, resting was difficult. I listened to some music, thought back on the previous night's show, and hoped I didn't smell too badly.
After the show the night before, I'd paid $2 to the gentleman attendant in the men's room to spritz me generously with his choice of the available colognes he had on hand. Now, I still got the occasional whiff of the pleasing scent. Regretfully, I didn't catch the name of the cologne. Gray roundish bottle, started with a P, maybe. Regardless, I was thankful for its longevity, as I'm sure were my fellow travelers.
(In retrospect, I hope he really was an attendant, and I didn't pay $2 to a perfect stranger to make me smell nice!)
We touched down in Charlotte a little before 8:50 am. I hit the gangplank running (ok, it was a fast walk) and made it to the next gate just as my group was called to begin boarding. Everyone quickly settled in, and after the usual wait, taxied to our position in line.
And sat there.
The pilot announced that we were returning to the gate, as the plane had a faulty proximity sensor. A different plane was being prepared.
I switched planes, and only two hours late, I finally took to the air in the direction of New York City.
I arrived in New York with plenty of time to find the venue before the show. I wandered around and spotted a small restaurant that advertised itself as "The food real New Yorkers eat!" I figured why not, as it's hard to go wrong with pizza, and ordered two slices of ham & pineapple.
The pizza turned out to be dry and overcooked, yet greasy some how. If this is what New Yorkers eat, it's no wonder they have a reputation for being angry.
I charged my phone while i was eating. The pizza was so greasy, I broke out the hand wipes in my travel bag, and used three of them just to clean up enough so that I could go and properly wash my hands.
Planning ahead, I'd packed a small, ragged washcloth and the shirt I wore under my Dreamscapes tour t-shirt was equally ragged. I threw away the under shirt, washed up with the washcloth and threw it in the trash as well, and finally brushed my teeth. Freshened, I felt like I was ready to take on the city.
I wandered around the airport, trying to find my way to the subway. The airport had its own subway; the airtrain, if I remember correctly. There were two of them, and I managed to get on the one that traveled in the direction away from my destination.
Good thing I enjoy riding trains.
I finally got myself heading in the right direction, and exited at the proper terminal to transfer to the subway itself. According to Google maps, I needed to take the C train into Manhattan, nearly to the end of the line.
I asked a woman and her daughter if the train that was arriving was going to Manhattan, and they said yes, so I decided I'd follow them. The train ended up at the Rockaway Beach, and everyone had to get off, because it was the final stop.
There was no beach, and I was not feeling confident in my travel decisions.
The woman and her daughter reassured me I would get to Manhattan, so I stuck close to them. Eventually, another train arrived, and everyone got on it. Google maps predicted the trip would take two hours, so I settled in, listened to music, and enjoyed the view.
The subway filled with more people at each stop it made. I gave my seat to a mother and her two young children, and stood for the rest of the ride. And what a ride it was! The people I saw ... I felt like I was traveling down an artery full of disparate life.
I was tired, but not terribly so. I watched people get on and off the train, and stared out that windows as the light and dark areas passed by, glimpsing occasionally the inner workings of the under city, and maybe the occasional Morlock.
I'm pretty sure I shared the ride with Moriarty, from Sherlock:
I arrived at my stop. Checking Google maps again, I saw that I needed to wander around for a number of blocks, and then I'd be at the venue. I left the subway station, and looked around to get my bearings. There, about half a block away, was the United Palace.
I made my way up the sidewalk towards the venue. The building became more amazing the closer I came.
Window chicken. Maybe this is what real New Yorkers eat!
I made my way across the street, again amazed at the variety of people there were. I'd expected large crowds, but the sidewalks were far from full, and the general atmosphere was remarkably relaxed.
I walked along the sidewalk, towards what I hoped would be the backstage entrance, when coming towards me was none other than Brady Harper! We recognized each other at the same time, gave each other a giant hug, and he introduced me to his wife and son. He told me Marco DeConno was already inside. I told him I was on my way to the backstage, and we'd catch up later.
The backstage entrance was easy to find; it was hard to miss the giant truck outside and the security guards. Talking to one of them, I found out that once again, my name wasn't on the backstage list. No worries - I reached out to my hero Claudia once again! She quickly got a hold of Christian, and he and tour promoter Vahe came out ... and gave me an all access pass!
Whoo-hoo!
They told me to take it to the front entrance, along with my ticket, and I could get in there.
I sent off a quick update to Claudia, thanking her for her help yet again, and made my way inside.
The interior took my breath away.
I don't think there is a bad seat in the place.
There was a heated discussion at one point between the crew and the venue manager (?) who was worried that the bass was going to shake apart the theater. Personally, I had doubts that Alphaville was the loudest band to ever play in the place, but what did I know?
I wandered around some more, and had some more coffee.
Engel does his best to grab a nap. Not only did I not blame him; I envied him!
I talked a bit with John, one of the roadies for the opening act, and told him about my troubles in Charlotte. Their flight from Houston had been a direct flight, and there weren't any problems. Their morning flight was leaving just as early as mine, too, but again, theirs was a direct flight. We both hoped mine would be uneventful this time.
I wanted to top off my phone's charge, but every time I plugged it in, I got an error message that there was water in the connector! This wasn't the best feeling ever, because without the phone, I wasn't sure how I'd continue on my trip without things being a lot harder. I discovered that my hand wipes had been squished so much during my travel from the airport, that they'd leaked over many of the things in my bag, including my charger. Nothing I could do but wait for it to dry out.
And eat some more of the cookies the caterers had put out. They were amazing.
It's time ... to pee.
I had an usher help me find my seat, as it was getting close to show time. People began to arrive.
During the opening act, I started exchanging texts with Mike Schwartz. I knew he was there, but I couldn't see him. Finally, I got him to look at just the right time, and catch me waving. After the opening act, he came over- the big giant pooh bear himself! I also made the acquaintance of Ed Steckley and his wife, from the mailing list. Marco buzzed by a few more times in between trips to the bar.
The lights dimmed, and it was time.
Once again, I lost myself in the songs.
I spent more time watching the band this time. The band's enjoyment was obvious.
The crowd loved them as well.
Except her.
While I couldn't see clearly in the dark, it looked like the venue was nearly full.
"I Die For You Today" began to play, and I let the song wash over me, and the incredible experience I was having. The night before, I'd been in such awe of hearing it live for the first time, that I hadn't felt anything else. It was different this time, though. Hearing the words I'd written years ago, remembering what led to them, what they were about, and wondering how the hell something this amazing had happened to me ... and it overwhelmed me. Maybe I was tired, but I lost my composure while I listened, tears openly running down. The song ended, and embarrassed, I sniffled a bit and hoped no one had noticed.
I focused on the band once more. They truly were enjoying themselves. Carsten showed more energy than I've ever seen in a synth artist; David playing like the old pro he is; Alexandra shredding every song; Jakob a whirling of arms, sweat, and hair.
The crowd loved every song.
Especially this one.
I was surprised when "Song for no one" wasn't played during the encore, like it had in Houston.
The set ended, again, with "Beyond the laughing sky" and I sniffled a little more. I was interested to notice that Jakob played the drums with only his hands for the first half of the song.
After the show, another gentleman from the mailing list introduced himself to me, but I regret to say that his name is now lost in the moldy crevasses of my memory. Was it another Ed? I cannot be sure, but it was a pleasure.
I made my way backstage again, and watched the meet and greet. Brady came by once more, and we talked a bit. At one point, we ran into Marian's daughter Lili, and Brady was telling her about seeing her in Salt Lake City all those years ago, even though he was sure she didn't remember. She said she remembered the city, and her father had even written a song about it!
Brady and I looked at each other, somewhat confused.
"You know!" she said, "Take the next train from self pity, it takes you straight to Salt Lake City ..." Brady and I cracked up laughing. Intentional or not, it was a great joke.
I also managed to completely confuse poor Carsten by telling him that Kaz said hello, not realizing they'd never met!
I talked to Vahe a bit, and thanked him again for being so accommodating. He thanked me for attending the show, and I told him I wouldn't have missed it for anything! He asked me if I was going to any of the other shows, and was astonished when I told him I'd be at them all.
It was later, I think, when I was talking to Brady and the others when we worked out that I was the only person we knew of that had been to every US show Alphaville had ever done. Well, there was one other person- Marian Gold himself!
After hanging out for a bit more, I said my goodbyes to everyone. Mike, Marco, and Brady would also be at the LA show, and we promised to meet up there, as well.
The rest of the night is a blur. I was exhausted, and running on adrenalin. At some point I made my way back to the subway. I bought another ticket, just as confused as I had been before- by the time I made my way back to the airport, I think I probably spent twice as much on the subways as I needed to!
My phone was so low, I didn't dare turn it on, just in case i wasn't able to charge it at the airport. I don't even know what time I made it back, but as I walked around, I actually found one lone news stand still open. Hardly believing it to be true, I bought the largest coffee he had and two pastries. I was famished.
I found a spot to sit with a few other late-night arrivals. Even better, I found an unused power outlet! I quickly plugged in my phone, and to my relief, it began to charge.
Just me, my coffee, and my boots. I listened to some music, made some updates to Facebook, sent an email to the mailing list, and dozed a bit on the cold floor.
Once again, my flight was leaving at 5 am, with another connecting flight in Charlotte. At 3:30, I stumbled my way to the security check point, ready to make my way to Chicago, and the next stop of my great adventure.
