My Great Adventure: Day Four, Part 3
Oct. 8th, 2017 01:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
outsdrI saw Marie first. Lovely as always, she draws the eye whenever she's in the room.
"You have a painting of you in your attic that's getting older, don't you?" I asked. With her was Mark, his brother, Doc was there, and I believe this was when I first met Heath, as well as Michael and Kim.
There was a brick sort of table, with a fire running down the middle. Marian sat on one side, with Alexandra to his right, and Carsten to his left, if I remember correctly. Christian sat at a more traditional table with David and Jakob.
It's always nice to meet and interact with other fans.
I'd been carrying around a manila envelope since Albuquerque, and I welcomed the chance to finally pass it on to Marian. I didn't need to tell him what it was; he knew immediately it was some more of my writing. He looked excited as I handed it to him, and pulled me in and gave me an air kiss on either side of my face.
I'm pretty sure I blushed a little.
He opened the envelope, and I told him there was also a present in there for him. "Oh, I like presents!" he said, and everyone laughed. He pulled out a copy of The Crow, by James O'Barr. I'd asked him in Chicago if he'd ever read it, and he had not, although he was familiar with the movie. I told him it had been a big influence on me, so I figured I'd bring two of my influences together.
As he was flipping through it, a picture fell out. He picked it up., a picture from Chicago of him, me, and DC that I'd printed out and signed, "Thanks for Everything!" Marian showed it to Alexandra, and they laughed. I also had a copy I had him sign for DC, and one for myself as well.
I had a few other things for him to sign as well, including one of the oldest collectibles I have. Marian laughed when he saw it. He pointed to his picture. "Look!" he told Alexandra, "I used to look like that!"
I explained how I'd received that when I was in college, and I'd made a copy of it and sent it back, but it was returned undelivered, and I'd kept it ever since.
Marian marveled at it for a bit, telling us how he put it all together himself, or at least he'd picked out the artwork, he couldn't remember. He also compared his signature to the one from 25 years ago.
Next, I asked him to please sign the 45 of my favorite Alphaville song:
Finally, I pulled out one more item, and looked at Marian.
"I'm really hoping this will make you laugh," I said, hesitantly sliding it to him.
Indeed, he did laugh. "You can put whatever you want on that, too!" I said.
And so he did:
"I love it!" says devil Marian.
I wandered over to where Christian, Jakob and David were sitting, to let David know it was his night to sign the Strange Attractor booklet. I'd also gotten Alexandra to resign it on her page, and then I surprised Christian by asking him to sign it. "Oh no, no ... you don't want me to sign that. Why?"
"You're an important part of all this. You're important to the fans."
Gruffly, he signed the booklet, but I think he was secretly pleased.
I thought it fitting for him to sign opposite the page that states "A splendid time is guaranteed for all."
I returned to the gathering around Marian, and someone (Heath? It's blurry) offered me his chair, which I gratefully accepted. Marian was recounting a story of an encounter with a fan ...
"'Marian' he shouted at me," said Marian, "'You're not gay! Marian, you're not gay!' Well, no, I told him. 'You have daughters! You're not gay' And I just looked at him, and he said, 'All the other singers of the bands I like turned out to be gay, and you're not'" Marian finished with a laugh, shaking his head. "He was so excited!"
"Well, you still could be," said Mark.
"He has seven children!" I exclaimed, looking incredulously at Mark.
"It could be a long con," Mark said. "That's a really, really deep cover story for a con!" I said, and we all laughed.
Marian began to tease Marie for being so quiet. "You used to make great conversations! he said.
"I just don't have much to say!" protested Marie.
"He makes great conversations," Marian said, pointing at me. "Now, you're so quiet over there."
Marie just smiled. I was amazed that my incoherent babbling in Chicago had somehow managed to sum up to a conversation.
More talk happened around me, lost now in the mists in my head, leaving me now with warm memories of camaraderie and contentment. Christian came over and announced it was time to return to the venue to get ready, gathering the band around him and ushering them out. The fans made tentative plans to regroup at the bar again after the show, and I asked if anyone had heard yet from Felipe, but no one had. We agreed to continue to keep an eye out for him.
On the way back, I passed a gentleman sitting on the sidewalk with his two companions. He graciously allowed me to take their picture.
Koty, Anna Bell, and a friendly stranger.
I had an usher help me find my seat, and discovered to my delight I was sitting immediately behind Doc and Kim! During the legendary Salt Lake City shows, I'd had the pleasure of sharing a hotel room with Doc, so it was nice to spend time with him again.
Doc is in the black Alphaville shirt, and Kim is to his right.
I knew we were in for an interesting night when the group in front of Doc turned out to include a gentleman who'd had far too much to drink, was very much enjoying himself, and didn't care who told him to calm down a little.
Cute, but boy did he get annoying fast. At least he was enjoying himself.
I'd let everyone know to anticipate "Mr. Nevermore" which continued to blow me away. It's rare that I enjoy a live version of a song more than the studio recording, but I love the concert arrangement of this song!
It was interesting to watch the crowd's reaction to the songs and the music. The audience, exuberant and free, watched along. Many danced in the aisles, keeping the ushers busy.
I was delighted by the reactions to "Houseful of Ghosts" and "Around the Universe". I knew Doc was really looking forward to that one, but the crowd really enjoyed it as well. Pessimistic me, I had been anticipating people standing around in silence whenever something from the first two albums was performed, but I was wonderfully mistaken.
Everyone in the audience really enjoyed themselves, especially the drunk people in front of Doc who were (thankfully) eventually escorted out.
I still wonder if Tobi had a hand in the background video for Monkey in the Moon; it certainly looked like his work!
All too soon, the show came to an end.
Once again, I'd been blown away by the way Jakob played his drums with his hands during "Beyond the Laughing Sky". Talking to him about it later, he told me he'd been inspired to do it that way by John Bonham.
I managed to find Mark and Marie in the lobby after the show, and to my delight, Russ Harvey was with them:
I took a picture of him as he took a picture of them
Once more I embarked on my quest for the venue poster. Once again, the staff were amazing, and with their help and a few tense moments trying to get the locks open after finally finding the key, the poster was mine! They were even kind enough to give me some rubber bands to keep it rolled.
It was bigger than I had expected, and incredibly sturdy. The paper was so thick, it felt like vinyl.
One of the best moments happened when the staff and I walked back in through the doors, because passing right in front of me was
"Felipe!" I shouted. "Tim!" he shouted back, in his Brazilian accent. Funny how we instantly recognized each other, even though we were meeting for the first time. That happens a lot with fans, I've found. We all seem to just sort of instinctively recognize our own kind.
Felipe was off to the after show meet and greet, but I promised to come and find him before leaving the venue.
He's the second blur from the left.
Somehow, I managed to not get any photos of him and I together, or with any of my other friends who were there. This happens so often, I'm surprised anyone believes me, and that I'm not just taking random pictures of people and claiming I know them.
We headed toward the Continental. We met Doc there, paid our cover, and made our way inside.
I didn't even know what time it was. Midnight? 10 pm? The bar was packed. Somehow, we found our way back to the patio again, carefully keeping my hard-won poster from being crushed. Everyone was hanging out where we'd been earlier, but conversation was no longer possible due to the loud music being played.
I texted Marie: "I THINK I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS KIND OF CROWD"
Marie replied: "I THINK I ALWAYS WAS!"
I hung out a bit, enjoying the company if not my surroundings. Michael had offered me a place to stay in his hotel room for the night, going so far as also offering me a ride to Burbank in the morning for the next show. I was definitely tempted; the few days I'd had at home hadn't been quite enough to recover from my previous weekend's adventures, and I was weary from waking so early that morning. In the end, I turned him down, out of fear that if I didn't take the next leg of my booked flight, my flight home from LA would be cancelled by the airline.
After a short time, the bar scene became too much for me, and I made my goodbyes and headed for the train. I passed Christopher Anton and The Joneses coming the other way from the venue. "Did you get the poster?" Donna Jean asked as we passed.
"I did!" I said, holding it up triumphantly.
"Good!" she called back. "You deserve it!"
"See you in LA!" I shouted, as I hurried to the train platform.
Turned out, I needn't have hurried- the trains were slower at night, and mine wasn't scheduled for another 45 minutes.
I sat on the bench, thinking back over the evening, watching the others waiting for their train as well. A boy, maybe 14, was wheeling around the platform on his scooter.
I wandered down the platform a bit, standing to myself, reading the maps and killing time.
"Hey! Mister!"
I looked around. Scooter boy was pointing at me.
"Do you know how to tie a tie?" I watched as he fumbled with the tie I hadn't noticed earlier, failing to form any sort of knot.
"Sure," I said, hoping this wasn't about to turn into the most embarrassing mugging ever. I looped the tie around my neck, with just enough left to form a knot. I closed my eyes, pictured a mirror, and let my hands work themselves. I barely slipped the tie over my head, but the knot held, and I handed it over to him.
"Thanks!" he said. "I promise I won't undo it again." He scooted off down the platform with a smile.
Finally, my train pulled in, and everyone left at the station boarded.
It smelled like pee.
I stared into the night and the city as the train tracked along, waving unseen at scooter boy and his knotted tie when he got off at his stop, kicking away on his scooter.
Eventually, my own stop arrived, and I stepped out into the muggy night air, refreshingly pee free. I crossed the street to the shuttle bus stop, checking the schedule for the bus that would return me to the airport ...
Which wouldn't come for five more hours.
I stood there, debating what to do. Should I walk the mile or two it would take to reach the airport? Wait it out for five hours at the bus stop?"
"WONDER WOMAN!!!"
I jumped, startled, and looked back at the train platform across the street where the shout had come from.
"WONDER WOMAN!!! WISH BONE!!!""
"WATERMELON!!!" A solitary man shuffled out of the night, singing out words tunelessly as he checked ash trays and trash cans. Every word he sang started with the letter W. I felt like I'd wandered onto the side of Sesame Street no one ever sees. I certainly didn't want to wait out the night at the bus stop now, especially since Wonder Woman had yet to show.
Luckily, I'd installed both the Uber and Lyft apps on my phone before the trip, although I'd never used either before. Lyft was significantly cheaper, and after a few minutes my ride had arrived. We drove towards the airport, leaving faint cries of "WINDSHIELD!" behind.
"You have a painting of you in your attic that's getting older, don't you?" I asked. With her was Mark, his brother, Doc was there, and I believe this was when I first met Heath, as well as Michael and Kim.
There was a brick sort of table, with a fire running down the middle. Marian sat on one side, with Alexandra to his right, and Carsten to his left, if I remember correctly. Christian sat at a more traditional table with David and Jakob.
It's always nice to meet and interact with other fans.
I'd been carrying around a manila envelope since Albuquerque, and I welcomed the chance to finally pass it on to Marian. I didn't need to tell him what it was; he knew immediately it was some more of my writing. He looked excited as I handed it to him, and pulled me in and gave me an air kiss on either side of my face.
I'm pretty sure I blushed a little.
He opened the envelope, and I told him there was also a present in there for him. "Oh, I like presents!" he said, and everyone laughed. He pulled out a copy of The Crow, by James O'Barr. I'd asked him in Chicago if he'd ever read it, and he had not, although he was familiar with the movie. I told him it had been a big influence on me, so I figured I'd bring two of my influences together.
As he was flipping through it, a picture fell out. He picked it up., a picture from Chicago of him, me, and DC that I'd printed out and signed, "Thanks for Everything!" Marian showed it to Alexandra, and they laughed. I also had a copy I had him sign for DC, and one for myself as well.
I had a few other things for him to sign as well, including one of the oldest collectibles I have. Marian laughed when he saw it. He pointed to his picture. "Look!" he told Alexandra, "I used to look like that!"
I explained how I'd received that when I was in college, and I'd made a copy of it and sent it back, but it was returned undelivered, and I'd kept it ever since.
Marian marveled at it for a bit, telling us how he put it all together himself, or at least he'd picked out the artwork, he couldn't remember. He also compared his signature to the one from 25 years ago.
Next, I asked him to please sign the 45 of my favorite Alphaville song:
Finally, I pulled out one more item, and looked at Marian.
"I'm really hoping this will make you laugh," I said, hesitantly sliding it to him.
Indeed, he did laugh. "You can put whatever you want on that, too!" I said.
And so he did:
"I love it!" says devil Marian.
I wandered over to where Christian, Jakob and David were sitting, to let David know it was his night to sign the Strange Attractor booklet. I'd also gotten Alexandra to resign it on her page, and then I surprised Christian by asking him to sign it. "Oh no, no ... you don't want me to sign that. Why?"
"You're an important part of all this. You're important to the fans."
Gruffly, he signed the booklet, but I think he was secretly pleased.
I thought it fitting for him to sign opposite the page that states "A splendid time is guaranteed for all."
I returned to the gathering around Marian, and someone (Heath? It's blurry) offered me his chair, which I gratefully accepted. Marian was recounting a story of an encounter with a fan ...
"'Marian' he shouted at me," said Marian, "'You're not gay! Marian, you're not gay!' Well, no, I told him. 'You have daughters! You're not gay' And I just looked at him, and he said, 'All the other singers of the bands I like turned out to be gay, and you're not'" Marian finished with a laugh, shaking his head. "He was so excited!"
"Well, you still could be," said Mark.
"He has seven children!" I exclaimed, looking incredulously at Mark.
"It could be a long con," Mark said. "That's a really, really deep cover story for a con!" I said, and we all laughed.
Marian began to tease Marie for being so quiet. "You used to make great conversations! he said.
"I just don't have much to say!" protested Marie.
"He makes great conversations," Marian said, pointing at me. "Now, you're so quiet over there."
Marie just smiled. I was amazed that my incoherent babbling in Chicago had somehow managed to sum up to a conversation.
More talk happened around me, lost now in the mists in my head, leaving me now with warm memories of camaraderie and contentment. Christian came over and announced it was time to return to the venue to get ready, gathering the band around him and ushering them out. The fans made tentative plans to regroup at the bar again after the show, and I asked if anyone had heard yet from Felipe, but no one had. We agreed to continue to keep an eye out for him.
On the way back, I passed a gentleman sitting on the sidewalk with his two companions. He graciously allowed me to take their picture.
Koty, Anna Bell, and a friendly stranger.
I had an usher help me find my seat, and discovered to my delight I was sitting immediately behind Doc and Kim! During the legendary Salt Lake City shows, I'd had the pleasure of sharing a hotel room with Doc, so it was nice to spend time with him again.
Doc is in the black Alphaville shirt, and Kim is to his right.
I knew we were in for an interesting night when the group in front of Doc turned out to include a gentleman who'd had far too much to drink, was very much enjoying himself, and didn't care who told him to calm down a little.
Cute, but boy did he get annoying fast. At least he was enjoying himself.
I'd let everyone know to anticipate "Mr. Nevermore" which continued to blow me away. It's rare that I enjoy a live version of a song more than the studio recording, but I love the concert arrangement of this song!
It was interesting to watch the crowd's reaction to the songs and the music. The audience, exuberant and free, watched along. Many danced in the aisles, keeping the ushers busy.
I was delighted by the reactions to "Houseful of Ghosts" and "Around the Universe". I knew Doc was really looking forward to that one, but the crowd really enjoyed it as well. Pessimistic me, I had been anticipating people standing around in silence whenever something from the first two albums was performed, but I was wonderfully mistaken.
Everyone in the audience really enjoyed themselves, especially the drunk people in front of Doc who were (thankfully) eventually escorted out.
I still wonder if Tobi had a hand in the background video for Monkey in the Moon; it certainly looked like his work!
All too soon, the show came to an end.
Once again, I'd been blown away by the way Jakob played his drums with his hands during "Beyond the Laughing Sky". Talking to him about it later, he told me he'd been inspired to do it that way by John Bonham.
I managed to find Mark and Marie in the lobby after the show, and to my delight, Russ Harvey was with them:
I took a picture of him as he took a picture of them
Once more I embarked on my quest for the venue poster. Once again, the staff were amazing, and with their help and a few tense moments trying to get the locks open after finally finding the key, the poster was mine! They were even kind enough to give me some rubber bands to keep it rolled.
It was bigger than I had expected, and incredibly sturdy. The paper was so thick, it felt like vinyl.
One of the best moments happened when the staff and I walked back in through the doors, because passing right in front of me was
"Felipe!" I shouted. "Tim!" he shouted back, in his Brazilian accent. Funny how we instantly recognized each other, even though we were meeting for the first time. That happens a lot with fans, I've found. We all seem to just sort of instinctively recognize our own kind.
Felipe was off to the after show meet and greet, but I promised to come and find him before leaving the venue.
He's the second blur from the left.
Somehow, I managed to not get any photos of him and I together, or with any of my other friends who were there. This happens so often, I'm surprised anyone believes me, and that I'm not just taking random pictures of people and claiming I know them.
We headed toward the Continental. We met Doc there, paid our cover, and made our way inside.
I didn't even know what time it was. Midnight? 10 pm? The bar was packed. Somehow, we found our way back to the patio again, carefully keeping my hard-won poster from being crushed. Everyone was hanging out where we'd been earlier, but conversation was no longer possible due to the loud music being played.
I texted Marie: "I THINK I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS KIND OF CROWD"
Marie replied: "I THINK I ALWAYS WAS!"
I hung out a bit, enjoying the company if not my surroundings. Michael had offered me a place to stay in his hotel room for the night, going so far as also offering me a ride to Burbank in the morning for the next show. I was definitely tempted; the few days I'd had at home hadn't been quite enough to recover from my previous weekend's adventures, and I was weary from waking so early that morning. In the end, I turned him down, out of fear that if I didn't take the next leg of my booked flight, my flight home from LA would be cancelled by the airline.
After a short time, the bar scene became too much for me, and I made my goodbyes and headed for the train. I passed Christopher Anton and The Joneses coming the other way from the venue. "Did you get the poster?" Donna Jean asked as we passed.
"I did!" I said, holding it up triumphantly.
"Good!" she called back. "You deserve it!"
"See you in LA!" I shouted, as I hurried to the train platform.
Turned out, I needn't have hurried- the trains were slower at night, and mine wasn't scheduled for another 45 minutes.
I sat on the bench, thinking back over the evening, watching the others waiting for their train as well. A boy, maybe 14, was wheeling around the platform on his scooter.
I wandered down the platform a bit, standing to myself, reading the maps and killing time.
"Hey! Mister!"
I looked around. Scooter boy was pointing at me.
"Do you know how to tie a tie?" I watched as he fumbled with the tie I hadn't noticed earlier, failing to form any sort of knot.
"Sure," I said, hoping this wasn't about to turn into the most embarrassing mugging ever. I looped the tie around my neck, with just enough left to form a knot. I closed my eyes, pictured a mirror, and let my hands work themselves. I barely slipped the tie over my head, but the knot held, and I handed it over to him.
"Thanks!" he said. "I promise I won't undo it again." He scooted off down the platform with a smile.
Finally, my train pulled in, and everyone left at the station boarded.
It smelled like pee.
I stared into the night and the city as the train tracked along, waving unseen at scooter boy and his knotted tie when he got off at his stop, kicking away on his scooter.
Eventually, my own stop arrived, and I stepped out into the muggy night air, refreshingly pee free. I crossed the street to the shuttle bus stop, checking the schedule for the bus that would return me to the airport ...
Which wouldn't come for five more hours.
I stood there, debating what to do. Should I walk the mile or two it would take to reach the airport? Wait it out for five hours at the bus stop?"
"WONDER WOMAN!!!"
I jumped, startled, and looked back at the train platform across the street where the shout had come from.
"WONDER WOMAN!!! WISH BONE!!!""
"WATERMELON!!!" A solitary man shuffled out of the night, singing out words tunelessly as he checked ash trays and trash cans. Every word he sang started with the letter W. I felt like I'd wandered onto the side of Sesame Street no one ever sees. I certainly didn't want to wait out the night at the bus stop now, especially since Wonder Woman had yet to show.
Luckily, I'd installed both the Uber and Lyft apps on my phone before the trip, although I'd never used either before. Lyft was significantly cheaper, and after a few minutes my ride had arrived. We drove towards the airport, leaving faint cries of "WINDSHIELD!" behind.
