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outsdrMay 25th, 2018
(Standard disclaimer: My memory sucks. I'll very likely leave out events and forget names. My apologies. Plus, I write really, really slowly.)
I woke up and got ready for the day. I'd slept reasonably well, even though the air conditioner didn't seem to keep the room as cool as it was set for- maybe my excitement was keeping my temperature up!
I limped my way downstairs. I didn't have any plans for the morning; I knew at some point Brady needed my help again, keeping an eye out for people arriving and helping them as needed, and my friend Mike Schwartz was going to be arriving as well. We'd be sharing the room, and I was looking forward to seeing him again. I'd seen him at some of the concerts the previous summer, but before that, it hadn't been since Salt Lake City.
Thinking back on Salt Lake City, I had trouble believing that anything could top that experience. Even so, I had no trouble believing that if anyone could pull it off, it would be Brady and Vahe.
I limped my way down to the 1st floor and looked for somewhere to get something to eat. I wandered around the first five floors, which reminded me of a mall in decline- many empty store fronts, spread out randomly. I didn't find any place that looked like I'd be able to have a proper breakfast, and I didn't feel like having pizza that early in the day, so I made my way back downstairs and got a scone, a yogurt and a coffee at the bar.
Vahe showed up, and mentioned the crew was going to leave soon to head to the Whiskey a Go-go to start setting up. They were outside waiting for the Ubers to show up. I tagged along as he went outside to check on them. Ingo, Reiner, and Kristoff stood with the racks of equipment. I didn't see Ricky. Presently, black SUVs showed up, and the equipment was stowed and they were all on their way.
Back inside, I spotted some of the band over in the hotel restaurant, and wandered over to join them.
(At this point, I just have to reflect on how incredible my life is at this moment- that I can hang out with the band that's been my favorite since I first heard them 34 years ago, and that I'm on a first name basis with them! It's amazing, and I don't think the feeling will ever become commonplace.)
Just like in most of my wonderful times, this is where my memory fails. I joined David, Carsten, and Christian at their table, and had some more coffee.
David mentioned to me (after chiding me on my terrible attempt at a British accent) that they'd be playing my song tomorrow night.
My song. I got a chill when he said it, just as I had when I read a recent interview Marian had done for "Sing my Song", where he said I Die For You Today is one of his favorite songs! Unbelievable.
Claudia, Jakob, Tobi, Alex, Christian, and some ugly groupie photobombing.
Christian left, and Tobi joined us, and I had more coffee. I switched tables, and joined Bernhard and Amber, and had more coffee, as well as taking one of my favorite pictures of the entire weekend...
I was still hesitant around Bernhard. As the saying goes, one never gets a second chance to make a first impression ... and mine certainly hadn't been good, at least in my eyes! Bernhard, however, is known for being gracious with his fans. In fact, one came up to get a picture with him while we sat there, and when they finished, I asked Amber if she'd mind taking one of Bernhard and I together, and asked Bernhard if he'd oblige. He agreed, and I knelt down by him ...
"But what should I do?" he asked.
"Oh, just look German," I replied.
And so, I got the picture of my life with the most German German I've ever met, being very German.
David wandered over. "Are you going to play with us tonight?" he asked Bernhard.
Bernhard gave him a German stare. "Did I rehearse with you?" he replied.
Somehow Bernhard looked down at David, even though Bernhard was sitting and David was standing over him.
"Well, no ... " said David, and Bernhard just turned away. David smiled and wandered off. He later told me that he'd actually played on stage with Bernhard before, in Paris, I think he said.
Alex arrived, and Claudia, and Marian and Anna. I joined them and had more coffee. Vahe arrived while I was still drinking coffee. Jakob joined Tobi's table. Brady called me and said he had a few more things to do and then he'd come down and join us, after coffee. Mike called me and said he was on his way, expecting to arrive around noon. He had not yet had coffee.
The statuary had girl boobs!
Everyone ate so neatly, their knives and forks wielded in precision, perfectly cut pieces of food eaten just so. I felt like a barbarian witnessing the refined manners of Rome.
Marian and Bernhard moved tables to sit, eat, and talk. Brady arrived, and the gathering took on a summer camp feel, like all the counselors getting together before the campers arrived.
Mike arrived at the hotel, checked in and came to our group. Brady let us know he had us on "cat herder" duty - we'd be gathering everyone together who stayed at the hotel, and make sure they were on the bus to the Whiskey a go-go when it left. He also wanted us to be on the look out for guests as they arrived, to help as needed or answer questions.
No problem.
The group started to break up a little, and Brady and Mike and I hung out together. I occasionally got up to check for fellow fans arriving, and time began to collapse as the afternoon folded around us.
Before Marian left, I was able to give him what I had been putting the finishing touches on in the bar the day before while hanging out with Amber ...
After the show in Chicago the previous summer, Marian had told me that one of the things he wanted to do one day was to have each person in the band perform a song on an album, like the Beatles. That had given me an idea, and the next weekend, after the show in LA, I gave him a song I'd written for each of them - David, Alex, Carsten, and Jakob.
(Which no one knows about, because I never finished and posted my LA show concert write up!)
If you spotted who was left out in the list above, you did better than I, because it wasn't until about a month after the shows that I realized I hadn't written a song for Marian! Now, I was able to make that error correct, as I gave him my latest silly dittiness, "Shaman Smile".
Brady took Mike and I to the pool area where the fans would gather before the bus ride to the show, then took us to where the bus would be waiting. After, Mike and I went up to our room to get ready, and I took the chance to rest my foot for a bit as he and I caught up on life.
4:30 was approaching rapidly, so I changed into my concert clothes and Mike and I headed to the gathering. As we reached the lobby, we ran into Russ Harvey and Therese Heintz trying to get their badges from the hotel, but the hotel couldn't find them ... a quick call to Brady and we determined they were waiting for them at the club.
At the pool area were many faces I didn't know, plus a few I did ... Mark and Tim from the previous night, Mark and Marie ... I stood and asked everyone to mingle and get to know each other (and inadvertently posed for an amusing photo with my arms spread out and the sun behind me), then we all made small talk and excited chatter for an hour, before we made our way like a group of ducklings down to the bus ... next stop, the famous Whiskey A-G-Go!
Part 2 coming ... uh, soon.
(Standard disclaimer: My memory sucks. I'll very likely leave out events and forget names. My apologies. Plus, I write really, really slowly.)
I woke up and got ready for the day. I'd slept reasonably well, even though the air conditioner didn't seem to keep the room as cool as it was set for- maybe my excitement was keeping my temperature up!
I limped my way downstairs. I didn't have any plans for the morning; I knew at some point Brady needed my help again, keeping an eye out for people arriving and helping them as needed, and my friend Mike Schwartz was going to be arriving as well. We'd be sharing the room, and I was looking forward to seeing him again. I'd seen him at some of the concerts the previous summer, but before that, it hadn't been since Salt Lake City.
Thinking back on Salt Lake City, I had trouble believing that anything could top that experience. Even so, I had no trouble believing that if anyone could pull it off, it would be Brady and Vahe.
I limped my way down to the 1st floor and looked for somewhere to get something to eat. I wandered around the first five floors, which reminded me of a mall in decline- many empty store fronts, spread out randomly. I didn't find any place that looked like I'd be able to have a proper breakfast, and I didn't feel like having pizza that early in the day, so I made my way back downstairs and got a scone, a yogurt and a coffee at the bar.
Vahe showed up, and mentioned the crew was going to leave soon to head to the Whiskey a Go-go to start setting up. They were outside waiting for the Ubers to show up. I tagged along as he went outside to check on them. Ingo, Reiner, and Kristoff stood with the racks of equipment. I didn't see Ricky. Presently, black SUVs showed up, and the equipment was stowed and they were all on their way.
Back inside, I spotted some of the band over in the hotel restaurant, and wandered over to join them.
(At this point, I just have to reflect on how incredible my life is at this moment- that I can hang out with the band that's been my favorite since I first heard them 34 years ago, and that I'm on a first name basis with them! It's amazing, and I don't think the feeling will ever become commonplace.)
Just like in most of my wonderful times, this is where my memory fails. I joined David, Carsten, and Christian at their table, and had some more coffee.
David mentioned to me (after chiding me on my terrible attempt at a British accent) that they'd be playing my song tomorrow night.
My song. I got a chill when he said it, just as I had when I read a recent interview Marian had done for "Sing my Song", where he said I Die For You Today is one of his favorite songs! Unbelievable.
Claudia, Jakob, Tobi, Alex, Christian, and some ugly groupie photobombing.
Christian left, and Tobi joined us, and I had more coffee. I switched tables, and joined Bernhard and Amber, and had more coffee, as well as taking one of my favorite pictures of the entire weekend...
I was still hesitant around Bernhard. As the saying goes, one never gets a second chance to make a first impression ... and mine certainly hadn't been good, at least in my eyes! Bernhard, however, is known for being gracious with his fans. In fact, one came up to get a picture with him while we sat there, and when they finished, I asked Amber if she'd mind taking one of Bernhard and I together, and asked Bernhard if he'd oblige. He agreed, and I knelt down by him ...
"But what should I do?" he asked.
"Oh, just look German," I replied.
And so, I got the picture of my life with the most German German I've ever met, being very German.
David wandered over. "Are you going to play with us tonight?" he asked Bernhard.
Bernhard gave him a German stare. "Did I rehearse with you?" he replied.
Somehow Bernhard looked down at David, even though Bernhard was sitting and David was standing over him.
"Well, no ... " said David, and Bernhard just turned away. David smiled and wandered off. He later told me that he'd actually played on stage with Bernhard before, in Paris, I think he said.
Alex arrived, and Claudia, and Marian and Anna. I joined them and had more coffee. Vahe arrived while I was still drinking coffee. Jakob joined Tobi's table. Brady called me and said he had a few more things to do and then he'd come down and join us, after coffee. Mike called me and said he was on his way, expecting to arrive around noon. He had not yet had coffee.
The statuary had girl boobs!
Everyone ate so neatly, their knives and forks wielded in precision, perfectly cut pieces of food eaten just so. I felt like a barbarian witnessing the refined manners of Rome.
Marian and Bernhard moved tables to sit, eat, and talk. Brady arrived, and the gathering took on a summer camp feel, like all the counselors getting together before the campers arrived.
Mike arrived at the hotel, checked in and came to our group. Brady let us know he had us on "cat herder" duty - we'd be gathering everyone together who stayed at the hotel, and make sure they were on the bus to the Whiskey a go-go when it left. He also wanted us to be on the look out for guests as they arrived, to help as needed or answer questions.
No problem.
The group started to break up a little, and Brady and Mike and I hung out together. I occasionally got up to check for fellow fans arriving, and time began to collapse as the afternoon folded around us.
Before Marian left, I was able to give him what I had been putting the finishing touches on in the bar the day before while hanging out with Amber ...
After the show in Chicago the previous summer, Marian had told me that one of the things he wanted to do one day was to have each person in the band perform a song on an album, like the Beatles. That had given me an idea, and the next weekend, after the show in LA, I gave him a song I'd written for each of them - David, Alex, Carsten, and Jakob.
(Which no one knows about, because I never finished and posted my LA show concert write up!)
If you spotted who was left out in the list above, you did better than I, because it wasn't until about a month after the shows that I realized I hadn't written a song for Marian! Now, I was able to make that error correct, as I gave him my latest silly dittiness, "Shaman Smile".
Brady took Mike and I to the pool area where the fans would gather before the bus ride to the show, then took us to where the bus would be waiting. After, Mike and I went up to our room to get ready, and I took the chance to rest my foot for a bit as he and I caught up on life.
4:30 was approaching rapidly, so I changed into my concert clothes and Mike and I headed to the gathering. As we reached the lobby, we ran into Russ Harvey and Therese Heintz trying to get their badges from the hotel, but the hotel couldn't find them ... a quick call to Brady and we determined they were waiting for them at the club.
At the pool area were many faces I didn't know, plus a few I did ... Mark and Tim from the previous night, Mark and Marie ... I stood and asked everyone to mingle and get to know each other (and inadvertently posed for an amusing photo with my arms spread out and the sun behind me), then we all made small talk and excited chatter for an hour, before we made our way like a group of ducklings down to the bus ... next stop, the famous Whiskey A-G-Go!
Part 2 coming ... uh, soon.
