Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Yup - Hell has finally frozen over!
**My brother's 42 birthday - damn he's getting old! LOL**
Exercise: None - I took a nap so I could catch up on the sleep I missed over the weekend.
So I ended up going to see Bryan Adams and Def Leppard in Davenport, IA even though I originally said I was going to give it (and the tour itself) a miss. It's all thanks to the arm twisters a.k.a. The Bitchy Babe and The South Side Boyfriend. In the end, I was glad I went but I should have known when I discovered I forgot to grab my Best Of CD I brought for autographs out of the car before we left things weren't going to go smoothly.
We arrived at John O'Donnell Stadium around 5pm I think it was - about an hour later than we intended to. The line was a mile long at that point and we sort of wondered if we would have even a remote chance of getting close to the stage. We would have got there sooner, however, TBB wanted to make G Baby a t-shirt with the pictures of her and a couple of the guys on it but she had to wait until I got to her house because I had the transfer paper. We also make a couple of quick pit stops for food and so Steph could get some cigs.
As we were standing in line, these two security guards came walking by and saw my camera case. They told me that if I had a digital, it wouldn't be allowed in - only disposables and regular 35mm with no high power zoom lens. WTF? I told them the case was my purse (which it was) and the hell if I am leaving an $800 camera in the car to possibly be stolen. They said, "Ok but they will search you when you go in. We're just warning you ahead of time." I told them that I didn't care and they walked off.
When we got up towards the gate, sure enough some bitch asks about my bag. I told her that it was my purse so she makes me open it which was fine with me since I had shit packed on top of the camera but, unlike everyone else who had a bag, I had to empty the contents of mine. Again I say WTF? She said something about the camera being digital and me being the honest person I am tell her the truth - it's a 35mm digital with no special lens or zoom capability. I thought maybe that would get them off my back since they were letting regular 35mm through - WRONG! She told me, "No digitals." - what a fucking crock!!! Like taking a picture with a 35mm film camera is going to make that much difference if you know what you are doing (and well the recording feature is worthless because what am I going to do with only enough space for 5 minutes?). I told her the same thing I told the other guys about my concern with leaving it in the car and promised that I wouldn't use it if it was that big of a deal. Hell I told her she could send a security person with me if she didn't trust me because all I wanted to do was to protect my property. That was when she said, "If I make an exception for you, I have to make an exception for everyone." At that point, I should have said, "What about the exceptions you have already made with all the ones you have let in so far?" but I was too pissed off to think that clearly. She called the head cheese security guy over to talk to me about it and I go through a similar dialogue with him. He told me the only way I can take it in is if I give him the battery. Um, I don't fuckin think so! It wouldn't have been an issue if it were a regular type of battery (which is stupid because if it were, do they not think I could have easily smuggled another one of those in if I thought there was a chance of having the battery taken? DUH!) but it wasn't. I'm then told I either have to put it in the car or I can't enter. It was then that I told him he could give me my damn money back. Being the typical asshat that only knows how to be a pest until he would actually have to do some work, he tells me that he can't help me with that and that I will have to speak to someone at the window about it. "Ok. FINE!" With that, I took off to get my money back.
TBB and TSSB suggested that I put the camera in the trunk of the car where it wouldn't be seen. TBB got her digital through. She had a small backpack type of bag and all they did was have her open it and look on top - BASTARDS! Gee, I guess I should have taken my small bag and there wouldn't have been an issue. Silly me to think someone wouldn't want a bag sticking them in the chest all night and that putting it in a smaller bag would work better in a crowded setting. Knowing that more than likely I would have to pry the cash out of someone's cold dead hand in order to get it back, I decided to put the camera in the trunk as much as I really didn't want to.
I pulled the other stuff out of my bag and started handing it through the fence to TBB and TSSB. One of the first fuck nuggets that opened his trap when I was still standing in line came over and started spazzing saying, "You can't take digital cameras in." By now I was so completely pissed off that I wanted to knock his block off. I turned to him with an angry expression on my face and said in a very nasty tone, "I KNOW! I've got other stuff I need to keep with me and no way to carry it. They are taking it for me!" (fuckwad was added to the end of that in my mind). He said, "Ok ok sorry." My thought - Yah, you'll think sorry when I report your fuckin ass for being so damn rude when you could see exactly what I was doing.
When I came back from the car, I saw the same guy standing there and I said, "Are you going to get me in because I'll be damned if I'm going to wait in that line (which was longer than when we joined it) again!" He said he would and he did. Holy mother of Christ - the guy actually did something helpful. Must have killed him.
What really just put the icing on the cake was when I went through security the second time. I had the windbreaker jacket I bought in NYC with me. It was in the little matching bag that came with it and when I passed through, the guy wanted to look in it. I told him it was a jacket and he could squeeze it if he wanted to. What does he do? He chuckles and says no that's ok, go on through. WTFH? Let me get this straight, you don't question or search something that could have potentially had a knife or some other weapon in it but you make a big production out of a fucking camera? Oh yah, that makes a ton of sense. Hell, had I known that and if the bag had been just a little bit bigger, I would have wrapped the camera in the jacket when I went to the car and carried it in under their noses. Man Per Mar Security has a bunch of totally fucked up people working for it!
When I got back in the gate, TSSB was waiting for me and told me that TBB along with G baby already went in to secure us a spot by the stage. I was really surprised because even though we weren't anywhere near the front of the line, there didn't seem to be a ton of people on the field in front of the stage - at least not off to the sides. We ended up about three "rows" back right in front of where Phil would eventually be.
The first guy (Randy Coleman) came on and did his set. Decent music but sort of an odd match up with the other two acts because it was just him and his guitar player and the music itself seemed fairly mellow. It was the kind of stuff I wouldn't mind listening to at work but not really anything I would care to see in concert. Judging by the crowd, I don't think it was verly excited about him but you have to admire the guy for giving it a try and following through with something many people only get to dream about doing.
Next up was Bryan Adams - the one I had really come to see. Not that I didn't want to see DL, I just hadn't ever seen BA before and love his music. Lemme tell you for a guy that has been out there as long as he has and is starting to push 50, you would never know it based on his performance. He was fantastic and made all of the pissed off feelings I had about the camera issue melt away. At one point, he even pulled a girl up from the crowd to sing a song with him which I thought was neat. Afterward he gave her and her dad free goodies and let them watch the rest of the show from the side of the stage. I only wish he would have been out signing autographs afterward because I really would have liked to have met him.
Like BA, Lepp came out, kicked ass, and took names. IMO, they looked so much more refreshed and full of energy unlike the last tour. I thought they appeared a little tired and worn down during X. I think Mr. E may have even lost a little weight too but unfortunately he has yet to lose those nasty leather pants. LOL
The only things I would have changed when it came to their set is adding a couple songs to the list (MLLAM & Slang at the very least), turning down the bass on a few songs in which it overpowered everything else, and I would have nixed the clips of half naked women on the big screen. I know most guys go for that sort of thing but more often than not, it's nothing but a turn off for us women. At least the images were meshed with others so it wasn't totally in your face porn.
I was also reminded of one of the biggest downfalls to outdoor venues during the muggy summer months here in Iowa - moths and other little pests who seem to relish the site of humans in misery because of their beastly ways. Even Mr. E made some comment about it stating that he had already had a dinner of a few moths and mosquitoes. He said they had a remedy for them called Off but that another word should be put in front of it. LOL I couldn't help but laugh, however, I think the little bastards sought me out later for revenge because I ended up swallowing one. YUCK! I swear I was hacking up a lung for the next 10 minutes because of it.
After the show, TBB and I walked back toward the concession area to meet TSSB (his back was hurting so he had left the crowd to find some place to sit down - such an old man he is. LOL). We were also dying of thirst so stopped to get some water. At least the guy at the stand was willing to give it to us for free. We also stopped for a few minutes so TBB could talk to someone she knew from being online. As we were on our way to the buses we thought were for the band, TBB & TSSB stopped at the merchandise trailer just outside the gate. While they were there, I went out to the car to rescue my camera. Leaving it there all evening just didn't set well with me - oh and that ordeal at the gate before the show - total BULLSHIT! The minute Bryan Adams & Def Lep hit the stage, everyone, their grandmas, aunts, and uncles whipped out their digital (yes, I wrote DIGITAL) cameras and started taking pictures. Not one of the Per Mar security guys who could plainly see what they were doing and the type of camera they had said a fucking word. You can't even begin to imagine how pissed off I was and the kind of letter to Per Mar that I was starting to draft in my head concerning that and the issue with the rough treatment of the people they were pulling out of the crowd. BASTARD ASSHATS!
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes - the merchandise place outside the gate. TBB wanted to get G baby a shirt and I left to get the camera. When I came back, TSSB was standing just outside the gate but I didn't see TBB anywhere. He told me that she had to go back in to get the shirt because they didn't have the right size at the first place. Not long after I got back, she and the kiddo met up with us again. We walked out of the gate and TBB told us that DL's security dude talked to her about G baby and ended up not only telling her the band's busses were actually back behind the stadium but the best way to get back there. Of course we wasted no time walking around where the guy had told us to go.
We were probably back there for about a half hour when Vivian came to see us with Rick and Phil following shortly after. I already had pictures with them and autographs so I just kind of stood back and became the designated picture taker for our group. I didn't go unnoticed though. I had on a Chelsea football shirt and Vivian approached me saying, "Hey there Chelsea girl!". That just made me laugh. He told me that he was actually born in Chelsea and lived there for a very short time but didn't really remember anything because he was so little. I then told him about my ties to Chelsea and that my mother in law who lives in Reading usually will send me a jersey every year. What was really funny is that I think he was puzzled as hell as to why I wasn't asking for a signature or picture from him but too afraid to ask. LOL
At first G baby wasn't so sure about meeting the guys. They immediately took to her and loved the shirt we made for her but like with most people, she was very shy at first then warmed up to them after a few minutes. Malvin was the exception - she seemed to take to him right away. Honestly, I think he was a little smitten with her too and the picture of them together shows it. Joe finally came out to talk to us after the others had been there awhile. It shocked the shit out of TBB and I because out of all the times we met the band together last tour, he only came out once. What was even more shocking was how happy he appeared to be (maybe it had something to do with it being his birthday and the undisclosed liquid he had in his cup. LOL). The one and only time I had met the man before, he just seemed to be in a foul mood. Of course the pain he probably was in becuase of his shoulder and the drugs he was taking at the time may have had something to do with that. Anyway, he said he wanted to do autographs first and then pictures. I think he had maybe gotten two pics in when Malvin started his little count. I thought, "Shit, I'm going to miss my chance again because of a little Welsh man who is on a strict time schedule!". Luckily TBB caught Joe as he was leaving and asked him to take a picture with G baby. I snapped it and when he got up, I asked if he would make an exception for me since I didn't already have a picture with him. He was very nice and said, "No need to make an exception, I thought I got you." FINALLY, (and this is the reason for the title of this post) I got my picture with Joe that I had been trying to get for years (check TBB's blog for it). Now if only Sav would come out once, I could complete my collection. For awhile we thought maybe he would come over because there weren't very many of us and he was standing by the bus where we could see him but he didn't. That's ok though, I can understand the reasons why he may not have wanted to. Once I got my picture, the guys were off and so were we.
All I can say is that at least the end result of the night more than outweighed the beginning of it. :) I'm actually looking forward to possibly making another concert of theirs rather than having an the apathetic attitude about it that I did before I went.
Alrighty then, it's time for me to be off. It's already taken me two days to write this up. LOL
Til next time....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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