So for tonight’s show we didn't have much travelling to do. Didn't have to be up early, No clothes to pack, no hotel to check out of, kind of made a change seeing a show within a 40 minute drive of “home”.
A few days ago I’d arranged to see the band and have lunch at their hotel today at 2pm. I’d had some custom made calendars done for each of the guys just as a thank you for everything they have done for Kami and i on the tour, Kami had also brought them a little something back each from Tokyo too. I’d done desk calendars for the guys, each one was customised with pictures of the band member and phrases and lyrics from The Wall. Couple of pictures below from Robbie and Dave’s calendar (click the thumbnails for larger size)
We arrived around 2pm and had a fantastic afternoon with the guys, I’ve never met a nicer bunch of people, so down to earth and so genuine. We chatted about all things wall, about Kami, myself, the guys and a few others things too. Jon, Dave, Pat, Marky, Kipp, Robbie and all the other guys have been fantastic with Kami and i at the shows. If we’ve had friends that want to meet them we’ve got in touch and they come out onto the floor and posed for pictures, chatted etc we’ve even become good friends with the guys wife's and partners too, we really cant thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us this past two years and i hope the calendars bring back some great memories of the experiences you’ve had and the people you’ve met.
As it happened the Scorpions were playing DC tonight too! The band were staying at the same hotel and we saw Rudolph Schenker and Matthias Jabs a few times in the lobby. I’ve been a fan of Rudolph and his brother Michael since i was 10 years old and met them both a couple of times. Dave commented on how long ago it was since he had met Rudolph but didn't approach him as he wasn’t sure if he’d remember him.
We spent all afternoon hanging out and after the guys took the bus to the venue Kami and i headed down to the bar where I’d arranged the pre show meet up at 5pm.
Eric and Matt had flown into Dc yesterday, Eric from CA and Matt from the UK. Was great to see them again. A friend whom I’d been e mailing for a couple of weeks too, Alan was already at the bar and it was great to meet face to face and hang out a little. By 6pm the place was packed and friends form everywhere arrived. Zo and Anne from Montreal had driven down the past couple of days, John, Stuart, Ole, Tommy (and his wife Ivanka) all made it, George whom had been sat in front of Kami and i in Chicago made it as did all of Kami’s family, Mark, Beth,Brent, Eric, Al, Eric's friends April and Danny and a few more whom I’m sorry I’ve forgot your names!
George and I Anne Zo
Tommy and Ivanka Myself and Alan Eric
Eric, Danny, Mark, Kami, myself Danny and April Frank, April and Brent
We had a great pre show meet up, I’d guess maybe 25 people in total, we chatted, ate, drank and around 7:00pm we all headed out to the venue. Some of us had tickets to pick up at will call and some went straight in.
Myself, Mark, Eric, Kami, Brent and Frank were all next to each other on row 15, middle block. Ole had bought tickets when they went on sale through the pre sale on Rogers site and it just so happened that his two tickets were right next to ours! My friend Allan had taken Ole’s spare ticket so we had a total of eight tickets all in a row. Al and Beth were in the first section to the right of the stage. It was Al, Eric and Brent’s first time seeing the show, they had all heard so much about Rogers shows over the years from everyone that i guess now was the time to see what all the talk was about. I managed to meet up with my friend Kimm before the show, she was a friend of Robbie and Victorias and we had been friends for a while on Facebook but never met till tonight.
Al and Beth waiting for the show Brent Mark, Kami and Eric Kimm and i
Oh dear… You tell him Tommy Kevin would be screwed!
As I’ve said before, nothing gives me more pleasure than not only watching the crowd during a show but to see the faces of people that have never seen the Wall show or even seen Roger live is great. Brent and Eric were in the latter and it was fantastic to see their faces during the opening of In The Flesh.
There were a couple of lyrical mistakes on Mother tonight—something I’ve never seen before. The band seamed a little off all night to be honest, couple of bum notes here and there and at one point there seemed to be a whole section that seemed flat (music wise) The biggest thing was Rogers vocals “cracking” during “Don’t Leave Me Now”, when i say cracking i mean his whole vocals going and him loosing the ability to sing! he actually bowed his head down and shook it from side to side before looking up and rubbing his throat, i seriously thought that was it! His vocals were shot and the show as over, but nope, he recovered really well and within 15 seconds after dropping the next few words an octave he was back to normal! If this wasn’t proof that he’s really singing then nothing was! I looked to my right at Mark, he looked at me, Kami looked at her dad before looking at me, i looked over to Al, he was looking at me, we were all a little shocked at what we had just heard. I would like to see/hear this again but as of yet it doesn't seem to be on you tube.
I was surprised how loud the crowd were tonight as DC is known for being a bit more relaxed and less enthusiastic than a lit of cities but tonight they were on their feet from the start and didn't once sit down. The rest of the show went without any hitches really.
Matt causing trouble after the show :)
