The Gunzingers (Mark, Beth, Kami, Kim and Brent)….

 

Remember how i said in an earlier blog that we all try to describe the show after we've seen it for the first time and there's just not enough superlatives to say what we feel ? Well imagine coming up with all those and more and your not even close to describing the above family and how much love i have for them all!

I cant believe its been nearly 10 years since we met for the first time and even more years than that since Mark and i started e mailing and chatting! Mark, Beth and Kim flew over to Dublin for the shows in 2002 and we had such a good time together, we all hit it off from the word go. Mark and Beth have always been the perfect hosts, offering me a place to stay and even offering me a car to drive while I'm staying there! I usually stay at Mark and Beth's whenever I'm in the area and I've stayed there at least 4 or 5 times over the last few years.

The first time i got to actually meet Kami was in New York in 2006 when Sony flew me over to help organise the Ca Ira press show they did for Roger, up until  then Kami and I chatted on AOL chat and e mail. We get on great and both Kim and Kami are like sisters to me. I've met Kim’s friends and Kami’s friends, Mark and Beth's friends and even Mark and Beth's parents!!

I just wanted to say how great it is to have you all as friends and how much you all mean to me, your like my surrogate family and its such a shame i am unable to stay out there for Christmas and had to fly back, i couldn't think of any other place i would have rather spent Christmas this year. I’ll definitely be taking you up on the offer of thanksgiving next year and cant wait to see you all in Milan in 2011!!

Thanks again Beth, Mark, Kami, Kim and Brent. Have a fantastic Christmas and the happiest of New Years.

 

And then it was over (last US show in Anaheim)...

We arrived at the bar around 5:30 after the 20 minute drive from Disney. Eric was already at the bar and had secured a table outside on the patio. Robert was there whom we had met in Chicago and a couple of other places and Julie and her friend were there whom we’d seen in LA a couple of weeks ago. Kurt and his dad Gerry arrived and Chris and his wife arrived soon after as did Dan and Tony and Michael Simone.

Robert and and his front row ticket!!   Robert, Ed  and Eric                  All of us at the pre show meet up

    

Eric and Ed had done a few deals and secured a front row ticket for Robert, and presented it with him at the meet up he was totally speechless and really didn't know what to say! It was the last show of the US tour tonight and Robert had flown down from Chicago just for this show. I was tearing up just talking to people about it being the last show and knew it was going to be a hard show to see and to not get upset about, I had been on the road for thirteen weeks, seen 52 shows and met some of the most amazing people ever, it was not going to be easy at all.

It was great to see Dan again, we had met for the first time in LA after having been in touch for several years, he is the manager of Which Ones Pink, the LA based tribute band, i really gotta make it out there sometime and see these guys perform!

Chris, Dan and I                                        Dan and I

Kami went to the bathroom to change and put her makeup on and a friend of my friend Eddie in San Francisco spotted me and came over, he took me over to meet his whole family and friends and introduced me to his daughter who would be coming over to Europe next May to see some of the shows.We exchanged details and i told her to keep in touch for next year and we would meet up while she was in London.

Tony, myself and Kami headed over to the venue around seven o clock. As we left the bar Tony gave me a HUGE bag of cherry jelly beans that he had bought just for me knowing my love for them! Kami ended up having to arry them around in her handbag all night and i thank you for that and also thank Tony for going out of his way and thinking about me!! cheers!

Tony was 5th row on the right side, Robert was front row centre, Julie and her friend were 3rd row centre, Chris and his wife were 15th row on the left and Kami and I were around thirteen row centre on the aisle  so we were all around each other and knew where everyone was and kept in touch and saw each other on the floor.

John Joyce was talking to Julee and saw Kami and i and came over to shake our hands as it would be the last time we would see each other till Europe. Pat Lennon did the same and came over for a chat and Marky saw me and asked if I'd seen Kip, i ad and i pointed him in the right direction,lol Robbie and his wife Victoria came running up to Kami and i to say goodbye, Kami and I got real friendly with Victoria while seeing the shows and all three of us looked forward to seeing each other each night and usually ended up sitting around each other at the gig.

Victoria and Kami                                      Jon, Myself and Kami (thanks Chris!)

 

I had made my mind up not to take any pictures at tonight's show till maybe the last few minutes, i wanted to enjoy the show being the last one and not watch it through a 2inch LCD screen!

We took our seats which were right in front of Victoria and Kami went to sit next to her for the first couple of tracks till he friend arrived. I was totally immersed in the first half of the show, i didn't look around at the crowd, didn't watch other people i just focused on the show and cried my eyes out during In The Flesh (yes Kami that why i didn't turn round when you were sat next to Victoria! and you tapped me on the shoulder! lol)

Roger made reference to it being the last show in the US and said it had been a fantastic tour and thanked everyone that had helped make it possible.

At intermission Kami and i went backstage as i wanted to thank everyone personally whom we’d met and who had helped make this trip what it was. It was great to shake all the Lennon brothers hands and say “thanks you” and also Jon Joyce. Was great to see Dave K and thank him for everything he has done for us on the tour.  He’s been fantastic with us and always made time if we called him before the shows and wanted any help or had friends wanting pictures with him etc etc
The Lennon brothers and Jon Joyce have all been amazing on this tour and i cannot thank them enough for not only their performances but they newly aquired friendship.

Jon Carin came out but was busy talking to his friend Cory Feldman who’s album he had produced a year or so ago. I hadn't seen Jon much on this tour at all and wanted to say hi, i shook his hand and said cheers Jon, at first he didn't see me and then when he did he stopped and was so happy to see it was me, he was rushing to get back onstage and told me to speak to Cory and call him after the show as Cory had his number. I had lost Jon’s number in my old cell phone but i didn't want to bother him to be honest, id said hi and thanks and that's all that really mattered to me. I know most if not all the band have been reading my blog and have been enjoying it immensely so again i wanted to public thank you all for everything. Thank You!

Me backstage with Tony Hawkes'!                Hospitality backstage

 

The second picture above had a guy in it with white hair, i had seen him on the floor and knew his face from somewhere but couldn't place him, he looked a bit like Andy Warhol but it wasn't,lol After the show we saw him again and  he introduced himself and Michael (I've forgotten his last name)  he was a film director and had worked with Roger for over thirty years and directed some Dark Side footage a long time ago! He was staggered when Kami told him i had seen 52 shows and was such a nice guy and very talkative, he said he was going to make sure Roger was aware of my adventure, i let him know that he already knew and that its not the first time I've done a tour.

Kami and i decided to stand in the aisle stage right for the second half of the show and stood right behind Julie and her friend for the whole second half. I love being this close and it was the only place to be for the last show of the tour.

I took a few videos of a couple of things as below.

The new audio riff during Run Like Hell

Roger using the machine gun and now shouting at the audience.

Roger doing the wanking motion during Waiting For The Worms

4. The final US wall fall!

5. Rogers last speech US speech after Outside The Wall.

It was sad to watch the second half knowing that tomorrow afternoon id be on a flight back home to the UK, however i was also happy that if i didn't go back i wouldn't be able to do it all again in Europe next year!! I managed to hold back the tears at the end but only due to being with Kami i think,  i hate crying in front of girls,lol

After the show we met up with Tony, Chris and the others at the bar to say our goodbyes.

Post show at the bar.

Disneyland…..

We decided yesterday that we would do Disneyland today. Its been about ten or twelve years since i did the parks here in California so we were up, showered and on the road by 8:30am!

Took us about 45 minutes to get there, we parked up in the Toy Story parking lot and each bought a single day park hopper ticket that allowed us to got to both Disney parks and go backwards and forward to each one at our leisure. We then took the shuttle bus from the parking lot to the parks, Kami kindly pointed out the sign on the shuttle bus reminding me that if it was full at least i would be assured a seat!

 

It was 9:30 when we arrived and the parks didn't open till 10 so we had a wander round, took a few pictures and then bought a huge chocolate chip cookie for breakfast before lining up at the entrance.

Just for you Jens!            Kami with Goofy!!                                      Tower of Terror in the distance

   

As Kami has a few metal rods and screws in her back she’s unable to go on any ride that comes to a sudden stop vertically or puts pressure on her spine in a downwards action. She did however go on the Tower of Terror with me which I've been on in the Disney in California and is one of the best rides in the park. As the gates opened we made our way straight there and were in the first group of twelve to go on the ride.

Waiting at the entrance                              Kami excited waiting for Tower of Terror!

 

As soon as it was over and we exited we walked round to the entrance again and went on for a second time straight away with nothing more than a 1 minute wait!!

Me all excited!      Tower of terror                            Waiting inside                          Our ride!!

I'm not gonna tell everyone what happens  but suffice to say its a great ride and scares the pants off you if you've never been on it before! well even if you have been on it it still takes a lot of beating by other thrill rides.

Next we made our way over to the various other rides including the rollercoaster they have that fires you off  horizontally before doing a few turns and a couple of loops. We then went on the big wheel that's a bit different from normal ones as some of the carriages actually turn and move around, the video below shows what i mean.

Rollercoaster                                             Big wheel

 

I've never been on one like this and me having that chocolate chip cookie before going on this was NOT a good idea. I've been on hundreds of rides in the past and this was the only one that I've ever felt a bit odd on! there were sick bags in the actual carriages and i swear i was like an inch away from picking one up and filling it!!

     

After the big wheel Kami wanted to go on the chairs that fly around on the end of chains. I was seriously feeling sick at this point and would have gone on with her had i not being felling like this but i left her to go on alone and i stood and took pictures.

We then went on the water ride. We put our belongings in the free lockers before lining up to get in the big round tyre type carriages and set off down the rapids. it was too bad but we sat in with 2 young kids who had been  on the ride for the last two rides and were staying on for a third time. They knew all the places we were gonna get wet and we stupidly all sat at the same side  hence all the weight being at one side and the water coming over the edge a lot where we were all sat. Kami and i got off totally drenched! it was great fun though and only took an hour or so t try off in the sunshine! well it did for me in my shorts, i think Kami’s jeans took all day to dry out! her having to walk round the park all day looking like she had pee’d herself!

The water ride                                                                        Me drenched                            Kami drenched

      

We had covered most of the rides in this park and decided to walk over to the other park, we also said that we would be best going on the other water ride first and being wet all at once and drying out rather than drying out and then getting wet again! no idea what happened about this as we totally did it the wagon way and went on all the dry rides before then going on the wet one only to get all wet through again!

We went on a boat ride that took you through the Amazon jungle and was full of plastic animals and a guide driving the boat with a gun to shoot any wild animals that tried to take out the boat!

We were both pretty hungry and headed over to the New Orleans area to get some food at the Blue Bayou restaurant, one of the only table service and nicer restaurants in the park. The food was excellent, we both had the Gumbo soup and i had the Jambalaya and Kami had the Monte Cristo sandwich, a sandwich of turkey, bacon and cheese wrapped in bread then deep fried and sprinkled with sugar!! it sounds gross but tasted delicious! The restaurants really nice and if you go one of the boat rides the boat actually goes through the middle of the restaurant!

New Orleans in Disney!

Our food

 

After eating we decided to walk round the park and not go on any rides for a while till lunch had settled, we went through the Haunted Mansion and then walked over to space Mountain but via the other water ride, splash mountain.

I was sat in the seat in front of Kami in the log type carriage and never even thought what would happen when he water splashed up. I would get the whole tidal wave of water while Kami being a lot smaller than me would get hardly anything over her!

Warning!                        Before                                                     And After!!!

    

Water log ride

We made our way over to Space Mountain, did that ride, then came out and waited inline for the bob sleigh ride, however the ride had broken down and after waiting 15 minutes we exited the line and went on the Buzz Lightyear ride. We then made our way back over the the bobsleigh, went on that as it was now up and running again and then headed over and went on the Snow White ride. The bobsleigh ride was pretty rough, it threw us both from one side to the other and we both got off feeling like we’d been in a car wreck!

Main Street at night             Cinderella's Castle                                                         Square trees!

       

By the time we made our way back to the main entrance it was after 5pm and we headed out on the shuttle to the parking lot to pick up the car and drive over to the bar by the venue for the pre show meet up. We had both brought a change of clothes knowing that we wouldn't be going back to the hotel before the show and also knowing we may have got a little wet on the rides!! It was a long day but we both had a fantastic time and I’ve got some great memories from the day.

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