WYWH gig

Joe and Kim followed Kami and I back to the hotel to leave their car; they would share our room for the night. The four of us took one car to the venue, arriving around 8:30. The show was due to start at 9 P.M., so Kami and I picked up our tickets from the Merchandise table. Eroc happened to be there, and we had a chat before the show.

Michael, Suzanne, Kim and Joe were at a table in front of the stage. Kami and I were towards the back of the venue, but had great seats. (Thanks again Eroc!) We all hung out and had a drink before taking our seats for the show around 9 P.M.

While I'd seen videos and heard audio clips of WYWH, I was ever so impressed with the whole stage show and the musicians onstage.

View from our seats, great little venue with booths and tables in front of the stage

 

 

The band were onstage for over 3 hours!! They had a 20-minute intermission, and the set list included all of Animals from start to finish! I have to say, they were one of the best “fraud” bands I've ever seen. The sound, the stage set, the set list--everything was fantastic, and these guys were so professional. It was amazing.

 

   

 

At intermission we headed back to the guys' dressing room to have a chat for a bit, then took our seats for the second half. Michael and Suzanne very kindly offered us their seats for the second half, and they took ours. (I can't thank you both enough for this.) I can say for sure I'm definitely gonna be out in OH to see these guys again.

Me, Joe, Michael, Eroc, Kami, Jamie, Suzanne and Kim   Eroc and Kim after the show
 
Full album of pics below:

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Kami and I started the drive back to Virginia the next day and arrived back Monday afternoon. I'm so happy we all managed to meet up and have a fantastic weekend. It was certainly worth changing my flight. I have a few more days in VA before flying down to Buenos Aires this weekend for 9, yes NINE, Wall shows. :)

Here we go again

So it was Kim’s (Kami’s sister's) birthday this past weekend, and after chatting to Kim the week before last to decipher what she was doing for her birthday, I found out she was going to see the Floyd tribute band Wish You Were Here. I decided to change my flight so that Kami and I could drive out to Ohio to surprise her for her birthday.

When I flew over this past Wednesday, I only just made the flight. I was flying standby, and there were only two seats left! fortunately, the two seats were first class, so I was able to relax and fly in style all the way over to Washington D.C.

Beth picked me up at the airport and after picking Mark up from work in downtown D.C. We ended up waiting for his business dinner to finish and got to the house exhausted around 9 P.M.

Kami and I planned to start the drive over to Kim and Joe’s place in OH on Friday, stay in Pittsburgh Friday night, then finish the drive on Saturday. I've known Eroc (bass and vocals) and Jamie (guitar and vocals) from the band for several years, and I've always promised to come over one day and see them perform. Kim's birthday was a great excuse. WYWH were playing a small venue situated like a Vegas-style showcase in Akron, OH. I emailed Eroc before I flew over, and he was as excited as I that I was coming out to see the band and the show.  Friends Michael and Suzanne had driven over from PA for the show, too, and I had let Suzanne in on the secret of my coming so that she could plan a place for Kim, Joe, Michael and her to meet up at where Kami and I could surprise them.

We arrived in Arkon around 2 P.M. on Saturday after driving 4 hours on Friday and 3 hours that morning. We checked into the hotel, chilled out for a few hours, and I kept in touch with Suzanne via Facebook to make sure everything was going well with the surprise meet-up at a bar a couple of miles down the street. We were all meeting up at the Winking Lizard at around 6:30.

 

Kami and I were at the bar when Michael and Suzanne arrived. Michael was stunned that I was there. It was great to see him and Suzanne again. We sat at the bar, and I kept an eye on the door for Kim and Joe. Kim messaged Suzanne 5 minutes prior to say they would be there in 10 minutes. Kami saw them first and yelled "Duck!" We stayed down until they were within a few feet, then popped up to surprise them!  Kim’s face was a picture! I hadn't let anything slip on Facebook that I would be in the U.S., and as far as Kim knew, I wouldn't be arriving into D.C. until AFTER her birthday. I'd even maintained my usual countdown on Kami's Facebook wall of days until I reached the U.S.!  Both Kim and Joe were shell-shocked when they saw Kami and me in the bar. We exchanged hugs and smiles, then had some food and drink before heading down to the venue to see WYWH. Kami and I visited the venue an hour before the meet-up at the bar to see Eroc and Jamie and watch the sound check. They both knew we were surprising everyone, too, and had kept quiet the whole time.

 

Me, Michael, and Suzanne after the surprise                    Suzanne, Joe, Me, Kim and Kami