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From Brad

posted on the MEIN Board on 20 Aug 02

1200 Miles Down The Road, Another Dream Comes True…by Brad O. 8/19/02

I know many of you already suffered through my verbose review of the Milwaukee show, and I will try to make this one a little shorter. But it will be tough, because man did we have fun in Austin!

First of all let me say this was my first travel package, although I have wanted to do one for years. Just never worked out in the past, not enough vacation, wrong dates, or I had no money. So when I finally decided to go to Austin I was pumped up. Unfortunately my better half could not make it (I think that decision is now the source of much regret), so I was on my own. It was pretty funny, because as I checked into the fan club happy hour, they were flipping through pages looking for various people’s info, but they knew exactly who I was: I was the only guy on the travel package! And I think the only single to boot.

But no complaints here, as we sat down to some Texas-brewed Zeigenbocks and some hors d’ouevres at the Embassy Suites atrium, a couple of nice gals from Houston were kind enough to let me join them for cocktails. Well, you know how it is, one drink turns into five, and next thing you know we are all introducing ourselves. Soon I have met pairs of women from Dallas, Austin, New Mexico, and some crazy cool New Jersey cats among others (plus our hosts from SF). And were these gals ever sweet to me. They let me join the otherwise all-woman “primate group,” and later at the bar they taught me a few things about pool playing, while I tried to catch a glimpse of everyone’s life story over several more drinks.

Well not to bore you, let me just say I had a lot of fun. The nightlife was solid, and this town reminded me of another great city of similar size and personality, namely Madison, WI. After the women turned in I couldn’t sleep (hard to sleep with Melissa on my mind) so I walked back over to 6th St., got a beer and some pizza, and sat down to watch a street artist paint the sidewalks for a while longer, until my eyes finally got heavy and they threatened to haul me away for sleeping on the street! But this was only the first night, the real fun was yet to come…

Well after a relaxing next day on the town, I started to see some other die hards piling up in the hotel lobby, including a few more nice gals from Dallas who had beautiful homemade t-shirts showing that they had seen the two previous nights of Melissa’s Texas shows, making most of us quite jealous despite the fun we all had at the bar the night before. They also showed me their autographed MLE guitar which was QUITE impressive! Eventually, we all boarded the bus and headed out to “The Backyard” an awesome outdoor ampitheatre of surprisingly modest size (about 4,000 people). The small size made it seem intimate, but the fan club meet-and-greet with Melissa REALLY made it seem intimate.

Cindy and Cindy from Melissa’s organization did such a great job of being both parents and friends to our busload of giddy schoolgirls! We took a quick pit stop upon arrival, then they herded us together and gave us a little friendly cajoling so we would stay well behaved as we got through security and went backstage to meet Melissa. Backstage we all sort of lined up neatly so Melissa could go down the line and get introduced to everyone, many of us bearing gifts (impressively creative ones too, ladies!).

I was so nervous that at one point, two of the Dallas girls yelled over to me, “Hey Brad—BREATHE!” which was pretty damn funny. Apparently, I didn’t realize how obvious my nervous excitement was! Well long story short, I was near the end of the line and when Melissa came up to me and did a two-handed “high five” saying, “Hey I am so glad you made it here from Wisconsin!” I was floored. She had clearly remembered me from the last show I was at in Milwaukee, and she went on to tell me that she had made her band learn a song they had not been doing on this tour, just for tonight’s concert in Austin. (For those who didn’t read my Milwaukee review, at that show we talked and she had promised me personally that she would play “Your Little Secret” when I saw her in Austin.) She said the band had teased her earlier in the week saying, “Hey I hear that ‘Wisconsin’ (as she has nicknamed me) called and he is not gonna make it to the show in Austin.” Fun, huh? To think all these famous people are talking about little old me behind my back…

Well as fast as it started, I handed her my two gifts and the meeting was over. The other women were teasing me about how nice Melissa was to me, and so I let them in on the whole story of her promise in Milwaukee, over a few more beers, and some Texas style snacks (no Milwaukee brats and Chicago pizza here, just quesadillas, wraps, etc. wink, wink). The other women could see how excited I was to be there, although in my excitement I dawdled around and almost missed the start of the show! When Melissa finally came in through the crowd, I was stuck in the wrong section for a few minutes but again my Dallas girls helped me out, persuading the security guard to let me over the barrier and to my seat. As usual, the show started with “I Want To Be In Love” her hot new anthem. She was rocking from the start and the crowd was tough, as we all tried to move forward only to be pushed back by security. Her set list was similar to the Milwaukee one, but this time she dropped “Ain’t It Heavy,” moved up “Angels Will Fall” and dropped the always intense “Silent Legacy” into the extra slot.

She was jamming hard, and joking about the incredible Texas heat in between songs, at one point commenting that sometimes she thinks of chucking all the touring and just settling down in Austin as it is such a nice place. (Hard to argue with that I will say.) She did a nice duet with Mark Browne on “Ruins,” another song added in place of “Brave and Crazy” from the Milwaukee set. The crowd seemed to dig that, and I did too. Next was her piano solo, “Weakness In Me” which was beautiful once again. Since I was right down close in the 2nd row (thanks Cindy and Cindy!), Melissa and I had swapped smiles on several occasions during the show, but the real excitement for me was next when she wrapped up “The Different” and began to explain to the crowd how she was adding a new song to the set list tonight, namely “Your Little Secret.”

She launched into the opening power chords, and I was ecstatic. As the song got going I was swinging my head and jamming on air guitar like a caricature of MTV’s Beavis. Running up towards the stage against security’s wishes, I felt like her and I were the only people for that one song! But she was juiced, too, and the version they played was every bit as intense and as rocking as any I have seen her do in the past seven years. Plus she worked in the Crimson and Clover just like I asked her to, wow, she really takes care of her fans.

I could be flattering myself, but it seemed like watching from side stage, Tammy could see me getting into the song as well which felt neat. But if Tammy was sharing Melissa with us up to this point in the show, then the roles reversed for the next song, Secret Agent. Now we shared Melissa with her, Melissa moving to her side of the stage and professing her new love for all to see. At this point the crowd finally overwhelmed security, and I was pinned against the stage to see Melissa close out with “Bring Me Some Water,” “I’m The Only One” and her standard encores “Like The Way I Do” and “Heal Me.” (Although how can you call those tracks ‘standard’ they were so awesome?!) Yet again, she brought the crowd to such a boil during “Like the Way I Do” that even after “Heal Me” finished, I sort of stood frozen like a moviegoer watching the credits and swabbing up all the sweat and emotion left on my seat following such a climax.

When we got back on the bus, all the women cheered for me, saying I was a “celebrity” now that MLE knew me and played my song. They made me feel so great, but I know I was not the only one who had a good time (some had so much fun they even had one margarita too many, wink, wink). As we landed at the hotel, people started to disburse but I thanked as many of the girls as I could for helping make my first trip with the fan club so incredible. (It was all such a rush of emotion for me and the oh-so-kind Austin women could clearly see that when at one point I knocked over a garbage can, and then scurried to replace it, only to notice I had put it back in an upside down position!) I sincerely hope some or all of you will keep in touch, and we can hook up again sometime. Especially you Pam, you made the mistake of offering me a place to crash in the big “D” so you just wait, I will take you up on it!

And to all of you who are still struggling with some of the complexities of your lives and loves, remember what Melissa has taught us all: “Speak True.” For the truth shall set you free.

XO,
BRAD

P.S. Final thanks for Barb for helping me with MLE’s gift, and “hi” to Bob Dunlap, the record company exec. I met, who is one of Kenny’s biggest fans even into retirement age…

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