Close Encounters of the MLE Kind

Saturday, August 21, Reno, City Center Pavilion

Although she really wanted to stay, Concert Buddy Kerry had to go home, so in the morning, Rhondda, Deb and I dropped her off at the airport. The three of us wanted to see beautiful Lake Tahoe, and I really wanted to dip my toes in the cold mountain lake water, so off towards Lake Tahoe we went.

Like I mentioned, what I really wanted to do was dip my toes in the water. That means: go in the water, walk around in the water, splash in the water, get my feet wet, etc. We drove to Lake Tahoe and stopped at Harvey’s Casino, which is where MLE played the last time she was in the area. We got out and walked around a little arts and crafts fair that was going on, then I told my friends again that I really wanted to dip my toes in the water. Rhondda and Deb told me we would drive around to find the perfect place to park, and then we would go in the water. That sounded fine to me.

We drove for awhile, and then drove some more, and then drove some more. In case my friends had forgotten what I wanted to do, I reminded them: “Wow! What a pretty lake! I sure would like to dip my toes in the water!” We found a place that looked like a good place to park, but it wasn’t. Parking was only free with validation and we didn’t feel like buying anything. Rhondda and Deb told me we would keep going until we found a better place to park. It was a warm day, and I was tired, and the lull of the road put me to sleep.

I woke up hours later (it wasn’t hours later, but it seemed like hours later) and we were still driving. I could see the inviting blue water of Lake Tahoe on my right. “Boy oh boy! The water sure looks inviting!” I said to my friends. “I sure would like to dip my toes in the water!” They laughed and told me they hadn’t found a good place to park yet and that I should go back to sleep. So I did. For a few more hours. Well it wasn’t a few more hours but it felt like it.

When I woke up a few hours (minutes) later, we were still going around Lake Tahoe, only now it was really really really far down below us. “Gee, I wonder how cold the Lake is?” I said to my friends. “I sure would like to dip my toes in the water to find out!” They laughed at me again, and told me that they still hadn’t found a good place to park yet and that I should go back to sleep. So I did. For a few more hours. I mean minutes.

When I woke up a few hours (minutes) later, we were still going around Lake Tahoe. We were much closer to it than the last time I had seen it. But we were still driving by it. “Hey! Look at those people having fun in the water!” I said to my friends. “I wish I was one of those people in the water!” They laughed at me again, and told me to go back to sleep. So I did.

The next time I woke up, I accused my buddies of driving around Lake Tahoe no less than five complete times and not stopping. They told me that was not the case, the lake was big, and they just hadn’t found a good place to park yet. I made a few more comments about how inviting and how lovely and how pretty the lake was, and gee how I really wanted to dip my toes in the water. I think by then they were about ready to throw me out of the car. Which would have been OK because then I could have put my toes in the water.

Finally, we picked a spot on the side of the road near the lake and pulled over. But it wasn’t a good parking spot because there was a mini-cliff on our right and Deb would have fallen down the mini-cliff if she’d gotten out so we drove up the road a touch more until finally, we found a good place to park by the lake, and we parked.

I remembered as a kid throwing off my shoes and running into the water, so I took of my shoes and headed towards the water and OW!!! OW! OW! My feet were no longer used to walking around barefoot on rocks and uneven ground. OW! I was determined to put my dang toes in the water so I painfully trudged across the rocks and uneven ground OW! OW! OW! until I reached the water’s edge. A little lake wave splashed on my feet. BRRRRRRRRRRR!!! FREEZING! BRRRR! COLD! The experience was not turning out how I thought it would.

I saw a rock that was near to where I was that was perfect for standing on. It had flat parts, and part of it was out of the water, and part of it was in the water. I made my way over to the rock OW! OW! OW! and stood on the rock. And I wiggled my toes in the water. Aaaaahhh! I stood on the rock for a long time and splashed my feet around and felt the waves splash on my feet and ankles. After a few minutes my feet grew accustomed to the cold water and it no longer felt cold. Either that or my feet were frozen I’m not sure. I closed my eyes and filtered out the sounds of people boating and playing football and swimming in the lake. Listening to the natural sounds of the waves lapping against the shoreline and wind blowing through the trees and birds chirping was better than listening to a Sounds of The Ocean CD. But not better than Lucky or Yes I Am.

We took a few pictures of the lake and of each other, took in a few deep breaths of fresh mountain air, got back in the car, then headed back to Reno for the second Melissa concert.

Just before 8:00 PM –ish. Rhondda, Deb, Concert Buddy Nancy and I arrived at the City Center Pavilion. We collected our tickets, which indicated our seats were in Row 9.

Row 9? I think not. We had other ideas. We stood near the front of the stage and tried to look inconspicuous. It didn’t work all that well. A security guard came up and asked us to go to our seats at least until the music started. We moved over towards the side of the stage, and we, um, stayed there. We tried to blend in. It didn’t work all that well. The security guard came up and asked us to go back to our seats at least until the music started. I figured the security guard was going to keep coming up to us and ask us to go to our seats until the music started, so there was no use in hanging near the front of the stage. I went and sat down in an empty seat at the end of Row 3. Deb and Rhondda moved to the very side of the stage and were talking to Chainsaw. When they were done talking to Chainsaw, I watched Deb and Rhondda sneak back up to the front of the stage, then get sent back again, then sneak up again, then get sent back again. Up. Back. Up. Back. Up. Back. Up. Back. It was really rather amusing.

Suddenly, the lights went down and I was right next to my buddies in the second row! It really did happen that fast. One second I was sitting in a chair at the end of Row 3 and the next second the lights went down and the next mili-second after that I was running to the front of the stage faster than a hungry cheetah. I was right next to my Concert Buddies in the second row against the stage, and we were on Mark’s side. WOOHOO!

Shout Out to Leightooo! All right. Fine. Guilty as charged.

The opening song was Lucky, and the audience was cheering like crazy. MLE came out and greeted the crowd and everyone cheered and she walked along the front of the stage and she spotted us right away and smiled and we smiled and cheered back at her. Hurray! Since we were right up front, Philip, Kenny and Mark saw us right away too and smiled at us too. ALL RIGHT!!!! YAY!!!!! Lucky ended, and I put my hands in the air and clapped. Not really. I had a water bottle in one hand, and a pen and paper and folder containing signs we wanted to hold up in the other so I wasn’t able to clap in the way most people clap. I sort of lifted my arms and jiggled things together.

The band played I Want To Come Over. Melissa waved to me and my buddies, and we waved back, and Philip smiled at me, and I smiled back. In the middle of I Want To Come Over, Melissa will pause and the audience will cheer louder and louder and louder in anticipation of her continuing the song again. She stood there and smiled and took in the adoration of the crowd, her eyes squinting from smiling so big, until finally continuing with the song. When the song ended, I went to clap but wasn’t able to pull it off. I looked like a seal trying to clap the back of my hands together. Deb saw me struggling and volunteered to hold my water bottle. That helped, but it still was hard to clap with a pen and paper in one hand and a folder with signs in it in the other.

Next was Breathe, and then If I Wanted To. We held up our first sign, which read “Please tell Tammy we like her show!” (Deb and I have seen Tammy’s show tape twice and we like it.) Melissa said “She’s here tonight!” and we said “Tell her we like her show!”

Shout Out to Tammy! In case Melissa forgot to tell you . . . we like your show!

The next song was My Lover. Someone threw a single rose up on stage, and MLE put it in her mouth and was being sexy with it. And that made us laugh. After that, they played Angels Would Fall. We held up our next sign for the band to read, which was “We missed you at strip poker last night! It was fun!” Mark, Kenny and Philip read the sign and were laughing.

Our favorite song to sway to was after that: This Moment. MLE swayed along with us, and Mark was swaying with us too. Rhondda, Deb and I thought it was really cool when we noticed we had a brand new sway partner. We looked at Kenny, and although he can’t sway his entire body side to side because he needs to play the drums, he was noticeably swaying his head from side to side, right along with us. We all pointed at Kenny and laughed and were glad he was swaying with us as much as he could.

The next song was Kiss Me. There was a tiny commotion at the front of the stage, and we looked over to see what was going on. Someone was trying to hand a black leather biker vest to Melissa. Melissa saw it, and she took it in her hands and was checking it out. Some people were shouting to her to put it on, but she thought it would look much better on someone else. She took it over to Philip. At first, Philip was skeptical about putting on a black leather biker vest, but the audience was shouting for him to put it on, and MLE wanted him to put it on, so he took off his guitar, and he put on the black leather biker vest. He jumped up and down to get it to fit just right, and it was a good fit, and we were clapping and cheering at Philip’s new wardrobe.

As many of you know, during Kiss Me, there’s a line that goes “Nothing like a good scream and shout!” and then MLE will let out a guttural “hhhaaAAAHHHH!!!” and then go into the chorus “KISS MAAAYYY! KISS MAAAYYY!” She wasn’t right in front of me when she did it, she was over a few feet to my right, but, when it came to that part of the song, she lunged forward with her left foot and put her guitar out in front of her, sang “Nothing like a good scream and shout!”, turned her head right, and looked at me and gave a scream and shout “hhhaaAAAHHHH!!!”

WOW!

It wasn’t exactly as strong as a lion roaring, but it was close. The scream and shout sent shivers up and down my spine. I can definitely see why a person would hold up a sign requesting MLE do that right in front of them.

Breakdown followed, and then Heal Me. I looked at the front of Melissa’s blue jeans, and I could have sworn I saw a little yellow thread peaking out from the front of MLE’s left front pants pocket. But then I thought my eyes must be seeing things, because it would be a weird coincidence if the pants MLE had worn the night before had a yellow string dangling from the front left pants pocket, and the pants she was wearing that night also had a yellow string dangling from the front left pants pocket. Melissa moved over to the right side of the stage and played to the crowd over there, and DUDE! I saw a yellow thread hanging from the right rear pants pocket too, the same as there had been a yellow thread dangling from the right rear pants pocket the night before! No way! She came back to the front of the stage, and I looked closely and saw it for sure- the yellow string dangling from the front left pants pocket. I’ve seen Melissa play several shows in a row before, and I’ve seen her wear the same outfit she’s worn at previous shows, but I can’t say I’ve noticed her wear the same pants two nights in a row. That’s fine with me, Melissa can wear the same pants two nights in a row if she wants to, it’s not a big deal. I mean, it’s not like anyone would notice.

Shout Out to Melissa’s Staff! OK you guys! Which one of you forgot to pack Melissa’s pants??

Since some of us like to change clothes from one day to the next (!), I was wearing the red baseball hat I’d bought in Amsterdam rather than the red beanie. It reads “Amsterdam” on the back, but since I like to wear it backwards, it reads “Amsterdam” on the front. I looked at Philip, and he checked out the hat, and I got a thumbs up and smile from Philip on my hat selection. The band played Come To My Window, then Silent Legacy, Scarecrow, and Tuesday Morning, which we all immensely enjoyed.

The solo song part was next. Deb held up a sign for You Can Sleep While I Drive, and Melissa nodded her head that she would play it. I do not know why, but the lady who was in front of me decided to leave, so I moved up to the front row and was against the stage. DUDE! FRONT ROW AGAIN! No freakin’ way!! I was seriously seriously seriously happy to find myself one more time in the front row of a Melissa Etheridge concert, on Mark’s side. My little head was absolutely buzzing with happiness. Since we were in the front row (Deb had moved up to the front row too), we were able to put the folder with signs in it at the edge of the stage, plus I was able to put the paper on the stage to write my notes, freeing up my hands to clap the way most people clap.

MLE finished up playing You Can Sleep While I Drive, and we all clapped for her, including me. Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Hurray! Next was the piano solo song, and she sat down behind the keyboard. My buddies and I wanted to hear The Letting Go, so we shouted out “The Letting Go!” Melissa didn’t hear us clearly, so she looked at us and asked “What?” and we shouted again “The Letting Go!” and she still didn’t hear us, so she looked straight at me and asked “What?” and I got up on my tippy toes and leaned forward and went to speak . . . and I froze.

MLE was looking right into my eyes, and I do mean right into my eyes, and was waiting for me to speak. My mouth was half open and the words ‘the letting go’ were in my head but they got stuck in there. Despite all of the little interactions with Mrs. Etheridge from the stage and speaking with her directly a few times, I hold her in such high esteem, that she looks right into my eyes when I’m not expecting it, and BBBBZZZZTT! WWWEEEeeeeoooopp everything in my head shorts out. It seemed like forever I was stuck there, leaning forward on my tippy toes with my mouth half open with MLE looking right at me waiting for me to speak, until finally, my buddies repeated “The Letting Go!” MLE heard that, but someone else requested The Weakness In Me, and she chose to play The Weakness In Me. Since MLE had looked away from me my brain started working again, and when the song was over, I clapped.

The next song was If You Want To. Philip and Mark were being really silly. Philip was making googily eyes at Mark and was posing for Mark and turning his head and smiling at Mark and Mark was laughing. I thought the exchange between the two pals was funny and I was laughing too.

More space had opened up at the front of the stage, and now me, Deb and Rhondda were all up against the stage. We put our water bottles at the edge of the stage and the bottles all looked the same and we couldn’t tell them apart, so we took a sharpie marker and put a star on one of them and a smiley face on another one and “Not MLE’s” on the third so we could tell them apart. MLE could see the little star and smiley face and Not MLE’s on the water bottles and it made her smile.

Next up was Your Little Secret, and then Secret Agent. It is absolutely brilliant to be right up against the stage and feel the band detonate rock songs. Want to know what it’s like? Drive down the freeway going about 80 miles an hour, and then stick your head out the window. The experience is about the same. The band blasts the notes out so powerfully a person almost has to put one foot in front of the other and hang on to the stage for dear life so as not to get blown back across the room. ROCK AND ROLL!!! YEAH!!!

It came to the line in Secret Agent where MLE sings “Con-fe-ssio-nal LIPS! Pro-fe-ssion-al finger-TIPS!” so me and my buddies held up our fingers and were wiggling them at MLE. She looked at us, and looked around us, and she had a quizzical look on her face, ‘cause she was looking to wiggle her fingers at Concert Buddy Kerry, but Concert Buddy Kerry wasn’t there. She had to settle for wiggling her fingers at us, and us wiggling our fingers back at her, without Concert Buddy Kerry.

Shout Out to Concert Buddy Kerry! See! We told you MLE was totally looking for you!

At the end of Secret Agent, Melissa went over to Mark and hugged his head.

The next song was Bring Me Some Water. I think Philip must have accidentally backed up and knocked over the plastic guard that’s in front of his guitar speakers, because it fell over and he turned around and was messing with it, trying to get it to stand up again. He fiddled with it for a little bit, and it finally stayed in place, so he turned back around and joined in the song.

Mark did a really fantastic long solo, and Philip and MLE were really liking Mark’s solo, and then Kenny did a really cool solo. After Kenny’s solo, Philip made fists and pumped his arms in the air and was going “YEAH!!!” Philip’s solo was next, and he did a really great solo. I looked at Mark, and he looked at me and mouthed “WOW!” It came time for Philip and MLE to touch guitars. At first, my eyes were on Mark. Since Philip and MLE were at the front of the stage getting ready to do their thing, Mark was free to roam about the stage. While still playing, he walked behind Philip and MLE, and was checking out the room from Philip’s side of the stage, then when he was done checking that out, he wandered back behind Kenny’s drum stage and was checking things out from back there. I was observing Mark and writing down in my notes that Mark was wandering about the stage, and my Concert Buddies were smacking me on the shoulder and telling me to look at Philip and MLE.

Philip and MLE were center stage, and were smiling at each other in anticipation of touching their guitars together. They both had really playful demeanors and looks in their eyes which indicated to us this was going to be one interesting touching the guitars experience.

Melissa reached out and put her hand on Philip’s stomach, then she slid her own guitar behind her back, and slowly and deliberately slid around behind and right up against Philip. We were all shouting “Wooo! Wooo! WOOO!” because we thought that was pretty hot. Melissa was behind Philip, and her left hand went to his guitar strings and was holding down the strings while Philip strummed the guitar with his right hand and also held chords with his left hand. Believe it or not, Deb had to actually tell me “GET OUT YOUR CAMERA!” “Oh yeah!” I said. I forgot I had brought a camera with me (cameras were allowed in Reno, which we’d found out only after we’d got to the concert the night before.) So anyway, I had a camera with me, and I snapped a picture of Melissa behind Philip with their left hands on his guitar strings.

Things continued to heat up. Philip’s left leg was slightly back, and with Melissa’s left hand still on Philip’s guitar strings, she straddled the back of Philip’s left leg and pressed up against his backside, and her right hand slowly made its way to the front of his guitar. She had her arms all the way around him, and began playing his guitar. The entire audience was clapping and cheering and shouting “Wooo! Wooo! WOOO!” because we thought the mesh of Philip Sayce and Melissa Etheridge arms and legs intertwined with both of them playing one guitar was pretty damn hot (Webmaster's note: I agree!!! HOT HOT HOOOOTTTT!!!).