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They say everything is bigger in Texas... well, let me tell y'all... that totally applies to the fun level! :-)
What an incredible weekend I just had! How in the world does this woman do the impossible and make each concert better than
the one before?
Melissa... she just never ceases to WOW the freak out of me! :-)
So... That was three shows in a row... and I didn't really get a lot of sleep in between, so I'm still trying to organize my
thoughts and memories... So... let's see how this one turns out :-) Again, I have to warn you... this is not your regular
type of review, but a totally subjective and mostly "it's all about me" kinda review... so continue at your own risk :-)
DISCLAIMER: When you see me using quotes for something Melissa said, please be aware I am paraphrasing and not actually
quoting! I do not take notes, so this is all going straight from my brain to the keyboard :-)
Ready for this loooooooooooooooooooooong write up? OK! Here we go! :-)
Austin, 14 July 2006
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my photos
Drove to Austin to meet my concert buddy Frank at the airport. Timing was great! I got there shortly after he'd arrived.
Cool! :-) Checked into the hotel, then went out to Stubbs for a nice late lunch... Frank showed me where Melissa had played
in 2004 (a small stage right there at Stubbs)... neat!
Later on we headed over to the venue. I was concerned about what type of seats we'd get... but I needn't be. Picked up our
tickets, 3rd row center... schweet! :-)
I met white_dragon and her friend (whose name I already forgot... doggonit! Sorry! I've never met so many people in my
life! It's sooooo hard to keep up!!!) :-) We also met some other nice peeps! :-) Saw the double-G's (Gino and Giant) too
:-) -- (19 July -
Thanks white_dragon for reminding me your friend's name is Melody!) :-)
The Bass Hall is a very nice venue... the acoustics could have been better, but it was still very nice! I had some major
competition in the signs department, as these two girls right on the front row (who I later met) had some very fancy signs
made... big neon signs with sticker type letters... they were nice signs and Melissa actually commented on them :-) They
also had this insane collection of customized license plates which Melissa
also checked out, of course! :-) I think Melissa said something or made a motion like... "a little imbalanced, perhaps?" :-)
I had decided to just chill and enjoy this concert from my seat... and that was perfectly fine... :-) I'd taken a little
notebook with a pen... figured I'd try to take notes... Yeah Right! How in the freak does Camille do it??? For some reason
I was nervous about taking out my camera, so for most of the show it stayed in my pocket... which was quite alright... :-)
I don't remember making too many signs... I do remember I made one asking for... you guessed it! "How Would I Know" for the
following night at Dallas... I got a definite "Yes, of course... anything for you" from Melissa... OK... maybe not... :-)
But her expression was a definite "You got it!"... :-) Cool! That was my mission for the night, since I would be on the
front row in Dallas... and of course that means my favorite song on the piano is an absolute must! :-)
I took my camera out around the time she began to introduce the band before "Bring Me Some Water"... got some pics and some
video... neat! :-) Tonight, to me, there seemed to be a little less Philip action... but they did have their fun! Melissa
got behind Philip and played his guitar that way :-) Philip was hilarious! LOL!
I read someone's review which said that people were on their feet... well, I dunno when that was, 'cause every time I turned
around I saw A LOT of people sitting down!!! The cool thing is that they didn't seem to be bothered (well, at least not
those right behind me) by us standing through the whole show... so that was nice!
Oh wait! I almost forgot! :-) At some point Melissa was talking and there was a little lull in the conversation... when
suddenly this man's voice behind me says "MELISSA!"... she was startled and made a funny face. She looked at Gino and said
"Yes....?" Everybody's laughing and she said something like "That would be Gino"... LOL! Gino then asked her "Will you sing
Enough of Me tomorrow?" And Melissa said... "Sure... we can accommodate that..." ROFL!!! Then she was like... "These fans...
they think that because they go to all these shows they can demand things"... or something to that effect! It was sooooooo
funny! I loved it!!! LOL!!!
There was a lady in front of me who said she'd paid me $20 if she could write on the white board "Keep Running! 8 Year
Survivor". I told her she did NOT need to pay me... hello! She still tried to give me $20, so I had to get "mean" and tell
her "If you give me any money, then I won't do it!"... so she put her money back in her pocket... :-) I had a sign that I
wasn't going to use, so I wrote what she'd asked on the other side and gave it to her. Then she gave me a breast cancer pin,
which I did accept... She was very emotional... so I was very glad that Melissa saw her sign, and a couple of times sang
right to her during "I Run For Life".
After Philip's solo (man! that boy can play the guitar!), Frank made a sign that said "Jimi Hendrix is back!"... Melissa saw
it first and then Philip saw it and made THAT "Oh, you're too much... thank you!" face he makes... you know... he's so humble
that I think he actually doesn't believe or realize how good he is! And if he does, then he's faking it well! :-) Philip is
amazing!!!
Then, during "Piece of My Heart", Frank put on there "Jimi and Janis"... Melissa liked it :-)
Towards the end I decided I wanted to do the hand shake thing, so I went up to the stage... Oh! because... get this! People
did NOT rush the stage... so there was plenty of space... Pretty subdued crowd... It is really funny to see how every
audience has a different energy. This was so evident in the three Texas shows... they were three completely different
experiences!!! With Austin being a music town, I guess it made sense that this crowd was more about the music... as it
should be! ;-)
Did the hand shake thinguie... although Melissa didn't look at me... the nerve! :-) I then moved towards the center to say
bye to Philip... who I saw walking towards where I'd been standing before... Ack! I totally missed shaking HIS hand!
Grrrrr!!! Why oh why did I move...? :-)
Dallas, 15 July 2006
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my photos
Dallas was a great time! Although I wasn't the best of concert buddies to my original concert buddy Patty... I had an
opportunity to be on the front row, so I told her I would still of course buy her extra ticket, but I would be sitting
elsewhere :-) She was cool and said of course she understood!
Let's start at the beginning... I flew into Dallas where I met up with tiny little thing conversegirl, who I'd met in So
Cal... I also met Ali and FallenAngel, two wonderful zonies :-) The show was going to be Ali's first, so we were all excited
to be (as Rhondda loves to say) popping this Melissa virgin's cherry! :-)
Fast forward to show time :-) We arrived at the venue and got our tickets... Mine were 7th row center - Ali and FallenAngel
got those seats. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get better seats for them, but they were happy, so I figured I
could be happy for them too (although I really wish I'd gotten better seats)... Then Patty picked up hers... second row
center... right behind me! LOL! Too funny! :-) CG of course was quite happy that she was Patty's concert buddy :-)
We hung out a little before we went in, and I met touchandgo, a sweet sweet lady who just happened to be another Melissa
virgin! Too cool! I confirmed she had indeed brought her nitro... sure didn't want her to get too excited for her own good
:-) While standing there talking with people, I saw these two ladies who were little people... I remember thinking...
"Please let them have good seats where they can view the stage unobstructed!"...
I was hanging out with Ali when I saw this tall beauty walk by wearing a rainbow boa... I felt my brain start working and two
seconds later... there it was! HEY, THAT'S GOTTA BE LEIGHTOO!!! So I told Ali... "I think that's someone I want to meet!
Stay here! Guard my stuff, please!" :-) I proceeded to follow the tall beauty who I thought was Leightoo... she went into
the venue, and I didn't really want to go in yet, so I thought... I'll approach her later and see if Ms. Tall Beauty is
indeed Leightoo :-)
Later on, I heard someone yell "Angie!" I turned and there was Ms. Tall Beauty who turned out to be... yes... LEIGHTOO!!! I
gave her a big ole hug and told her how nice it was to meet her in person and how beautiful she is! Because... yes, she is! :-)
My concert buddy was Eleni... a sweet 18 year old... who was... you guessed it! Another Melissa virgin! Now... if you were
there, you did not need to guess... girl had made a t-shirt that said "MELISSA VIRGIN" on it... neat! She had warned me that
she could jump really high... little did I know! :-) I can't remember if she mentioned she had quite a set of lungs on her
as well... :-)
Picture this: The show begins... Melissa comes out and sees this ball of energy jumping and screaming beside me and is just
tickled!!! She's laughing and looking at Eleni... I LOVED to see Melissa's reaction to her! It was way way cool!!! :-)
She kept smiling and laughing at/with Eleni as she sang... :-) It was very early during this concert that I realized I'd
pretty much have to give up trying to hear Melissa talk or sing that night :-) This girl was out of her mind... I was
actually a little worried she may pass out or something... especially when she hit her head on the ceiling! OK, that didn't
happen, she didn't hit her head on the ceiling... But! she jumped really high, I'm telling you!!! :-)
Eleni plays the bass, so she was all about Mark... she had this sign that said "I -heart- Mark"... Melissa looked at it and
smiled and laughed some more...
After the song, Melissa started talking. Let me see if I remember this correctly... she said "You know, a lot of times all I
can see from here is the first few rows..." (or maybe she said the front row). She said something about "and here's this
girl and she has a t-shirt that says 'Melissa Virgin' on it..." She then said "Normally, when I look, I see signs and they're
all 'Melissa, Melissa' but tonight she has a sign that says 'I love Mark'!"... it was so neat! I was so happy for all the
attention Eleni was getting! Although... this will definitely spoil her! :-)
Oh! When she was talking to/about Eleni and how it was her first show, then she pointed to me and said "and then there are
those who've gone to 500 shows"... LOL!!! I was like "Yeah, that's right! Whooo hooo!" :-) I thought about Rhondda, who has
gone to almost 100 concerts and who Melissa told "you who goes to 200 shows"... and me, who by the end of this tour will have
a "whooping" 25 concerts total under my belt... and now I got 300 more than Rhondda! LOL!!! :-) :-) :-)
Melissa also commented on how normally Philip gets most of the attention, but tonight was Mark's night.
Right then, I saw Leightoo hold up a sign that said "Fritz is our hero
. . .Go Bruiser" It was cool to see Fritz getting some
love too :-)
I'll be honest with you... When I heard about Melissa going with Fritz and not Kenny for this tour, I was not too happy. I
SO love me some Kenny!!!
In the beginning, I was a little resistant about this Fritz dude... but Fritz does totally ROCK! I'm now loving me some
Fritz too!!! :-) I play air drums (quite badly, I might add!) and sing to him/with him sometimes too :-) He's really really
cool! :-) SHOUT OUT TO FRITZ!!! HOLLA!!! :-)
At some point, Eleni told Mark "I play bass!"... and Mark was like "Oh you do?"... He's SO funny! He then proceeded to
remove his guitar and was walking up to Eleni with it... he figured is she played bass, she could just play with the band and
he could rest :-) Melissa was like "I don't think so! Get back there"... LOL! :-)
Later on, Eleni got Melissa's pick. AWESOME!!! She came back to the seat and was a little emotional, so I was like... OK...
breathe in, breathe out... :-) She didn't faint, got her bearings back, started jumping and screaming again, so it was all
good to go... :-)
Mark is such a goof! :-) He had Melissa chasing him around the drums... tee
hee... I'm telling you... it should be a
crime to have so much fun doing your job!!! :-)
Earlier in the day FallenAngel was talking about how she loves "How Would I Know?", so I told her Melissa would be playing it
tonight, no worries... :-) 'Cause she told me she would :-) During the concert though... I thought... hmmmm... how smug of
me! Am I making an assumption? I mean, I knew she told me yes yesterday, but really... :-) Some self-doubt began to creep
in, so I thought I'd better make sure :-) I showed her a sign with "Tonight - How Would I Know, right?" and got that "yup,
just like I told ya!" nod confirming that I wasn't being smug, but that I just know what Melissa says, Melissa means! :-)
When it was time for the piano song, I happily sat down to enjoy this beautiful song performed by this beautiful woman in
such a beautiful way... have I ever mentioned "How Would I Know" is my favorite song and even moreso on the piano? Not sure
that I had... :-)
She did "No Souvenirs"... I was SO HAPPY that she sang that! Why, you might ask? :-) Well, earlier we'd met a lady who
loves Melissa a lot! She got very emotional when she saw Melissa... I believe she is a survivor as well. While we were
talking, she was telling me her favorite song is "No Souvenirs"... so when Melissa said "Hello, hello..." I was smiling from
ear to ear for the lady, wherever she was sitting! Cool, cool, cool! :-)
I showed Melissa a sign saying "Tomorrow in Houston - If It Makes You Happy"... since she'd sang that Sheryl Crow song at the
rodeo when she covered for her, I thought maybe she'd actually consider doing it. She was reading it and I could see she was
thinking "What!?"... When it finally hit her, she was like "Oh! I get it!"... she told me "We'll talk about that later.....
hmmm... no!"... LOL! Too funny!
Someone asked her what her t-shirt said... she looked down at it and said "I don't know... but it's cool, isn't it?" :-)
Again, I didn't really use my camera until later in the show... I had talked to the security guys, who were these very big
men... and nice and funny too! When I was asking about cameras, touchandgo was there and the one dude asked her to show him
her ticket... he looked at it and said "Yup, it says right there... NO CAMERAS!" :-) Tee hee... so I was good... besides, I
was on the front row, so I wanted to enjoy that... AND well, it would be "a little" obvious if I tried to take pics from that location :-)
I saw Leightoo over on the right holding up a sign asking Melissa to sing "4 Days" (the incredible song she wrote/performed
at the MTV Special for Katrina)... I also saw her give Melissa the rainbow boa... which is their "Leightoo-Melissa" thing :-)
I'd checked out the set list when I got to the venue, so I knew "If You Want To" was coming up. I already had my babe on the
line, ready to go... I couldn't quite surprise her 'cause I was telling her like every 2 seconds... "Do NOT hang up!... Do
NOT hang up" :-) Shoot! I'd rather her not be surprised than hanging up! :-) I wrote my message letting Melissa know that
on the phone was my much better half. I also put on there "who thinks I may be writing too many signs"... I thought it'd be
funny if Melissa talked about my signs with her, since my babe HAS told me maybe it's too much :-) Melissa was singing and
she saw my sign and tried to read it... and oops! Next thing I see is her smirk and I hear that I made her mess up...
sooooorry Melissa! :-)
So, I'm there, holding my phone up to Melissa... and the woman actually walks right past me and
picks up someone
else's phone... yikes!
I was thinking... Whhaaaaaaaaaaat?! Oh NO she DIDN'T! :-) :-) :-)
It was funny 'cause when she got the girl's phone, the name she was given and the name that was actually on the phone did not
match... so the girl had to explain it was a fake name... and Melissa was like "hmmmmm... why would you need a fake name on
your phone... hmmmmmm"... tee hee...
When Melissa tried to talk, there was a lot of static noise, so it didn't work out for the girl and her fake name friend...
she then walked back towards me and yes! She grabbed my phone. Mind you, I think mine was her only other choice. The
security dudes had been told not to release until Bring Me Some Water, so we didn't have the thousand phone up in the air
thing going on... worked out rather nicely for me! :-)
She looked at my sign (which obviously was a little long, 'cause she was doing the "blah blah blah" thing as she pointed and
read) and started talking to my gf... that was so so so cool! :-) For a second, I considered getting my camera out to record
the whole exchange, but I wanted to be IN it 100%, so I chose not to... I was just there standing by the stage, totally
enjoying the moment: Melissa talking to my baby. She asked her why she wasn't here with us, and where she was... and then I
heard her go "WASHINGTON DC???" :-) She said "well maybe when I'm there in DC we can call your gf"... later I found out my
gf told her something like "that would be hard, because she follows you everywhere"... LOL! (For the record: I'm NOT a
stalker, just a serious supporter, thank you very much!) :-). When I knew Melissa was about to start singing, I decided I
really needed to have something to document this moment, so I figured "to hell with the consequence" (get it? get it?) and
took the camera out and was recording the singing part in a horribly obvious way... just hoping and praying my two security
friends would understand and not come and tackle me! :-) They either didn't see me, pretended they didn't see me, or saw me,
but did understand... because nobody tackled me :-) (Later on, I talked with my gf and she was filling in the blanks... she
said it was funny and fun to talk to Melissa. She said Melissa sounded like she was just talking to a friend... it was cool. Melissa at some point said to her "tell me something"... and my gf didn't know what to say, so she just went "You rock!" :-) How original, I know! Tee hee... Yup, and it is exactly what I would have said too! LOL! :-)
Before "If You Want To" was finished, the stage rush took place. I got right up on the stage... neato! :-) CG was on my
left. I looked over to my right and there were FallenAngel and Ali... GREAT!!! :-) I have no idea who was behind me, but
let me tell y'all... they were LOUD!!! Whew... :-) Like I said, each crowd is different. And while I have to say I would
have rather been able to hear Melissa talk and sing instead of nothing but continuous screaming and lots of "Melissa this!"
"Melissa that!" in my ear (YES, while she was talking! What the freak?!)... after thinking and re-analyzing, I do understand that is how some of these young people express their love and admiration for Melissa... so hey! It's all good :-) Although
I can't lie... It did make me wonder if going to see Shakira in September is really such a good idea... tee hee... you know
it will be teen city in there! Yikes! :-)
I was glad to be right up on the stage, because some of the people behind me were trying to touch Melissa, so I totally went
into protective mode and tried to keep those hands away from her legs and feet. There are boundaries that sometimes people
in their excitement (or -grrrrr!- drunkness) do not really understand or respect. Plus... hey! If Melissa feels
uncomfortable or unsafe, she won't come stand in front of us, and I just ain't having that, dude! :-)
Melissa and Philip did their guitar thinguie... only it was a bit hotter than I'd seen before... Let's just say that if I was
still a smoker, I would have needed a cigarette! :-) HOLY MOLY!!!
Whenever Melissa came and sang in front of us... she was like RIGHT in front of me... and I had the neck ache to prove it!
:-) Whew!... But I wouldn't have it any other way! Damn skippy! :-) :-) :-)
At
the end of the show, after the guys were finished, Philip was giving out
some guitar picks and I got one too! :-) Kewl! :-)
After the show, we were outside and I saw the two ladies I mentioned earlier walking out, so I asked them if they had a good
seat, 'cause I had been worried about them not getting a good view... they said they did, so I was happy about that. I asked
how they liked the show and they said they loved it! Then we found out that THEY were also Melissa virgins!
We met this guy (sorry, forgot his name!) who was talking about what a great show it was and stuff... I think he said he was
up on the balcony and wished he had been closer... we talked some more and found out... yes... this was a Melissa virgin too!
:-)
Wow... Lots of virgins in Dallas! :-)
My concert buddies and I went back to the hotel, changed and went out dancing! I'm only mentioning this part (SMLEC :o),
because it was during this outing that FallenAngel came up with THE quote of the day!... We were dancing to a very
interesting song... I'd never heard it before, but I'm a bit out of touch with today's dance music... so, n-e-way... we were
dancing when FallenAngel tells me "We went from Melissa Etheridge to pu**y control!" ROFLMAO!!! Absolutely priceless!!!
My original plan was to fly back to Austin (where I'd left my car at the airport) and then drive my bootie on up to Houston.
However, I found out "Rock-n-Roll knees" Mare was driving to Houston and back to Austin on Monday... and she didn't mind me
riding along with her! Shoot! One hour drive home totally beats 3 hours to Houston and 3 more back home! :-) YAY! Thank
you Mare!!! :-)
Oh... I actually was able to catch a glimpse of the beautiful pregnant lady who's following Melissa and whom I'm still hoping
(although unlikely) to give a hug to before the summer tour is over :-) She looks soooo beautiful...! I remember thinking of a song (in Spanish) that
I love by a great Brazilian singer named Roberto Carlos... it's called
"Estás Tan Linda", which sorta translates into "You Look So
Pretty"... :-)
You're
welcome to listen
to it if you'd
like :-) I'll translate as best as I can :-)
Tu viniste sonriendo
(You came by
smiling)
No se bien de donde (I'm
not sure where from)
Con aire tan puro (with
that pure longing)
De quien del futuro espera (of
someone who hopes)
la sonrisa encontrar. (to
find her smile in the future)
Tu vestido sin curvas (your
curve-less dress)
Tus sueños guardando (is
guarding your dreams)
Yo quedo pensando (I
sit here thinking)
que el dia que el llegue será (that
the day he arrives)
solo felicidad. (it
will be only happiness)
No se quien eres tú (I
don't know who you are)
ni cual tu origen es
(or where you come from)
tan sólo se que (I
just know that)
luces linda esperando un bebe (you
look so pretty... expecting a baby)
esperando un bebe. (expecting
a baby)
Espero que haya (I hope
this baby was created)
sido con mucho amor (with
so much love)
quien sea que fue (I
hope whoever he -the father- is)
el te vea tan bien que luces linda
(that he appreciates how pretty you look)
esperando un bebe. (expecting
a baby)
Tus deseos seran todos satisfechos
(all your dreams will come true)
Importante es que tu sepas esperar (it's
important that you know how to wait)
Tu voz ensaya la cancion que un dia
(your voice practices the lullaby that one day)
muchas veces con ternura cantarás. (full
of tenderness, you'll be singing)
Y tu vives pensando
(and you're always thinking)
Que nombre tendrá (what
name you will give)
El amor que detuvo (to
that love who stopped)
tu amor para hacer (your
love to make)
y ese amor que en tus brazos tendrás. (and
that love that you'll soon hold in your arms)
No se quien eres tú
(I don't know who you
are)
ni cual tu origen es
(or where you come from)
tan sólo se que (I
just know that)
luces linda esperando un bebe (you
look so pretty... expecting a baby)
esperando un bebe. (expecting
a baby)
Espero que haya (I hope
this baby was created)
sido con mucho amor (with
so much love)
quien sea que fue (I
hope whoever he -the father- is)
el te vea tan bien que luces linda
(that he appreciates how pretty you look)
esperando un bebe. (expecting
a baby)
Houston, 16 July 2006
See
my photos
Houston, we have NO PROBLEM, MAN! :-) Well, WE didn't... it was another story for Melissa and her entourage... she told us
about her bus breaking down... which was not cool (x 2!), considering the day before a tire had blown out. I can't imagine
what a PITA that can be... you have a schedule to follow and then Murphy's Law attacks... I hope the buses will behave from
here on out! :-) BTW, NOTHING to do with Biodiesel!!! Let's make that perfectly clear. Y'all still need to wake up! :-)
It was Patty's birthday, so Mare and I took her out to eat before the show... there we met someone
from New
Orleans who came to our table and was telling us she had pit seats... cool! I was thinking that hopefully we'd be in the pit
with her too :-)
Patty went ahead of us to pick up tickets. When I met up with her, I looked at my ticket... in the pit! Second row center!
Yeah baby! Life is good!!! :-)
Oh! Funny thing: As soon as we went through the gate, I saw there were some booths... one of them was the Army recruiter...
which I thought was just "a tad" ironic! LOL! I had to call my babe and tell her... talk about an incongruence! :-)
It was The Greek all over again... the pit was separated from the rest of the seats by a barrier, and the stage was super
close to the seats... We were waiting there for the show to start when one of the girls sitting on the front row told me that
as of last Thursday, the two seats next to them had not sold on eBay... That was good news! Well, not for the person who
was trying to sell the tickets, I suppose... but definitely for Mare and I! :-) Mare had 4th row seats, and you know she
wasn't the happiest... you know us spoiled fans :-) After a little bit of the security dude and Mare doing the "go back to
your seat", "but Sir..." dance, Mare ended up standing right beside me at the stage... a bit later, Gino was standing right
beside Mare... yay! It was as it should be :-)
I
was standing next to the speaker. Mare says it was the speaker for
Melissa's voice... I'm thinking it definitely was, because I could hear her
perfectly! :-) LOVED IT!!!
Once again, the show started in my favorite way... with "Come on Out Tonight"! Always gets that adrenaline going right off
the bat! I love it! :-)
Earlier in the day, Mare had shown me this t-shirt that she wanted to give Melissa from the time Melissa was inducted to the
Kansas Music Hall Of Fame. I knew Melissa would appreciate that... even if she already had it! It was a neat present for
Mare to give to her :-)
Melissa had on a very cool t-shirt. Which actually made me mad, because it's one I'd recently found online and was
thinking of buying to wear to a concert... Now I can't (wear it to a concert, I mean - I still want it! :-), 'cause I don't
want her to think I'm trying to "be like her" or sumptin'! LOL! :-) It is one with John Lennon wearing rainbow colored
glasses. Anyway! I made a sign telling her "Cool T-shirt!"... so she said "Yeah, isn't it? And this time I know what it is"
:-)
I had an extra magnet (the ones I got from Donna to give to fans), so I figured I'd put it on the board (it's magnetic) and
then write on there "For your refrigerator"... I'm so lame! :-) She looked at it and said "ha! that's cute" with a semi-smile... so I don't know if she really thought it was cute or she was thinking "She's so lame!" :-) I left the magnet on
there and changed the words to "For Tammy?"... OK, it was too early... why was I writing stupid stuff like that? :-) Anyway,
she kinda of made a face like "sure"... Well, at least that's how I read the face she made... I put the magnet on the stage
for it to be picked up later and -I reckon- thrown away... tee hee... :-)
Mark had a cool Jerry Garcia t-shirt, so I made a sign for him telling him I liked his t-shirt too! He
said thank you :-)
Apparently,
it was Mark's night again... he got a present and a card, and Melissa
commented on it being all about Mark or something... tee hee... :-)
Sometime earlier I'd seen Steven bring Jerry (?) some lyrics... so I thought... wow, maybe she will do "If It Makes You
Happy"... I couldn't really think what else she would need lyrics for, unless it was "Shriner's Park" which I'd seen on the
setlist.
Oh! Hello! Almost forgot!
You know that saying... Timing is everything? So true! :-) As Melissa was beginning to introduce "Shriner's Park", talking
about her friend who was sent away, and about Kansas, Mare held up the t-shirt... so Melissa came over and got it and told
everyone about how she'd been inducted to the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. She told Mare "I didn't get a t-shirt, though...
but you got me one... thank you!"... it worked out absolutely perfect for Mare! Awesome! :-)
I showed her one of my "Angels Would Fall" signs during that song... I think this one said "Look at all these angels falling right here"... I
do believe this particular sign has overstayed its welcome, so it is now officially retired :-)
Before the piano song, she stood at the center of the stage, and began to talk about this song she was going to sing which
she'd only performed once... I was still wondering if it was Sheryl's... but then she mentioned Katrina, and I was like OMG,
she's going to sing "4 Days"!!! WOW!!! I couldn't believe it!!! What a treat!!! I thought about Leightoo and how she
wouldn't be there to listen to the song she had asked for the night before... :-( and I thought about the lady we'd met at
the restaurant and how thrilled she probably was (I later found out she had shown Melissa a sign asking for "4 Days" and
gotten a "maybe" from her)...
Funny (but not, but yes) thing... :-) Melissa was talking about Katrina and how it's all related to global warming... when
someone said "I survived Rita!"... Melissa then pointed to people and said "You survived Katrina... You survived Rita... I
survived Julie"... I didn't quite catch what she said, but the crowd was screaming and laughing and I had to ask Mare what
she'd said. Melissa was making an "oops, did I really say that?" face... it was, like I said... funny, but not... but yes.
:-)
She did a beautiful job singing "4 Days" a cappella... that song is so so so very sad and so so so very beautiful! I only
wish people wouldn't scream during such a deep and touching song, but again, people drink too much or simply don't think or
realize there's a time and a place for everything... it wasn't TOO bad... people weren't screaming throughout the song, but
seriously, dude! It's just a song where you really should want to be absolutely silent...
Sometimes I just don't understand
:-)
She sang "The Weakness In Me" which Mare was a bit disappointed with, because she wanted "The Letting Go"... but I think
Melissa was giving someone else a chance to hear the song they wanted, knowing she'll be singing "The Letting Go" for Mare,
probably more than once, before the tour is over anyway :-)
Gino wrote a sign saying "Two piano songs?" which I had a feeling would not be happening... but I think he's like me... I've
always believed there's no harm in asking. When Melissa finished the song, she saw the sign and shook her head "no" with a
nice smile. She's so cool!
At
some point Melissa asked some lady where she worked and the lady answered
"The Federal Government"... I can't recall exactly what Melissa
said about that, but it was like "well, someone has to work for the
federal government" or something to that effect. Gino told her he
did too, and I made my sign telling her "Me Too!"... she was like
"You too?" :-) Then she said her mom worked for the federal
government too, and then went like "oh no, wait... she worked for the
Army"... and I was thinking... The Army is part of the federal
government, girl!!! :-)
I had my sign ready with "Scream and Shout here!" :-) I was about to show it, when Mare said... not yet... I was thinking,
well, I normally show her as she starts, but OK... I noticed they didn't bring out the electric guitar, so I was thinking...
hmmmm, that's weird. Well, I'll blame the lack of sleep... 'cause I'd totally forgotten she had yet to do "This Is Not
Goodbye" and "I Run For Life" which came before "Kiss Me"... Thanks go out to Mare for saving me from showing a "Scream and
Shout here!" when Melissa's doing "This Is Not Goodbye". :-) :-) :-)
So "Kiss Me" started and I showed Melissa my sign, and she read it, and I put it down :-) I had shown Melissa a similar sign
in So Cal, and she had come to our side and done the shout to the peeps behind me, which was very cool. But tonight, as she
was getting closer to the moment, she looked right at me as she sang... and then started getting a little closer and still
looking at me... I'm singing along... looking at her... she's looking at me... and she's a little closer, singing "...nothing like a good scream and shout!" and then she was "this close" to my face for the
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!" scream! I was singing and screaming back...That was SO FREAKING COOL!!! Now I absolutely "get" what Bitey means! :-) Man, I
was wishing it was the future and I could have had some type of gadget inside my eye or something, so I could record what I was seeing! SO FREAKING COOL!!! :-)
She did "You Used To Love To Dance"... and you know that means... the HOLY MOLY moment! :-) I wanted SO bad to take my
camera out to record the sexy Melissa dance with her guitar, but they were serious about the no camera thing and I wasn't
going to risk it. But let me tell you... HOLY MOLY to the 100th power! :-)
HOLY MOLY #2... Philip's solo was SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!! I mean, it's ALWAYS good...
But this one was SOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!
There
was a couple sitting there beside me on the front row, and right before Philip's solo,
I told the guy they better stand up, 'cause they did NOT want to miss
this! After the solo, he thanked me :-) And I told him the rest of the
show was all about standing up and rocking! :-) I ended up right in
front of the speaker for the rest of the show... and it was SOOOOO
LOUD! Thank goodness I'd brought my earplugs
because they were life
(well, ear) savers!!! :-)
I don't know what it was about the Houston show, but I was FEELING every song... I'm always really into the show and stuff...
but this night I don't know why, but I was like... totally FEELING the show... not sure I can explain it... it was just freaking
awesome! :-)
The girls to my left had been trying to give something to Melissa all night, but she hadn't taken it...
Hand shake time came. She's coming down the stage, shaking hands, and gets to me... She
grabbed my right hand with her right hand. The
girls on my left asked if she'd take what they'd been trying to give her. So... Melissa's hand's still in mine... She grabs
what they give her with her left hand... Her hand still in mine... She turns around and puts it somewhere behind her... Her
hand still in mine... (I
wasn't quite sure what to do with this soft tiny little hand I was holding... :-) So, I
held her a little firmer, 'cause I thought maybe she needed me for
support... and you know me! I will protect, defend and support Melissa
whenever she needs me to! :-) :-) :-) ) Finally she turned back and
went on to shake Mare's hand & pat her head and
continue on to shake everybody else's hands
:-)
OK, I've gotta say... holding Melissa's hand for all that time was pretty freaking cool! :-)
She waved to everyone... and then she walked away... and I just stood there, watching her leave and thinking... God, how this
woman ROCKS!!! Please always protect her and her beautiful family...
Then I stood there, looking at the guys, with the goofiest happiest smile ever! And I asked that they always be protected
too... Man, do I ever love the guys! :-)
The next morning I woke up and my first (well, my second) thought was... OMG! I forgot to say hello to
Bratty_Chix!!! She is a fan of Philip's who came to the Houston show with her 14 year old daughter, who I gather is a bigger fan of Philip's :-)
They had front row seats and I was supposed to look them up to say hey! I called her and left a message apologizing!...
Grrrr! (one more to blame on the lack of sleep!) :-)
Luckily, I was able to meet her, as she was in the same hotel. She was so nice! She came down to the lobby to say hello as
I was waiting for Mare and Gino to come pick me up. We talked about the night before. They were on the left section, which
was perfect, as that is where Philip plays and they had come to see HIM. They both had t-shirts on which they had made with
the cover of Peace Machine
on them... Philip was totally diggin' them, I'm sure! He gave Bratty's daughter his pick and
Bratty says that kid floated back to the room after the concert :-) :-) :-)
During the concert I remember thinking that it seemed there was more Philip... -you know... more solo-type stuff - than in
previous shows... could have been just me... But! If that was the case, I think was awesome for Bratty and daughter! :-) I
wouldn't put it past Melissa to have noticed the Philip fans and taking care of them... it really is the kind of thing she
would do, ya know? :-) I'm totally speculating of course!
Gino showed up, so I had to say buh bye to Bratty... It was very nice meeting her! :-)
It was time to go home. Rode back to Austin with Mare and Gino... Fun ride... we were there in what seemed to be no time at
all! I couldn't believe how fast that was! :-) It was all that talk talk talk! :-) We grabbed something to eat before we
went to the airport... Mare and I escorted Gino to the security line, church hugs were exchanged and lastly a "See you in
Chicago!" :-)
Mare's flight was much later, so we hung out for a bit... Then it was time for her to go... Hugs were exchanged, lots of "I
had a great time!" and one more "See you in Chicago!" :-)
I can't wait.
-----
Oh! check out this 17 year old Dallas fan (another Melissa virgin, of course)! :-) Wild, eh? :-)
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