FrenchieKingJacksonville

ALICE IN JACKSONVILLE...

I've gotten to the point where I try to see Alice at least a couple of times when he tours anywhere near me. For the last three tours he has missed Atlanta, so I've had to take matters in my own hands. That means driving to Huntsville, AL and two days later Jacksonville, FL.
For Jacksonville, I went solo, as I really didn't have the nerve to ask Vicki if she could do the travel-to-see Alice a second time around and, this is probably the real reason, when I searched for tickets on Ticketmaster and I plugged in only "one" ticket, I ended up on fifth row aisle. I'll take it! The rest of you can stay in Atlanta. I'll be hitting the road to the Florida Theatre (a mini-Fox Theatre) and seeing "The Eyes of Alice Cooper" a second time. Cool shit!

We took Vicki's car to Huntsville so this time my 1990 Maxima would have to do the honors. This is normally a scary proposition, but I had work done on it fairly recently and was pretty confident that it could make it. It did. Of course I hit the road insanely early, thinking that if anything goes wrong with the car, I'll at least have some lead time to the concert. The trip was uneventful. I'd like to report that there was some kind of what my dad would call "Charles Kerault" freedom, but not really. I think I stopped only one or two times. It was a "bite the bullet" affair.
I made it in to Jacksonville around two and figured that I had time to spare before checking in. Who wants to check in to a hotel (a rather nice one on the causeway) alone and piffle the hours alone while waiting for the show. So I decided to treat myself to a drive to Jacksonville Beach and check out the ocean and some fresh seafood. Success! It was a sunny day and the temperature was mid-sixties. Enough for the beach to be going off like it was mid-Summer. I gave a call to my mom and Tracy and let them know I had arrived and sat down at the bar of some fish-house and had the "catch of the day" sandwich. Mmmmm. And some beers.

I should say here that things starting feeling a little weird to me. I thought I was going to be able to do all of this alone and be "master of my own destiny" (or is that "domain"), it's all about the music, etc., but I just couldn't shake this feeling of being alone. You see, there is this thing with me and what I do when I am bored. I drink. It whiles away the time and puts me in a pleasant mood and creates a sense of personal well being. You may say that the feeling wears off, but hey, I just keep drinking! No, humor aside, what I am getting at, is that if I am alone somewhere (Jacksonville, perhaps?) and waiting for a concert (Alice Cooper, perhaps) then the best thing to do would be to just kick back and have some beers. But, ahh, there's the rub. I will "peak" too early (this is a phrase from my mom) and by the time of the show I will be too fucked up to care (I did this at an Alice-show in Atlanta - probably the most embarrassed and ashamed I have ever felt - well, close to).
I'm not sure why I am going in to this in detail, because it was, at the time, not that big of deal. I didn't start drinking wildly and black out and forget the show. Contraire. I had my fish sandwich, tried to cheer myself up by donning swim trunks (awkwardly in the backseat of my car) and hanging out on the beach, and ended up with sand up my arse and sticky wet trunks. I've had better ideas.
I made a bee-line to the hotel realizing that somehow the time had escaped me. To make matters more complicated, I couldn't really find the hotel. There was a turnoff that wasn�t exactly advertised in neon, so I zoomed back and forth on the same stretch of highway for about three times! Oh my.
Long story short, I did find the hotel and was able to check in with no problem. And it was a nice hotel (forget the name!) with an open air elevator and all that good stuff. I entered the room and blam, there was that alone-ness feeling. What the heck was I doing here?
Didn't have much time to do anything so I got dressed and decided to hit the road (by foot) and perhaps get some drinks at either the hotel bar (any Alice-fans there, by chance?) or at an Irish pub (of which I never found) I was led to believe was near the Florida Theater. No dice at the lounge, as there wasn't even a spot at the bar (bunch of loud business-people - not my scene, especially when I'm on time-off). I decided to walk to the theatre as it was pretty much just over the causeway. There was a footpath along the water that led to the bridge. Or so I thought. It kind of dead-ended and I ended up crossing some major interstate traffic to get to it. Can you say stupid behavior? On the other side was a waterfront mall with restaurants and bars. Probably a good thing in the Summer, but kind of dead in September. Duh. I ate at a Rockbottom brew-pub, switching to rum and coke and sat alone (and I do mean alone) in my Alice Cooper shirt at the bar. Did I feel stupid.
I didn't want to get to the concert too early as there would be just a bunch of waiting, so I held off until about 30 minutes before and took my time heading over. Nothing seemed to be happening in the area of the theatre. No real bars, no real nightlife. No "pre-concert" revelers. It was strange. I rounded the corner and realized why. I had been approaching the back of the theatre. Here, now, was the front, and all the aging classic rockers, people in make-up- Alice freaks were all congregated on the street having cocktails. Cool!!
But wait, there's that alone-ness feeling. I have no one to talk to. These people are having a great time, having shared experiences, etc. But hey, I'm pretty good at striking up conversations and finding co-horts. Worked in Detroit for Ian Hunter, right? Well, yes, because that was general admission and all you had to do was move your arse if the conversation died and find another person who is solo and doesn't mind a chattering enthusiastic music fan from Atlanta. Works every time! But not here. It was reserved seating and it took me all of 30 seconds to get seated and sit there alone as everyone talked to everyone and I talked to my chair.
OK, now you are getting the impression that I had a lousy time. No, not at all. The concert did commence and I did chat with a few people and the show was exciting and dynamic. The fifth row seat was a jewel (in the aisle - I could pee in under one minute), Alice did his usual good job. The crowd, though, was a little stiff. I think Alice sensed it. He exhorted them to "stand up, stand up" numerous times. Of course I did, but he didn't seem to notice. I thought "hey, this is my big chance, I'll show Alice that I'm not one of these Jacksonville tight-asses", but, alas, he never seemed to aknowledge me. Maybe the lights were in his eyes or something. Yeah, that's what it was.
Actually, the entire experience was a marked contrast to the Huntsville show. No shoving, no dirt, no flung beer, no crowding. It was almost like a different country. And there was a strange liquor rule. You couldn't drink inside the theatre, but outside. So� no real boozing going on here.
Talk about being to careful not to "peak too soon" and getting burned. So I guess I saw the show in a kind of clinical detachment. The "Eyes" show was stripped down (no guillotine and little use of stage props) and I don't think it lent itself to repeated viewings. Of course, the music was superb, but perhaps Alice and his star-persona with his movements and reactions is half the show. The other half is the visuals. Hmmm. Ponder ponder.
The show ended uneventfully and I left with all the masses. And damn, there was that feeling again. And it hit pretty hard. You see, it was after hours and I had to cross that stupid bridge and it was getting chilly and there were cars of laughing people happily leaving the concert and I was walking alone in the cold and dark and stone cold sober. Not to mention tired. Back in the hotel I called Vicki. By this time I had to have someone to talk to. Damn, experiencing an Alice Cooper show and keeping it bottled up is just plain stupid. I gave her the report and went to bed. Are we having fun yet?
I left super-early the next morning. I just wanted to get on with it. Thinking back, I probably should have relaxed. I mean, it was time off from work and my cats were cool with Vicki watching them and I had just seen Alice Cooper and life was good. But, hey, I wanted to get back to reality.
So� will I see another Alice show alone? You bet. I'll endure the loneliness for the two hours. But hopefully, next time it is general admission and there are cooler freaks to hang out with (like the Xmas Puddings and the Denver show with my sis - I'll have to write about those some day).