Post Show � stick around, it gets real good!
We had a ball chatting with Caroline and Simeon afterwards and bid Jason and his family adieu. It was so much fun singing with Jason and his Dad tonight. I�d love to sit with those two and jam sometimes. We wound our way out the door into the cold night and around the corner where the car was parked. As we passed by the Pushstars van and trailer, a door opened and Hugh from the Pushstars comes out carrying gear. Here, it was the stage door! Karen had her CD with her and wanted the Pushstars to sign it next to their favorite song. She chatted with Hugh a bit and he said after the gear was put away, maybe they�d be out. She knew I was on borrowed time where my foot was concerned and I found a place to sit outside a bar two doors down from the stage door. A very drunk girl struck up a conversation with her and she chatted for a good long time. Karen was very patient and kind to her. Hugh and the other guy helping to pack up the van complimented her on her handling the situation. Good Karma on Karen�s part and I was proud of her .
About 45 minutes passed as we waited in the cold NYC night for the Pushstars to come out. The stage door was completely mislabeled as something else entirely. Smart thinking there on someone�s part. As the last items were packed into the van, a striking woman came strolling down the street arm-in-arm with a guy bundled up. She wore a long coat with a cute plaid skirt under it. The outfit was so well put together, I started to compliment her on it. I looked up at her and smiled and as I did the gentleman accompanying her caught my eye. The look on his face was of semi-panic as I recognized S�an. But I just smiled and nodded to him, �Hi S�an!� I think he was relieved I didn�t make a scene or react in a way that others nearby would know it was him. He nodded back and strolled down the street arm-in-arm with his girlfriend. Lucky girl, that one. They looked great together and it was a cool surprise to see the face behind the name on the CD liner notes.
Shortly after that, Hugh came out and told Karen that the guys were chilling in the dressing room. He asked her if she wanted to go back and meet them there. She checked it out with me to see if it was alright. I wondered for a nanosecond if I�d be okay alone on the steps outside but I left that up to the Lord and told her to go ahead. I didn�t think I�d be able to walk any distance anyway. About 15 minutes later, the stage door opened and Bob hustled to the bus parked in front of the venue. He moved way too fast for me to think about getting up and talking to him. Some lucky person was there outside on the sidewalk waiting (she had missed S�an) and got him to sign something at the corner. He looked like he didn�t want to be bothered anymore so I just sat and didn�t call out to him, although the temptation was great, let me tell you! There were so many things I wanted to say to him. I wanted to say thanks for the past 7 years of music, for inspiring me to take up the fiddle. But mostly I just wanted to thank him for his gift to us tonight, Recruiting Sergeant. Maybe he�ll read this. Thanks Bob, for all you do.
After the excitement of seeing my favorite band member subsided, I began to get progressively colder as I sat on the steps. Where the heck was Karen? About 10 minutes after that, Karen came bounding out the stage door on cloud nine, her quest over. Not only did she get all the signatures but she got to hang out with them in their dressing room a while and got a great big hug from Alan Doyle. He thanked her for the Throat Coat tea we gave him in Philly and said he had a few bags left. She said he never stopped moving the whole time she was there, bounding from GBS�s dressing room to the Pushstars and back again. He was singing Pushstars songs in an operatic voice. She thanked me for waiting so long and handed me a sign from the dressing rooms that Chris had written "Rules" under the word "GBS" and "Happy Birthday" (it was my birthday last week). Alan signed the sign with his little Alan guy signature.
She told me, as we floated across the street to the Parking Garage, about chillin� in the dressing room. Showed me where each Pushstar had signed at their fave song and told me that their choices surprised each other. She also told me that when she was in there, Bob came into the dressing room to wish the Pushstars good night and thanks. When he saw her there, he apparently recognized her and averted his eyes. She decided not to say anything to him and now I�m glad I didn�t yell after him � he didn�t want to meet and greet apparently.
So, it was a great night for me and an even better one, for Karen. An unforgettable one for both of us, that�s for sure!
We drove to Connecticut to our motel and the next day, on our way to the Avalon in Boston, look what we saw! |
