Detroit, Michigan, November 8, 1998. State Theatre.

Posted by Pisces

First of all, let me say that this was the best out of all the CI concerts I had been to. The concert was at the State Theatre in Detroit. It's a small club, but that just makes it better. I took my best friend Sarah, who had heard a couple of his songs, but wasn't really a fan. We sat right near the bar (go figure) and we were pretty close to the stage...unfortunately, the security guys would not let us down onto the main floor.

Before the show started, I saw Roly come out from backstage and he walked right by me...guess he was going to mingle or something (he did wink at me on his way by, guess he probably figured that I'd recognized him).

Shawn Mullins came out and did about forty-five minutes...he sounded great and even did a rendition of the Chef's song from South park......it was pretty funny.

Chris came out around nine thirty wearing that bright pink suit of his...believe me, he is the only guy who can get away with that...sarah and I were at a table of our own, so we had an unobstructed view of the stage. The set list was the same as with most of the other concerts and he sang Bonny Bee at the end...two encores as per usual. Chris did run up into the two balconies and brought a couple of ladies down with him...he joked when he got back on stage that they were the only people up there with any clothes on....during the show he kept saying, "Kenney, look up in the balcony, those people are naked already!"...He told the usual stories: the Ford probe and Hershel in the strip club etc.

During the show, the girls up in front of the stage were resting their purses on the stage, Chris came by and kicked them onto the stage and put them at the base of Kenney's drum kit. After the song, he started going through them and said, "gee, I didn't know they made these in extra large!"...he literally went through everything in every purse. Hershel picked up one of the purses and started going through it when Chris said, "Hershel, is that your purse?..I stole that purse fair and square, we'll split everything up after the show"...they were really funny that night. There was one girl who was doing some snake dance with her arms in front of the stage and she got pulled up to dance. He did change into the mirrored suit which left my friend Sarah speechless as she did not know what he was wearing...I expected it from his other concerts...the place looked like a disco hall!

Chris then announced that he would be signing autographs in the lobby. We got in line and he signed Sarah's cd cover and my poster...I got in line for a second time to have him sign my ticket stub and he looked up and said, "you again!"..I laughed and was almost floored by those blue eyes of his, they're dangerous I tell you. Okay, so I admit, I got in line for a third time because I bought a baseball hat with his name on it and once again, I got a , "you again?"..from Chris and this time we both laughed. The security people kept pushing us out the door, so only the last people in line could get pics. He took a few pictures and was soon running off backstage. Sarah and I were thrilled with our experience!

I had successfully converted her into a CI fan. On our way to the car, we noticed a couple of people standing by the tour bus and figured they were waiting for Chris so we waited too...Doug came out and asked us to stand behind the markers, which we all did. He then told us that Chris was changing and would be out soon. When he did come out, he had a hooded sweatshirt (looked like the unibomber) and was holding a teddy bear (someone must have thrown it on stage or given it to him backstage). He got on the bus and we thought that was it. Kenney, Hershel and Roly all came out and talked with us (there were about 10 of us total). They took pics. Some girl asked Hershel why Chris always picks on him, he laughed and said it wasn't fair. Then, after a bit, Chris decided to come off the bus. He chatted with everyone and if you got a pic with him, he held you really close because he was cold and wanted to stay warm (well, that's what he said anyway). There was a young boy there, about four years old who had Chris sign his guitar in the autograph line. When chris spotted him outside, he made the boy put on his hood because it was so cold. The boy's hands were full, so Chris put the kid's hood on for him! What a sweetie!..Okay, so here's my moment: Chris turns to me, smiles and says, "would you like a picture?"...I, being the nimrod that I am, had forgotten my camera! So, I said, "sure, do you have a camera?"..we both laughed and then Doug said, alright guys, time to leave...and they rode off into the streets of Detroit...what a night!

Oh yeah, when Doug came out of the theatre, he had some bread, bananas, mayonnaise and lunch meat in his hands..guess the boys were hungry. There was also some girl waiting for Kenney outside the theatre door, One of the security guys said she was a guest of Kenney's because he had met her at a club or restaurant the night before...when Kenney came out, he put his arm around her and asked if she enjoyed herself...I had a wonderful time...Pisces.

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