Blue Darlin's Continuing Konocti Review(s) - Part III - Friday eve. (end)

Posted by Blue Darlin'

We're back! And we're talking with Chris Isaak.....

Well, it's now after the picture and autograph time on Friday night at Konocti and the night is winding down to a close. I didn't think things could get any better, but they did.

Unfortunately, my brain is starting to forget some details!! Arrggghhh. If ONLY I'd had a damn laptop - but I don't own one. And I forgot to beg for one from work. Turns out the Minx could have brought one from her own work. (Aaaiiieee! Why???) We went into Kelseyville on Sat., but it is NOT a Kinko's and Starbuck's kinda town. There was NO way to find a computer to post from. Sorry, kids. It was most frustrating.

And to refer back to the joke photo moment with CI on Friday night: Nobody Special already got the pix developed by Sunday. I called her on her cellphone on her way to the Sacto show (I was home and with barely a voice by now), eating my heart out, and she told me that the pix of that moment came out awesome! I can't wait to see 'em.

I was showing around a "brag book" -- one of those little photo albums (like 4"x6" or so) with the pix from Pantages and Warfield gigs. And everybody, from the BH chums to the various band members was diggin' on 'em. And amazingly, they were all taken with a disposable Kodak Gold Max 35mm. Rockin'! Herschel loved one of him with grey suit and fez and a great expression. And Roly loved the "Roly-Sandwich" pic of H&L (never mind who) huggin' him, with me sitting below on the floor. Everyone wanted at least one pic of themselves. That felt pretty great. Now to work out the logistics of that.....Duh, you think I would have brought extras?? Doh! I left 'em in the cottage and forgot 'em Saturday. El dorko.

So I'm chatting with BH'ers and flitting around the room, and talking to Silvertoners, and having a vodka and grapefruit, when someone says, "Look, Chris is in the bar!" I say "Where? Where?" looking for someone showy. But there's CI, all incognito -- he's changed into jeans and some shirt/pullover and is wearing a toque (knitted ski-type cap -- wears it apres surfing?) pulled down to his eyebrows. Egad! But he looks rested and happy. And is talking to many different people and not being mobbed. People seem to understand not to ask for autographs or pictures now.

Eventually, I work my way over there, and he remembers my face from the photo moment (yeah, ok, the same outfit on MAY have helped, haha). I can't remember everything I said. I did ask him if his mom or any of his family would be showing up this weekend. Told him that I think she is SO COOL, based on everything I have read and heard about her, and that I would love to meet her and say hi. He says that some of 'em might show up, he doesn't know for sure. (They never did show up that weekend, bummer. As I suspected, I think she did show up in Sacto. Can anyone confirm this? Fooey - I didn't go!! See, I SHOULDA used that ticket!)

I do remember that he slipped an arm around me again for a very short time, and I was incredulous. Because I'm not on the A-List for that kind of stuff. I'm a bigger-size gal, and felt a little embarassed for him to be feeling my not-so-small waist. I was really self-conscious. But enjoying it anyway. I remember saying to someone during the night (not CI, omigod, no, never), once I was tipsy, "Do you want to pet my fur?" and rubbing the fox fur collar up against their cheek. That was pretty #$%^ing stupid. Oh, well. Ya gotta be a goof sometime! I felt very womanly though, and all sparkly and happy and smiley.

The most amazing part of the night for me was the fact of being able to walk right up to Chris and talk to him like a regular joe, without being rushed. It was just mingling in a bar. That was SO neat. And he really looks at you and listens to you when you talk with him, and considers what you are saying. I didn't feel all nervous. But I was trying to be respectful and not bug him too much, especially if he was hanging out with anyone (he wasn't with any one person).

I recognized some other people in the room as long-time concertgoers. I've seen some of these girls at every show I've gone to (10 now? lost track) for the past 4 years. They are diehard fans. They were watching CI and hoping to talk to him, too. Although they sometimes do throw bitchy looks to the "competition" or would that be conversation competition? Come on now, gals, we're all in this together! Let's operate as a happy and loving TEAM and wish each other well, huh?. There's plenty of camraderie to go around, really! I don't appreciate being stared at/scrutinized/dissed from afar. Let's all get along.

I was at the table, and still feeling a bit fizzy, when I decided to take a chocolate marshmallow rabbit over to CI, 'cause I know he's such a chocoholic! And because I had been handing them out to band and crew throughout the night. I walked up to him and said, "Sorry to bother you again. I just wanted to give you this. I've been giving them to all the boys in the band, and I wanted to give you yours. I know you can't really eat it, but it's just meant as a nice gesture. Happy early Easter!" (I said this because I've heard that he can't/won't eat any food given to him by fans. He puts it aside and it's thrown out, or the roadies eat it. 'Cause there's sickos out there.)

But he looked at it and at me and immediately tucked it carefully and thoughtfully into the rolled up part of his toque and proceeded to "wear the bunny" for the rest of the evening! Neat. I saw people plucking at it on his hat throughout the night and saying "What is that??" and he'd push their hand away and readjust it -- maybe he was saying "Hands off my chocolate!" But it was pretty neat to see, anyway.

So, finally, CI did his usual melt away out of the room thing, where he disappears very quickly, leaving with no one. He was bookin' down the hallway, with those long legs of his, pulling his (now bunny) cap down and making an incognito escape.

We finally realized it was time to call it a night, as it was 2am and the bar was closing and we had had a really long day. I was starting to crash. And we still had to find the car and drive home in the rain. Besides which, all the energy had gone out of the room with Chris! I imagined him climbing the hill to his apartment/room with the hot tub on the porch, where he'd probably soak and watch late night TV. I wished him well, in my mind.

We went back to the bachelorette cottage and had late night bowls of cereal and lots of girl-talk/gossip/note-comparing. Minx and I decided the back bedroom was too bloody cold for either of us to sleep in, so we established separate countries in the king-size bed in front of the pellet stove. Oh my god!! That bed was so comfy you would NEVER want to get out!!! I'm buyin' me some flannel sheets!! Yummo!

But mean ol' Minx would not let me steal some heat from her with my cold feet. Nothing would warm them up and I was like, just let me stick 'em over on your side for a few minutes. But, noooo. Hey, my own sister let me do that when we had to share a bed/room growing up. So, I finally drifted off, cold feets and all.

And woke to a semi-cloudy, grey-ish, birdsong and duck-quackin' filled day.....ahhh, what a difference from the dirty ol' bum-ridden neighborhood I wake up to every morning.

Tune into Part IV for Saturday's fun n' games - yeehah! Cheers!

Followup

A few loose ends to clear up here, in relation to others' added comments:

1.) The chocolate bunny wasn't naked - it was in a shiny purple wrapper. Which is probably why he was so attracted to it - you know how he likes shiny, gaudy stuff and kitsch (and it was PURPLE suit night, after all). So you wouldn't have known what that shiny purple thing sticking out of his goofy toque was, and you would have wanted to pluck at it and say "What is that?", too. Especially enchanting, since he never drinks and was silly enough to tuck it up there (more like a gesture a tipsy person would do). Would YOU want to eat a linty chocolate bunny?

2.) I did make it to the next night's show (Sat.) and that's what Parts IV (and possibly V?) will be all about. But, I was too ill, and had to "eat" my (5th row!!:-(() ticket for Sacto and return home. Plus, I felt bad about the plan to be nippin' off with Nobody Special and Sister Christian at some ungodly hour on Sun. am for Sacto, and thus leavin' Minx to drive home alone on Sun., so I stayed with her instead and we road-tripped back home together, comparing notes along the way (oops, run-on sentence there).

3.) I did bring sox with me and plenty of 'em! I wore THREE pairs of (thin) sox to bed and ran hot water over my bare feet, and STILL they wouldn't warm up! I always have to wear wool sox or skisox to bed, no matter where I am or what time of year. It's pathetic. Bony, cold feet. Oy! (I forgot to bring the thick wooly sox.) Laugh if you will, people.....

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