Go to Cover Show now, if you don�t wanna read my usual babbling! There�s also a section on the Battle of the Bands.

Even though I needed it bad, I didn�t get much sleep. Too much excitement, I guess! Around 6:30 that morning, I headed for the line for Rockford tickets. I was #5 � Kim, Kerrie and 2 of the fans from Japan beat me! No one was sure if the seats were assigned or not�

After the infamous fainting incident, I plied myself with lots of Gatorade during the wait in line � and spent a lot of time explaining what had happened the night before. I guess I wasn�t the first casualty. Apparently Flog fell down the stairs from the Skywalk & ended up missing the whole show! Poor guy.

After breakfast, I headed for the theatre to get in line for autographs. Pancho was there & I got the next in his series of lectures about "being sure to eat." :)

Kevin from Chicago was there with a really cool souvenir book from Japan he�d brought to get autographed. He was kind enough to let me look at it. :) Since the guys would all be at separate tables, and we didn�t know whose was whose, we just picked one & plunked down. The whole process ended up feeling like trick or treating � you know, running from house to house � or in this case, table to table...

Robin was the next table with Robin Jr. (too bad the man has such ugly kids... not!) I gave him a Homer button and he obliged me with another photo op. He read the button to Robin Jr. then pinned it on his jacket. As he did this, he said, "Do you know what she does? She�s an actor and she wrote a show that she performs all by herself..."

What can I say?!?!

I was absolutely blown away that he remembered! In my stupified state, all I could do was say , "Yeah, so when screw up, I don�t have anyone to bail me out." Despite my lame contibution to the conversation, I was flattered & thrilled that he remembered that about me - instead of my "moment of shame" during the concert the night before... :)

Rick's table was my last stop. It was immediately apparent that his was the most popular table. The line was longest and he had a huge pile of gifts next to him by the time I got up to him. Like Tom, he gave me a hard time - imagine that! He told me that now other people were gonna "fake it" to get attention. I told him it was his fault for establishing a precident! He put on his Homer button and after I explained what he was signing, we both bemoaned the fact that my MTV letter campaign hadn�t helped much�

The autograph session lasted until late afternoon. I really liked the set-up � it allowed you to chat with the guys more than if they'd all been at one table. I heard rumor that Rick had a backlog of people at his table at 5 pm (quitting time), but he stayed on until everyone was taken care of. What a guy!

During the afternoon, I took a chance to go say hi to Sven and get a picture with him. He took me backstage to show me the roadcase where he kept the Homer Simpson sign I'd made for him at the Austin album shows.

BATTLE OF THE CT TRIBUTE BANDS

Jenny Candas and Rick were the judges for the event because Jack Douglas had to bow out of TF3 due to the death of his father.

First up: the Randy Men, which was comprised of 3 members of Speck plus the singing debut of Kim Gisborne. Their set included "Voices" and "California Man." Great job by all � it was especially fun to cheer on Kim.

Speck was up next. It was fun to finally see these online friends perform � especially Danny Saint & Bunezuela. They played very nice versions of "Oh Caroline", "Take Me I'm Yours" and "Lookout." I managed to score a Speck pick during the set. :)

The Horny Bulls were: Jeff (the other Randy Man), Danny (Speck vocalist), Kinko (Cheap Track's bassist) and Ron on drums. Ron got a huge response � he was a total ringer for Bun E! Their set included "I Know What I Want" with Kinko taking lead vox, "Surrender" and "Goodnight Now." The latter included a fabulous solo by Ron playing with 6� drumsticks! As you can imagine, chants of "Bun E! Bun E!" filled the auditorium after that great ending.

Cheap Track was next and they won on the first beat. Cheap Track is: Shigechiyo on drums, Kinko on bass, Tokyo Zander on vox, and Sushi Man on guitar. Sushi Man has it all: a red cardigan, buttons, doll, shorts, baseball cap, plus a checkerboard Hamer Explorer. He even has his own "Sushi Man" picks. It was amazing. I couldn�t believe what I was seeing & hearing. They blew the roof off the place with "Elo Kiddies", tore into "Hot Love", and capped it all off with "Auf Wiedersehen." We all went crazy � demanding an encore, but we were told there wasn�t enough time. Absolutely brilliant performance by all the guys in Cheap Track. Wow.

I had to dive out of the auditorium at that point, but I got the report that The Brassmasters had the unenviable position of following Cheap Track � DOH! Plus, they were a man short. Double DOH!

Last, but not least, were Two for the Show. I don�t know their names, but I was back in time to hear this couple's nice version of "YOYOY" on guitar and keys...

Rick and his silent partner, Jenny got on stage afterward to make comments & announce the winner. Rick was his usual, funny self. The comment I remember most was about Danny Saint� "I wrote down �poser� here � I don�t know why?!"

The winners were Cheap Track, of course. Their prize was an encore of "Aufie" with CT at the end of the cover show! More on that later� Rick also asked the emcee for the evening, Flog, to introduce CT later on. Randy grudgingly obliged. :)

COVER SHOW

Little did we know that CT had an amazing surprise in store for us. Randy took the mic around 9 and with a big ol� grin on his face he screamed, "Alright, Merrillville! Are YOU ready? Will you welcome, independent recording artists, CHEAP TRICK!!!!!"

Rick appeared and asked, "Are you ready to hear some songs you've never heard Cheap Trick do before?" Apparently, I wasn�t � �cause what I heard in the next couple of hours blew me away!!!!!!

FASHION REPORT

FIRST SET

Before the break, Rick promised that, "On Saturday night we'll play some stuff you haven�t heard in ages, if ever". During the 10-15 minute break I couldn�t stop saying "wow."

Before the 2^nd set, there were 4 drawings. Tom gave away his childhood accordion, Robin gave away the mic he'd used on the last studio album. Rick gave away one of his Hamer guitars. Then Bun E. gave away a snare drum and he threw in a tape � I presume it was a mix of some choice live stuff. I coveted that prize the most!

After that, Rick invited all the members of CT tribute bands on stage. Flog, too. He was quick to snag a set list � and quicker to flick off those who put out their hands thinking he�d actually give it up! :)

I�ll close this day�s review with some general notes on the show. First of all, I enjoyed the energy on stage to no end. Musical joy, if you will. All the members of CT were beaming... at each other... at us. Being a teeny, little part of that show is a memory I wouldn�t trade for anything.

Next to the 25^th Anniversary Show, it�s my favorite CT concert I�ve ever seen. Can I also point out what a tremendous gesture it was on CT�s part?! I watched in amazement as these guys did a concert full of songs that they probably hadn�t touched in a couple decades. In addition to all the prep for TF3 and the upcoming anniversary show, they took the time to put together a show to give us a taste of the early days � a time many of us were not around to witness. Thanks a million to Rick, Robin, Tom & Bun E. for such a wonderful gift.

Peace,

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� Copyright, Lisa Jebsen, 1999