No concert to review today – well, unless you count the MFH preview we watched that evening... The bulk of the day’s activities were the individual clinics held by Robin, Tom, Bun E. and Rick. I missed out on Dave Frey’s clinic – but Kim G.’s got a great account of it (as well as all things TF3 & much, much more!) at his site. Check it out!

Wow! A day I didn’t hafta get up at 6! It was clinic day, starting at 11, so after breakfast, I headed for the theatre to get a good spot for the first one: Robin’s. He had the misfortune of getting the first slot. Was it because he’s the youngest, I wonder? :)

ROBIN’S CLINIC

Robin received "entrance applause" when he arrived (of course!). He sat down at the stool, mic and music stand that was set up for him and commented about how early it was. He also thanked us all for coming: Trickfests were as much for them as they were for us.

He’d never done a "clinic" before, so he wanted to just open the floor for questions. As it turned out, Robin’s "clinic" was basically an hour long Q & A session. It was great to hear from him & have the opportunity to ask him whatever you wanted.

Some of his comments:

• Vocals on "Rock all Night" were layered 10+ times – it was tough getting that down in the studio.

• He’d heard that the covers show wasn’t everyone’s favorite, but it was a sampling of what they were doing 25 years ago.

• Putting IWYTWM first in the set was his idea - it lets them "move on."

• Advice to a fellow song writer who was having problems with a song he’d been working on awhile: "Go back to the early versions – your initial instincts were probably the best."

• "Tonight It’s You" is the toughest CT song to sing live and "Shelter" is the toughest one to do emotionally. His father passed away right before they recorded that song.

• In terms of maintaining vocal health, he didn’t really need to warm up much before shows in the past, but since he was in a car accident, he has to warm up for an hour. We were all shocked at the news of the accident – no one I spoke to had heard anything about it!

• He’d like to work with Jeff Beck, Keith Moon; admired Townsend and the Stones ("they’re pretty cool") This was in response to my question: "who would you really like to work with?" :)

• He's working on a computer-animated comic book & hopes to finish it soon.

• "I’m diggin’ your shirt" was his comment to a fan wearing a white sweatshirt that said, "KEN ADAMANY SUCKS" in big, black letters.

• His lives in Florida because that’s where grandma is – he pointed her out in the crowd, along with his wife, Pam.

• Introducing them as what he is "the most proud of in his life" he brought out his kids: Ian, Holland and Robin Jr.

There was a snare drum set up for Robin Jr., but he shook his head "no" when Robin asked him to play. After whispering in dad’s ear, they got out a guitar instead and played the opening bars of "I Know What I Want", with dad taking the vocals. I do believe that was the most photographed moment of TF3!

TOM’S CLINIC

The second most photographed moment of TF3 was when Tom came out for his clinic. He was in a kick-ass green suit & played an extended bass solo that gave us all plenty of photo ops. After the solo, we were all treated to a hilarious Q&A with him. He sat at the edge of the stage to take questions - it felt like we were all sitting around his living room.

As he was sitting down, I yelled that I "loved the suit" and he said something like, "Yeah, I know. I had to wear it. Following Robin and his kids?! Jesus! I need to bring out a lamb or puppy or something to follow that! Instead I dressed like a leprechaun."

The answers I remember:

• He uses Chandler basses instead of Hamer "because Hamers are... what’s the word I’m looking for? ... Shit."

• Travelling is his least favorite thing about being in CT – not because he doesn’t like travelling – it’s just that they never stay anywhere for long; recording is the best part of being in CT.

• "The Who - Live at Leeds" is the best live album.

• Rick wrote IKWIW for Tom to sing. He said he was surprised when Rick sprang it on him.

• Robin sings part of "See My Friends" that Tom couldn't do. "I'd been having problems with it, then Robin comes along and does it perfectly!"

• He couldn’t really name any other interests of his. He doesn’t collect stuff, not "furniture" ... nothing.

• His favorite "shopping city" is London. (That was Tom’s favorite – "the first decent question.") :)

BUN E.’S CLINIC

DOH! I missed out on the first part – thought it started at 2:30, so I ate a leisurely lunch with Jennifer. I didn’t miss it all, at least. I got there in time to see the tail end of the only true "clinic" of the day and to hear the Q&A session.

• There've been no original licks since the 30’s.

• He has a limited amount of CT show tapes from the 70's. He has almost every show from ‘79 on.

• There are plans to do remasters of: Dream Police, All Shook Up and Lap of Luxury, plus a compilation of their contributions to movie soundtracks. Those rights are hard to get, though.

• The band taped the covers show last night, and might sell a CD of it, but it depends on getting copyrights and how they feel about the sound on tape. Someone commented that we just wanted the tape – we didn’t care how "perfect" it was.

• When someone else "begged" for more unreleased tracks, Bun E. smiled & said, "If there’s stuff of ours you haven’t heard yet, there’s a good reason!"

• He doesn’t plan to do vocals – he claims to have "no hidden vocal talent." :)

RICK’S CLINIC

Rick thanked everyone for coming to TF3. He moved his chair close to the front of the stage and gave Sven a hard time about the equipment blocking people’s view. Sven took care of it and Rick held a Q&A session during which (shock!) he constantly flicked pics into the crowd:

What I recall:

• The new shirt is a collection of registered trademark symbols "®" in different fonts.

• He still has fun doing concerts.

• He liked the "Ken Adamany Sucks" shirt, too. When selling the shirt was suggested, Rick said, "No, Ken will want a percentage!"

• He gave his new white Grech (sp?!) Penguin guitar to a fan, so it could be passed around. (I’ll bet Sven was loving that!)

• when asked how far he could flick a pick – he sent one out to Paul at the sound-board (about 20 yards away). Paul caught it!

• A fan said she’d never caught a pic after 22 years of concerts. Rick flicked her a few (that she failed to catch) before he finally said, "Come here, I’ll make it easy for you." When she got to the front of the stage, he threw a fistful at her.

• After instructing me to "not faint" he answered my question about his song writing process (on guitar? piano? lyrics or music first?) He said he really doesn’t have a set way of writing, it just depends. He apologized for not having a more specific answer, then told me to I could come over and watch some time. :)

• An emotional fan got up and said that "he wasn't looking for sympathy" but he'd been having a very tough time of it lately. He just wanted to tell Rick that CT was a big part of helping him get through these tough times. I remember Jennifer and I looking at each other at that point - both of us thinking, "Wow - that guy is really brave to say this in front of all of us!" The way Rick handled the comment was pure class... He stopped flicking pics & just simply acknowleged that we all go through tough times. He made no claims to know exactly what the fan was going through, but he could relate. He talked a little about how hard it was when his parents passed away. Then he wished the fan well... It was a moment I'll never forget. The way Rick handled that situation made me really proud to be a fan.

• He played & sang some of "Bite It" for us.

• He asked if we wanted to hear something new – to which we enthusiastically replied, "YES!" After a couple starts he apologized and gave up. He couldn’t find the right key because they’d played with it so much in the studio…

All in all, the clinics were a fabulous way to round out TF3. How cool to listen to each of the guys individually...

It was time for the group photo – we all gathered in the audience & were joined by CT, some of their family and the crew. Considering that there were 300 – 400 people in the shot, it was a fairly painless experience! :)

While the crew packed up to head out to Rockford, Dave Frey gave his own Q&A, which I had to miss because I knew I needed to eat something before the MFH showing. Kim’s got a very good account at his site…

MFH SNEAK PREVIEW

I had a blast watching this. And what a great way to get a preview! The screen in the theatre was huge & the sound made you feel like you were there. The editing was cool, too – I like that each song was introduced during a black out, along with the night it was performed. GRH & DP were my personal favorites. I wasn’t lucky enough to be at the Metro shows, but after watching MFH, I felt like I got a great taste of that energy. So bring on the DVD, guys! I’ve got the player warmed up!!! :)

Although it was anti-climatic (& a bit anti-social?!), I went out with a friend that night instead of hanging out with my TF3 friends. Christie is an old acting bud/ road roomie of mine who was kind enough to come to Merrillville from Chicago so we could spend a little time together. Like my brother, she understood that my trip to the Chicago area was all about CT. She was also like my brother in that she was a person to mooch a ride from. The next morning, she would give us a ride to the car rental place to pick up the transportation to the 25^th anniversary show!

It was great to catch up with her. She'd brought along some amazing pictures to share. Some were of a tour of A Christmas Carol we'd done back in November/December '98. The others were from Columbine High School where the tragic shootings had occurred in the spring. Her family lives there (it's also where she went to high school). She was home during most of the media aftermath and took part in helping make the memorials. Wow...

Christie didn’t know jack about CT so she listened patiently to all my TF stories. She was so impressed with the guys’ graciousness to the fans that she asked me to make her a mix tape that would introduce her to their music. (Note: I did just that. She’s on "our side" now!) :)

Peace,

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© Copyright, Lisa Jebsen 1999