| Amarillo, Texas |
| April 28, 2000 |
Here's part one of two of my reviews from the Texas shows this past weekend. Go to THE SHOW now to avoid the pre-show ramblings. :)
The drive from Midland to Amarillo was flat, flat, flat. As I'd never been to Amarillo before, I was hoping the terrain would differ a bit from Midland. Maybe some hills… or bumps in the ground. Something!! Oh well. It's just as dusty up there, too... And did I mention it's flat?
To be fair to the west Texas landscape, the sunsets & sunrises do make up for the supreme lack of scenery.
Well, I got there
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay early. Imagine that. This was despite the
directions from Yahoo Maps. NOTE TO SELF: in
general, they don't know what they're talking about. :P
Since this was a "street party" for several Amarillo radio stations, there was a lot of set up going on. Since the gates weren't up yet, I walked straight to the stage. Woo hoo! The first person I saw was John
Candis. We spent a decent amount of time staring at the sky &
wondering if the weather would hold. After he'd finished setting
up the merchandise tent, he gave me a preview of a potential new
shirt, which I liked very much. Looks like it will be a black t
with the photo from the back of MFH on the front. The back says,
"Four great guys. Three great chords." It has yet to be
approved, but I hope it becomes available soon! Of course the crew was busy
loading in, but Sven came over to say hi. He complained that he
couldn't find "the thing." After begging him not to use
such technical terms, I told him he’d better find it because
there couldn't be a "show" without a "thing."
:) I spent the rest of the afternoon
just kinda taking it all in. I enjoy seeing what all goes in to a
show and this kind of event had even more elements than usual to
coordinate. Until recently, the lot where the concert would take
place had a building on it. Some patch up work with concrete was
done that morning in a lame attempt to make the area more level.
Yikes! To my disappointment there was a
barrier in front of the stage. :P The stage itself was a good
size, with a decent amount of instruments & lighting
positions. As a TOMCAT employee (we manufacture truss, etc. here
in Midland), I was quick to notice that we had made the ground
support system. Richard - the head of the company providing sound & light equipment - was surprised to see a TOMCAT "rep" at the show. I really got an earful from him -
apparently some of the truss we'd custom built for him was screwed up. Oops… Guess that’s what I get for asking about the system! Despite that, he was kind enough to say I could pretend to be on his crew if they tried to boot me out now that the gates were up. :) After flicking some pics that got
all the way out to me near the sound tent, Sven informed me that
he'd found the "thing." I guess this "thing" has something to do with a light. I never totally understood. Anyway, Sven had a new toy to play with this time - a digital camera. He showed me some shots of the hotel, the venue, a dorky statue in the building next door & a particularly cool shot of Rick reading the paper at breakfast that morning. :) Although there would be no
official sound check, somewhere between 4 or 5 pm Bun E. &
Tom showed up and played around a bit. As he left the stage, I
gave Tom an early b-day present - some cookies I'd made the night
before. Don't think they travelled very well, but it's the
thought that counts, right?! He thanked me and shook my hand
before hopping into the van with Bun E. NOTE TO SELF #2:
never, ever believe anything radio station staff members tell
you. Ever. Some of you may recall my frantic posts about
getting a *#$^@#^%$ ticket to this show. Well, after plunking
down $28 for a "VIP" ticket, this is what it got me: * a lame dinner from Coors
Catering; :P * a stupid
"commemorative" mug that didn't even say CT on it; * no kind of preferential seating
whatsoever. The latter was really the only
reason I bought the damn thing – but a VIP seating area was
nonexistent. DOH! Oh well. There are worse things that could
happen, huh? I was there & would get to see the show from my
favorite spot: in the front between Rick & Robin. :) The gates opened at 6 and I was
shocked when the 1st of 2 opening bands started at 6:30. I didn't
think that the show would start until 8 or so. File that one
under the radio staff "note to self"... At any rate, The Blue Johnies
were first up and played a short set of what I believe to be
original stuff. Pretty decent. Nothing that did much for me, but
they were fine. Seemed that they had to cut the set short because
they were being hurried up from offstage. Unfortunately for the Blue
Johnies, they were also upstaged by Sven. Watching him wolf down
dinner was infinitely more entertaining than their set. :) There
were two 17 year old guys standing next to me & they were
absolutely fascinated. They about lost it when Sven pulled out a
bottle of Tabasco sauce and proceeded to chug it. They asked me
if he was on drugs... Nope - he's just Sven. ;) As it turns out, because the Blue
Johnies were hustled off so fast, The Undertakers played an extra
long time - I'm not sure what that was about. Seemed like after
hurrying everyone up, they ended up having to buy time for CT.
They were a 4-piece cover band (guitar, bass, keys, drums) - nary
an original song between 'em. The did stuff like ZZ Top, Black
Foot & a respectable version of "Mustang Sally."
Once again, an inoffensive opener - but I was really just biding
my time until the main event. CT took the stage around 8:30. FASHION REPORT Before the show started, you
could see Rick standing off stage right. He got everyone wound up
early when he started throwing out pics from back there. Then
when he saw me, he pointed & yelled "Lisa!" then
bowed after I waved back. Naturally, I was thrilled. I loved the
show already & it hadn't even started! :) And can I just say that there's
no happier sound than the opening strains of "I Must Be
Dreamin'"? The guys took the stage with
plenty of energy from Bun E’s first drum lick and they only
got more into it as the show progressed. The best word for them
that night would be "playful." The crowd was full of
energy, too. Lots of chanting and screaming…. SET LIST MISC. RECOLLECTIONS During the first banter session,
Rick totally caught me off guard when he said, "In case
you're confused, this is Amarillo and we're Cheap Trick... If you
have any questions, just ask Lisa in the front there."
Thanks Rick - no one asked me anything, BTW… In the middle of the show, Rick
spotted a TV camera ("Our favorite station's here!")
and proceeded to drag him up on stage. He took him around the
stage, introducing all of the guys, himself, then the audience.
After taking care of the formalities, Rick said, "Now get
the hell outta here!!!" During that time a bra flew up on
stage. Tom speculated that it was intended for the camera op. After the show, George & I talked about that whole incident. He said he'd never seen anything like it - the show is always structured in a very specific way that comes off as spontaneous, but really isn't - so we agreed that it was all very fun to watch. Another TV station camera dude
didn't get pulled onstage, but he did get several Rick pics to
the head and camera. Rick never got tired of doing that to the
guy. "What station are you with?," he asked, "NBC?
Oh! What channel? 9? 8? 6?" Rick heard him say "7"
but just kept saying wrong numbers to mess with him. :) When Rick pointed out John at the
merchandise both, he said there were some "real pretty"
CT shirts over there. Ever the promoter, he added that there
might be free beer available! Robin was in great voice - but
the wind kept his hair in his face on several songs. Poor guy. At
times he looked like a blonde Cousin It. I enjoyed the way played
with the crowd that night. Very fun to watch. :) Tom & Bun E.
were all smiles too... During the banter sessions, Rick was very
accommodating to people who asked for pics… Nothing beats a
show when everyone looks so happy to be there... Thanks to Sven for getting me a
set list. Before I took off, I got a chance to talk to him a bit.
He informed me that Rick was mad at him for not having the
picture of Homer out on the amps. Sven thought it might have been
left at Steve Albini's house - I tried to assure him that I
wasn't offended in the slightest. To my surprise though, Homer
turned up in Richardson the next night. Too cool… I got out of there and headed for
the "motel." NOTE TO SELF #3: The
Camelot Inn is neither "Camelot" nor an
"Inn." :P Ahhhh – gotta love these road trips. Thanks for reading… Next
stop: Richardson. Peace, Lisa
J. "I
prefer to listen to Cheap Trick." -Homer
Simpson Back to Reviews ©
Copyright, Lisa Jebsen, 2000
RN:
black suit, black t that
I couldn't read (Hollywood something?), beard tag, plus
the ever present bball cap & tennis shoes
RZ:
beige print suit,
white/gold tank (the jacket came off late in the set)
TP:
black pants & shirt,
jean jacket, shades, big ol' cowboy hat
BEC:
floral print shirt &
jeans, blue bball cap I couldn't read
IWYTWM
ELO
KIDDIES
what a great
way to follow up IWYTWM!
HOT
LOVE
I
CAN'T TAKE IT
one of my
faves; Rick introed Robin as one of his favorite
songwriters
AIN'T
THAT A SHAME
IKWIW
Rick made a
comment on Tom’s cowboy hat before he introed him as
"a part-time Texas resident & the inventor of
the 12-string bass"… In the middle of the song,
Rick managed to flick a pic from far stage left that went
right down my shirt. Obviously from my surprised
reaction, Rick & Robin could tell that Rick's aim was good that
night.
WRONG
ALL ALONG
Afterwards
Rick called it a "great Texas driving song."
IYWML
"Sing
along if you know it."
70s
SONG
VOICES
HEAVEN
TONIGHT
"This
is a song off of an album we put out a few years ago
called "Heaven Tonight." The name of the song
is… "Heaven Tonight."
SOUTHERN
GIRLS
SURRENDER
GHOST
TOWN
Rick introed
Robin as one of his favorite lead singers. I love that
moment afterwards when they shake hands… Fantastic
vocal work by Robin. Excellent.
DREAM
POLICE
NEVER
HAD A LOT TO LOSE
Robin played
with the crowd more than usual on this one.
GOODNIGHT
NOW