| CT 77 Show |
| La Zona Rosa; Austin, TX |
| February 10, 1999 |
On Feb. 10 - 12, I had the most fun in my life (the 2 big exceptions being: #1 - the weekend Tim & I got married and #2 - when we took a belated 5 week European honeymoon... Yeah, I know, insert "awwwww" here...) Anyway, skip to THE SHOW now, if you like…
The drive to Austin from Midland was fairly uneventful, although I did blast CT during the entire 5 hour drive, in preparation. Austin is one of my favorite cities, so I relished the fact that I was on my way to see my favorite band there. Believe it or not, the only other time I'd seen CT had been in ’84...
When you’re an actor, your life can be series of conflicting schedules. As much as I love CT, I love acting more. Until today, my gigs were in conflict with the CT shows in my neck of the woods.
ANYWAY, my long streak of bad luck had ended... I got in fine & dropped off my stuff at my aunt & uncle’s place. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch them before I headed out for the show…
I got to La Zona about 6 (well, OK, I drove by at 5, but there didn't seem to be a line, so I went away & came back). The group of early arrivals was a spirited one. One of the best parts of these concerts was the kick ass people I met before & after. Kim, Robin, Phyll, Danny, Lisa, Connie, Jennifer, Stephanie, Kevin, Brian - to name a few. :) It made the wait very pleasant.
Jennifer & Stephanie informed me that when I passed by the venue at 5, I’d missed out on seeing Robin. Apparently he came outside to say hello & see if they had change for a $5... DOH!
The organization on the venue’s part was lacking, to say the least. Then when we were finally let in, we were encumbered with wristbands ("I'm-an-escapee-from-an-insane-asylum Orange") that we were told to wear for the next two days. WhatEVER!
After all that, we dashed inside. I scored the spot I wanted (front row btw/Rick & Robin). Little did I know I was standing next to the Kim Gisborne! Turns out he’d been let in to watch sound check, so he was standing there at the barrier when we came in. He and I chatted about which of the first 3 albums was our favorite & I admired his jacket. I ended up standing next to him for all the Austin shows.
The club had a bar along the back & an area off to house left that had tables. According to my aunt, La Zona used to have a restaurant. I’m not sure if it was still there or not...
Although barriers can be bummers, I was pleased to have a place to prop up my Homer Simpson "I prefer to listen to Cheap Trick" sign. Sven spotted it right away & thought it was cool, "Rick’ll love this!" He was also kind enough to get me a piece of tape so I wouldn’t hafta hold it the whole show. For his kindness, I promised to make him a Homer sign of his own. :)
George Devroe (SP?) and the Roam was the opening act & they sounded pretty good to me. George himself was a happy guy - you could tell he loved being onstage. He added a nod to CT in the first song. I liked watching the drummer too – he was very into it facially. Crack me up... Now I enjoyed them and all, but mostly I just stood there the whole time grinning like an idiot, thinking, "I'M IN THE FRONT ROW FOR CHEAP TRICK!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!"
FASHION REPORT
| RICK | black suit, "Sick Man of Europe" T, "AUS, TX" beard tag |
| ROBIN | black leather pants & jacket w/ black & white stripped shirt & black boots |
| TOM | black suit (long jacket) w/black shirt & black boots |
| BUN E. | grey polo shirt & dark jeans & black bball hat |
THE SET LIST
| CT 77 |
| SHELTER |
| CAN'T HOLD ON |
| I KNOW WHAT I WANT |
| SURRENDER |
| VOICES |
| DREAM POLICE |
| GOOD NIGHT NOW RANDOM NOTES |
| Overall they
sounded great. There were a few minor feedback problems,
but nothing too major. At least not to my ears... I was
still grinning like a freak when Tom caught my eye - he
flashed me a smile that only made me grin MORE. After the
first couple songs when Rick talked to the crowd for the
1st time, I held up my sign, which he took and held up
show to the crowd. Of course this thrilled me to no end.
:) Robin was in good voice, although he seemed to be holding back a little. He touched his throat a lot - I'm sure it's tough to sing that album after having time off... Rick was Rick - working the crowd for all it was worth... Bun E. seemed embarrassed by people chanting his name when he came out. He politely "shushed" us... Tom seemed to be having fun. Gotta love that smile... |
 Photo by Kevin |
How cool to hear my favorite CT album live & in person?!!?
After the show we were treated to a Q&A with the boys. Nothing too terribly earth shattering was asked. Here's what I remember...
Bun E. said there were plans to remaster DP & ASU, he added that they may release an album of stuff they've done for soundtracks… Rick passed on the story of the time when he was so drunk he answered the door - it was the police - and he didn't realize until he looked down that he was buck naked. DOH!… Another fan (who was obviously pretty wasted) started blathering about how great they were & "what is it like to be so… f***ing awesome… I mean every band is so influenced… You are so f***ing awesome…" This went on for awhile before Robin laughed & said, "Well, if you shut the f*** up I’ll answer your question!" … Rick had the quip of the evening when a fan asked them what it was like to be the greatest rock band in the world. "I don’t know – I’ll ask Journey."
Peace,
Lisa J. |
"I prefer to listen to Cheap Trick." |
-Homer Simpson |
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© Copyright, Lisa Jebsen, 1999