Tonight my husband, Tim, flew in from Midland to join me for his first CT concert. He found a cheap one-way flight that would allow him to drive back in the same car with me the next day. Although the airport was a madhouse, he got in alright. We headed straight for the venue so we could get in line & he could meet my new friends.

As always, Jennifer, Stephanie, Kim & Kevin were there when we arrived. We chatted a bit before ducking out of line for awhile to have dinner with my aunt & uncle at Waterloo – a brewpub about 5 blocks away.

By the time we got back, there was quite a line – looked like the place would definitely be full tonight. The dash in to claim a spot was a wee bit crazy – lots of pushing and shoving on one fan's part. :P That same fan made the mistake of pushing in front of Jennifer & Stephanie. Hello?! I would not piss off a couple of Italian girls from Boston, if I were you! :)

It all worked out OK though. The Boston 2 got their spot in front of Robin and Tim & I ended up right where I wanted to be – between Robin & Rick.

THE SHOW

The opening band was The Wannabees. "Wannabee" what? Deaf? A pain in the ass? Annoying as hell? I was completely underwhlemed by these dorks. They had an attitude from the moment they came on. I guess our response wasn’t good enough for them, which seemed to piss the lead singer off to no end. As punishment, they played an overly long, overly loud set that left my ears begging for mercy. It was so loud, I couldn’t tell where sound was coming from. The guitarist was right in front of me but I couldn’t decipher what was he was playing – if that makes any sense. At the risk of sounding like my grandmother – when it's that loud, turn the sh** down.

Ick. Thank god it finally ended. Interesting to note that this was the only band Rick didn’t acknowledge during one of his banter sessions…

Fashion Report

Set List

Random notes

Since it was that Mardi Gras time of year, some beads flew on stage during "Surrender" and Robin put them on. They matched the suit quite nicely, actually... Tom saw Rusty’s Kiss Visa card, laughed and pointed it out to Rick, who commented that "there ought to be a Cheap Trick credit card – although there’d be no credit limit!!" DJ Johnie Walker guested on "On the Radio" and managed to keep a straight face while Rick & Tom did their best to make him laugh… Overall, the guys seemed to have a good time.

The only disappointment in the show was that the Wannabeabunchabuttheads blew the experience for my husband. He would have had more fun at the CT 77 or In Color show, I’ll wager. He’s also a big fan of the 97 album – so it was a bummer for him to not hear anything off that. Oh well…

Saying goodbye to all the good people I met in Austin was sad. Brian from Dallas made me promise to come to TF3 – I assured him I would if the ol’ acting gig schedule allowed. Others tried to convince me to come along on the caravan to Galveston, but it wasn’t meant to be. Tim & I had an obligation back home in Midland – not to mention the fact that his b-day is Feb. 14^th! I didn’t think he’d take very kindly to me being out of town on his day… :)

Besides – after Sven gave me the now autographed Homer sign, I failed to see how it could get any better! After all the goodbyes, I left La Zona one happy CT fan.

We spent the night with my aunt & uncle there in Austin & brunched with them at one of my favorite spots: Trudy’s. Before we headed out the door though, we found the infamous "geek" picture the photographer had told me about. Along with a review of the first 2 nights were 2 pictures: one of Robin & the other a full-length shot of Rick tipping his hat to the crowd. In the sea of arms and faces, the only face you can make out in is mine.

I think the most accurate description of my smile would be "mindless joy." :)

Peace,

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© Copyright, Lisa Jebsen 1999