Emo’s Alternative Lounge
Austin, TX
February 12, 2003

Editor’s note: Lisa uses the "f" word in this review. What can we say? She has a potty mouth. Just don’t say we didn’t warn ya. LOL

You know the deal. For set list only click here or for the show only click here. To skip to the part where I use the f-word click here. ;)

Or just read the whole freakin’ thing. :D

Before heading out to do a couple preshow errands, I talked to my smart-ass husband on the phone. After the usual "I love yous" and "I miss yous" he said, "Hey, it’s 9:30 am, shouldn’t you be in line?!?!?!"

Bastard! LMAO…

No trip to Austin is complete without a stop at some of my favorite stores. So after dropping off my uncle at work, I headed over to Book People and Whole Foods and shopped to my heart’s content. Even though Tim made a snotty comment, I bought him some bday presents at Book People anyway. LOL

Back in line at Emo’s (don’t ask what time I got there) Brian (the truck driver from Upstaging) was highly amused and proceeded to give me a hard time. He did temper the teasing with a couple very nice gestures like loaning me his chair and bringing me a bottle of water. Thanks, Brian.

The coup de gras of all this good natured ribbing (at least I think it was good natured - LOL) would be when he sent a panhandler over to me. "Ummm… excuse me, miss, that truck driver told me to tell you to give me a dollar."

Doh!

Later on Brian told me he tried to get some Texas Rangers to come over and harass me, but they got a legit call before they could.

When I wasn’t taking crap from Brian, I met a guy named Jim who claimed responsibility for bringing CT to Emo’s. We chatted a bit and when he went in the club with the manager, he reemerged with a set list and a Rick pick for me. Woo hoo!

Ya see? Stupid early arrival time has its privileges. :)

And as it turns out, I didn’t even need the book I’d just bought. Plenty o’ free entertainment right there at the corner of 6th and Red River. ;)

Jim also introduced me to Dan, the van drivin’ man for Emo’s, who was in charge of shuttling the guys around. They told me I should hop in and go pick up the members of CT with him, but I thought better of it. I like to think that Robin, Rick, Bun and Tom like me but showing up in their van would prolly freak them out a bit. LOL

The usual suspects arrived later that afternoon and my good parking luck continued. Austin parking can really bite, so I was happy that on both days I was able to find a spot on the street just outside the venue.

A woman on her way to get another hole in her ears at the tattoo/piercing joint next door stopped and bummed a cigarette from Jimmy. Brian showed up about then (for round fifteen of his "Let’s Give Lisa a Hard Time" game) and told me I should dye my hair that color and get a tattoo on my neck.

Hmmmmmm… I’llhaftathinkaboutitno.

CT did have another sound check that day, so we got to say a quick hello as they went inside. Bun E. and Robin seemed in a hurry but Rick and Tom stopped to sign some autographs.

When both of them asked about my mom I about lost it.

Pardon my French, but HOW FUCKING COOL ARE THESE GUYS?!?!

Tom even went on to ask about Zach, so don’t let him fool ya. He does pay attention. ;)

Robert, a musician I met the night before, was there for sound check, too. The lucky guy actually got to go inside for that!

Rick signed an item for a fan from the Houston area while he gushed about driving all the way up to see them. I got a laugh outta Rick when I told the fan that, "Cheap Trick is always worth the drive." Rick added, "That should be the new Enterprise commercial."

Works for me! Some residual money would help fund my CT trips. ;)

Back in line, I tried to call mom from a payphone. When my #(*&%^ phone card refused to work, Danny handed me his phone and insisted that I use it to call her.

Thanks Danny. :) I tell ya, CT fans are the coolest!

Then Jimmy let me use his phone so I could call an Austin rock station (with a pickup truck across the street) and tell them to play some CT, dangit. One of the chicks in the truck told me later on that they did actually play a track, but she had no idea what it was.

I tell ya, these kids today…

Danny had to leave for awhile to go out to dinner with his bro. Doh! Stupid family obligations! LOL At least dinner was at Threadgill’s! ;)

This just in from the Strange Coincidence Dept.: while waiting for the doors to open I met another Lisa from Midland. When I asked if she drove in for the show, she said something to the effect of "Hell no! I got out of Midland 10 years ago!"

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!

Can’t say as I blame her and Bryan (AKA Silent Bob) for that.

She was very cool and as it turns out, she did some volunteering at Midland Community Theatre (my hubby’s the exec. director there). After awhile we realized that we have some mutual friends.

Between me, her, Stephanie and another woman (whose name escapes me now – doh!) all the ladies down front and center are CT fans from the IYWML MTV days. Had to laugh at how animated we got while reminiscing about how thrilled we were whenever those swinging lamps faded up on our respective TV screens.

I forgot to mention this in my first night’s review so I’ll do it here...

Danny Saint cracks me UP!!! As usual, he came armed with Trickworld business cards and passed them out to anyone and everyone. Watching him work the room was a sight to behold, lemme tell ya. LOL!!! It was like we were all in his basement and he was the gracious host. I love it.

I didn’t know it at the time but I guess he’d dubbed me "Lisa Fucking J" before he came out to Austin. Bahahahaha! I kinda like how that rolls off the tongue.

I also forgot to mention Rick’s "Danny comment." After talking about Chris’ kids and mine, he made a comment about Danny’s sperm being a missile or something. LMAO! None of us (Danny included) knew what he was talking about.

Anyway... no bouncers down front tonight. They’d put out the big sawhorses, so I guess they figured they didn’t need actual bodies. LOL

THE SHOW

Sloberbone opened again and I managed to decipher some lyrics tonight. I can say with 100% certainty that I heard the words "I" and "you."

FASHION REPORT

SET LIST

MISC.

I-95 was first on the list, but it got the ax. Can’t complain though, because even with a cut, we still got 4 new songs! WOO HOO!!!!

It was another politely enthusiastic crowd. I can’t remember a GA show when there wasn’t some altercation with some jerk trying to shove their way up front. IMHO the guys were more energetic than the night before. Bun E. was laughing and cutting up more than usual.

Speaking of Bun E., I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned how much I like the rim shots and whatnot that he plays whenever Rick’s talking. Too funny...

Rick gave me not one, but two thrills when he let me hold two of his guitars. :D It’s times like these when I wanna crawl into one of the road cases and die a happy woman. LOL

I've said it before, but I'll say it again - closing with "Scent" really worked for me. Especially the way they launched right into it - not allowing us to catch our breath after "Dream Police."

Robin was having some big time problems with his ear piece, going so far as to tell Bill on the sound board "I can’t go on." Not sure if the CT song title reference was intentional or not. ;) Which brings me to…

RN SPEAKS

After Robin said that, Rick showed off his shirt and said, "If Robin says ‘fix it’ you better fix it! Or there are 1000 people who’ll fix you!"

I may be mixing up the shows, but at some point someone yelled "YOU RULE!" to which Rick replied, "No, you rule! No, Dave Ruhl!"

Rick read a sign in the crowd that implored them to play "Way of the World." So Robin and he messed around, playing a few chords, then Rick sang, "It’s the waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" until Robin cut him off with the usual, "I want YOU to want ME!" LOL What a tease!

The IYWML intro included a mention of its appearance in Joe Dirt. Other mentions were the new album, their appearance in Daddy Daycare and previous stops in Austin when they played La Zona Rosa.

POST SHOW

Once again Robin was outside the venue, charming the fans. I took the opportunity to tell him how wonderful "Scent of a Woman" sounds just before he got on the bus. Stephanie had a photo op just after Robin said he liked her Union Jack shirt.

Jimmy, Stephanie and I decided to get some food after that. Rather than the usual IHOP or Denny’s stuff you can get anywhere, we headed for one of the great local chains – Magnolia Cafe. Mmmmmmmm…

I’d like to take this opportunity to name some of my other favorite Austin restaurants… Z Tejas, Trudy’s, Amaya’s, Kerbey Lane and for my vegetarian friends: Mother’s Cafe & Garden.

It’s always a sad thing when a great CT road trip like this has to come to an end. We said our goodbyes outside in the drizzle.

Ahhhhh! What a great trip. The drive home was uneventful – unless you count the light rain and fog that finally lifted somewhere in the middle of Hill Country. I made a mental note to attend the World Famous Goat Cook Off in Brady, Texas this September.

Not.

A big ol’ thanks to the crew and most especially the members of CT. Never did I ever dream way back in ’82 that meeting y’all would be so dang cool.

Another big thank you to my buddies old and new. It's always pleasure to hang out with such good friends...

I’m a little verclempt… Talk amongst yourselves… I’ll give you a topic… The Paradise Island Putt-Putt Course in Brady is neither "paradise" nor an "island." Discuss…

Ft. Worth is coming soon!

Thanks for reading.