We had a day off to recover from the amazing Anaheim show. Got in some more quality time with friends plus Tim got another baseball fix when we saw LA vs. Milwaukee. Neither of us had ever been to Dodger Stadium before, so that was pretty dang cool. LA won 5 nothing and Park had a 2 hitter. Cool!

After bidding a fond farewell to my old high school buds, we made our way north. The drive up to Saratoga from LA was a smooth one. It was a beautiful, clear day and there was a constant stream of rolling hills, mountains, vineyards and nut tree groves to the east and west. We pulled into Villa Montalvo around 3. Tim was off to play some golf and I was off to (try to) score some seats closer to the stage. No luck though. Too bad, so sad.

What a beautiful area! Wow! Villa Montalvo is a public park up in the hills with a mansion and three performance spaces. Got a glimpse of the Garden Theatre where set up was in full force. The stage had plenty of room and the seating was built into the side of a hill. Looked to be a capacity about 1000 or so. The general admission area was a pretty good deal. It was off to the side with bench style seating, but the view of the stage was just fine. We said a quick “hi” to George. I wanted to prove to him that I do, indeed, have a husband! :)

Kim (not Kim G) and Junko showed up soon after that. After Kim took off, Junko and I spent the rest of the afternoon together – trying to hear sound check before getting the boot. D’OH! Felt like an idiot. Oh well. Lord knows it’s not the first time for me to feel dumb and it probably won’t be the last! :)

Junko had a present for me: a picture of us at the Silver show with my infamous Homer sign. Thanks Junko! It was great to spend some time with her that day. I found out that she was at Budokan! 10th row! Pretty cool… She also showed me some photo albums she had made for the band from their last tour to Japan. Great stuff!

She introduced me to Sachiko – another fan from Japan – and was kind enough to translate for me. Sachiko is one brave lady! She came over to the US alone and was making her way around by herself. I was impressed. :)

We were at the front of the line when the first trolley load of people arrived. Tony, Kim G, Kevin and Susan were all there. I congratulated Kim and Tony for seeing a great Giants game the night before. They got to see Bonds hit 2 homers. Pretty cool! Guess it was a bit chilly at Pac Bell that night, though!

After a brief wait, there was a bit of a mad dash for the GA spots. Fortunately Junko, Sachiko and I were able to claim places in the first row. Thankfully there were red cushions provided to make those cement benches a little more comfy. This was also the first CT show I’d been to that had programs provided. There was a nice little write up on all the artists performing there that season. Curiously the only photo in there was of Robin!

There was plenty of time to meet and mingle with folks before the show. Met up with fans from all over – and I’ll be danged if all the names aren’t escaping me now. My bad. Lee was there and she introduced herself to me as Sven’s “significant other.” Apparently he was coming out west for a visit the next day. I begged the woman to give him my regards and to let him know how very much his presence is missed.

The merchandise table is chock full of stuff these days. Black, pink and blue ladies tshirts and tanks, DVDs, CDs, etc. There was quite a line – always good to see. :) Grabbed a copy of the DVD which has been a really hot seller this summer. 2 disks packed with great stuff from 1999 for $25– can’t beat that!

I surprised Kim G with some Dodger magnets which seemed to please him very much. He told me that he’d take back at least 35% of the bad things he’d been saying about me. What a guy! :P

After that, he was kind enough to give me a piece of paper to jot down the set list.

Oh.
My.
God.

I about fell over at the sight of the incredible list of songs. Made the mistake of blurting out that it was giving me a big ‘O’ just thinking about it. Some guy said, “As long as I can watch.”

Ummm… I’llhaftathinkaboutitno. :)

Of course because this was an acoustic show, the setup was different. Some of Rick’s arsenal were out on display and the usual checkerboard amps were not there. Stools and music stands were out for Rick, Robin and Tom.

Talked to George some more. He told me about the wardrobe cases – each of the guys has their own and each case has a name of one of the Marx Brothers: Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo and – shoot what’s the other one?!?! D’oh! Can’t remember. Anyway, Groucho is BEC’s case (LOL!) and George told me that they’ve made it a point to keep it back by the drum kit during his absence. Very cool gesture IMHO. He hadn’t heard anything about the surgery, which had been scheduled for that day although he did mention that plans were in the works for a group call to BEC tonight.

I also gave George some big news that I’d already shared with Kim G, Junko and Sachiko, so what the heck, I might as well broadcast the news here…

Right before Tim and I left on our trip we found out that I’m pregnant. :) George was very sweet and congratulated us up and down. Later on Sachiko told Tim that she was sure that our kid would be a CT fan. :)

Kinda glad we found this out before the trip so I could properly adjust my drinking habits. As much as I love a good glass of red wine, I had to hold off for the time being. Not that this was too hard at this show – word on the street was that one glass was going for 8 *&$^%@ dollars! Yikes!

THE SHOW

Harmony Riley opened with 4 or 5 songs and did a darn fine job of adjusting to the acoustic thing. Miles said they were used to having electric guitars to cover their mistakes – they felt naked without them, so he was trying to picture all of us naked as well. :) They joked around about not having any money after Vegas and talked about how much they like California. My favorite of theirs by far is “Falling Away.”

Afterwards Tim bought their CD and I had them sign it. Well, I had 2 of them sign it. Missed out on Daxx and Miles. You could actually see Daxx off stage left. I asked their bassist (name?!?! Miles never introed you and I can't read your scribble!) if he was getting into show mode. He said, “Yeah, you can tell by the suit.” LOL

Just before the show, Robin Jr. came out to sit at the soundboard with George. When he saw Junko, his eyes lit up and he yelled her name and waved.

FASHION REPORT

RN	long black coat w/ black t and pants
RZ	black suit with black dress shirt
TP	long black leather coat, black turtleneck, pants and boots
DN	black suit with hot pink dress shirt with big ol’ lapels

SET LIST

Hello There
Come On Come On	I love this as a follow up to Hello There. After so many listens to Budokan, it just seems right.
Lookout	OMG!!!!!!!! I’ve always, always wanted to hear this one in person. THANK YOU CT! I can die happy now!
She's All Right	They played this one on NYE and there’s been several people who said they didn’t like it. I beg to differ. I like it because it’s a simple, pop tune and it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard them do before.
Give It Away	Another new one. I loved the acoustic show for a place to hear new songs because it was so much easier to make out lyrics. I enjoyed this song in Anaheim, but I LOVED it after hearing the words. Yea! Afterwards, RN & RZ said it was "weird" to do that one acoustically.
Didn't Know I Had It	Right before they started, Rick watched Robin fumbling with the lyric sheets on his stand and asked if he “remembered this one.” There was a slight pause before Robin simply replied, “I do now!” Rick absolutely nailed the guitar solo! Tempo seemed a little slower than when I’ve heard them play it before.
Had To Make You Mine	Wow!
Love Comes Around	Double wow! The guys were pulling out some really obscure ones tonight. This one had a “country” vibe to it.
Borderline	Great choice for the acoustic setting.
Tonight It's You	2 from “Standing on the Edge”! Lisa and I about freaked out to hear this one. Waa hoo!!!
California Man	Great jam! They took a quick break after this one – looked like it was so they could deal with some tech issues.
Cold Turkey	Cool acoustic version!
Fan Club	Right before this song Rick acknowledged fans who were in for the show from all over and said this one was for us.
Waitin' for the Man	Tom really threw himself into this one. Another great jam!
IWYTWM	Rick said that they’ve played this song just about everywhere in the world – hopefully it will bring world peace. :)
Special One	Woo hoo! Another new one! :)
Mandocello	What a thrill to hear my favorite Nielsen ballad of all time!
Tell Me Everything	Tom’s bass line is stellar in this one.
The Flame
Surrender	The album flat was a little flimsy and didn’t make it past the first row. Oops.

RICK SEZ

Early on Rick talked about this being an unusual set up for them. They’re used to electric guitars and a “drunk audience.” He looked us up and down and decided that the latter was still true.

He was also quick to point out Daxx behind the drums and told us that BEC’s surgery had gone OK. “He’s not dead, so that’s good.” When he asked Daxx if he was having fun, Daxx said no, which made Rick LOL. “Damn kids!” He made some comment about lowering his allowance before asking him again. Daxx finally relented. :)

We were also informed early on that Robin wrote the set list. He proceeded to rattle off who'd writted the lists on the previous nights (RN in Anaheim and TP in Santa Ana). "If you like the set list, Robin wrote it. If you hate it, it's Robin's fault."

After “Waitin’ for the Man” Rick said he thought Tom was the only one here who could relate to a song about drugs. Tom offered that like him, we’d heard about it on the Discovery Channel.

Rick pointed out fans in the audience from Texas, Tokyo and Leeds. (Which impressed Tim to no end.) Then came the shouting from the crowd that Rick repeated… Italy, Tennessee, Africa? He then saw a guy in the aisle and commented that he must be from Milwaukee since he was drinking beer…

He saw Kim with with her black CT tank and had her model it for the crowd. “Mine doesn’t look like that,” he said looking down at his chest… LOL

Introing "Didn't Know I Had It" he and Robin said that it should've been a hit. Tom quickly added - "Yeah, but we recorded it!" This got a universal "awwww!" from the audience.

MISC. NOTES

Unfortunately, Words, I Can't Take It, Don't Love Here, Say Goodbye were all cut! Wah!

Despite that minor set back and some minor sound issues this was a helluva show. The guys were all in great moods and had a lot of fun up there. A couple times Rick had to switch out and looked relieved to get an electric guitar in his hands. On the few occasions he did have that option, he leapt to his feet and did the more typical “Rick moves.” He was always quick to kick the stool out of his way too. LOL The first time he gave it a good boot and it went flying across the stage – this was cheered loudly, of course. :)

Because it was a more traditional theatre setting we had to stay seated for most of the show – anytime Junko, Lisa (who joined us down front), Sachiko and I got on our feet, people pitched a bitch. :P It’s rock –n- roll people! Get off your ass!

*Sigh*

Anyway – I was surrounded my good enthusiastic fans, at least, so we danced as much as we could while remaining seated. :) Tim was laughing at my goobed out state. On more than one occasion a song made me squeal like a little girl.

During the short break between CA Man and Cold Turkey, Tom came right out into the crowd and just hung out. How cool is that? To my shock, he wasn’t swarmed with people. I tried to let folks who’d never met the guy talk to him but when I saw the crowd dissipate, I said a quick hi. When he saw me he yelled “Homer!” and gave me a hug. :) His black leather coat? Like buttah!

ME: Loved the Anaheim show!
TOM: Really?
ME: Oh my heavens, yes!
TOM: Good! My favorite part was when that guy...
ME: Chad Smith?
TOM: Yeah! He kept making us do 'just one more.' He kept us going on and on.

Right after that he had to jump back on stage because the other guys were back. I repeat: how cool was it of him to hang out like that?!

Because we were off to my aunt and uncle’s house in San Rafael we needed to hit the road ASAP. Said goodbye to all the cool people we’d met that night and got in line to catch a tram down to the parking lot. We were in a van with a bunch of drunks who thought they were *very* witty. Oop ack. It was like a Noel Coward play in there… not! Oh well.

It was still a fantastic night. Beautiful venue, fabulous show… Thanks to CT for another great one! I'd heard nothing but great things about CT acoustic shows, so now I can count myself among the lucky ones to have seen one. :)

Peace,

Lisa J.

"I prefer to listen to Cheap Trick."

- Homer Simpson

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