Unlimited Sunshine Tour w/Cake
Orpheum Theatre
Boston, MA
September 7, 2003

I think I’ll call this one "Planes, Trains and Automobiles and a Couple of Scary Buses."

Or "Still Blathering After All These Years"

For the folks with too much time on their hands, read on… LOL Otherwise you could click here for show only things, here for set list. The openers were fun again, so click here to read about them.

Thankfully the Boston show was reserved seating, so there was no repeat of the ridiculously early arrival time from the day before. We did have a long journey though, so we hit the road a little after 8:00 that morning to make our way to Port Authority to catch a bus for Boston.

As luck would have it, we were in time to catch the 9 am express – plus it was $50, as opposed to the $80 we’d anticipated. Woo hoo! Another CT shirt for me! LOL

Anyway, it was a full bus and we were ready to roll when Laundry Bag Man got onboard. LBM didn’t want to put the bag overhead or under the bus. LBM muttered about xrays harming his books, refusing to put the bag away. LBM was ushered off the bus shortly thereafter.

Funny and sad all at the same time. While I understand why they didn’t want to leave him on the bus, my gut told me that he was eccentric, but harmless. In this day and age though, folks are understandably cautious.

After that bit o’drama, we made our way out of town. I wanted to sleep or memorize lines for a show I’m in right now*, but I couldn’t stop staring out the window. It was an absolutely gorgeous day! Sunny and bright: one last taste of summer before fall kicks in.

Unless you live in West Texas where it’s summer 9 months out of the year. LOL

Anyway, we made our way uptown and once we got to the freeway, Dr. Love (at least that’s what I called our "Barry White sound alike" driver) put on a video. Land Before Time XXXIV or some such. To borrow Stephanie’s gag, now we know why dinosaurs are extinct: because they’re so damn annoying!

I found myself just wishing that one of those little buggers would bite the big one. Pleaseohpleaseohplease?!?! I hate to blow the ending for you, but they all made it back home.

Damn.

Once in Boston, Stephanie immediately found a Dunkin Donuts in the terminal. The poor thing had been jonesing for a DD coffee fix all day Saturday.

Lil’ Miss Surly behind the counter gave me a weird look when I ordered donut holes. "There’re called MUNCHKINS!" Stephanie lectured, thrilled to have us in her hometown where our accents would sound out of place.

Not that this did anything to stop Cara and me from teasing her about "pahking her wicked retahded cah in Havahd Yahd." ;)

A couple more train and bus rides after that and we were in Stephanie’s stomping grounds. She pointed out highlights such as where she gets her hair done, the DD that supplies her coffee every morning, the drug store where she shops... I’m sure the bus driver wondered who the giggling goofs were and I’ll wager that he was relieved when we finally got off his bus. LOL

We relaxed a bit at her place before heading back downtown, hoping to overhear sound check at the Orpheum.

We were SOL in that regard, so we hunted about for a place to have dinner. The best option (that didn’t involve fast food) was the Beantown Pub, just down the street. It was surprisingly warm that afternoon – tons of people were on the Boston Common enjoying the sun.

Junko got to taste a couple of traditional American dinners: meatloaf and turkey. Mmmmmmmmmmmm… Thanks to Stephanie for treating all of us! We had a real "doh!" moment when she said she’d wanted to buy us a lobster dinner. Why’d we let our generous friend get of that cheap? LOL

Afterwards Junko and I made a mad dash for the Hard Rock Cafe so she could do a bit of shopping.

After much debate with the two Bostonians in our party, I can now say with authority that the HRC is at the Back Bay stop on the Orange Line. ;)

As one would imagine there was plenty of Cars and Aerosmith paraphernalia there. Even though we made good time, when we got back, the openers had already started. Not sure why but they went on early.

OPENERS

The Hackensaw Boys were on hand again and I wanted to hear their set, so after buying the latest addition to my CT shirt collection, Stephanie and I headed to our seats. It was cute to see Matt (BEC’s tech) sitting in the audience checking them out.

Anyway, they played another enthusiastic set – despite the relatively empty theatre (are you listening Detroit Cobras?!?!??!). A woman seated in front of us (definitely there for Cake and Cake alone) yelled, "THE BANJO PLAYER’S HOT!!" which got a huge grin/blush/thumbs up out of him. LOL

Another cute moment was when the bass player pointed out his grandma in the crowd. Awwwwwwwwww…

Seemed that they ended up stretching out their set a bit more. Fine by me. :)

Charlie Louvin came out after that and played the same set as the night before, although there was more chatter and goofing around during songs. At one point, Charlie could hardly sing because he was laughing so much. Cute.

Thankfully he didn’t use the "beaver" word again tonight… ;)

After they finished I asked the "Hot Banjo Player" if they had a website. When I told him how much I’d enjoyed their sets here and in NYC, his face lit up, "Really?!"

No. I just like saying that. ;)

Banjo Player is cute, but I was partial to the guy on cans. :D

Stephanie and I hightailed it out of there before Detroit Copouts, er Cobras started. I just couldn’t bear another set of theirs. LOL

Out in the lobby, I got a drink and woo hoo! The bartender carded me!!! LMAO!

Sorry. It just doesn’t happen much anymore and it even though it was prolly because of all the kids there for Cake, it still made my night.

While we were out there, I said "hi" to another Hackensaw Boy, who was looking for his grandma. Awwwwwwwwww!

Sonny Louvin (Charlie’s son) happened by a bit after that, so I asked him if his dad had known Patsy Cline (she’s one of my singing idols!) and it just so happens that not only did his dad know her, Sonny had to attend her funeral! He still seemed a little bitter about having to wear a coat and tie. LOL!

After we took our leave, Stephanie pointed out to me that I’d said, "I’ll tell you whut," while conversing with Sonny.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Has it really come to this? Have I lived in Texas for so long that I’m talking like someone out of "King of the Hill"?!?!?!? I mean, I know I’ve slipped into "y’all" here and there but "I tell you whut"?! Say it ain’t so!

*Sighs, resolves to keep talking through her nose like any other girl who grew up in the Midwest*

THE SHOW

Back inside the theatre, we took our seats for CT’s set, hoping that no one behind us would mind when we stood up.

The Orpheum was like the Roseland Ballroom in that it is pretty run down. The stage was low and very close to the seats. We’ll use the term "seats" loosely. Most seemed to be broken, the paint on the walls is peeling and probably full of lead. Doh! There’s a balcony and a couple of opera boxes on either side.

And for some reason there was a city-wide boycott of A/C, so the place was VERY warm. Blech!

FASHION REPORT

SET LIST

MISC.

Just as they had in NYC, CT took the stage with gusto winning over some more Cake fans.

The set was the same as NYC. We were gunning for "Sorry Boy" since we’d heard it was on the list in DC. Oh well. Still a great selection of songs for their allotted time. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: hard to beat a set with 6 new ones! :)

This show seemed a little less frantic than the night before, so there was more goofing around – very fun to see.

The wildest moment of the evening was the jazzy impromptu jam that broke out mid-set. It was even wackier than "Rick’s Country Jamboree" in Rockford Labor Day weekend. LOL

I think Bun E and Tom started it. After Robin joined in, Rick did this nutty dance across the stage and when he got to the mic, he scatted/sung a bunch of nonsense. I’ve no idea where this came from. My side still hurts from LMAO though.

Rick seemed to enjoy the close proximity of the front row because it allowed him to plaster picks on people’s faces and bounce them off their heads. A guy in front of us had a shirt that seemed to fascinate him, he kept reading it and saying things to him. The Cake fan who thought HB’s banjo player was hot never left her seat, so she became a pick target too. LOL!

RICK SEZ

Lots more to report because Rick talked to us more than he did in NYC…

In reference to some other concert in Boston that night: "Just in case you’re wondering, we’re not Bruce Springsteen and this is not Fenway Park." He told everyone that they were at Bruce’s show the night before, muttering "Right…" sotto voce.

Early on, he kept eyeing a woman in the front row and finally said, "You look familiar." When she began her story, he took the mic to her so she could explain that she’d proposed to Robin when she was 9. He’d told her to wait to find someone better. Robin grinned and said, "Hi Heidi!" When she concluded her story with, "I haven’t found anyone better." There was a huge, "Awwwwwwwwwwwww!" from the crowd. Rick seconded that emotion, telling everyone that "you can’t do better than Robin Zander." By this time, Robin was blushing (at least I think he was – it’s hard to tell with the *(&$^ hat! LOL) and said, "Oh come on you guys!!!’

In that same vein, Rick pointed to someone and said, "I know your boyfriend and he’s no Robin Zander." :)

He welcomed Brad, a newly appointed (?) firefighter and read his "Throw the Kiss flat here" sign. Brad was in an opera box alone. Of course Rick didn’t let that go unnoticed, asking why no one wanted to sit with him. LOL!

Later on he got in another dig at Brad, noting that he was STILL alone in that box, even after a big mention from onstage. Bwahahaha!

Junko got a glowing introduction and applause after Rick told everyone she was actually at the Budokan shows. Cara got a shout out and is apparently from "Adamsville, NY" and Rick completed that bit of banter saying, "Lisa’s here from Texas – or wherever."

To borrow a Rick saying, "just in case you’re confused," I may live in Texas but I’m FROM Ohio. :)

He pointed out a young girl in the first 10 rows and had her parent/guardian hold her up so everyone could see her. Another big "awwwww!" moment. Yet another one came when Rick added, "There are a lot of beautiful women in the crowd tonight, but she’s the prettiest."

Before that, he’d tried to flick her several picks. I didn’t know that’s what he was doing, so I was trying to catch them until Rick said, "Not YOU Lisa!" LMAO! After that I must’ve looked sheepish and/or pouty because he finally smirked, flicked one at me and said, "Here you go." Then he goofed on me and my ungraceful attempt to catch it. DOH!

Rick also plugged the new album and rattled off the last few stops of the tour, noting they’d played 4 nights in a row. "But we’re not tired!" another "Yeah right!" was muttered off mic.

POST SHOW

Once again we skipped out on Cake.

We were hoping to see the guys again by the stage door, but the venue’s location made that tough. We did see Robin and I got a nice smile, wave and "thank you" after telling him it was a great show. Tom came out later – but no BEC or Rick. Can’t say as I blame them for clearing out quickly – as Rick had pointed out, they were coming off a stretch of back-to-back shows.

Before all that, I saw Charlie Louvin out by the tour buses, so I told him I’d enjoyed the sets the last two nights and bugged him about Patsy Cline. LOL Before I could say word one though, he was in full out flirt mode.

All I could think was, "Dude, stop it! You’re old enough to be my grandfather for godsake!" LMAO!

He told me I should come to Columbus with them. LOL when I told mentioned that I was trying to convince my mom (who lives there) to go, his assistant/road manager/lackey/whatever said, "Well, what’s her name? We’ll put her on the guest list!"

And by god, they did. Mom made it to the show with Junko, allowing her daughter to live vicariously through her. LOL

Back at Stephanie’s place, we all got a little rest after two long days and before Junko, Cara and I made our way back to NYC.

The bus ride back was fun. That is, if you enjoy the sensation that at any moment you could crash and die. The driver was friendly and all but the drive through Manhattan was probably about 20 MPH faster than the posted speed limit. LOL And I think some poor bird bought the farm on the grill of the Greyhound somewhere in Harlem.

After dashing over to Cara’s place to grab my suitcase, it was time to head to the airport. Much to my shock, a cab miraculously appeared just when I needed it. The sad part of this was I had to say goodbye to Cara and Junko faster than I wanted. I was sorry to see such a fun weekend come to an end.

THANK YOU!!!

I must say that I had a wee bit of buyer’s remorse when I pulled the trigger at Priceline, but with the power of hindsight, I’m so glad I made the journey. Thanks to CT for two great sets – it was such a pleasure to see them kick ass in front of a "non-CT" crowd. I felt like a proud parent at their kid’s recital or something…

Thanks yet again to Zach & Tim for letting me get away….

And a huge thanks to my traveling companions:

Cara: thanks for all you went through arranging tickets, accommodating your out of town friends and for running lines* with me on the bus back to NYC. :)

Stephanie: thanks for putting up with the teasing, for dinner in Boston and for letting us stay at your place!

Junko: domo arigato for all the gifts and for another fun "tour" together!

Are you still there? Thanks for reading! :)

Peace,
Lisa J.
<insert Homer quote here>

*I’m in a production of Proof at my husband’s theatre in Midland that runs every weekend in October. If anyone wants to come down and see it, you’ll be on the guest list and there will be a meet ‘n greet after the show. ;)