All the speculation, all the hopes, the fears, and the prayers of PJ fans round the world converged this night in Virginia.  After the horrible events at Roskilde, could the band carry on?...or was the weight on their shoulders too heavy to bear even still?  The band took the stage this night with a bit of trepidation.  Long Road was the most soulful I had ever seen it...and the entire evening just...flowed.  When Ed broke out the Dead Moon cover for the Daughter Tag the entire crowd was screaming the lyrics back with him..."It's Ok...It's Okkkkkkkkkkk"
 
 

Fast Forward about 24 hours to Charlotte, North Carolina. It was impossible to imagine that just last night was the first concert since the European tour had abruptly ended.  The band was still a little unsure of themselves...but there was a noticeable differance in the air this night.  The mood had changed from "let's just get through this one", to something more fitting PJ:  namely; "let's just rock".  I had been to this venue once before, to see Tori in 1999 and pulling into the parking lot brought back a lot of memories of that tour.  There were a few more venues where that would be the case on this tour as well.
 

Greensboro:  While my seat was no where near as good this night, I held comfort in the fact that I still had six more shows planned after this one.  I met up with a fellow PJ fan, Bob, who I offered crash space to.  Sadly his car broke down on the way home from the venue and we spent the next day (my birthday!) getting it fixed.  But Bob was a good guy and we hung out a lot on that tour.  That son of a bitch saw every show on PJ's first US leg that year.
Crazy Mary.  My disbelief knew new boundaries this evening.  Never ever EVER in my life had I expected to get such a gem...but I did, this night and even MORE in the nights to come.  I even  lucked into one of those "we want to sit with our friends back here will you move up a section by trading tickets with us?" situations as well.  Score!  I got my gear through the metal detectors, the first time attempting such.  Even Bobs car was fixed by the time we went by to pick it up.  This was just one of those nights where all the planets were aligned...
This night the boys also graced us with In my Tree and Smile(!)  After the show I said a fond farewell to Bob, expecting to see him again in the Midwest...

Yet again, even I had underestimated my addiction to the boys...