so i finally got to see howie and john perform again last night.
michelle and i wound up getting to paradise ungodly early again. again, the weather was not suitable for standing outside for two hours (in december it was bitterly cold, this time, broiling hot). again, we were the second group in line.
after spending a lot of time standing, sitting, stretching, howie showed up for soundcheck. sweet vehicle. walked in without saying hi to any of the people waiting in line. i found myself feeling as if i'd get over my interest in him after that. at least you could say hi to the people who were waiting to see you perform...
john showed up late (i have a feeling the boy overslept again), and it was so nice to see him bringing in his own equipment with everyone else.
i figured by the time i walked into the place, the ultimate, final comparison had taken place. and john had won.
so after 6:00, when we thought the doors opened, after 6:30, when the tickets said doors opened, and just before 7:00, we got in. michelle and i were walking down the long corridor when we heard footsteps running down the corridor. i'd never experienced that at a howie or john show before...
walking, michelle and i got spots at the very front of the stage. i'm talking about my standing directly in front of the microphone.
after another hour (during which i was convinced i would faint numerous times, as i'd been in the sun and heat all day), howie came on. i'm not sure exactly what i think of where i was...overall, i'd say it was very cool. i felt rather odd, because so many people around me were screaming and yelling and hooting and hollering, and then there was me--smiling a bit and singing along a little. i was very content just listening and singing along. i didn't feel that i needed to scream "YEAH HOWIE!!!!" or anything like that. being where i was, it was fun to think that it was my own little private show.
and when it comes to wondering if he was looking at his mic or at me at different points during "she says", i'll just think what i want to think. :)
after awhile, john came on, and he rocked the place. here, i screamed along. he laughed at michelle and i during "my stupid mouth", because we always look at each other and laugh at the "played a quick game of chess with the salt and pepper shakers" line. he caught us and snickered. we were amused. when he started the set with "no such thing", i was very excited, because when he got to the "i am invincible" part, he sang "i am invincible", looked down at me, sang "you are invincible", then sang "we are invincible...because we are alive..." made me happy.
so after the show (during which i took pictures--i'll put some up soon), we managed to snag one of the john setlists for michelle (long live o'toole of the toole clan), and we talked to john outside. we took a picture of him, me, michelle, alicia, and amy, so hopefully that'll come out.
i'm ignoring the fact that i wasted $15 on his new cd--i love john, but the cd refuses to grow on me.
i was determined to walk up to howie and get a picture with him, but i couldn't find him post-show. perhaps if i can make it down to the ironhorse show. yes, definitely if i make it to the show, dammit.
driving back to beverly today, the windows were down, the sun was shining, and "the lillywhite sessions" was blasting through the speakers. it, as well as the rest of the weekend, made me happy to be 20, relatively carefree, and content.