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PART
1: Sleepwalker
Yea! Finally after many years of waiting I would finally get to see my
very first Wallflowers
concert. For some reason all of their previous shows here I wasn't
allowed to attend. However, to start the lovely day off I had to go to
work early in the morning. I got tickets for the show 6 days earlier as
a birthday present from my brother. So I was excited and barely slept.
Okay onto the more exciting stuff.
PART 2: I've Been
Delivered
I was currently doing promotions for Everlast
and through efforts I managed to get a package from his promotion
company. The package came while I was at work so I got the message to go
pick it up that day or to wait until Monday. I was glad not to have
waited until Monday because inside the box were my free tickets for the
show. They were way better seats than the ones I had originally gotten.
They were on the main floor which costs about a hundred bucks or so
regularly. I also got a Eat at Whitey's mug, flats, postcards,
and stickers. I knew that the venue (the Paramount Theatre) would freak
out and not allow the flats to be hung. I brought some with me
anyway.
PART 3: 6th Avenue
Heartache
In the heart of Seattle my brother Jason and I went out towards the
Paramount. Traffic was horrible and we were stuck on...you guessed it
6th Avenue. The weather was horrible, and I was glad that we were at
least spared of the rain. We were both very tired and getting impatient.
We did however make it to the show early. Inside the venue I was quite
surprised to see how close my seat really was. I was setting down my Everlast
memorabilia when a staff worker approached me and asked if I was with
the label. I told him "no" and he said to not pass the items
out into the house. Well, I knew that already. I already had
instructions to pass them out only after the show was done. Sometimes I
wonder what would happen if I did say I was with the label. I got myself
settled in and then went to pick up my Wallflowers
tour shirt. It's the black one with the photo from the Rolling
Stone spread. I went into the lounge afterwards and got my
camera loaded up and returned back to my seat.
PART 4: What It's
Like
Everlast
took to the stage sporting denim with a green shirt. He had a wonderful
band with him as well. When he broke out for his first song of the night
2 women somewhat near the stage were blocking my view. They were dancing
and grooving out to his music. I was grateful that I wasn't directly
behind them. It wouldn't help at all that I'm also Miss Shorty. He
really got the place going. I only remember a few key songs. The first
one I remember was "Ends" which was awesome. I was
hoping he'd do that one. Then he sang a song off his new cd Eat at
Whitey's called "Babylon Feeling." One of the
crowd raising moments was with "Black Jesus" where the
audience chimed in with the "na na"s. The audience really gave
him the love. With all the screams, "I Love You Eric"s, and
one guy said it...then thought again "but not in that way."
That got a few laughs. Everlast
then sang a song from one of his older albums. It was all instrumental
and he dedicated to the late Joe C (part of Kid Rock's band). He then
went into "Black Coffee", "Love For Real",
and "Put Your Lights On" which was the highlight of his
performance for me. Then he closed his set with "What It's Like."
Time for intermission!
PART 5: God Don't
Make Lonely Girls
The wait...man was it long! Then the lights went black and the crowd
stood. I had mixed feelings about the empty seats in front of me. It
meant that some people didn't bother to show up to see the Wallflowers
or they weren't playing to a full house. On the good side, I was glad
that my view wasn't blocked as often and that I had air to breathe in.
Then Rami, Jakob, Mike, Greg, and Mario too the stage. Cheers ran threw
the crowd. Now I'm pretty shy, but I can do a killer scream, especially
when they started the set off with "Sleepwalker." Fancy
lighting was the only thing really going on the stage. Nothing really
theatrical about it, but who needs anything else with songs like theirs?
They didn't sing any songs from their first album, but covered a fairly
good amount from Bringing Down The Horse and Breach.
"Some Flowers Bloom Dead" followed and then it was all
about "6th Avenue Heartache." Jakob sounded very
well and Mario was amazing on the drums. I took quite a few pictures.
Not many turned out sadly. "Letters From The Wasteland"
came next and with "Hand Me Down" I was swaying feeling
very relaxed. The party was back for "Laughing Out Loud."
During "I've Been Delivered" I decided to take a rest
and sit back down in my seat since I had been standing for quite a
while. I got right back up again for "Three Marlenas."
"God Don't Make Lonely Girls" was next on the list then
for "Witness" nearly everyone sat back down to recover.
Jakob brought up that oddity with the audience. Does that look good from
being the first audience to hear that song live? We all laughed and got
back to our feet rocking out to "Murder 101." Then that
hook. So simple and so recognizable the audience screamed for "One
Headlight." Several guitar picks were thrown out by Michael at
this point. The pace picked up with "The Difference"
with bodies bouncing up and down. Just like the video! It was wild.
Then they left the stage.
PART 6: Another
One In The Dark
The audience cheered on calling for the guys to return. When they
finally did, Mike and Greg took the center stage. Mike mentioned that
the band didn't do this often, but they knew how much Seattle like
grunge. Whoo hoo! He did a song by the group Blur called "Song
2." I love that song. In fact a poster of Damon Albarn of Blur
is right next to my Wallflowers
poster. Both above my computer at the moment. Jakob returned after they
were done and they sang "Heroes" a David
Bowie cover from the Godzilla movie. Then I gave a
huge gasp. They were singing my favorite song "Baby Bird"
the hidden track off of Breach. I was kind of surprised
that they decided to sing it. It was beautiful. Then to end the night
they sang a cover "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The
Who. It was incredible. Can I say that enough? LOL.
PART 7: After The
Blackbird Sings
When the show ended and I headed outside. I saw a group already
gathering to meet the Wallflowers. During this time I was passing
out the Everlast
goodies to the crowd. Then I quickly squeezed my way into the mass of
people. I had my camera, cd cover, and sharpie all set to go.
Part 8: Sidewalk
Annie
We were all waiting on the sidewalk (I didn't meet any Annies) next to
the tour buses. Quite a few lost their patience and left. The security
guy kept joking with us about being there waiting out in the blistering
cold. My already dry cracked hands were getting worse and they were
bleeding again. Thank goodness Rami came out. I ended up flashing him
(with my camera of course!) and he came to sign my cd cover. Then
Michael came out, but that was very brief. Didn't want to crush anyone
or hurt myself so I let that one slide. Ahh Mario finally joined
the party. A great big thank you to the woman who stepped aside and
allowed me to get over the crowd to have my cd signed. I was hoping to
talk to him...I don't know...something about drummers get me going. When
Jakob stepped out Mario jokingly said "well no one's paying
attention to me anymore." That wasn't quite true. At that time I
didn't even know Jakob was out. Through the crowd I saw him and got him
to sign my cd as well and I held back for a bit for some shock recovery.
Greg also came out to greet the fans. Luckily my brother had been
blessed with the gift of height and easily got him to sign my cd. I
decided to hang to see if Mike would return but he didn't. I then
spotted my chance to go talk with Mario. I had to take this photograph
for this guy first. I hope it turned out okay. Don't want him blaming
me! Then it was my turn. Ieee! He asked me who I was. He's so sweet. Got
my picture taken with him and I wished him a good trip to Vancouver.
They have a long road ahead of them. I then saw Jakob making the rounds
for photographs. I had many questions to ask about his songs, but I
didn't want to hold up his time. I thanked him and went off in a daze. I
think it's very noticeable when you see the photo. Then I finally saw
Greg when two other people asked for autographs. He said he needed a pen
and eyed my sharpie. I gave it to him graciously. LOL. I was just hoping
to get it back, which I did (now sealed for it's protection) and managed
to get a photo with him right before he got onto the bus. They were all
so very down to earth and very friendly. I was smiling until my cheeks
hurt. I had that warm cozy feeling.
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