Puyallup WA 9/9/03
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sarley27
- Off The Deep End
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sarley27
- Off The Deep End
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scottidog
- Silver Suit Afficianado
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- Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2002 2:50 am
- Location: Permanent state of Al Induced Haze, since 9/9/03.
I'm back! Didja miss me?
I haven't even had a chance to download my pictures yet. I will post those as soon as I can.
I tried my best to battle the Al induced haze, but forgive me if I miss some details.
I looked for you Carole, but I didn't see you.
Where to start? For those of you who don't know, I was given two free tickets and two backstage passes by none other than Jay Levey. After a couple times of trying too early to pick them up at Will Call (anxious much?) I finally got them! Row D, seats 10 & 11. And the passes didn't have Al's face on them, but they got me back to see Al's face so what am I complaining about?
On an annoying note: The tickets were for "Wierd Al" Yankovic. Luckily our boy showed up instead.
There was an opening act. She was a singing cowgirl who did rope tricks. Aside from some really cheezy jokes, it really wasn't as bad as it sounds. She was asked to do the show about 2 hours before she went on and she was very nervous. But she did well, and it was a nice family friendly show.
There was a guy in clown makeup that was working the crowd. He was pretty funny and kept us entertained while we waited for Al.
There seemed to be some technical difficulties to be worked out between the cowgirl's act and when Al came out. Ed was very busy. That boy is really cute! I got some nice pictures of him. While they were working away, they brought a large group of people - teens early twentyish- and I thought "since when do they give tours of the stage? And get off so Al can come out!!!"
It was overcast and cool. I was worried it might rain, with only a few sprinkles, so it was fine.
Oh, there were five screens. Three onstage and one large one on either side of the stage. I estimate there were about 3,000 people there. The guys running the cameras got some great shots. I'd love a copy of those tapes! Al's quick change area was a little tent on the stage and to the left.
I would have had a really nice view exept for this woman with a gargantuan head and big hair who sat between me and Al. :mad: I tried to take pictures, but when the medley started I gave up and decided to just enjoy the show.
The guys took the stage and it was wonderful! I had a really nice view of everyone except Al and Rubén. Steve was nearly directly in front of me. He looked wonderful!
The music was really loud and mixed badly. They had Al's voice sounding a little tinny towards the beginning, but I didn't notice it after a while so they must have gotten it fixed. I could feel rather than hear Steve's bass.
I could see Bermuda probably as well as you will ever see him while he's working. Bermuda was great. I was so impressed and he seemed to be having a great time. All the guys were having fun. OE mentioned to me that Jim had fallen at one of the shows, but he seemed fine. He was bouncing around a lot.
Al has taken the whole sexy dance thing into a lot of the songs. Trash Day had a little bit where he was swiveling and grinding. I don't remember that from the SLO show. Also during the medley he was really getting into it. WBUL? He did the chest rub thing.... sigh!!
Al's voice seemed kind of tight, and I'm not sure but I think that Pentiums (the beginning:what you wanna do....) was sung lower than I've heard before.
The crowd loved Al. I didn't see too many hard core fans. Probably not more than a dozen hawaiian shirts in the crowd. I actually saw more people in old tour shirts than Hawaiian shirts. And they seemed to be genuinely reacting to the humor. If you can't have a first listen yourself, the next best thing is appreciating the moment with a couple of thousand people all discover Al at the same time.
The crowd really responded to Nirvana. It took me a minute or two to figure out why. When Al sang "grunge band from Seattle" they went nuts. Oh, yeah! Nirvana is a hometown group for these people. They have a thing they do there called the Puyallup Thunder. The people in the stadium area all stomp their feet and it creates an amazing thunderous booming sound. Al got a lot of these.
The Al-TV stuff went over well. I don't think most people got the UHF stuff. But when the Simpsons thing came on they went crazy again. I don't know if it was because it was Simpsons or for Al.
Skipping over so many details here...
Al's voice seemed to improve as the evening went on. Eat it was a big hit, and the crowd responded a lot to Fat. At the end of that Al got a standing ovation, with the Thunder going on and on. Everyone stayed on their feet from that moment clear to the end of the show.
Everyone was just kind of transfixed by the stage, they left it kind of lit up (I don't remember this from the SLO show, but well... you know why.) I kept trying to figure out where Rubén was going to come out from. Then the smoke started building and still no Rubén. Then about a dozen or so people in full storm trooper regalia came out. There was one guy in a Darth Vader suit. Not Rubén. In fact I didn't see him come on stage, but then suddenly he was there. And there was one guy in a suit that looked kind of like a Nazi uniform, only in black. Sorry, I'm not up on the star wars stuff, so I don't know what his character was called. Recognizing this as a Moment You Had To Be There, I got my camera back out. They stood menacingly looking at Al, until the chorus when they started dancing. It was funny. Oh, in case it wasn't clear, the "tour group" were these people.
After the show was over, I went over to ask an usher where to wait to go backstage, and when I got there there was a crowd of people, but not many of us got to go back. There was a boy there whose mom had bought him tickets for his thirteenth birthday. I had seen him earlier really enjoying the show. He was so sad when they told him he couldn't get back to see Al without a pass. He turned and saw mine and he asked me if I had an extra one. So I told him that yes, I did have one that he could use. He was so excited. His mom just kept thanking me. So Tristan (that's his name) and I made a deal to go back together and hang out so we could take pictures for each other. He was in seventh heaven. Once he got to see Al, he just stayed right at the table with Al, off to the side and out of the way.
There was quite a line waiting to see Al, so to keep from getting nervous I went and asked Jay if I could have a picture with him. He seemed surprised. I thanked him for the passes. He's very nice, but seemed uncomfortable with all the attention.
Rubén came out and I went over to him to say hi and to shake his hand. I asked if he minded having a picture taken with me, and he said it would be fine. When he saw my camera, he asked to see it closer so I let him have it and he and I chatted about my camera for a while. It was a surreal moment for me. He was very nice. And the picture should be great. Someone had said they thought Rubén was only 5' 5". But I am 5' 6" and he was easily 2 inches taller than me.
Then I saw Bermuda, so I went to talk to him. I didn't ask for a picture with him because I didn't want to embarrass him if he didn't want to right now. But we chatted for a little bit. I reminded him who I was, and once again he remembered me by name! I got a Bermuda Bear Hug with those big strong drummer arms.
As I was going back to wait in line for Al, I saw Jim, so I went to speak to him. He seemed shy and kind of uncomforable with the attention, but he did sign my PH cover by his picture. I told him I really enjoyed the show, and he thanked me.
Then I went to stand in line for Al. I didn't have to wait long. I was talking a million miles an hour (but I remembered my name, and how to breathe) and he looked at me like "Oh, one of these fans!" So I took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous!" And he put his hand on my arm and said"Oh, don't be! It's ok!" So I explained why I was there and I had taken a copy of one of the Weird Al Star designs for him to sign. He told me he thought I did a really good job on them and he was very impressed.
I asked him if he would mind signing it for me, and he said "Of course! I mean, yes... I'd be happy to sign it for you." We talked for a couple of minutes, then I asked him if I could have a hug and he said of course. The person who described his hugs as breathtaking sure had it right! I thanked him and floated away.
When I got back to where I had left my coat, I realized that I had forgotten to give him the gift I brought. It was still in my hand in fact. I asked Jay if there was someplace I could leave it for Al, he said to go give it to him. You mean I get to talk to him twice????
So I stood in line again. When I got to Al he smiled at me and I told him that I had been so nervous before that I had forgotten to give him his gift. He took it from me and said, "Oh, that's so sweet!" and he put his arms around me and gave me another great big hug. We chatted for a little longer and then Skip told people the fairgrounds were closing and we had to leave.
I may never stop smiling. It was a wonderful trip. It was an amazing concert. And Al and the guys are just the best! I love you guys!
Oh, I nearly forgot. They weren't tightie whities. They were hawaiian print this time!
I haven't even had a chance to download my pictures yet. I will post those as soon as I can.
I tried my best to battle the Al induced haze, but forgive me if I miss some details.
I looked for you Carole, but I didn't see you.
Where to start? For those of you who don't know, I was given two free tickets and two backstage passes by none other than Jay Levey. After a couple times of trying too early to pick them up at Will Call (anxious much?) I finally got them! Row D, seats 10 & 11. And the passes didn't have Al's face on them, but they got me back to see Al's face so what am I complaining about?
On an annoying note: The tickets were for "Wierd Al" Yankovic. Luckily our boy showed up instead.
There was an opening act. She was a singing cowgirl who did rope tricks. Aside from some really cheezy jokes, it really wasn't as bad as it sounds. She was asked to do the show about 2 hours before she went on and she was very nervous. But she did well, and it was a nice family friendly show.
There was a guy in clown makeup that was working the crowd. He was pretty funny and kept us entertained while we waited for Al.
There seemed to be some technical difficulties to be worked out between the cowgirl's act and when Al came out. Ed was very busy. That boy is really cute! I got some nice pictures of him. While they were working away, they brought a large group of people - teens early twentyish- and I thought "since when do they give tours of the stage? And get off so Al can come out!!!"
It was overcast and cool. I was worried it might rain, with only a few sprinkles, so it was fine.
Oh, there were five screens. Three onstage and one large one on either side of the stage. I estimate there were about 3,000 people there. The guys running the cameras got some great shots. I'd love a copy of those tapes! Al's quick change area was a little tent on the stage and to the left.
I would have had a really nice view exept for this woman with a gargantuan head and big hair who sat between me and Al. :mad: I tried to take pictures, but when the medley started I gave up and decided to just enjoy the show.
The guys took the stage and it was wonderful! I had a really nice view of everyone except Al and Rubén. Steve was nearly directly in front of me. He looked wonderful!
The music was really loud and mixed badly. They had Al's voice sounding a little tinny towards the beginning, but I didn't notice it after a while so they must have gotten it fixed. I could feel rather than hear Steve's bass.
I could see Bermuda probably as well as you will ever see him while he's working. Bermuda was great. I was so impressed and he seemed to be having a great time. All the guys were having fun. OE mentioned to me that Jim had fallen at one of the shows, but he seemed fine. He was bouncing around a lot.
Al has taken the whole sexy dance thing into a lot of the songs. Trash Day had a little bit where he was swiveling and grinding. I don't remember that from the SLO show. Also during the medley he was really getting into it. WBUL? He did the chest rub thing.... sigh!!
Al's voice seemed kind of tight, and I'm not sure but I think that Pentiums (the beginning:what you wanna do....) was sung lower than I've heard before.
The crowd loved Al. I didn't see too many hard core fans. Probably not more than a dozen hawaiian shirts in the crowd. I actually saw more people in old tour shirts than Hawaiian shirts. And they seemed to be genuinely reacting to the humor. If you can't have a first listen yourself, the next best thing is appreciating the moment with a couple of thousand people all discover Al at the same time.
The crowd really responded to Nirvana. It took me a minute or two to figure out why. When Al sang "grunge band from Seattle" they went nuts. Oh, yeah! Nirvana is a hometown group for these people. They have a thing they do there called the Puyallup Thunder. The people in the stadium area all stomp their feet and it creates an amazing thunderous booming sound. Al got a lot of these.
The Al-TV stuff went over well. I don't think most people got the UHF stuff. But when the Simpsons thing came on they went crazy again. I don't know if it was because it was Simpsons or for Al.
Skipping over so many details here...
Al's voice seemed to improve as the evening went on. Eat it was a big hit, and the crowd responded a lot to Fat. At the end of that Al got a standing ovation, with the Thunder going on and on. Everyone stayed on their feet from that moment clear to the end of the show.
Everyone was just kind of transfixed by the stage, they left it kind of lit up (I don't remember this from the SLO show, but well... you know why.) I kept trying to figure out where Rubén was going to come out from. Then the smoke started building and still no Rubén. Then about a dozen or so people in full storm trooper regalia came out. There was one guy in a Darth Vader suit. Not Rubén. In fact I didn't see him come on stage, but then suddenly he was there. And there was one guy in a suit that looked kind of like a Nazi uniform, only in black. Sorry, I'm not up on the star wars stuff, so I don't know what his character was called. Recognizing this as a Moment You Had To Be There, I got my camera back out. They stood menacingly looking at Al, until the chorus when they started dancing. It was funny. Oh, in case it wasn't clear, the "tour group" were these people.
After the show was over, I went over to ask an usher where to wait to go backstage, and when I got there there was a crowd of people, but not many of us got to go back. There was a boy there whose mom had bought him tickets for his thirteenth birthday. I had seen him earlier really enjoying the show. He was so sad when they told him he couldn't get back to see Al without a pass. He turned and saw mine and he asked me if I had an extra one. So I told him that yes, I did have one that he could use. He was so excited. His mom just kept thanking me. So Tristan (that's his name) and I made a deal to go back together and hang out so we could take pictures for each other. He was in seventh heaven. Once he got to see Al, he just stayed right at the table with Al, off to the side and out of the way.
There was quite a line waiting to see Al, so to keep from getting nervous I went and asked Jay if I could have a picture with him. He seemed surprised. I thanked him for the passes. He's very nice, but seemed uncomfortable with all the attention.
Rubén came out and I went over to him to say hi and to shake his hand. I asked if he minded having a picture taken with me, and he said it would be fine. When he saw my camera, he asked to see it closer so I let him have it and he and I chatted about my camera for a while. It was a surreal moment for me. He was very nice. And the picture should be great. Someone had said they thought Rubén was only 5' 5". But I am 5' 6" and he was easily 2 inches taller than me.
Then I saw Bermuda, so I went to talk to him. I didn't ask for a picture with him because I didn't want to embarrass him if he didn't want to right now. But we chatted for a little bit. I reminded him who I was, and once again he remembered me by name! I got a Bermuda Bear Hug with those big strong drummer arms.
As I was going back to wait in line for Al, I saw Jim, so I went to speak to him. He seemed shy and kind of uncomforable with the attention, but he did sign my PH cover by his picture. I told him I really enjoyed the show, and he thanked me.
Then I went to stand in line for Al. I didn't have to wait long. I was talking a million miles an hour (but I remembered my name, and how to breathe) and he looked at me like "Oh, one of these fans!" So I took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous!" And he put his hand on my arm and said"Oh, don't be! It's ok!" So I explained why I was there and I had taken a copy of one of the Weird Al Star designs for him to sign. He told me he thought I did a really good job on them and he was very impressed.
I asked him if he would mind signing it for me, and he said "Of course! I mean, yes... I'd be happy to sign it for you." We talked for a couple of minutes, then I asked him if I could have a hug and he said of course. The person who described his hugs as breathtaking sure had it right! I thanked him and floated away.
When I got back to where I had left my coat, I realized that I had forgotten to give him the gift I brought. It was still in my hand in fact. I asked Jay if there was someplace I could leave it for Al, he said to go give it to him. You mean I get to talk to him twice????
So I stood in line again. When I got to Al he smiled at me and I told him that I had been so nervous before that I had forgotten to give him his gift. He took it from me and said, "Oh, that's so sweet!" and he put his arms around me and gave me another great big hug. We chatted for a little longer and then Skip told people the fairgrounds were closing and we had to leave.
I may never stop smiling. It was a wonderful trip. It was an amazing concert. And Al and the guys are just the best! I love you guys!
Oh, I nearly forgot. They weren't tightie whities. They were hawaiian print this time!
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MarlinsGirl
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stupidsurgeon27
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Shelley
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scottidog
- Silver Suit Afficianado
- Posts: 27353
- Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2002 2:50 am
- Location: Permanent state of Al Induced Haze, since 9/9/03.
Thanks to OE for the suggestion, I gave Al some nice tea and some snacks to go with the mugs he was given at The Greek. I made the gift bag with the Al Star logo, and used bubble wrap for filler. I had planned to take him some tomatoes from my garden, but that didn't work out because there weren't any ripe ones ready. I also made a card with my scottdog/alapalooza parody avatar and wrote him a nice, not-too sappy, not-too fannish note.
I think he's just about one of the nicest human beings I have ever met.
And pictures don't do him justice. The man is gorgeous! And greying ever so slightly.
I think he's just about one of the nicest human beings I have ever met.
And pictures don't do him justice. The man is gorgeous! And greying ever so slightly.
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kaffy©
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I'm back! Didja miss me?
Of course!
On an annoying note: The tickets were for "Weird Al" Yankovic. Luckily our boy showed up instead.
You had a close call there... nearly going to the wrong concert!
There seemed to be some technical difficulties to be worked out between the cowgirl and Al.
Did she lasso him accidentally?
The music was really loud and mixed badly. They had Al's voice sounding a little tinny towards the beginning, but I didn't notice it after a while so they must have gotten it fixed.
Tinny. That's the word I was looking for. All these fairgrounds must be buying their sound equipment from Bernie's Discount Speaker Barn.
OE mentioned to me that Jim had fallen at one of the shows, but he seemed fine. He was bouncing around a lot.
I'm glad to hear it; he took quite a tumble at Madera.
The crowd loved Al. I didn't see too many hard core fans. Probably not more than a dozen hawaiian shirts in the crowd. I actually saw more people in old tour shirts than Hawaiian shirts. And they seemed to be genuinely reacting to the humor. If you can't have a first listen yourself, the next best thing is appreciating the moment with a couple of thousand people all discover Al at the same time.
That was nice about Madera too. And hopefully they will all rush out and buy Poodle Hat.
The crowd really responded to Nirvana. It took me a minute or two to figure out why. When Al sang "grunge band from Seattle" they went nuts.
I thought it was "garage band."
Everyone was just kind of transfixed by the stage, they left it kind of lit up (I don't remember this from the SLO show, but well... you know why.) I kept trying to figure out where Rubén was going to come out from. Then the smoke started building and still no Rubén. Then about a dozen or so people in full storm trooper regalia came out. There was one guy in a Darth Vader suit. Not Rubén. In fact I didn't see him come on stage, but then suddenly he was there. And there was one guy in a suit that looked kind of like a Nazi uniform, only in black. Sorry, I'm not up on the star wars stuff, so I don't know what his character was called. Recognizing this as a Moment You Had To Be There, I got my camera back out. They stood menacingly looking at Al, until the chorus when they started dancing. It was funny. Oh, in case it wasn't clear, the "tour group" were these people.
Wow! I sure hope your pics turned out. I wonder whether they hired dancers for the finale of this leg, or did some local Star Wars fan club get lucky?
There was a boy there whose mom had bought him tickets for his thirteenth birthday. I had seen him earlier really enjoying the show. He was so sad when they told him he couldn't get back to see Al without a pass. He turned and saw mine and he asked me if I had an extra one. So I told him that yes, I did have one that he could use. He was so excited. His mom just kept thanking me. So Tristan (that's his name) and I made a deal to go back together and hang out so we could take pictures for each other. He was in seventh heaven. Once he got to see Al, he just stayed right at the table with Al, off to the side and out of the way.
Awww... how sweet! And what better use for a spare pass than really nailing down the fandom of someone who's just entering the prime album-buying years!
to keep from getting nervous I went and asked Jay if I could have a picture with him. He seemed surprised. I thanked him for the passes. He's very nice, but seemed uncomfortable with all the attention.
He does seem to be that way-- definitely more comfortable behind the scenes. I think I mentioned that I scared him off at the album-release signing by alluding to his UHF acting career.
As I was going back to wait in line for Al, I saw Jim, so I went to speak to him. He seemed shy and kind of uncomforable with the attention, but he did sign my PH cover by his picture. I told him I really enjoyed the show, and he thanked me.
He seemed a little surprised when I asked him to sign Coconut Hat too. You'd think he'd be used to the attention by now. He'll just have to keep on touring with Al, I guess, until he gets comfortable with the idea of having fans.
So I explained why I was there and I had taken a copy of one of the Weird Al Star designs for him to sign. He told me he thought I did a really good job on them and he was very impressed.
Does it get any better than this, having your favorite artist praise your artistic efforts? I think not.
When I got back to where I had left my coat, I realized that I had forgotten to give him the gift I brought. It was still in my hand in fact. I asked Jay if there was someplace I could leave it for Al, he said to go give it to him. You mean I get to talk to him twice????
Are you sure you didn't forget it accidentally on purpose?
Oh, I nearly forgot. They weren't tightie whities. They were hawaiian print this time!
I'm glad! Linda & I agreed that the tightie whities definitely drain off the aura of sexiness-- as well as making it look as though Al has run out of giveaway shorts and had to dip into his personal laundry.
What a great evening you had. Something to turn your thoughts to if aspects of the new job (best wishes on that, BTW) start getting you down.
"Weird Al" has a charisma that's all his own. The awkward, the misshapen, the socially inept flock to his banner.