08/28/08 Lancaster, CA: Antelope Valley Fair

[i_love_yankovic]

Ooo haven't checked up on this thread in a while! Thanks, ladies!

Like Vikki said, her and I along with my hubby and my mom will be there tonight! See you guys soon!

[weirdal4994]

was there anything special being the last show of the SOL tour? aww im sad, polkarama will never be played again! someone hold me!!!

[ludovica64]

we're kinda waiting to hear from Kristine I think?

[Diva]

An excellent, abridged concert. No Close But No Cigar, I'll Sue Ya, Wanna Be Ur Luvr; Bob was sung as the "special request song" for the last concert of the tour. Lessee.....
Amish Paradise: the wind blew Jim's hat off and the harmonica guy whose name escapes me this second put it back on his head. The brim was sticking up in the front some and so it looked a little like the Hee Haw version of AP . Jim didn't miss a beat.

TSB: 501st and Darth Vader were there in all their glory and boogied like there was no tomorrow.
Yoda: Al asked for the transvestites to sing a verse.
Albuquerque: a very loooong litany of donuts. I have a series of photos [will get them on my Webshots album one of these days] of Ruben during this as he was a hoot; pulled out his digital camera and took a couple of photos of himself, and then progressively got more and more angst-ridden as the litany progressed...and progressed....; Zelda called Al his sweetie pumpkin, sugar muffin, and sucrose pickle.

The whole band seemed to be having a lot of fun. I had a seat where I had a really good view of Bermuda at his drumset and took a lot of photos of him that I can't usually get, including one of him during the African part of the Yoda chant where he is standing and playing the bongos. Really cool.

I briefly congratulated Christina and her new hubby Damian [I think? I'm tired and don't trust my memory this morning]. He seems like a sweetheart. I will miss ILY when she and he are way down in Perth. Also said hello to Vikki, Tina, and Carlotta. Greg had an early patient appointment in Riverside so we had to scoot out of there so I couldn't hang out with anyone else there this time.

This was my 59th concert and my third full tour [plus the 2002 OC Fair gig]. This keeps getting better and better. Al fans are some of the coolest people around these parts.

Cheers, Diva
dang, gotta get back to that 'work' thing

[weirdal4994]

that sounds awesome!

thats a really weird/sad thought that polkarama will never be played by them again.v

[algonacchick]

Thanks for the report, Diva. Sounds like you got some nice pics. Looking forward to seeing them!

[Kristine]

Hammer put Jim's hat back on. Hammer also put more water in the SLN cup than normal.... I got a lot of it on me! When Al came out for the encore, he mentioned that it was the last show, and thanked the crew (everyone clapped). And, omg Ruben was really funny during Albuquerque.

Al looked into my lens a couple times during the show.

More later! I might finish writing tonight, but might not.

[Orthography Enthusiast]

When Al came out for the encore, he mentioned that it was the last show, and thanked the crew

That's our guy. Always a class act.

[Kristine]

(Maybe it's a good thing the tour is over... my reviews keep getting longer and longer!)

Well, nearly 6 hours of driving and an entire tank of gas later, I am so happy I got to go to the very last Straight Outta Lynwood concert. It all started in the afternoon when I got back from work. I had completed the White & Nerdy gifts the day/night before, but I hadn’t burned the CDs for them yet (but I had the files ready to go). So, the first thing I did when I got home was get those all burned and labeled. I put them in their cases, got the rest of my stuff packed up, got some food, and off I went. I left around 2:30pm. Knowing a holiday weekend was coming up, I expected a bit of traffic… but not this much! Normally, it should take a little less than two hours to get to Valencia (where the 5 and 14 meet), but I got there around 5pm. I finally arrived at the venue around 5:45pm. I would have liked to have gotten there a bit earlier, but what can you do. Oh, more on the traffic. So, there was the usual Culver City and Santa Monica hold up on the 405, but just when I thought I had past that area I hit more brake lights! This was not normal for the time of day. In Sherman Oaks, I start to see smoke ahead. At first it looked like it was coming from the hillside (there had been a hill fire or two in the area recently). As I got closer, now sitting in Van Nuys, the smoke was obviously coming from the middle of the freeway! Eeep. I knew then I was looking at a car fire. Traffic kept creeping along around 5-10mph. I finally got close enough to see where the smoke was coming from- it was an SUV and it was only the hood/engine that was on fire. Wow that was a huge flame! Anyways, it was sitting in the carpool lane (no shoulder), and traffic was moving by with only one lane of separation. So guess what lane I was in? Yup, I had to creep past the ball of fire with only feet of space between us. As I rolled past it at around 8mph, it instantly heated up the car and my left arm got really hot. Then I could see the other car involved in the accident- it was a sedan… with no trunk left. It was completely smashed in. Anyways, enough about traffic. Once I got to the venue, I called up Jim and asked if he had time to see me before the show. I had a present for him that would be hard to carry and keep track of during the show. It was pretty close to the start of the show, so I was only backstage for probably 15-20min. I gave him the gift, talked for a bit, mentioning the car fire, and about how the band and crew had been melting in the 107 degree weather all day. The heat actually wasn’t that bad since it was so dry. I’ve been in worse, but it still sucks for the crew since they were out in the direct sun rigging the stage. At least backstage had areas with AC. Anyways, so I went back out to where the audience was milling around finding their seats. I put on my photo pass, and walked up to the front where it was gated off for the “gold circle” seats. The two ladies in orange shirts (they work for the fair) tried to tell me I couldn’t be in there, and that the passes were for after the show. I explained that mine said “photo”, and that I could be in the front to take pictures. They went on to tell me that it didn’t matter what it said, blah blah blah, whatever. They asked who it was for, and I pointed to the stage and said “them”. Of course, I knew that wouldn’t help- who would ever believe some random person saying “I’m with the band”. So, they said I had to go ask the security guard in the corner. Well, instead of doing that, I went back to the sound board and grabbed one of the guys with the black All Access pass. I told him what was going on, and he walked over with me and pulled me through the gate. Sheesh. I know they’re just trying to do their job, but when the pass has “photo” circled and it has Al’s face on it… and looks just like all the other official passes… well, whatever. So, I finally got to the front next to the barricade (about 5 or 6 feet from the stage). I talked to a couple other photographers there, one was for the fair and the other for a local newspaper. They only got to see the first two songs and then they had to leave
(which is what a “normal” photo pass gets you). I said hi to Christina, and she introduced me to her husband. I talked to a couple of other people, too. Some weren’t from WOWAY, they were just curious about my pass and/or camera. I also made friends with the security guards standing by the stage- nice guys. They were pretty impressed that I was “with the band” and had a special pass from them. Speaking of thinking I’m “with the band”, after awhile, one of those ladies in orange came up to me while I was sitting in the front. A guy dressed like old-school Al was making quite a scene just in front of the gold circle area’s gate- people were taking pictures and crowding around him. The lady in orange, thinking I really was “with the band”, asked ME what to do about it. Haha. I told her I don’t think they minded as long as he wasn’t causing too much commotion. So she walked away… but was back 5-10 minutes later. “Now he’s signing autographs like Al- is that ok? I already told security it’s becoming a traffic issue,” she explained. I kinda shrugged it off like, “well, let security deal with it then”. That was interesting. I never really got a good look at the guy, other than he was very tall, had a dark brown curly wig on, and glasses. You know, there’s a tiny chance that actually was Al but dressed up in a costume as a gag. The show didn’t start until after he was gone… But, I never asked about it afterward. It was the last show, after all. Who knows? The show started a little late, but soon enough Fun Zone was blaring through the speakers. The show was awesome- probably one of the best concerts I’ve been to this tour. Tons of energy from everyone and the audience- they really looked like they were having fun. There was only one tech error in the beginning. Jim’s mic was either really low or off for the first few songs. Sometimes, I couldn’t tell if I could hear him because the mic was on or because I was that close to the stage to hear his unamplified voice. Al’s voice was in good shape for the tough songs, and he really went all out with them. Oh my gosh, Hammer put sooooooo much water in the SLN cup this time. There was a camera guy right in front of him (for the side screens so the nosebleed section could see Al’s face), so he had to toss the water off to one side. Guess what side I was on? I had my back turned to shield my camera… but holy cow I got a lot of water on my back! It was still pretty hot out even though the sun was down, so it didn’t take long to dry. During a few of the songs, Al would look right into my lens. I caught one during You’re Pitiful that turned out pretty good. It was kind of a “yeah, right” look with a raised eyebrow… hard to describe. It will probably be up somewhere eventually. Steve looked at me a lot, too. During TITDT, when Steve hangs out by Rubén, it looked like he was saying something to him, then looked at me, then said something else. I caught it when he looked at me. I think he might have been trying to get Rubén to look, too. Overall, I got some awesome pictures during the show. When the encore started, people were getting out of their seats and started to rush the barricade. Thinking on my feet before I got squashed, I asked the security guard to let me on the other side. Phew, I moved out of their before I didn’t have a choice. Al started the encore by saying that it was their very last show for the tour, and he really enjoyed it. He also thanked the fantastic crew for their great work, and that got lots of claps. Al said they’d do just one more song… and began Cell Phones. I love being at huge venues for this song- soooooooo many blue screens! Then they did Albuquerque. I got some great close up shots since I was right next to the stage. There were so many donuts- I was too busy taking picture to count, but it sure seemed like a ton. That was probably the longest list of donuts ever. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rubén counting on his fingers. Ha! I got a few of him doing that. Then, he proceeded to get more and more “annoyed” by the long list by shaking his head and burying his face in his hands… until Al got to bear claws, and then he had to snap out of his act to play a chord. Pretty funny. We also got my favorite nickname- sucrose pickle! Apparently, it was also the favorite of the person right behind me (I heard a satisfied “yes!”). Al forgot where he was, and had to start over. He remembered where he was after a bit, and finished the song. The crowd roared as they all waved their final goodbyes and exited the stage. As the people started to leave, some of those standing by the barricade stayed around. One asked the security guard for the set list, but he just shrugged. As if he had the ability to get it off the stage for her. She managed to get a crew member’s attention, and he proceeded to ball one up and toss it out. The first one made it, but the second one fell into the area between the stage and barricade. A bunch of them started screaming and pleading with me to hand it to them. Ah, the power I held for that moment. The other security guard were quite amused by the enthusiasm over a balled up piece of paper. I picked it up and chucked it as hard as I could. The barricade is only chest-height, but I was trying to get it to the people further back. It looked like a scene from a wedding… you know, when the bride throws the bouquet? That’s exactly what happened- all these women jumped and grabbed for it. Hammer came out and threw some cheap one-use guitar picks at them. Again, one landed by my feet and they all pleaded for me to hand it to them. One lady got a little over excited and actually jumped the wall. Security was on her tail immediately. I held it away and told her I wouldn’t give it out unless she went back. So she did. I handed it to one of them, and that was the last of the giveaways. Oh, the Nirvana cup also landed in this pit area, but that got handed out by security as soon as the show as over. I thought about snatching it, but decided not to. Anyways, the crowd dispersed and I packed up and headed for the backstage gate. Jim came out to grab me and his other friends, so I got in before the rush of pass holders (but after Al’s family/friends). I chatted with Jim for a few minutes, but left him to catch up with his other friends since I had already talked to him before the show. I headed over to the tent where Al’s was doing the meet and greet stuff. I said hi to Suzanne, and the Rubén came over to pick a fight. He started messing up my hair, and I proceeded to return the favor. That was totally unfair- his hair doesn’t get messed up! I tried, haha. Then he did the “put up your dukes” and it turned into a play fist fight. He turned to the security guard standing there and jokingly told them to kick me out (he had been watching, so it’s not like he didn’t know he was joking). Jay was also standing there, and he smiled at Rubén’s antics. After he was done messing with me, I gave him his Platinum & Nerdy gift. He thought it was pretty cool. He wandered off after that, and I turned to see if Suzanne was still there. Nope. I wanted to talk to her, so I walked over to where she was. Walking back, I saw Jon and gave him his copy of the gift. He was intrigued over the audio CD, and thought it was a very cool idea. He thanked me (and the others who contributed), gave me a hug, and said he’d listen to it immediately. I walked back over to the line to meet Al and stood with Vikki, her friend, Christina, and her husband. Jim was standing by the line, so I gave him his gift, too. Jon had wandered back to the line, so I got a picture with him, and then another one with Jim in it. When it was my turn to meet Al, we took a picture first and then he signed by photo pass. As he signed it, he mentioned that he was looking through some of my photos to decide which to put up on weirdal.com, and that a lot of them were really great. Yay! I thanked him, and moved on for the next person in line. After all the passes were done, our group gave Al his Platinum & Nerdy gift. He, too, was impressed that it was a real CD. I took a picture of him holding it. Jay was also standing there, so we gave him his then, too. After chatting for a bit, I wandered off to find Steve to give him his gift. He was packing up the van in the back. After he put one of the cases in, I pulled him aside to hand it to him. He had that sweet smile on his face and said, “I’ll cherish this.” He gave me a big hug and thanked me. I hung around with Jim for a bit more, and then it was time for me to go home. I got one last hug from Jon and Jim, and walked to my car. After a short 40 minute drive, I was at my Godparents’ house and went to bed. What a long day. It was totally worth it to see the very last SOL show. I had a great time!

[algonacchick]

Thanks for the great review, Kristine! Do not apologize for the length. I always like reading your reviews, because they're so thorough. I'm so glad everyone liked the gifts, and I can't wait to see your pictures. I'm curious to see what the cds looked like, as well as the cover art.