Alinite27 wrote:Well, I hope you're happy sitting at home then. WTG!
Wow, tonight my home looked unusually similar to the Grammy Museum's Clive Davis Theater. Someone musta broke in and redecorated.
I got there at around 6PM and immediately started asking people in line if anyone had an extra ticket they'd be willing to sell me. Finally I found someone, a lovely woman named Joanie who had actually gone to high school with Al! There happened to be an open seat right next to me when Jon arrived, so we sat together. Finally, the show began - the moderator welcomed us and showed an 8-minute montage of Al's video clips before introducing him. Whoever edited it basically took 20 second clips from every video on Ultimate Collection and strung them together in the same order as on the DVD, then added clips from PTW and W&N onto the end. It was kinda cool, and the audience seemed to dig it, but personally I would've preferred eight additional minutes of Q&A - a lot of people who had their hands raised didn't get picked because time ran out, and presumably we've all already seen all or most of these videos.
The event, as expected, was pretty much an 80 minute long interview. It seemed like about an hour of questions from the moderator, then 20 minutes or so of audience Q&A. I don't remember too many details - Al recounted the entire Gaga Saga, talked about getting permission, etc. Mostly the usual stuff, with a few nuggets of new trivia learned here and there. Apparently, the new live special is already finished and in the can: it's completely edited and color-corrected and everything. And during the Q&A, one guy made a REALLY interesting observation about Al's lyrics, something even I had never noticed - when Al was single, his "love gone wrong" songs were mostly about crazy, intolerable women ("One More Minute," "You Don't Love Me Anymore," "Since You've Been Gone," "I'm So Sick Of You") whereas since becoming a family man, those type of songs tend to be about the male
narrator being crazy and intolerable ("Wanna B Ur Lovr," "Do I Creep You Out," "If That Isn't Love"). VERY interesting...
Jon, Bob and I each got a question answered, and I'll let them talk about theirs - mine getting answered was definitely my personal highlight of the evening. I asked something I've been wanting to know for years: "A few years ago,
you mentioned that 'Hardware Store' was originally written as a style parody of a certain band, before you went a different direction and made it what it is. I'm dying to know, Al - what was the original band?" Al seemed very leery about giving away the specific band: "See, if I tell you, it'll be on Wikipedia in three hours." Al stuttered uncertainly for a few seconds, then finally asked "Should I just say it?" The audience responded with a resounding "YES!" and Al said, "Okay - just because it's
you, Tony. 'Hardware Store' was originally conceived as a style parody of The Presidents Of The United States Of America. But then I realized I hadn't really gotten it right, they don't really do it this way, and I rewrote it and made it something different." Al was VERY careful to point out, repeatedly, that the finished recording was NOT in any way meant to sound like the Presidents.
Jon was called on right after me, and after Al answered Jon's question he pointed to the two of us and said, "By the way, those two gentlemen are
not American Express cardholders."
Then afterwards, Jon, Bob and I met a music journalist named Diana who'd been covering the show, and we all went out to dinner at The Original Pantry Cafe on 9th & Figueroa. A fantastically fun evening all-around, but I must say I
do still regret missing the opportunity to stand outside and listen through the wall.
All I gotta do is put my ear to the wall...
