But I decided to do as many shows as I could, but skipping the last 2 shows in NY, because it's too expensive to stay there, and the 2 shows would have cost a whole lot of money. Instead, I decided to do Kansas City and St. Louis. I flew into KC and rented a car, which I would turn in at Boston and fly home from there. There was an extra day after the Boston show, and I thought they would add a second Boston show. In the end, after arrangements had been made, they added a Newark show instead, so I had to drive down to Newark from Boston and back the next day to catch my flight!
But it was fun. Amy ended up doing KC and St. Louis with me, Kathy and Val ended up doing the next 4, Columbus, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Buffalo. Then I went to Washington, DC by myself, and stopped in NY on the day off, because a business associate of mine from Italy just happened to be there on that day. While on tour, I found out that Tanya from Australia, had just decided to go to the Newark and MSG shows. However, she was arriving the day I was in NY, and I had an extra ticket to Hartford and Boston, so I met her and took her with me! She was just going to hang out in NYC until Newark show, but this way, she got to see 2 more shows, in the third row with me! Then Amy joined us in Newark and went also to the MSG shows.
So it all worked out, and my new TomTom got us everywhere.
Had some adventures along the way...
5/3/10 Kansas City
Amy and I went to pick up our tickets in KC. I went first, and won the lottery! Second row center (instead of third row), but it's great, because invariably when I'm in the third row, some tall guys are in front of me in the second. Never fails!
Then Amy picks up her tickets, and she won the lottery! Her reaction (and mine) was not elation, but "what a waste of a lottery win!" Amy's tickets were in the front row, but way at the side in front of the stacks, so we stuck with my pair. We actually had trouble getting rid of her front row seats!
I didn't take pictures at the first show, just enjoyed... Setlist was hits, but they opened with Of The Girl, which I had been wanting to see for a long, long, time. Best opener ever.
The band seemed surprised at the reception, and pleased. Definitely a warmup show, but it was the kind of show where it didn’t matter what they played, or who was singing off-key behind me, or who was screaming in my ear... it was just fun to see my boys again!
During Daughter, Ed did this move which was him doing his backwards yoga thing with the mic stand, yet he was also *slowly* rocking forward and backward while swiveling his hips! Honestly, it looked like he was fucking... Amy and I dubbed it the "bendy, swirly, thrusty"... He never did it quite the same again, and so Amy and I took credit for it.
Stoney seemed subdued… sick, or nervous or something going on… Found out way later, he was having personal problems.
Amy held up a sign with a picture of a tambourine, and it said, “How many shows does a girl have to go to?” Ed totally teased her by throwing out around 10 tambourines before finally throwing her one. The guy in front of us snagged it, even though he had pointed to Amy. So he had to throw her another, and I caught it and gave it to her. Ed threw a pick at me and I nearly caught it, but it dropped on the guy next to me and then the floor, and he snagged it. It’s the thought that counts…
5/4/10 St. Louis
Tonight totally rocked! Stoney got his groove back, and so the band was tight! Great setlist! Daughter started again, and Amy and I both took out our cameras… Ed knew why… he teased us by doing the swirly-thrusty thing standing up this time.
Loved Sometimes, In Hiding, All Night, DTE early on, Why Go, NFY, Pilate, Severed Hand, Half Full, Garden…
Usual third row center this time, and Rob was behind us, Alaska next to me. These two meatheads were in the front row center, and they started off very enthusiastic, whooping it up and hugging each other… which, as the night went on, became pats on the butts, rubbing of backs and shaved heads, and literally dry humping… Mike and the tech guys on the side were cracking up, as were Amy, Rob and I. Finally, after he came back from the encore, Ed couldn’t stand it any more… they were taking attention away from him… ;) So he spit on them, very deliberately… funny as hell. He even apologized to the guy next to them, who also caught a bit.
Didn't take any pictures, but I took some film, and here is a small clip. Near the end, Ed spots my camera and grins, then fixes his hair. Cute.
Amy went home the next day, and I worked in the morning, then drove to Columbus. Spent the next day working and picking up Kathy and Val at the airport.
5/6/10 – Columbus, OH
Great, great show! Lots of love from Ed and Mike. Mike did a pre-set, and we were amongst the few there for it (Kathy knew about it). He sang and played Dead Flowers and That's All Right. I filmed it, and I think Mike was grateful to us, because all night, he was looking at us, and waving, throwing handfuls of picks. One time, I flashed him the peace sign, and he threw his pick, but it landed behind me. I got one anyway when he threw the handful. But Ed was just on fire… During Faithfull, Kathy held up her sign saying it was her 150th show, and I pointed to it as he sang, “We’re faithful”… he saw it, and the whole song was sung to us (we were next to Melissa), with a great big smile on his face. At the end, he threw a pick to a guy in the front row and told him to give it to Kathy. And when he was thanking people, he mentioned “150th show”. Some guys came late, carrying a bunch of beers in the second row, and I looked at Ed, then the guys, and said “Fuck!”… Ed mouthed “Sorry”… I got Marker in the Sand! I filmed it, so had to sacrifice rocking out, but Kathy noticed J T glaring at me… I finished the song, then put my camera away, but he continued to glare at me for the next song. I gathered they were cracking down on filming this tour, after letting me film openly all last year… Great setlist, and DTE was insane! Lots of eye contact with Ed, and I got a great photo of him waving at my camera and looking right at me. Lots of moves, and he was really feeling it tonight.
The highlights for me were Oceans, Marker In The Sand, Faithfull, and Come Back.
Next, we meet Lindsay in Indy for the first amphitheatre show. A huge storm rolled in just before the show. We left 2 hours before the show, and promptly got stuck in traffic. 10 miles ended up taking us 2 hours! Fortunately, they had delayed the show because of the pouring rain, but I managed to stop it by the time we got there... nerve-wracking though, being so late.
I love amphitheatres, because if you're lucky, and get the third row on the side section, it's actually the front row of that section, so you get to go to the rail. So Val and I went up to the rail, and it was so much fun! First time in a loooong time! It's just such an intimate experience. Highlights for me were Last Exit, Supersonic, Going Back to Indiana, Rats.
Doris was there with Melissa, and they came and stood where our seats were, because there was more room there than in third row center where theirs were. Doris came up to me at the rail during the encore break to talk, and so I made her take my place for a song or two... but her knees were giving her trouble, so she left to go sit down. I guess Ed saw her there, because later, he tried to throw her a tambourine, and about 20 guys ran to catch it and knocked poor Doris to the ground, and she hit her head. She had to go to the emergency tent. Tiny Melissa ran after the big guy who took Doris' tambourine, like a tiger defending her cub, and got it back for her.
We drove to Cleveland the next day, and I worked while Val and Kathy went to the R&R Hall of Fame.
5/9/10 - Cleveland
Last time I came to Cleveland, it rocked, and this time was no exception. They opened with Wash, then Hail, Hail, and In Hiding, Immortality, Army Reserve, Sleight of Hand, The Real Me, and ended with Indifference. Great setlist, great show.
5-10-10 Buffalo
Tonight, Unthought Known as an opener was wonderful. What a masterpiece that song is... No Way, Light Years, Not For You, and FATAL!!
The band was having a great time.
And... Fatal...
So next day, Kathy and Val left, and I wandered down to State College, PA. I picked it because there were 2 days off, and a rumour they were going to play there, and I didn't give up hope of them adding a show there before Bristow, since it was halfway between Buffalo and Washington, DC. But alas, I had to suffice with driving the backroads of upstate NY and PA. Worked all morning, so by the time I left, it was pretty late, so didn't get to wander as much as I wanted. But the towns I did go through were very, very poor and run down. I guess the crisis has hit these towns hard.
Had some good Thai food in State College there.
Next day, I stayed in the Amish country, had always wanted to see that area. I'm fascinated with the horse and buggies... which all had tail lights and reflective triangles on the back. Wonder how they rationalize the tail lights? I had lots of time, so I went on some backroads... and got a flat tire! I couldn't even tell AAA where I was. But they found me eventually, and I had to drive on the spare to the nearest airport to exchange the car. What a waste of time...
The place I stayed at was a Hotwire deal, and it was this luxury spa and hotel. I had this room big as my house, and the bathroom took up half of it! Huge bathroom with the shower not enclosed, it was so big. And the biggest jacuzzi I've ever seen. I lay almost flat and my feet didn't touch the other side. The balcony overlooked a small pool for the 8-10 units in that section. Turns out, they had unintentionally upgraded my Hotwire room!
Next morning, I was wandering through this Amish farm area, and it was just how I pictured farms as a child... with the red barn, cows lounging under a tree and other farm animals, and a stream going through the pasture, with everything green and flowers. I saw 2 Amish girls on bicycles, so I turned the car around to try and take pictures, but they went down a lane to a farm. I saw a sign for a gift shop, buses welcome, so I followed them. I bought a sock monkey and a quilt. The quilts were all typical and boring, and then, hidden away in a corner, was this modern, cubist sort of black, red and white colored quilt. It was made for my living room! As I was paying for the items, I asked if I could take a picture of the girl in her outfit. She said, thanks for asking, but no. She said the Amish people don't like having their pictures taken. I guess they are okay with taking the tourist dollar, though...
I managed to sneak a few pictures, though...
5/13/10 – Bristow (Washington, DC)
That has to be the best experience at a PJ show I’ve personally had. Don’t know if it was because I managed to get 2 nights of 8 hours of sleep with the 2 days off, or they needed the rest, but they were full on tonight. Manic. Stoney was going nuts, like last year, with the hair and the smiles, the dancing. And it was one of those nights Ed was determined not to let him steal the show. Every time Stone wigged out, Ed would do a move.
Ed started off in a flirty mood, from the beginning, dancing, flirting, making eye contact with people... I have never gotten so much love from Ed… maybe it was because there were no other familiar faces besides me… I didn't see any of the regulars up front, besides Rob, who I gave my extra to. He was loving my reactions to stuff… At one point, I covered my eyes after a particularly nasty swirly bendy thingy and he laughed and looked pleased with himself. Another time, after he did some move, I mouthed, “You’re beautiful!” and he also looked pleased. Lots of crouching on the mike stand, and little dips, one crouch, he thrust himself out of… During DTE, during every Stone solo, he did bendy things the entire time. And Stoney was wailing! Can’t wait to hear the boot. Rob was doing the audience recording and he probably caught all my "Oh my God" and "Jesus!" comments...
During Down, he said “throw these pills away” and I imitated smoking… we looked at each other and sang, “It CAN be done.” Had a moment. And you know what? Not one cigarette on stage that night... but by the next show, he was back to it.
All Those Yesterdays is the best song ever. It really rocked. Because the audience was dead, and he was pulling out everything to get them going, and this song got a great reaction in front, at the end he said, “So that’s what you want to hear? It’s that kind of night where you want all the rare stuff?” On the boot, you can hear lots of people yelling, "Noooo" along with the cheers... Glad he didn't listen to them.
Ed made a political speech, and talked about John Tester. He also brought up that Sean Penn was in Haiti, and they still need lots of help. There is a website called jphaiti.com (PJ backwards) you can go to to help.
Killer setlist. Comatose, Brain of J, Faithfull (sung to me and Rob), All Those Yesterdays, Blood, STBC, Sonic Reducer… Why Go, Save You, WWS, Got Some, The Fixer, DTE, Life Wasted, Unthought Known, all rocked… I couldn’t have written a better setlist.
Almost as animated as at Indy 2003…
The next day, I drove up to New York, and even though I was skipping the NY shows because it was so expensive, this was actually a business meeting... so tax deductible... :) One of my Italian consultants, who may become my European partner, happened to be in NY on the day off, and we had never met before. We had a nice dinner... Chinese food. Not bad...
Then later that night, Tanya arrived from Australia, and was really late because she got on the wrong train, and decided to walk from where she ended up, about 20 long blocks at 11pm at night in NYC with a backpack!
The next day, we headed up to Hartford for the next show, and my poor TomTom didn't work too well in NYC because it couldn't get a signal amongst the tall buildings...
5/15/10 - Hartford
Tanya and I rocked out on Mike's side, with the requisite super tall guys in the second row between us and Ed, of course. Good show, but I wish they'd played the amphitheatre here instead of the hockey arena... Highlights were Low Light, Nothingman, Satan's Bed! A Van Halen cover (which of course I didn't recognize, but the rest of the audience did), and they ended with Indifference and then a surprise All Along The Watchtower.
Next day, the day off, Tanya and I went to pick up Marie at her house near Boston, and then us girls went off for a day in Boston. I Hotwired a 5 star hotel room, and shared with Marie, but Tanya stayed at a hostel. We wandered around, went to the Market and had coffee, then a beer at the Cheers bar, then ended up going to Little Italy for dinner... asked a shopkeeper what was a good restaurant, and indeed, it was quite good.
Next day, we drove up to Salem to check it out. Tanya went into a house/museum, and then we walked around and went to lunch. After about 45 minutes, we found out they had lost our order... While leaving the restaurant, first Marie tripped and got a big bruise on her leg, and then after we got back to the car, I realized I had left my camera there! Fortunately, it was still there, but we decided Salem was haunted!
5/17/10 - Boston
We said goodbye to Marie, then checked into another hotel, and got ready for the show. We managed to meet Chaim and his friend who had come up from NY. Parked next to Jessica!
On Mike's side again, with limited view because of tall guys again... Again, I don't know why they didn't play the amphitheater in Mansfield... Tanya and I were thinking about which songs they hadn't played yet on the tour, and came up with Push Me, Pull Me, Undone and Rival... and sure enough, they played those! I was out of my mind with Push Me, Pull me, because I hadn't seen that one in Philly. It was fantastic! They also played Sad, Pilate, Red Mosquito, Bee Girl, Love Reign, Smile, Soldier of Love, Crown of Thorns. Great setlist.
5-18-10 - Newark
We had to haul ass down to Newark, and got there fairly late, to find a snafu at the hotel. I had reserved a room with 2 beds, and Tanya was going to sleep on the floor. But they only had a room with 1 bed, so we Hotwired a room at the airport. Amy's plane was late, and by the time I checked in, then picked up Amy and took her to her hotel room, it was close to show time, and we hadn't eaten... Not the way I wanted to go to my last show of the tour...
The show was great, though... third row center with Amy and the band seemed glad to see her back. My favorite opener of all time, Of The Girl, followed by Brain of J, DTE, The Fixer, Alone, Amongst The Waves, Immortality and In Hiding! What a killer opening! They also pulled out Leatherman, Footsteps, Jersey Girl, You Are, and again ended with Indifference and All Along The Watchtower. It's really nice that they gave us a break from the usual Rockin'/YL ending a few times on this tour.
Ed did one very long bendy thing for Amy when he saw her get her camera out, going up and down 4 or 5 times.
Next day, I dropped Amy and Tanya off at a train station after we took Amy to visit her father's grave somewhere in NY, and I continued back to Boston, to my flight home.
It wasn't as hard as the usual end of tour, because I knew I would see them next month in Ireland.
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