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>>COSMO'S NORTH AMERICAN DIARY - WEEK 5 | | | |
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DAY 29- Saturday, February 22, 2003
SHOW 1 IN LOS ANGELES | | | |
Welcome to Hollywood! It was another beautiful day in sunny Southern California. I got off the bus and strolled into the gig. The Universal Amphitheater. Actually, this is a horrible gig. The ceiling over the stage is so low that it is impossible to get my lights to a nice trim. Of course, I knew this already, and for that reason alone I dread this gig, but hope springs eternal I guess and maybe it won't be as bad as I remember. Well, I have a good memory, and it sucks. I walked onto the stage, greeting my crew and looked at the stupid low ceiling. It is so unfair- here we are in LA, 2 sold out shows, 2 of the most important shows to deal with and a lousy gig. Figures.
In any case, I have learned to grin and bear it, and try to do the best show I possibly can. What other choice do I have?
On a better note, the Universal Amphitheater is located in the hills overlooking Universal Studios. It is beautiful. Behind the stage is this door that runs the entire length of the stage and if you sit up in the center of the audience, you have this tremendous view. At night it is simply magnificent. I would almost like to leave the backdrop off and the door open for the show. Maybe one of these days I will.
The backstage area is rather small, especially with the guest list always being out of control here. There is virtually no room on either side of the stage to store any empty road cases, and upstage- forget it. There is barely enough room on stage for all the gear and the tech areas. Close quarters and cramped to say the least.
On the stage left side is where all the dressing rooms are. Problem is, they are all tiny little rooms, but some of them are decorated wonderfully. One even has a grand piano and this great bathroom with this huge Jacuzzi- a veritable room for sex, believe me. Problem is, there is no real place for all the guests. Well, let me explain. There is one room, like a small bar, for the "real" friends, problem is, you can only get about 25 people in there. Next to that is a patio, another 30 guests or so. Now, outside the patio is a larger patio area, that can probably fit 150 people, and believe me, it does. Problem is, this patio is also a work area, and one way from the Dressing Rooms to the stage, so during the show, getting from the stage to the Dressing Rooms in nearly an impossibility. By the end of the show, this area is just heaving with guests- liggers, poseurs, and everybody who is anybody in Hollywood. At the end of our show, it was no different. I just stand on the loading dock, looking into the crowd and laugh. And stay as far away as I can. Of course, I have to go to the Dressing Rooms several times during the evening, so it is like an obstacle course to get through all the people. We have new passes to wear, and also we have special "Dressing Room" passes made up just to get into the Dressing Room area, otherwise the Dressing Rooms would be inundated with people, as if there aren't enough back there already. Just to give you an idea, we had 100 Dressing Room passes made up and we ran out.
I struggled through the day getting the gear up and focused, but finally I was show ready. I headed over to our hotel to check in and shower. I headed back over to the gig and walked in just as doors opened.
It is always exciting doing a show in LA or New York. Not that it's better than any other show, but there is a certain electricity you only find here. The show was fantastic, all three bands rocked the house, and the audience was great. It was definitely an 80's audience- big hair, spandex, leather and lace- it was a sight to behold.
After the show, backstage was packed, of course. There were several people I knew here, so I went and had a few beers and mingled. I wanted to get into Hollywood, mainly over to the Rainbow, but it was Saturday night, it was already late and the traffic through the Valley would be a nightmare. Also, Deanna and her friend Sonya had shown up and were at Universal. Atta and I decided to head into the Universal CityWalk, find Deanna and hit one of the bars. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, everything was closing. We found Deanna, had a drink and headed back to the hotel. The bar was closed, so I headed up and hit the sack. So much for an exciting night at the Rainbow.
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DAY 30- Sunday, February 23, 2003
SHOW 2 IN LOS ANGELES
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I tell you, I can never win when it comes to hotels. When I checked in yesterday, I put down my HiltonHonors card and my credit card for my incidentals. I tried to log on and check my emails, but the phone wouldn't go through. I called the front desk and they claimed I had not put down my credit card. Annoyed, I through on some clothes and went and put my card down again. All this to make a 75-cent call. Annoying. No wonder I like breaking hotel phones.
I am flying to Denver tomorrow, so I am staying here tonight. Trouble is, I don't have a room. However, that problem is solved because the bus drivers have a room for an extra night, but don't need it after their late check out, as they are driving- so perfectly, I take the room when he leaves. It works out rather well.
I checked out, left a bag with concierge and headed over to the gig. One of my favorite things about the West coast is the fact that they have a fast food restaurant here called "In 'n Out Burger," which I consider the best fast food burger in the world. Trouble is, they are only on the West coast. Actually, that's probably a good thing, otherwise I'd weigh 500 pounds. There is an In 'n Out Burger down from the gig, so I had the runner take me down there to grab lunch. Good thing I did, as there was no catering for lunch today. I also brought back an extra burger, so I gave it to Attaboy, he was happy as me!
I touched up the programming for my show, and then grabbed Finn and Atta. The "Backlot" tour of Universal Studios tram ride starts right behind the backstage area of the gig. I have taken this ride several times before; it is actually very interesting and informative, as so many movies have been filmed here. I knew Finn and Atta would never go unless I dragged them, so finally, after forcing them to come with me, the relented and came with. We had a blast. The ride is actually quite cool, especially the backlot, there is some serious movie history back there.
We got back to the gig a couple of hours later and had dinner. Tonight's show was as good if not better than last nights show, everybody was pleased. After my load out, I headed back to the hotel and got to bed early, as I had an early flight. I got to my room and realized that I had left my phone charger on the bus. Oh well, I'd just have to get another one tomorrow in Denver.
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DAY 31- Monday, February 24, 2003
DAY OFF IN DENVER / TRAVEL
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I got up early, showered, packed and headed to LAX. I was fortunate enough to get upgraded to First Class, so I had a nice flight to Denver. As we approached the airport in Denver, I could see all the snow on the ground. Well, we have been lucky weather wise so far, not really cold and definitely no snow. Now we were heading north, our luck was running out.
I arrived around 2 PM, got the shuttle to the hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel was nowhere near the city, but I was happy to be there just the same, instead of on the bus doing a 1000-mile journey. I checked in and asked the front desk clerk if there was an AT&T Wireless store around. He said there was and that if I wanted, he could take me in the hotel van. Great! I dropped off my bags and we were off.
He brought me to this little strip mall. I bought a new charger, and shopped for a few other things. I found a liquor store and bought a nice bottle of Russian vodka, Cristal, and Bloody Mary mix. We headed back to the hotel and he dropped me off.
One of my favorite restaurants in the world is here; it is called the "Buckhorn Exchange." It has been here for over a hundred years, and is like an Old West restaurant. I have been eating there since the early 80's and I hit it for dinner on every visit to Denver. I have been there so much, I feel like family. When I walk in, I always get a hug and a welcome back from Saber. I was going there for dinner tonight, but I didn't know how I was going to get there. Well, the hotel again offered me a ride in the van. I headed to the restaurant around 7:00. I was greeted by Saber; I went up to the bar, visited and had a couple of beers, like I usually do. I sat in the dining room for dinner and had a beautiful cut of buffalo prime rib. Tasty!
I visited with the staff for a bit after dinner and headed back to the hotel. I got back and the buses were just pulling up- it was nearly 10 PM. I was glad I flew.
I ran into Achim and Andy in the restaurant and said hello, they said the ride was long but uneventful. Just the same, I was glad I flew. We had another long drive to Minneapolis after tomorrow night's show, and again, I was flying. I headed back to my room.
I ran into Francis, he looked very down. He said that they had identified Ty Longley's body. He had indeed died in the inferno. Francis had hoped for a different outcome, but after 3 days, it was obvious. I hugged Francis.
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DAY 32- Tuesday, February 25, 2003
SHOW IN DENVER
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We are playing an arena I have never done before. It is a new arena on the campus of Denver State University. It seems like a nice arena, mid-sized and new. The only drag is that the Production Office and catering are on upper floors, and there is only one slow freight elevator. I would be using the stairs a lot. The one nice thing about the Production Office being so high up is that it gave a nice birds-eye view of the stage. I took a few photos throughout the day.
At some point during load in, it started snowing and didn't let up. There were rumors of a huge snowfall, that the buses would not be able to go, that the airport would be closed. I check with Weather.com and found the truth- they were only expecting a couple of inches of snow- no problem whatsoever.
The shows were good tonight, and a good crowd. The snow had finally stopped, and like the weather had said, there was only a couple of inches that had accumulated.
I loaded out and then looked for a ride to the hotel. The runners were all busy so I went out to the bus and had a beer. I was standing outside in the snow when I saw a limo pull up. The door opened and it was Sherry, who is a fan and a donater of stuff to many Scorpions fan Websites. I walked over to say hello. It was her birthday, so her and several of her friends decided to make a night of it. We visited and then they offered to give me a ride to the hotel. I was stoked! I jumped in and cracked another beer and headed to the hotel in style.
We arrived in 5 minutes. The drivers had not yet checked out, so I got my bag from the front desk clerk and waited for the drivers. Lee, our rigger, was also flying, as he lived in Minneapolis and wanted to get home, but he wouldn't be done for a while.
The drivers came down about 15 minutes later, I grabbed the key and headed up to bed.
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DAY 33- Wednesday, February 26, 2003
DAY OFF IN MINNEAPOLIS / TRAVEL
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Another early flight, I headed down about 7 AM, Lee showed up and we jumped into the airport shuttle and headed to the airport.
I upgraded to First again. It makes the flight so much more enjoyable. Lee was on another airline, so we split up.
Denver airport is really nice, just a long way from the city. I had coffee and then headed to my gate.
I slept most of the flight. I arrived around 1 PM and headed to the hotel, which was right downtown and nice. They also had high speed Internet access. I checked in and headed out to do some shopping.
It was cold. I bought a few things, had a snack and headed back to my room. I spent some time on the Internet. The rest of the crew arrived around 5 PM, not too bad, but I was still happy that I flew.
I went down to the hotel bar. Several of Whitesnake's band members were there, they we going to the Timberwolves game. They had one extra ticket, but I had already made plans to hang out with Attaboy.
Atta showed up. I wanted to go to a restaurant I really liked here, the "Pickled Parrot" but the concierge said the downtown location had closed and they had opened another a little way out of town. I didn't want to go to far, so we walked around and settled on the "Rock-Bottom Brewery." We had a few beers and a nice dinner and strolled back to the hotel, had a couple more there and disappeared up to our rooms.
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DAY 35- Friday, February 28, 2003
SHOW IN CHICAGO
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Ah, Chi-town. Again, it was a pity that we didn't have a day off here- I love this city. We are playing the old Rosemont Arena, which is now called the Allstate Center. Same building, new name. Load in is a bit of a pain in the ass here, but you know it before going in and deal with it. The really cool thing (for me, anyway) is that the arena is right under the flight path for O'Hare airport. I love to go out and watch the planes land- they come so close that you can count the rivets on the bottom of the plane!
As I came into the gig, Tim and Scott, also known as Beavis and Butthead, greeted me. They are longtime friends of the Scorpions and genuinely good people; They come to many shows and are just a pleasure to be around. They are essentially fans, but over the years, have become good friends. This is their city, so they both came down early to see if they could offer a hand. It was good to see them. We had breakfast and caught up.
Load in went fairly smoothly, despite the small truck loading area. Also, my guys can't go up and focus here, a couple of the union guys have to do it, which slows me down a bit, but I had a good two guys and it went fast.
I needed some more gel colors to finish off the silk flame units, so I asked the Union steward if he could find me some. He said that he would let me know later.
One of my dear friends, Red lives here, he came down early to visit. We had dinner together and caught up on each other's lives. It was great to see him; it had been a while since we've seen each other.
The show rocked tonight, the Chicago audience their normal crazy selves. Klaus made mention of Beavis and Butthead, who were, as usual, right in the front row.
After the show, the backstage area was mobbed. It turned into a great party. After load out, the party continued on the buses. I probably didn't get into my bunk until 5 AM, just as we got to Champaign. I wasn't sure if we could check in that early, so I decided to stay put and sleep.
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