We finally got there! My friend Lore and I got in about 20 minutes late (I'll refer you to my first thought) and so we didn't really get close enough to see or get in to Buffalo Tom. What I heard was pretty cool though.
Now, we found out that the setup changes TAKE forever! We were hot and cramped so if you're going to one of these shows take some water and something to do.
Lore and I got to a spot where we could see...sort of...these cheerleader looking girls were smack in front of us...more of them later...but if I maneuver my head just right there they were!
Now, lemme tell you, the opening ROCKS. Dizzy and those strobe lights flashing! Wow! I just started screaming and I was practically blind. Then you see them all jump out and start singin'.
For those of you who care what they wore...Johnny had on the white tank top and green pants and one of those hats (I call em beaver hats cause my dad wears one all the time like that) I guess it was blue...Robby was barefoot and all in black cept for a white undershirt thing. Mike, not breaking the norm, T-shirt and Shorts.
I think everyone pretty much knows the Dizzy setlist and I was so excited I didn't keep track, so I won't rehash it...I'll just go over the cool moments.
One, we had these yellow balloons from a local radio station flying around. It was funny, cause Johnny kept his eye on it the whole time and he and Robby knocked it back into the crowd. Everyone loved this. Then someone shot it far enough back to reach Mike...Johnny, I guess pissed Mike off playfully by bouncing it off his face. Not surprisingly, Mike didn't even blink. Finally someone hit it back there again and Mike stopped playing to get down and pop it. That made Johnny a little pissed himself. I was laughing so hard and my view was blocked a wee bit by huge-ass Cheerleader heads that I couldn't see exactly what he was doing to Mike...but he was up in his face.
Ah! The name story...Johnny spent a LONG time talking to us. We were so loud we were sidetracked by a couple of Fuck Yous...and Johnny, of course, zinged em back and then said "We'll talk later." My old, driver-friend, Lore loved this, but I don't know about the mom and her 11 year old daughter over there. He was really freaking funny...the whole indie thing/cat litter/letter thing. There was line I kinda remember..."Blue corn chips taste better when they're stomped on by hippies."...referring to his whole indie state of mind. It is the FUNNIEST story, you can't help but laugh. Somewheres in the middle of all this, some girl had a picture of them at the MTV Awards and Johnny got it and was showing it to Robby and they were laughing at it. "We were so loaded then..." The girl apparently was in the picture and the guys were talking about how there weren't any bathrooms and they were in the middle of all these major celebrities and Johnny went and pissed in the bushes next to Mariah Carey. If there was any room I'd of fallen over laughing. Once he got through the rest of the story, he was talking back to the girl and started playing the song a little and said "And I don't remember your name...." Then they went in on it...what a cool thing.
They were really, really, into it and I think that made it fantastic for everyone. I think, I did, but if I didn't I'll pretend anyway, that Robby had one of his classic Robby-grins at me. The world kinda stops for a second, its weird. They were all over the stage...Dave and Nathan rocked too. I love Nathan's mandolin! Too cool...people had lighters up for Iris and they(the audience) were singing so loud I couldn't hear myself scream.
As for the cheerleader girls, they were just there to see Johnny. Kinda pissed me off when they were plugging their ears and just standing there. I just screamed and pushed em around a little. They deserved it...
It's just so cool to see and hear a crowd get into it and see them get back into it..."All that gay crowd participation stuff." It was groovy. People have mentioned this before and this was my first, but GO! My advice is go EARLY and OFTEN. If you have a shot, get your butt there! I swear, there's nothing like it, even if you can't breathe or see some of the time. They rock so much. I just pray they come back soon, I think I'm an addict. And I love it.