From: Lauren

December 11, 1998
Cobo Arena
Detroit, MI

I took the bus to Michigan. I was going to see the show at Cobo Arena. I checked into my hotel, The Ponchartain, around 2, friday afternoon. I showered, etc. As soon as I went down intto the lobby, I saw a tourbus. I was like "Holy Shit!" So i went outside; it was their's. I was flipping out. Well, this review could take forever, so I'll summarize.

Later, in the lobby, I met Peggy! (Peggy, you and Tina are AWESOME. We have to meet up again. By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA!!!!!). I met Bill as well; we were both sitting in the lobby, unaware of each other before Peggy arrived. Well, band members started to pop in and out. We went over to Mike, asked for pics with him, and chatted with him for a bit. He's so cool. He said that the "Dizzy" video should be coming out in January; maybe that's a given, I don't know. We got pictures with Robby, David(the tour-manager), John, and Nathan. I think Peggy got Nathan's autograph, actually.

Well, Peggy blurted out to every band member how I'd come 14 hours to be at this show. They seemed impressed. Right after, i got my pic with John, he looked at me and sincerely said, "Thank you very much." Well, off to the show. We met Tina and her friend Rhonda inside Cobo Arena. They're really cool too. Nathan and Dave were hanging around the stage, right in the open, during the other performances. I said hi to Nathan again(I'd seen him on the elevator in the hotel, earlier that day). I talked to Dave about his first tat, which is a cover of a Devo record, I think. I mentioned Rammstein, just because I've been wondering if he ever associated with them in any way, shape, or form. He said they were all rumors and that he never set fire to any hotel mattress.

Well, the show, "Holiday Hootenanny," included these two twin chicks, Edwin McCain, Semisonic, Better Than Ezra, the GGD, and DC Talk(which I missed).

The Goos opened with "Dizzy." God, I'm drawing such a blank. They played, "Dizzy," "Iris," "Name,"(but no story), "Slide," "Long Way Down," "Broadway," "Black Balloon," "Full Forever," and "Hate This Place." I do believe that's everything. Unfortunately, they could only play for 35 minutes. Well, there were no band intros; but looking back on it, a few of the other bands did intros. I'm really thinking that Semisonic and definitely Better Than Ezra had more stage time than the Goos. (But who's bitter...I'm cool). Well, Peggy was going insane with the signs. The band loved her signs and responded well to them. One sign mentioned Tina's b-day; John said "Happy Birthday Tina" in the middle of "Hate This Place." Yeah, and as Peggy mentioned, the tour manager sign was a riot. David seemed to appreciate it. Unfortunately, I believe that Robby only sung one song. But, let me say that he's so dam energetic. He's awesome. He could put the Energizer Bunny out of a job.

The audience was pretty cool. By the way, Brandon, I saw you; I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you.

After they performed, Tina, Rhonda, and I said good-bye to Peggy, her sister, and her niece. We headed back to the hotel lobby 'cause we had a feeling they'd be coming in soon. Not even 5 minutes later, they started entering the lobby. I believe Nathan was first, Dave, etc. Dave was wearing these ultra-cool silver pants; he mentioned how he got them that day. Mike came over to us and asked if he could hang out with us. Uh....I think that would be alright Mike!! Robby came in and eventually announced that drinks were on him because of Tina's birthday. Tina and Rhonda ended up in the bar. I was in for a few minutes. But I spent some quality time with Mike. I had such an amazing night. Just the 35 minutes of hearing them play and seeing them live...god, I'd do it all over again and spend the last of my money on them anytime. And hanging with the GGD... they are so laid-back, very cool guys.