It was a beautiful day in Winter Park, CO!! The perfect bday present Debbie (my SIL) & I could have given each other. Lucky our bdays are in July!!!! YEAH!!!

We left Littleton a 5:00am. Debbie left 7 week old Mark (with her mother) for the first time ever. She was 8 months pregnant when we had seen GOO in Denver in April. She is a true GOO warrior!!!Good thing she didn't bring him. Not a place for an infant & they both would have been miserable.

We met up with Coloradogoo from AG's (Sara) & her husband Josh....THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! What a trooper he was...having to deal with the 3 of us! *lol* Sara & Josh were in line already when we got there, so we just put our chairs up with theirs.. It was great meeting another devoted GOO fan!!! Of course, we started talking GOO. Before we knew it, we had befriended the 2 couples behind us in line. They were excited to see Lyle Lovett. But, by the time the gates opened, they were looking forward to GOO...too!!! We didn't bring a GOO virgin to the show, but we converted new fans!!!! Terry & Scott and Tim & Nancy were the coolest. The eight of us hung out together the entire day. We stood in line strategizing on how to stake out a great spot. They were pros & had a tarp with them. We just had chairs. As the line started to move, I found out NO CAMERAS! Which is not what I had been told. I have a Minolta with a good sized zoom on it. I spent the next 10min trying to hide it.. I had great support & suggestions from our group of 8. But finally, I said "FUCK IT" I put it in my sweatshirt that I was holding & thought if they find it, they find it!! When it was my turn at security, he looked at me & said "Have a great time!" Ah....Nothing was gonna go wrong for us on this day of GOO!!! Josh was the first one to the stage & Scott put the tarp down. Our 8 chairs were set up and our territory marked. I could not believe how close we were to the stage. The 3 of us (Debbie, Sara, & me) were jumping up & down like 5 year old girls. We were to the right of the stage.

After Kathleen Edwards (I enjoyed her set), peeps were already moving up to the rail. Sara & I decided to make a claim for it. We started going to the left of the stage. By the time we got there, peeps had already moved their blankets up against the rail. We started to talk to a very cool woman. We asked her if we could move up for GOO. She said "Sure" That she was from Buffalo.."A nice polish boy" talking about John. Her husband did not think the same way. He had been the only one in his group who had been up since 4:00am and he wasn't gonna give away his spot. I don't blame him...They let us move our chairs right behind them, creating a wall for them & giving us a great place to watch GOO!! When I finally looked up at the stage, I could not believe our GOOd fortune. We were staring at the center mic!!!

The Mississippi All-stars were very good & then Big Head Todd & the Monsters were next. I had seen Damage tuning the guitars to the left of the stage & pointed him out to Debbie & Sara. We must have been staring at him, cuz he looked at us alot... *lol* During Big Head Todd, Debbie waved to Damage who waved back. this went on for awhile. Then Damage came back with Binoculars!! He started panning the crowd, but was really looking at us!!! Debbie took out her binocs & looked back at him!! So, there they were..looking at each other through the binoculars!! He took his index finger & put it to his temple as to say "You're crazy". Debbie pointed to herself & said "Me?" He shook his head..YES!! VERY FUNNY! Then he motioned to someone to come over to him. This big guy came out of nowhere & Damage pointed our way!!! The guy sat there, staring at us! I'm thinking to myself.."Shit, we have the place of a lifetime to watch GOO & I'm gonna be kicked out for being a "GOO STALKER" We decided not to look at them anymore & enjoyed the rest of Todd.

After they finished, it was time to stake out the rail for GOO! The techs were working to get everyting ready, when Damage comes to center stage. He asked us if we were having a good time! He said they played the Metro last night, & it was a great time!! He said they had been flown in from Chicago. He couldn't have been nicer to us!! THANK GOD! I would of hated having the stigma of being a GOO stalker for life!!! LMAO!

There was one problem about the rail. There was this chick there. No one knew where she had come from! She was right in our way. Debbie & Sara talked to her. I was busy trying to figure out how to get rid of her!! *lol* I heard her say where the GOOs had stayed & that they had been there since Friday..Well! That's all I needed...I said they had been in Chicago for 2 shows & she just kinda looked at me. We igonred everything she said. Definately, NOT informed on GOO.. She was scrunching with her back against the rail! Her big-assed backpack taking up another space at the rail. I was looking at her in disgust, when she looked like she was going to faint. I got her some water & the cool woman from Buffalo thought she should go to the 1st aid tent.. Of course, I was screaming with delight inside my head!! She wouldn't budge!!! So, atleast, we got her backpack moved.. Sara & I got the rail, with Debbie (the tallest of us 3) standing between us. During the show, that chick asked me FIVE times..(I am not exaggerating) who Greg was. She would point to him & say "Who is that?" And one time she said "Craig or Greg? He's cute!" OMG! I had no patience for her! The 3 of us did laugh at her, cuz it was comical!!! LMAO

The GOOs were supposed to be on at 3:00. But there was definately technical problems. Off stage and to the left, we could see John with his KISS guitar on. He seemed frustrated. Mike, Greg & Jason were all ready to go on. I never did see Robby. John had on a white wife-beater, camo pants & an army green floppy hat. Robby had on a black T & jeans that had a big hole in the knee. I loved Mike's shirt. Royal blue, with tiny black stripes & shorts. Very nice! Finally, about 7 minutes late. The real show started!!

Here's the set list:

Dizzy
Long Way Down
Slide
Here Is Gone
Black Balloon
Big Machine
Smash
Tucked Away
Name
Broadway
Sympathy
Iris

There were problems with John's mic & kept trying to get it turned up. He said, "I need more sound & less distortion"

Robby was amazing. He sounded awesome during his two songs! He said,"We're up high in a happy, sunny place" I loved that!! He made sure to make eye contact with every GOO fan. He was so animated and a crowd pleaser! His new teeth looked great but that Robby smile was vintage.

Before Slide, John said "I've seen you guys alot lately" pointing to the fans for peace sign. He said that he liked their web site. During slide, another big guy came over to me and told me I had to put my camera away. NO MORE PICTURES!!! I couldn't use that lense. I argued with him a bit, but in the end, was grateful that he didn't take my roll of film. Luckily, I was so excited to be there, I had almost snapped a whole roll of film. Sara & Debbie took pics for the rest of the show.

John mentioned the altitude by saying 'I'm dizzy from being up here" But they had just flown in, so I'm not sure how much he was affected by it. We were all screaming for John to take his hat off!! Debbie yelled.."Take your hat off, play Naked" Pretty funny...He ignored us at first! But, he did take it off & his hair was standing on end!! He had a cute smile on his face & everyone cheered!! He talked about being in Chicago the night before and staying up all night. He said, "I had a conversation with a girl but I don't remember any of it...I must have been lying" That was funny! (I hope she's not reading this-LMAO!)

A guy yelled from the crowd.."John, your the shit!" John didn't miss a beat..."No, I am a shit" And said it twice for good measure...

When introducing Here Is Gone, John mentioned Gutterflower.. Debbie yelled "Great album!" Robby looked at her and said Thank you! Robby, you are the coolest!!!

John also said he could use a little bit of this....Yup! He started playing Sympathy.

Before Broadway (that purple guitar is beautiful upclose), he strummed it, looked at Damage and said "Does this sound out of tuned? Fuck it" and got another one-the silver one with the 60 on it. At the same time, Robby asked if "Anyone knew how to play guitar?" lol.. Jason's solo was awesome and the crowd appreciated it. He did the chicken dance as it was finishing up. It was the only time that John really smiled on the verge of laughing!!!

John didn't moved around. Once to the right & twice to the left of the stage. I didn't complain, cuz he was in front of us for most of the time!! He went over to get the beautiful (I call it rust) guitar and quickly gave it back to Damage. Because of their late start, they had to cut a song out!!! So it was What a Scene. John wasn't too happy about it!

There were these girls behind me & to the left that Greg smiled at the whole set. He was really happy!! During Iris, he was playing the mandolin and the girls were motioning for him to move to his left. I think they wanted to get a picture with all 5 guys. Greg was playing, laughing, & scooting his feet over & over. Finally, the girls were able to get their pic!! Greg was laughing.. It was very cute!!

As much as I tried to take in every moment, it was over so quickly!! Sara took all the notes & I'm sure regretted volunteering, when I kept asking her.."Did you get that? Did you get that?" I can be such a pain!!! THANK YOU SARA!!! We met back up with our new friends, they were going to take our spot for Lyle Lovett. Terry & Nancy loved GOO. They thought Robby was amazing & were pleasantly surprised at all the songs they knew! They kept saying.."We want to see them again! We have to see them again" It only takes one live show to be hooked..

The techs came out & we asked them for the set list!! He ripped it up from the floor, but instead of getting on the platform & handing it over, he tried to throw it to me..BAD IDEA!! The wind took it down to where the Fans for peace were standing!!! But, there was a woman tech who took the other one, climbed on the platform & handed it to me!! GEEZ! It takes a woman sometimes! lol! I thanked her for it. The funny thing about that set list is taht it had Daytona 2003 on it..*lol*

What an amazing day from start to finish. It was a show I'll never forget. I couldn't of imagined that we would have been at the rail, center stage. It never entered my mind!!! Thank you to all the strangers who became friends & to the AWESOME GOOs!! Rock on!!!!!