Thursday, July 07, 2005

My Kind of Town



As many of you know, my girlfriend does restaurant PR and consulting. Usually, this translates in to perks such as free meals and free entry into foodie events throughout the year. Tuesday night, we got one of the best perks ever.

After arriving home from the beach the previous evening, all girlfriend wanted to do was get home from work and go to the supermarket to stock up our barren refrigerator. She then received a call that said she had to come to one of her restaurants and take pictures because Chicago was going to be there (they were playing at Wolf Trap, an outdoor venue in VA, the next night). She asked if I wanted to go along (mostly because I have a digital camera). So I said yes. How often do you get to hang out with wuss rock icons?

We get to the restaurant and it turns out that only the trumpet player and the tour manager from Chicago are there, so no pictures. We did get to have a free meal (and I made sure to drink about a gallon of Chianti. About halfway through the meal, the restaurant owner asks if we want to go to the show. I said yes (partially because I had nothing better to do, partially because I haven't been to a concert in months, and partially because I needed a good story for the site). So we get the word later in the night that we would be getting tickets at will call and one of my lifelong dreams would be coming true: backstage passes! We were going to be Very Immense Penises!

Yesterday I took the metro over to my girlfriend's office in VA. Unfortunately, due to the rush hour traffic, I had to sit in the seat across from the conductor box behind the tinted glass (you know, the one that always smells like the freshest piss). I finally get there and after waking up the heifer next to me so I could get out of the train, I got into my girlfriend's car and we were off to Wolf Trap.

For those who don't know, Wolf Trap is an indoor/outdoor venue that specializes in wussy acts that are past their prime. If you don't believe me check here. Basically, its the type of place you see a lot of chunky asses wearing dockers. Adults also like it because you can bring your own food and alcohol and the parking is free.

There was some traffic trying to get out of Alexandria in rush hour, so I decided to put on the old standby: Don and Mike. I grew up with this duo and was listening to them when they still had to play records. A lot of people don't like them (mostly those who worship Howard Stern), but I think they are hilarious. They are apparently on vacation this week, so the station is running Best Of tapes. The one they ran yesterday could have been the best segment ever.

The tape was from the day after the last election. Don was praying for an election day miracle that Bush would not get reelected (by the way, great job defeating terrorism, jackass. Mission accomplished.) So Don is flipping through the channels and he gets a call from Robbay, a former intern turned producer, to let him know that he had to change the channel to 315. Don had found his election day miracle.

Warning: Clicking on this link will ensure your eternal spot in hell.


They watched this show for the next 30 minutes (on election night, 30 minutes is like 3 hours) because the show was just so damn good that they couldn't turn the channel. Anyway, they had clips of the "trainables" trying to interview people on the show. Highest of high comedy. But its not just the tards that make it funny. Its the celebrity reactions to them and how uncomfortable they are that makes it funny. Either way, I can't wait for hell.

We got to Wolf Trap at about 6:30, when the guy told us to be there to pick up the tickets at will call. The owner of the restaurant and her boyfriend(?) were going to be there as well. So we picked up the tickets and our VIP passes and really did not know what to do with ourselves. Are you supposed to go backstage before the show? We decided not and I got a beer and a burger for dinner. The strange thing about the food is that the only thing there that didn't have a jacked up price was the Starbuck's Coffee. They must have said to themselves, "I can't believe how much people pay for this crap to begin with. We can't possibly charge them any more." The crowd mostly seemed like a mix of baby boomers, their kids, and a few pockets of random people.

After hanging out and scoping the crowd for a while (yes, I did see two adult tards trying to climb the stairs on the side of the stage, and yes, I'm getting closer and closer to the front row of hell), we made our way to our seats. 7th row center. Boo Yaa. We're with the band. The restaurant owner and her boyfriend showed up at about 8 and the show began maybe 10 or 15 minutes later.


Chicago still rocks. Well, about as hard as they ever did, which is to say, not very hard. But they still got it. It is weird because they have about 5 of the 7 original members and replaced the guitar player and bassist with 2 young guys who could be moonlighting in a boy band for all I know. Either way, it makes for a strange dynamic on the stage. I don't think I was supposed to take pictures, but what kind of reporter would I be if I didn't? More unemployed? Kicked out of Wolf Trap? Please.

About 2 songs into the performance, the owner's boyfriend got up to presumably go get a beer and smoke a cigarette. He never came back to the seats. Later he was like, "It was really hot in there." Which it was, but not that bad. The owner went to look for him during the performance and came back with a big bag of goodies (not drugs, sicko). She then told us that she had bought Chicago tour shirts for us. Sweet! I was going to buy one and wear it ironically, but they were like $30. Not worth it, but if its free, I'll be wearing that sucker all the time.


Chicago played all the classics: Saturday in the Park, Look Away, Hard to Say I'm Sorry, If You Leave Me Now, and others. Plus there was a kick-ass drum solo. The only one conspicuously missing was You're the Inspiration. But I guess when you are coming out with you 30th album, all the hits can't possibly make it into the show.

By the end of the show, they were getting standing O's for every song. I was never really sure when it was really going to be the last song, but they finally left the stage and the baby boomers went crazy. So did this old guy named "Bear" who was sitting next to us and was apparently was somebody in the band's father. He also supposedly played for the Steelers in the 50's and looked the part. Even though he was happy and smiling the whole night, he looked like he could crack your chest open if he wanted, even at his advanced age.


They came out for an encore with Free and 25 or 6 to 4 and brought the house down. During Free, they unfurled a huge American flag and got a big pop from the crowd, being so close to 4th of July and all. It was then that my girlfriend asked if I wanted to leave and go take the dog out (who had been alone in the apartment for 5 hours) or go backstage with the Owner and her boyfriend. Obviously, I thought it was a good tradeoff to have a potential pile of poo in our bedroom and go backstage at a concert, one of my lifelong dreams. I don't care if it was Chicago, I still had to do it and I may never get another chance to go backstage in my life, so we headed to the side of the building where all the VIPs were.

The four of us along with Bear and his wife and some others got to go back into the green room or something like that and waited for the band. I wasn't too sure of what to expect, but it was a bit of a let down because all that really happened was the band came out and talked to the various assembled groups. My girlfriend got an autograph from the bass player (who looked a bit like James Caan's son and whose father had played in Elvis' band) and a picture with the trumpet player (who was at the restaurant the previous night) and we were on our way.

I have to say, even today, Chicago still puts on a good show. You have to respect a band that stays around this long, even if Peter Cetera is no longer with them. Plus, I got to fulfill my lifelong dream of going backstage at a concert and I even have a Chicago tee shirt to wear that will definitely at least make people laugh. And it was all free.

I can't wait for REO Speedwagon to come to the restaurant. And no, I'm not kidding.