Thanks guys, I appreciate that
It was truly a dream come true. Now I must write the review......and ....I am going to save this as I go, so it is a work in progress, I just don't want to accidentally delete as it is LOOOOOOOOOONG
WARNING LONG and detailed about potential irrelevanceThe WaitAfter killing time most of the day awaiting an hour I could get in line for the general admission show and asking a rather amused looking security guy if he was indeed security and if so if it was alright for me to wait where I was (I guess I just couldn't grasp the big yellow embroidered "security" patch on his shirt), I FINALLY began meeting other fans. This was around 4 pm. I met other fans from all over the states as well as other countries. One guy spent a good deal of time impressing me with his vast knowledge of the punk scene, the Pistols, PiL, the Professionals, the Ramones (
)........I was very duly impressed, until Glen came out from the big double doors of The Joint and the guy came back from that direction promptly telling me he had just met "Johnny Rotten". I said .......er....
...are you sure it wasn't Glen Matlock......the autograph was CLEARLY not Johnny's
So he was like, well maybe it was Paul Cook
. I said......no. I am pretty sure you met Glen because I just saw him go that way......in a hurry
.
Next fanboy I met was a very nice man from Portland. He chased Glen down too and even though Glen was quite pointedly in a hurry (I know this because Glen said "I am in a hurry"), he got Glen to sign what looked to be every CD cover, DVD cover, record album, and magazine he had owned since he was born
. I wonder what Glen was thinking, don't you?
I finally met Gil of .net fame (in line ahead of me identified as such by another fan in line who had already met him).......very nice guy, but damn Gil you are QUIET
Or maybe I am just loud
Finally met Shonie and WHIZZER from .net as well (Gil the Quiet introduced us
).....more on them later
The bouncer dude (one of them) told us we could line up at 6:30 and no earlier (he would kick us out of line if he saw us do that)....he later amended the time to 6:15 and that it stayed until.......well........6:15. When the appointed time came we got our hands stamped with "SID"
I just have no fucking clue why
I told the lady I wanted "JOHN" on my hand instead but she just kept going unphased by my request
Once we were allowed to go in we RAN to the front.....WHOO HOOO
FRONT ROW nearly dead CENTER!! I was so happy but thinking of Elisabeth and how much I wish she could have been there too....we were the Brixton Girls dammit.......we needed to be there to impress (read dismay) Rammy with our s-creams
...
The Opening Act----Louis XIV Well what can I say about this band? I liked them, me and my new friend Bea found them entertaining. Sure it could have been the main singers very tight pants with his cock in clear outline, it could have been his really blue eyes, it could have been the way he played conductor to some unseen symphony in the audience, or it could have been that Mick Fleetwood appeared to be on rhythm guitar
Who knows. Or it could be we were in a great mood and happy that soon we would see Johnny just this close....but we were kinda pissed at the cow that kept mooing to our side, and the dickhead that threw a cup of ice at singer/conductor dude
Good band, enjoyable, but nothing like the Pistols have ever been. Bluesy.
THE ShowThe band came out to There Will Always Be An England. I don't know why some of the audience seemed surprised cause I mean the band are from...
....well...
...England
Words can not begin to describe what it was like to see them that close....even closer than Brixton. It was just......unbelievable. John's eyes were the most clear, beautiful blue, his hair red (I love that color of red Baby
. He wore red plaid pants, a white striped jersey (only he could pull that off) and sneakers to match his pants....well at least SOMETHING matched Babe
Rammy stood rather subdued except for a bright red belt over to the side with a worried scowl on his cute little Pug face
Glen looked REALLY REALLY good.....I am not sure if that was a mostly aqua shirt or not but it looked oh so good on him
GO GLEN! Jonesy and Cookie looked much like they had just gotten up off the couch or the bar stool to play a session with buddies in a favorite bar. Jeans (shorts in Jonesy's case) and T-shirts all the way.
If you wanna know the set list and exactly what was played when then you are in the wrong place. Shonie and Jolly Rotter can tell you that on .net........here I can just tell you they were WONDERFUL and played everything I can think of except Satellite...dammit
John was way on top of his game sounding incredible and remembering the words rather well I would like to point out. Of course he could sing me the phone book and I would just swoon and smile like a hippie on classic acid
John really played up his sexuality, with us ladies s-creaming and squealing like tweens at a Justin Timberlake show
;D Of course he always bridled it with humor, blowing his nose, or making a face. Oh Johnny when will you ever learn you are OH SO sexy and you do not have to apologize for it or make light of it? ;D
It was wonderful seeing him so happy though
. He WAS a bit miffed with security
, and wrongly chastised the security dudes up front who were taking out those who had fainted from the heat and the push of the crowd during Problem
. I am surprised Rammy didn't tell him that, but it seemed Rammy was much more worried with the crowd surfers who would get down past the front barricade and try to run to John to shake his hand or grab him
.
You must realize this was a VERY small venue and the stage didn't have a lot of room. I was so scared John would trip and fall
. His mic had a chord and the monitors were very near the front
. He kept walking up in front of them and once nearly caught his heel on one
. He had the mic chord wrapped ALL around his foot at one time and I was staring at it hoping like hell he wouldn't trip----at that moment for some reason I looked over at Rammy and he TOO was looking worriedly at John's foot and that chord
. It was one of my favorite concert moments.....great minds think alike Mr. Rambo
Both Rammy and I breathed a sigh of relief when John untangled himself Houdini style and went back to center stage.
At least four people tried the "get to the front and grab John" thing but Rammy effectively eliminated them all
. The two that stick in my mind the most are as follows-----one was where a big guy tried to get to John and Rammy said "NO NO NO
You CAN'T DO THAT"
then JUMPED in front of John to shield him presumably from the attacker. In so doing I am quite certain poor little Rammy stepped on like 40 of John's toes because there was NO room for the pretty man to back up unless he wanted to fall all over a monitor
I am sure he was thinking something like ".....er......thanks for that Rammy
can I have a toe band-aid or a splint now?
" The SECOND incident was with a girl that looked to be a teen. She jumped down there the first time and Rammy backed her off with the patented NO NO NO
Then shook his finger at her like a school teacher or a mother of a two year old trying to get to the cookie jar. When she tried it the SECOND time, the kid gloves were OFF though, and our Rammy was ready to HEAL her of her stupidity demon
He bopped her on the forehead again like a faith healer, yelling "NO!" like you would to a disobedient dog. Me THINKS me heard the word "fuck" from his cute little lips too as he walked back from the ignorant girl who had now been vaulted back into the audience. GO RAMMY GO!!
John did NOT forget the words to God Save the Queen as he had predicted he might, did not forget the words to EMI....and looked DAMN good not forgetting them may I add ;D
He pulled up his shirt very s-l-o-w-l-y and teasingly to reveal his cute little tummy and sexy sexy chest...
...then did his "make a face, cute little nose/snot thing just to show us HE didn't think he was being sexy.....JOHNNNNY STOP IT
;D
Glen and Jonesy cut up and comedy teamed it around the stages causing me to miss many a John moment
But they WERE hysterical........particularly I loved when Glen pretended to lick Jonesy's guitar
and then Jonesy pretending to do John
...John patted his head and Glen stood behind John looking at him like " er.......I AM here too you know
" Cookie played his drums and tried to retain professionalism
The band came back twice for encores, the first time with Johnny speaking to security in the back in no uncertain terms. They were to leave fans alone. He said "you set the stage" of good behavior. Smart sexy Babe. He is so hot when he is ticked
Rammy laughed (
) when John did Bagdad Was a Blast and got the audience to try and do a Praise Allah chant......we DID sound a bit ridiculous
John finished with Roadrunner.....GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Best concert I have EVER been toooo.........THANK YOU JOHNNY, GLEN, JONESY, COOKIE, and RAMMY........I love you allllllllllllllll
;D
The Miraculous Aftermath After the show I was invited to join Shonie and WHIZZER at the Circle Bar. So I went to my room hurriedly to grab money so I could go. Upon getting to the bar, I couldn't' find the guys for like 5 passes around it
Talk about crowded. I think I stepped on half a dozen people and knocked over at least that many drinks. Fortunately no one called me on it
I finally located WHIZZER and got to meet a few more guys from England as well as Jolly Rotter. I had such a good time talking to them and looking at Shonie and Jolly's pictures
;D
After a bit Jolly and I were chatting when Shonie came over and asked me to come with him. He told me that John and Rambo were at another bar
and I could meet them as he and WHIZZER had told them about me and this board
. I gripped Shonie like one would a life raft and we went into a small little sports bar. WHIZZER said later that Rammy had not been that receptive at first, but when we approached he couldn't be nicer..
...just a bit worried looking (that's our Rammy
) and apprehensive. He shook my hand after I offered it, and was going to allow a photo with John at Shonie's request. I was mute by this time you see
. John immediately stood and was apparently going to pose with Rammy, with me on the other side of Rammy. He is used to the protection obviously and very comfortable with his Rammy running interference. Bravely, however, the cute, hot men allowed me to trip across Rammy and land kind of grabbing John for balance in between them
I grabbed John (which I later saw did not go unnoticed by the Ramminator), grabbed Rammy (which probably did nothing to alleviate his apprehension), and posed with a smile I will probably be buried with still on my face. When I crawled back over Rammy, he decided interrogation might be the thing. He asked me the url to my board (I couldn't remember it correctly at the time to save my life on Judgment Day
), pointedly asked "Nothing bad, right?", and listened patiently (if not rather quizzledly) while I babbled to him about calling him Rammy, cheering for him at shows, and thanking him for protecting John. I love the man even more now than I did going in. What a wonderful little Pugnacious Protector he is. And John is just a BABY DOLL!
As I started to amble blankly towards the door once again Shonie and WHIZZER saved me. "here is Glen" they said. Glen, bless him, stood up to hear how he is my favorite after John and Rambo
. I also, fortunately for me no doubt, told him how wonderful his book is. He was beyond gracious and sweet. Billy Duffy was there and so was Matt Sorum. I didn't even notice Matt and Billy not much more. It was a JOHN, Rammy, Glen night.
ConclusionA HUGE thank you to Shonie and WHIZZER for helping make my dream come true! Thank you to John for coming down to the bar when you could have ordered room service, and for looking like something out of a dream every time I see you. Thank you Rammy for not attacking me, for your patience, and ALL of your hard work that more often than not we fans make very very difficult. Thank you Glen for your patience and for looking so damn HOT. Thank you Jonesy and Cookie for getting up off the couch and playing the show
Thank you Jolly for your time and help! Thank you Gil for being so nice........wish I had seen you more! Thanks to all the other fans I met that made the night so wonderful (especially Randy, Bea and Deanna)!! If you read this we have to do it again sometime dammit!! A PERFECT evening all around.