Hanging In Baltimore Before The Concert
We decided to make a day of it in Baltimore before the concert. Unfortunately, the weather just really sucked that day. It rained constantly.
Alison and I are huge ice-skating fans and when Alison found out there was an IMAX movie about the Nagano Winter Olympics at the Baltimore Science Center, we just HAD to be there!
We walked up to the science center and the line was out the door an almost to the water. Jon, Alison, and I started standing in line. Emily, gutsy as she is, said she was going to try to get us in faster. I don't know how she did it, but in 10 minutes, she returned with 4 admission tickets and 4 IMAX tickets.
The IMAX was fabulous! They captured every aspect of the Nagano Games. They focused on the Japanese long jump team winning the gold. They did a very moving story on the Jamaican cross-country skier. They, of course, displayed the wonderful ice-skating. I thought they'd rehash the Michelle/Tara rivalry, but they just showed great skating. I thought they stayed away from the controversy without being obvious about it. But, the best part was when they filmed what it would look like if you were riding in a bobsled. That really blew my mind! The ride was fast, bumpy and 60 feet wide!!
We spent a good three hours or more in the Science Center. There were a lot of interactive exhibits. It was cool. I highly recommend it!
After we were done at the science center, we sloshed our way over to Planet Hollywood for dinner. I don't know how she did, it but Emily circumvented the 45-minute wait for a table. We walked right in and sat down. Nobody said anything to us! Thanks again, Emily!
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The Concert
After dinner, we took a water taxi to the Pier Six Concert Pavilion. If you've never been to Pier Six, it's almost open air. There is a fabric cover but nothing for walls. We were worried that we were going to get rained on all night because the wind was really fierce.
Weird Al is #1!
I was supposed to meet up with fellow Al fans Sue Kelleher and Amy Carter. However, it wasn't to be. I forgot to bring their seat numbers with me, so I couldn't find them. D'OH!!! As it turned out, we were sitting right across the aisle from each other. Sue walked by me about three times and I noticed her purse that had photos of Weird Al all over it. I also noticed Amy and her paisley dress. Amy was sitting just behind Sue. When I saw Amy, she was looking at some photos of Weird Al. I wanted to ask her to see them, but I didn't. If I had, I would have met up with both of them. Oh well. Sue sent me an email after the concert that she didn't realize that I was sitting right across the aisle from her until she saw my now defunct, pathetic first attempt at a web page. She looked at the photos of my tattoo and recognized me from that.
Look Ma! It's a big steamin' pile of Weird Al Fans!
(back row: Me, Allison. front row: Emily, Jon)
In case you've done the math, there were only four of us attending the concert and we had five tickets. I couldn't believe we couldn't give this ticket away! Emily had a few friends who said maybe then cancelled. I invited a guy I met at the St. Louis concert. He said no. I then invited my sister. She couldn't attend either. So, Emily sold her extra ticket to some grungy guy was just waiting around the ticket box for cheap seats. When Emily sold him the extra ticket, he complained that he usually got tickets after the concert started for $5. I don't know how much Emily charged him, but it was more than $5. Good for her! These were great seats for a guy who was essentially a walk-on! He was really sullen. He just sat there with his arms crossed. He didn't wave his arms during Amish Paradise or clap at any time during the concert! He was sort of scary looking, so we put Jon between us girls and him as a buffer.
Weird Al wets his whistle after he polka'd his throat out for us!
The concert was great. Al's very good. His performance level is always of the highest quality. I don't know how Al, Jim, Steve, Jon, and Ruben can go out and perform at that level night after night after night night night!
Kurt Cobain (AKA Weird Al) screams Nirvana.
Soon, I was dancing my head off and forgot that it was very cold and rainy. The crowd was as lively as I've ever seen. Those lucky bastiges in the front row were actually dancing and clapping. What a concept!?! If you've read any of my other pages, you know that I am appalled when people just sit there at a concert like they're home watching the evening news! If it wasn't for that jerk who worked for Pier 6, I could have been up there rocking right along with them! Grumble grumble grumble!
Weird Al playing the accordion.
Our seats were pretty good, despite my grumbling! We had 5th row and my seat was on the aisle. I scoped out the situation and I was the first woman on the aisle on Jim's side of the stage. Maybe I would get a scarf??? Hee hee, no. It is my opinion that Al prefers Steve's side of the stage during One More Minute.
Emily is "taking a shower" in the fake snow during The Night Santa Went Crazy!"
The young "security" guard who sat with his back to the stage was a real Weird Al fan! He sang all the words to all the songs. The stage was about 6 feet off the ground and the kid (I mean 16 or 17 years old) was sitting in a chair facing the audience. When the audience laughed, he stood up and craned his neck to look at what was happening on the stage. It was soooo funny. He is, so far, the first venue staff person that I've seen who seemed interested in the performance. Most staff just sit there and look bored or like they're waiting for someone to rush the stage so they'd have something to do.
Al sings of the pain and heartbreak of a doomed relationship.
The first mistake I ever saw at one of Weird Al's concerts happened that night. It was during one of the first songs (I can't remember exactly which one, but it was before the costume changes started). The song sounded strange and it took me a few seconds to realize there was no guitar. Apparently, the battery pack that Jim keeps on his guitar strap either was missing or wasn't working. He had to leave the stage and then come back. Once he came back, he was good to go and the song sounded right as rain (pardon the pun). I am soooo not musically inclined, so it was interesting to hear how different a song sounds without Jim's incredible musical input. However, I wasn't complaining, for once, I could hear Steve's bass loud and clear! Another eye-opening (ear-opening?) experience! For me, it was a whole new perspective on the song and music in general. I only know what the ensemble sounds like, I didn't really know how each person's musical ability contributes to the whole!
Ruben and Al ham it up for us while Steve backs them up.
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After The Concert
After the concert, we decided to see if any of the band members would come out to greet us. Steve and Jon came out pretty soon but went directly to the tour bus. I wanted to yell to Jon that I wanted him to sign my drum tattoo. I didn't have the chutzpah to yell that out though. Luckily, I met Jon at the Hershey Park concerts and finally sucked up my guts and asked him!
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