I barely made it to the 10-7-99 Nassau show coming from a press conference on Long Island, I literally stripped off my suit and changed into my patchies while doing 60mph on the way to the venue. I hit the lot for a while and ran into my girlfriend and headed inside. Tune selection was nice,that show was the first time I caught Jiboo and Get Back on the Train and was groovin out of control the whole show. Not to mention we were down in gen ad. So right after McGrupp nestled beautifully in Mike's Groove this dude comes up to me and inquires about my shirt. A little background, I sport a Wilson 420 Lizard Kings jersey that my girl got me for the holidays a few years back and I wear it to every show. Well this guy keeps saying that it is the phattest shirt he has seen, complimenting me up and down, and finally asks if I would sell it. I tell him no, politely, explain that it is a one of a kind and that my girl gave it to me and there is absolutely no way that I could give it up. He is like "Right on," and disappears back into the crowd.Then right before what was one of those kick - your-ass-as-a-super-set-closer Weekapaugs 2 songs later the dude reappears with some kind of sticker. "Here brother, for having the phattest shirt in the house," he says as he puts a deck-of-cards size piece of paper in my hands. "It's for an aftershow."I confusedly utter, "Thanks man," give him a little hug and stuff it into my back pocket just as Fish kicks into Weekapaug. I dismiss the paper as one of those fliers touting an aftershow party at some bar with some local band.When Weekapaug finally ends before the encore my girl inquire to what he gave me then asked to see it.Upon further inspection it was a backstage pass. So I get fairly excited and so does she (and with my luck I call Julius for the encore and get it right as the third song after an oddly-placed H2) and headed backstage to finish off perhaps one of the best show experiences I have ever had in 6 years of following the band.Afterwards I met my girlfriend and went right back to work to shower and grab 2 hours of sleep before I had to be up at 4am for another shoot. Then we went on to see them that night again at Nassau and 2 stellar shows in Albany, the final one being on my birthday.
-Wilson 420

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