I had tickets to the Chicago Andy show last night. I got there at 6:30 and was first in line. I've never been first in line for anything! I couldn't get in and heard a band playing...I went around the side and looked in the window. There was Andy tuning up! He stopped playing and joking waved.
I ended up sitting next to the stage! He played about three feet from me all night. I'm half deaf right now....but still amazed at how close I was to him. What a talent! I had requested a few Police songs from him.....and it was kinda cool in that while playing his last song...Message in a Bottle...he looked down and me about 3/4 of the way through the song and said "Well, how's this?"! If that direct kind of contact with a performer in the middle of a song doesn't make you feel special...nothing will!
I wish I could have met some of you at the show....but I was caught up with another group of people that monopolized the table I was at!
If anyone has a chance to see Andy...I'd recommend it! Although he seems physically and mentally tired from touring, he sure knows how to put on a show. Oh well, here's to hoping some of my hearing comes back!
For more information about Tracy's website with Sting content, click here.
Well, it's the morning after and I'm still hearing guitar in my head. ;-) My husband and I went to see the show and since it was a five hour drive for us - not knowing the city - we set out VERY early. I've found that Chicago is no fun to drive in ... Especially after the show, at midnight, in a light rain with having almost no sleep the night before. AND when you had a brilliant idea to use MapQuest's TripQuest feature to print out directions from your house to the pub, and didn't think far enough ahead to print directions from the pub back to your house. Missed an exit on the way back and didn't think we'd EVER get home. But hey, we finally did which is why I'm able to type out this note.
Ok, what was sooo cool about getting there early and hanging around (well, the sign on the window said that they would be open at 5:00 ... they DIDN'T open until 8:00!!!) was that we were there when Andy arrived. He was wearing a long jacket and a purple ball cap. He and his roadies were in and out of the pub a few times and then Andy went over to a nearby coffee shop. So my husband and I who had been sitting in our vehicle, decided that the coffee shop (which we had been in earlier trying to pass some time, might be a good place to be after a bit) ;-) I was able to meet Andy and personally give him a poem that I had written a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of the show. I don't know if he'll read it but *shrug*, it was a thrill to give it to him.
My husband and I got our drinks and played chess at one of the tables in the back about 30 minutes or so. (Didn't want to be the fawning fan and drive him out of the shop. Andy and his group relaxed in the coffee shop talking guitar stuff for quite a while.
When we finally decided to go back out, Andy was back inside the pub (still closed!) warming up. We could hear very well from our vehicle and could see the band through the huge front windows (that place was SO small and the whole front wall was nothing but glass) From about 6 or 630 until 7ish, we got to experience the pre-show show.
At around 7 or a bit after, a few other people started showing up and from the look of things by 8:00 it wasn't going to be a big crowd. WRONG, there was easily 200 people packed in that little pub by the time the show started. (How many list members ended up going? Wish I could have met you!) Tony, you're not the guy who sat at the left-most table and got one of the posters from the wall are you?
The opening act (Sam Pacetti?) was good (very funny guy). The show, when it FINALLY started (remember, I'd been there since 5:00!!) was great!!!! It was the coolest thing to hear Andy (and his band) live, so loud that the bass seem to thump in my throat, Andy's guitar simply screamed through my head (still is). I wasn't familiar with only a couple of the songs (I still don't have the XYZ and World Gone Strange albums, and I know that one of the unfamiliar ones was World Gone Strange. (Which Andy dedicated to our audience as a joke) BTW, is XYZ still being sold anywhere? I haven't been able to find it in stores or online. Can it be ordered?) I'll paste a copy of the poem that I gave to Andy below, the poem pretty much sums up the whole experience. It was very cool to hear that line from Friends, even if he was just doing it in a joking manner to appease us, he did it very cool. A final set of four more songs, ending with Message in a Bottle, which was a PERFECT end to the night. The whole place was screaming, whistling, clapping, yelling ANDY!! ANDY!! during and after that song. (And I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a recording of it as he is playing it during this tour, (would love to have a recording of the whole show for that matter. Hints to anyone who may have made such a recording. Oh, also ... we decided not to take out camera into the show (wish I had now!), would love to see some of the photos that others have taken! There were tons of people taking photos all over the place at the Chicago show.
Ok, here's the poem. To those who still have shows yet to see, be sure to post your experience!
in anticipation of seeing Andy Summers, live in Chicago, Nov. 30th 1997 The Last Dance of Mr. X tour Strings of Synaesthesia ----------------------- Strum our heartstrings resonate synchronous as we are called to transcend this smoky pub. Mouths fill with the taste of sound pure and titillating. Droplets disintegrate in our eyes, on our tongues leaving a living taste behind to blend soothing, stinging like rain but harder, sweeter, and we breath your vibrations, grow drunk on the notes rising as fast as champagne bubbles, an odor far finer than effervescent liquids. Change and we hover in the wake of a wobbling cloud. You stand in the eye, master of tempests pulling and pelting the biting strings, the begging strings. And they sing red and yellow. A true ventriloquist, your song was never confined to the instrument. It hums and whines inside our bodies, holy as communion, wicked as a razor. Golden The last note lingers, the breath of a lover's kiss. Reluctant to release us, or are we grasping? The smoky pub hovers unreal at the edges of vision like a dejected dog, hanging at our feet. Loyal, ever-present reality. Don't be hasty to take us in your teeth. We are riding a dream and have no wish to descend. Fade and once again we breath the common air which tastes nothing as we remember for memory mixes a bittersweet elixir. Introspection will only reveal a glimpse of intangible colors aching in forgotten ecstasies, and leave us searching for echoes of the strings of synaesthesia. |
To read more of Tracy's poems, click here.
Hi Everyone! I saw Andy last night at Martyrs and I thought he was in top form! It was my first time ever seeing Andy live and I thought he was Excellent! The place was packed and pretty much what Tony said summed everything up. The bassist and drummer were also very good. It was very nice meeting you Tony, Donna, Debbie, and Trent, from the list!
What can I say? The whole evening was amazing. The club was intimate -- exposed brick walls, candles, plenty of tables and chairs pulled close to the stage, and those massive windows in front through which we were treated to an early glimpse of Andy and the band during the sound check. He came through the front doors right past the few of us, stopped to say "hi", and left for a while.
Once on stage with his band, the audience warmed to him immediately, and likewise, He was witty, charming, and seemed genuinely touched by the enthusiasm shown by the crowd. Andy's band played tight...they downright jammed. And he's just a total virtuoso was blown away, especially witnessing his talents from so close in front of the stage. Mostly tunes from "Mr. X", "World Gone Strange" along with "Mexico 1920" from "Charming Snakes" and, of course "Murder" and "Message". They played for close to two hours.
Afterwards, in the back of the club by the bar, he graciously chatted with fans, patiently posed for photos and signed tons of autographs...very cool.
Thanks to Jen, Tony and Trent from the list...it was great to meet you. We all met Andy! Also, to Frank from the list...we did talk briefly outside before the doors opened, but I didn't know it was you! (We were at the far left table, right in front). And to anyone else from the list who's thinking about seeing Andy in the next few weeks...definitely do so!
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