We were in Binghamton it was like 9am and we couldn't go to the hotel
yet...we headed for Java Joe's and killed time there. The Germans arrived
a little while later and we spent most of the morning with them. At 1pm. we
went to the Arena again and I hung out with them and the other guys until
3:30. It was then when I decided I needed some sleep before my first
"General admission" show for which I was going to be number 2 in line :-)
I went to sleep and woke up at 4:25 and I thought about sleeping some more,
but then I decided I should go back to the arena. So I rushed out of the
hotel... only to find out that I missed Tori by 5 minutes!! Jen and Mel
(the German girls) had met Tori were we had been waiting for her earlier
that day. Um well..it was like I was predestined *not* to meet Tori. *But*
that didn't matter to me as much that day. I was still there 2nd in line to
get in the arena... well actually there were a couple of nice ladies that
arrived there at 5 and didn't want to go by the numbers.. they were pretty
rude to everyone, especially Jeremy who was "number bitch" that day :-D So
Jeremy -from that day on, called "Famous Blue Raincoat"- had a pretty hard
time dealing with them.. one of them wanted to beat him up....
It was funny.. we had been there almost all day... from 6am to 6 pm..
leaving 2 times, and only for a couple hours each time...and then this girls
claimed that they had the right to be there because they arrived at 5 pm
and that they lived just a mile away from there, so they didn't have to be
there that early... What?? That almost drove me nuts. They thought that
because the show was in their hometown, they had more right to be there
than us that drove from somewhere else.... then I guess because I was a
foreigner -a spic- (hehe there you go Linda, I said it again, I'm being
rude to myself) I should've waited until everybody else got in... I wasn't in
my hometown, not even in my own country or hemisphere. Um well.. enough of
those girls.. they got more attention than they deserved.
When they opened the gates and I run inside.. I outrun "the nice girls" and
got to the front of the stage. Dor who -I don't know how- got there before
me, gave me room so I could be in first row for the first time. Muchas
muchas gracias de nuevo. Rurik was right behind me, Carolyn and the
"London Girls" were to my left. We were there... and she was *there* just a
couple meters away.
I felt like I was dreaming during the whole show. Actually I fell to the
ground from the cloud I was in when she started to play "Upside Down" and a
girl behind Rurik fainted. We all turned around to get her to the other
side of the barricade..and Tori stopped playing to see if she was OK. She
said something like "give her some water". I thought that it was the end of
Upside Down.. but she started it over. I had been telling people that day,
-especially Rurik- how much I wanted to hear that song.
Before Playboy Mommy she told a story about how she came up with the first
verse to it. She said she kept singing lines to her mother and her mother
was like "are you crazy?"... I know this is nothing like literal.. it's
been months... anyhow, she then proceeded to talk about being with Beenie
and 2 other women and being involved in an argument. and that when she was
coming down the spiral stairs she tripped with her Prada shoes and fell.
She turned to Beenie and ... "In my platforms I hit the floor, fell face
down, didn't help my brain out..." she started singing it. It was awesome.
I love her stories.. and that was a long one. I know I am forgetting
something , I kind of remember her saying something about champagne and how
we think she is an alcoholic and a drug addict.... but someone must've
better notes of this story, so don't take mine as *the* story.
After the show we didn't try to go to the M&G. Richard introduced me to
"Mr. and Mrs. ....... " (Richard please fill in the blanks for me. I
*can't* remember their names) who make these beautiful Tori inspired dolls.
They were really nice to us-- They showed us pictures of
all their creations... and Linda asked them why they didn't make "big
girls" :-)
While we were talking on the corner, the M&G took place and Tori went in
the bus. But the bus never left, and we didn't realise that.. until Linda
saw Tori's feet from under one of the trucks. She got off the bus and got into
a limo. Linda screamed -once again showing how powerful her lungs are-
Toriiiiiii! but she was half a block away and behind a truck.. so ... we
kept talking -still under the rain- about the concert. Yes, I was finally
able to say something in English. By this time it was just Richard, Rurik,
Linda another guy and me, all standing in that corner. I saw Tori's limo
coming from the other corner and around the block from were she left...so I
told the guys and we turned around and they "beeep beeeped" at us... I mean
used the horn .. but I don't remember the right usage of the word and ....
who cares :-) .... so we waved and stood there laughing for a while.
It was really late and we were really hungry, we went to a bar right across
the street, The Unbelievable Truth were having some drinks there. We were
exhausted.. I don't even remember if I ate... I do remember going back to
the "Hotel DeVille" and falling asleep instantly --- yeah.. that hotel was
the same one Tori stayed last tour and said it was "pretty historical" :-)
On a side note.. the first street to the left of the Hotel is "Hawley
street" :-) funny.
Enough.. this was like a 3 day story....
Go Top
I was number ONE for the M&G yes my friends gave me No. one even if I took
the second shift there. :) So after hanging out in front of the venue,
going in the YMCA ocassionally to go to the bathroom... I guess I should
let Jessen write about the bathroom experience :-) His stories were much
more fun. So we hung out there, we drew on Jessen's book, we talked and
talked and talked... until Steve... my unlucky charm.. came and told us
there wasn't going to be a M&G. This time I got pretty frustrated. Rurik
and Linda can tell.. I wasn't even saying the famous spanish sentence... My
bad luck in terms of M&G kept growing... I've had No.2, No.4, No.1... and
No.18... the only time that we had a M&G was when I was 18 and the
barricade was so damn narrow only 6 people fit there... so yes I had to
release some energy, I run a couple blocks.
Later on the Ewf disbanded.. and Linda, Rurik and me went to the hotel to do
laundry... We also made a stop at a record store were I found 4 singles I
didn't have .. and some posters I should've bought. We went back to the
venue and stood in line for a couple hours so we could get tickets. None of
us had tickets so we were hoping for some seats. The theatre was beautiful,
but our seats were the worst we had, since our Tori tour started. We were
at the 18th row on the left. We couldn't see Jon during the whole set. We
tried to walk closer to the stage but the security people prevented us form
doing so.
The show was great, but I was still hyper from the show the day before so
this one seemed to be more quiet... the energy I can't describe it. I do
remember Tori saying "Wait, I fucked up. I'm sorry, I fucked up." and then
starting over Past the Mission. We were all laughing and then she altered
the lyrics to a "I don't belive I just did that". Too cute.
It was a big surprise to hear "Famous Blue Raincoat".. especially after all
that happened to Jeremy the day before with those girls.. I guess that
Jeremy's story was read by Tori and it gave her some hints on what to play
at this show :-)
As I lost all my hopes to see Tori before a show, that afternoon, I wrote a
little note and put it in small envelope with a CD I had brought for her. Right
after the last song Rurik and I decided to give the M&G a try, so we run to
the barricades. We weren't in such a good place so I handed my envelope to
Michael "passion" Heiker, who as *always* got to the first row :-). Rurik
handed him the envelope and we stayed there in 5th and 6th row, until a somebody's father
(that fell from heaven) came looking for his daughters who were right in front of us.
Magically Rurik ended up in second row and I was right behind him. Actually
there was a really short girl in between him and the person in first
row...I guess being taller than her was the best that could have happened to me.
Mr.Puppethead made several appearences through a window, and each time he
got quite an ovation. When Tori came out Rurik gave me his place so I could
get a chance to talk to Tori. That was just so nice of him. I just don't
have enough words to thank him. What was about to happen is one of the most
memorable moments and as I scribbled somewhere "Fuckin' A!!! this is one
of the best days of my life"....
So I was there in (almost) second row and I didn't want to scream at her to
get her attention.... So I handed her over my ticket stub for my first
concert...(Pittsburgh on my 25th birthday) and when she handed it back to
me I murmured:
I am still smiling... everytime I remember that moment I can't hold back
the smiles.
So, I am thanking everyone for everything that day...I guess then, I should
also thank the India buffet for some great spicy food :-)
One more thing... during one afternoon in Rochester I learnt that there
were 3 more concerts that weren't that far away from were we were going to
be.. meaning poughkeepsie. So I figured I could wait a couple days to go to
NY and visit with my cousin.... I talked to Linda and Richard and *YAY*
they say they'd go too :-)
I came to the US thinking of seeing 2 shows maybe 3...and I had already seen 5...
and there were 5 more to come!!!!!!!!!! woooooooooohoooooooooooooo...
No luck at pre show M&G but I *can't* complain about anything else... well I
didn't get one of the Tori trademark hugs.... but hey... someother EWF that
needed more than I probably got it :-)
gnight, besos
HER :-)
Go Top
A couple minutes before Tori came out, Linda came from her 3rd row seat and
told me that she was talking to some people about the empty seat right
behind her.. and they said that it was *empty*. So I upgraded my seat to a
4th row center!! and the piano was pretty close to the stage so it was
*amazing*.
I ended up siting next to a girl that had lived in Argentina, so for the
first time in days I was "speaking at normal speed" (as Linda described it
:-) ) in Spanish!! whoa! it was so weird meeting someone that had been to
my country and that liked Tori... I should say that I only know 2 Uruguayan
EWF in person and I've heard that there are 2 more here in Montevideo...
so it *is* surprising for me.
As hard as I try I can't remember her name :( We will get together when
Tori tours South America... hehe... not many chances that she'll do that,
as for what I've heard but still...
This concert was amazing too.. more energy going on than on the previous
one. AND she played Space Dog!!!!
It was really cute when she forgot the lyrics to "Happy Phantom" and sung
"..and do we soon forget the songs we do not sing?" . Before "Father
Lucifer" she told the story of how her father thought she was calling *him*
satan on the song. She said "it is not about *you* dad"... and she
explained that she came up with the song while on a "trip" with a SOUTH
AMERICAN shaman :-) Linda thought she said this for me.. but I don't think
so. Anyhow the story was very funny and she said that "and you know dad he
is not such a bad guy" or something like that. I really enjoyed this show.
It was just awesome.
The M&G was packed so we just watched from the other side of the street.
Jeremy was invited backstage so we were all really excited :-)
After the show as usual we tried to find a place to eat... and after a long drive we found
our beloved Denny's...
We had a day off after Poughkeepsie and Jeremy needed to go to NY to get
his flight back to L.A. so we went there the following morning.
Margaritas with Tori didn't happen... but I did finally get to see her!!
November 10 - Binghamton, NY.
After a pretty short sleep, we headed for Binghamton. We were the first to
arrive there and I had No.2 on my hand. But it was way too early and way
too cold to be happy about it. Linda and Jeremy went Bagel hunting and
after almost an hour they came back with the prize. Yum. It was still too
cold to just sit there and wait, so I started walking around from wall to
wall at one of the gates (it was drizzling and getting wet wasn't on my
plans). A few hours later, Steve came to us -still the only 4 people there-
and told us that there wasn't going to be a M&G that day... um well.. it
was the 2nd time I had a *very* good chance of talking to Tori, and there
was not going to be a M&G... and ahhhhhhh we slept only a few hours to be
there early!! so I guess my brain froze and I started bitching in Spanish
while still walking from wall to wall... "laputamadrequelosrecontramilpario
- lareputamedrequelosrecontramilpario- mierda-mierda-mierda" and over and
over again.... Linda found this cussing pretty funny and we both used it a
couple times more during our Tori trip together.
The show was awesome. I never thought I was even going to be able to see
her play from such a short distance.. the barricades were too high and not too
comfortable, besides that this felt like this was myliving room, and she was
playing for me.
Since Cynthia (my
friend from Colombia) first sent me a tape with a live version of Upside
Down I fell in love with it. I don't remember this, but Rurik says I was
shaking during the whole song... I don't know, I was in heaven. The whole
set list included some of my absolute favs... Precious Things,
Caught A Lite Sneeze, Iieee, Playboy Mommy, Hey Jupiter, Upside Down,
Sugar, Hotel, Spark , The Waitress, Crucify, Raspberry Swirl
(after seeing it live it gets on my favs list... which is pretty big already...),
Past The Mission, Pretty Good Year. If she had played Flying Dutchman,
Yes Anastasia, Honey, Marianne, Tear, Earthquakes and Cruel I guess that would've
been like ..... Impossible to bear. I would've drop dead. and I was close. mmm who
cares if she didn't play those other songs... this set list was plain amazing...as
the day before :-). I can't imagine how I was still on my feet by the end
of the show. Not only the set list was awesome but she kept making eye
contact with everyone on the first rows... it was aaaahhhh time to cuss in
Spanish again :-) People heard a lot of that coming out from my mouth.. I
hope they didn't take it literal :-)
Caton came to the bus and talked to Rurik, who introduced me to him and we
talked for a couple minutes. He was really nice... I wish I had known
before then, that he likes fishing so much. I could've given him some tips
on great places to visit... and far from the states too :-)
November 12 - Rochester, NY.
We arrived in Rochester after a 2 hour and a half sleep... We were outside
the venue at 4 am?? I don't know.. I really wanted to see Tori and talk to
her if possible... but sitting in the cold at 4-6 am (I don't even
remember) it seemed really too much for me so I said I'd go sleep
in the car. It turned out that they too decided it was crazy that we all
stayed out there so minutes later, Richard came to sleep in the car too.
After two hours of sleep it was our "waiting shift" so we went there and
waited for two hours and later on that morning our friends from the
previous concerts started to arrive.
"I hope you like the CD I brought for you"
T-"what honey" she said while getting closer and making a face like "speak
up I can't hear you"
so I said " I I I hopppe you you like the the CD I brought for for you"
T-"what is it"
"it's a Tango CD"
T- "what CD?"
"a Tango (now pronnunced with and american accent :-) ) CD I hope you like
it.
T- (silence) she just stared at me for a couple seconds and then her face
lit up and she had this big smile and said "OOHH YOU ARE **HER**!!!" and
she walked a couple steps back and blew a kiss at me in a way I can't
describe... but I was just so astonished by the fact she remembered I was
coming.. I don't remember exactly what she said to me.. but the last part
of the "conversation" was her asking me if the CD was backstage and I said
that Michael had it and pointed at him... she gave me a big wave goodbye
and talked to Michael ..
So Richard you are guilty for all that happened there.. :-) I mean thank
you for letting her know I was coming to see her :-)
Anyhow.. even though she doesn't know my name or whatever... I *am* "HER"
:-D
November 13 - Poughkeepsie, NY.
After a *very* long drive we got to Poughkeepsie. The show had been sold
out for several months so I was kind of nervous about it. But we got
tickets, we were told they were right beside the sound "thing". While we
were waitin outside the venue, a man approached Linda and Jeremy and
offered them tickets. He had 3rd row center!!!! so needless to say they
bought those tickets. After hanging out with the guys from previous
concerts, we went in to take our seats. As they said, we were *right* by
the sound board.. and this time there weren't barricades around it or
anything.. so we were by Mark's side.
