HOB Anaheim
July 17, 2001

Marriage is all about compromise.  As Tim and I planned a summer vacation, I had what I considered to be a brilliant bit of balancing for us.  We could head out to California, visit friends and relatives in LA and San Francisco and see some baseball and CT along the way!    :) 

Anyway - the first fix for me on this trip was last night.  For show only stuff, click here - or if you're in the mood for my usual babbling, press on... 

As we planned this vacation, it became clear that life would be easier if we just drove.  As a child I was never a big fan of road trips, but as I get older, I truly enjoy seeing the country that way.  Especially the west...

So we headed out of Midland on Saturday for Phoenix. Loooong day, is all I can say.  Stayed with my aunt and uncle there.  They've got such a great home - always good to see them.  Last year on a CT road trip to Vegas in 2000, we'd stopped there too.  Actually, since CT had been in Scottsdale the week before, Aunt Nancy had clipped a story from the local paper for me.  :)

The next day we headed out for LA - with a little stop at Joshua Tree National Park along the way.  Another stop had a great surprise.  We grabbed some lunch in the Palm Springs area and when we pulled off, I immediately recognized the 2 huge dinosaur statues near the Burger King.  The site had been used in one of my favorite movies of all time - Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Hilarious!  Great, unexpected photo op!  :)

Anyway. Sunday and Monday were wonderful.  We spent time with some old high school friends of mine.  Namely my buddies Katie and Bob who live in Santa Monica.  They've got a great apartment about 4 blocks from the beach.  I'm an avid walker, so I took every opportunity to walk along the shore that I could! 

And the weather!!!  It's been so hot in Midland.  The temps in the 70s were absolutely outstanding!  Ahhhh...  In addition to walking on the beach, we did a great little hike in the Toponga State Park.  Great views of the coast line.  Wow....  Monday night was fabulous as well.  Tim and I had great Thai food with four of my old friends.  I can't decide if it's cool or terrifying how little we've all changed over the years.  :)

Tuesday - show day...  I did promise to write about CT, didn't I?!?!

The afternoon was spend with Tim and the one and only Kim G.  Our friend from Leeds is almost as big a of baseball fan as he is CT!  We saw the Padres play the Angels.  Great to catch up with the wonderful Mr. Gisborne.  Good game, too.  However, I was nervous the whole time about getting in line.   Tim informed me (read: ridiculed) on more than one occasion that my knee was bouncing up and down as if I'd downed a pot of coffee.  

Kim and I left before the conclusion of the game and got to the HOB a little before 5. There was already a line of people taking advantage of the "buy dinner get in early" deal.  We met up with Tony and Robin and ate like mad before claiming our spots.  Robin called us "psychos" in reference to our queuing habits.  When Tim joined us, he was quick to agree.  :) 

Once in line, I met some online friends for the first time: Daria, Cindy, Heather, Mark.  Many of them had been to the show the night before - with the radical set list change, so we were all looking forward to the show - even more so than usual.  

The Zander clan happened along after a bit.  I'm sure Robin Jr. was happy to be in Disneyland!  And baby Z has already seen more of the world in less than a year than most folks see in a lifetime!  :)

Once the doors opened (15 minutes late - imagine that!) Kim and I claimed a spot right against the stage on Rick's side.  May I pause here to say what a gentleman Kim is?  He offered his spot to  Mari from Japan, who'd been in a terrible car accident the night before.  What a guy.  One of the many reasons I love that guy!  

I was also fortunate to stand next to some TF3 friends - Salena and Kent.  They made those unbelievable Millennium Dream Police dolls.  Great to see them again.  

Nice venue.  Wood floors and lots of contemporary folk art on the walls.  HOBs are always amazing in the decor department.  There was a large open area in front  of the stage - which was up about 5' from the floor.  No barrier - woo hoo!  The stage itself seemed a little smallish.  Everything seemed kinda jammed up there.  Real estate term: "cozy."  There was the obligatory HOB logo on the wall and a patchwork quilt looking thing for a curtain.  A balcony with cabaret style seating and an outside deck, wrapped around the floor in front of the stage.  

May I also pause to sing the praises of the HOB security?  These guys were pros.  Very courteous and they gave clear instructions while we waited outside to let us know how everything would work.  Ya just don't see that much these days, so I had to point it out.  

Harmony Riley opened with a great 8 song set.   Miles and Daxx are damn cute IMHO.  I really enjoy watching both of them play.  Interesting that Miles trades out guitars almost as often as dad!. . Their set included a new song too - Miles claimed they were challenging themselves with new stuff like CT was.  Cool!  This must mean we would get some new stuff tonight, too!  Waaa hooo!

THE SHOW

We were not disappointed.  When they put down the set list for CT - *4* new songs were on it! It was longer than usual, as well as having some rarely played gems on it.  Life is GOOD!  :)  

FASHION REPORT

SET LIST 

RICK SEZ

Rick's first announcement of course was to let everyone know that BEC was out for back surgery.  He added that it's s'posed to happen on Thursday.  This was the natural lead into the intro of Daxx on the drums.  Tom added that Daxx's dad was the one who wrote the set list tonight, so if you don't like it, blame him!  

Rick was quick to point out that they were playing some new stuff - later one he commented that the arrangements weren't "perfect yet - well, not Cheap Trick perfect!"

He acknowledged Mari from Tokyo and asked if she was ok after the car accident the night before.  These guys keep up with their fans!  He also acknowledged Larry their light guy and informed everyone that Larry's wife was pregnant and due that night, but he'd rather be here.  :)

He wished Robin a happy birthday - "but not this Robin" as he pointed to RZ, who just stared back at him like he had no idea what the hell he was talking about.  

For the "Silver" DVD announcement, he did hit a chord then did this recitative thing.  LOL!  In another wacky moment he took a t-shirt someone offered him, mopped his brow, then handed it back.  

MISC. NOTES

The show was so spirited.  Rick was working and thinking so hard that it seems he didn't flick as many picks as usual.   He broke a couple strings along the way.  Maybe it's just me, but he seemed to use fewer guitars tonight - favoring the Gibsons a lot.  NTTAWWT!  That's another dynamic of the new set lists - lots of new songs that you need to decide which one to use!   

All the interactions with Daxx and each other were such fun to watch, so many smiles all around.  Daxx had a grin on his face the whole time.  Gotta love it.  He did a fabulous job - as has been reported elsewhere.  However, the coup de gras came during the encores.  

Chad Smith - of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame - played the last 4.  Damn!  That boy was on fire!  He plays so hard - the sticks are freakin' tree trunks!   He obviously LOVES CT - he kept saying - "One more!" pressing the guys on and on.   Wow, wow, wow.  Afterwards he came out and gave Rick a huge bear hug then tried to jump on the man's back!  Whoa!  Down boy!  Chad's a big guy and lord knows we don't need another CT member with back probs!  

CT really threw themselves into the whole show and thoroughly wore themselves out in the process.  On more than one occasion Rick bent over or did the "tongue out because I'm exhausted" face.  It didn't help that it was so hot up there either!  

Hated to see it come to an end, but my feet were grateful to get a break.  Caught up with Felicity and Danny S afterwards.  Great to see them both.  Danny gave me a hard time about this coming September.  I told him that I'd be there for the LA HOB shows and he complained that I'd miss the San Diego show and his b-day the next day.  Had to explain to the boy the I was in hot water already.  I'd already caught hell from Tim because I'd be out of town for a CT show on our anniversary! 

Said a quick "hi" to Daxx who mingled after the show. He was talking to Jesse Camp. That dude is taller than I'd imagined. He couldn't stop gushing about the whole concert. Daxx said he'd been stressed and frantic these last couple weeks, but he wouldn't change it for the world. :)

Speaking of Tim - he joined me for this show.  He liked the set and thought that it was a good high energy show.  He had a different perspective because he'd opted to stand in the balcony.  I was hoping he'd get a chance at the album flat during Surrender, but no such luck.  Oh well...  

Better wrap this up my usual thank yous...

Thanks to Tim for being good natured all day.  I still can't believe I found someone who's put up with me for 10+ years.  Whudda thunk it!?

Thanks to Katie and Bob for the swell place to stay here in LA!  

And of course thanks to CT for another unforgettable show. 

GET WELL SOON, BUN E!  We miss you!  As good as your subs are, it ain't the same without you. 

 
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