Duran Duran Road Trip 2000 7/29 Events leading up to, including, and after the Carowinds show
After an all too brief nap (heh), we all took turns getting ready and were trying to determine just where DD might be staying. An educated guess was made by a Friend of Mine (thank you!!!). Ang had a great idea about what we should do to get the guys' attention during the show--BUBBLES! (Later, she became Bubble Girl #1 because she came up with the idea, Laurel and Sheila were 2nd and 3rd, Cindy was 4th, so I became #5). We made a trek over to the dollar store and bought every single bottle of bubbles we could find. Also discovered were a bunch of small stuffed 'duck' keychains, which were also purchased because there was a small rubber duck thrown up onstage in Orlando and, apparently, Simon carried it around for a little while. A famous quote occurred before we left the store, from Sheila to Laurel: "You get the bubbles, I'll get the ducks". Someone had a group picture of us taken with the ducks and bubbles. Too funny. After that we made a trek over to the hotel we suspected they were staying at so we could suss it out. It turned out to be one I had been told about the year before, but I believed one of the staff that said they weren't staying there (DOH!). Once we had the route down pat, we made little notes for Lori and SuSaN so they could meet us up there after the show. On the way there, we opened the bubble packages to get out the wands and put them inside the bubbles and bagged up the 'toys' that also came with it so Laurel could give them to her kids at school. We then went up to Carowinds to suss out the backdoor situation, and get some neat video footage of us acting goofy. We climbed some stairs up to a bridge so we could stand over a sign that said Duran Duran and yell "We love our Wild Boys" (we had to twist Sheila's arm). We basically did a lot of waiting around :). We finally caught up with SuSaN and Brandon (the birthday boy), and sold our extra 2nd row seats. Kirsten showed me a rainbow in the sky. Note: I found it interesting that we had to purchase tickets for the park, even though we weren't going on any rides. Apparently the only way you can get to the venue is through the park entrance. The tickets were cheap, though, $19.99 plus the separate cost of a park pass and about $39.99 that included the park pass, however, it was still cheaper than any other venue I went to. One thing that was a tad scary was that they checked us with metal detectors as we walked in. I was concerned that they would find my camera so I hid it under my binoculars, but they didn't (or they didn't care). I got myself two bottled waters, then hung out while the others bought their DD stuff. We laughed about cameras being up for sale because supposedly picture taking wasn't allowed. At last we made it to our seats only to do more waiting (the perpetual state of a Duranie). There were lots of people snapping pictures, and I thought the security guards would start confiscating cameras, but they never did! That boded well for the show :). The opening act was called Tsar and they weren't bad at all. Rather enjoyed them, though felt TI should be up there! In fact, Tsar did a lot of things the Idols do, such as fog. They were funny to watch. I kept pointing over to Joe's drums and crowing about how well I'd be able to see him. I think Tsar's drummer though I was flirting with him because he kept looking at me and smiling. To keep cool, I was fanning myself with a cat card I had written a note in for Joe. The lead singer was wearing a Superman t-shirt and white pants (he looked sooooo young). The drummer wore sunglasses and a cowboy hat. They seemed overwhelmed by all the attention they were getting. One interesting thing was that they actually started their set early. I decided not to go meet Tsar in between the shows because I wanted to try and get my card to Joe. I couldn't get any of the Rhodies' attention, so a security guard asked me what I wanted. I asked if he could help me get my card to the drummer and he said he could put it on the corner of the stage with the other gifts, so I let him (I should've held on to it until the hotel :(, sigh). At one point, the card blew over onto the ground behind the barrier, so I asked a security guard to pick it up and put it back and he graciously complied. We passed out the bubbles and ducks to people in our immediate row and some nearby. After some waiting, we saw our friend Jill, who was able to come up and join us. It was great to see her, although on a sad note she said her sister Kimberly's pregnancy wasn't going real well because of the cyst. I pray that she and the baby are okay. Lori loaned SuSaN her pink hairspray, which went nicely with her pink patterned shirt and pink glow-in-the-dark necklace from Kirsten. And, after much more waiting... It was finally time for DD to come on...by now we knew that Elvis' "Teddy Bear" song was our notice. When the guys first came on, Simon looked at the pretty empty venue and seemed to be upset. However, our enthusiasm more than made up for that. Set List Fragment Kiss Goodbye Last Day on Earth Hungry Like the Wolf (Nick playing the moans on the keyboards afterwards, so Simon said to get Nick a bucket) A View to a Kill Playing With Uranium Come Undone (lots of bubbles from us at this point, Simon even started playing with them and rubbing one down his neck) Big Bang Generation Ordinary World (lots of bubbles) Save a Prayer (there was a change to the end of this per Laurel; also Simon almost stepped on a bubble, held another bubble, and blew another one up Simon and the bubbles; the guys were all cracking up; Simon sat down at one point and mouthed the word "shoes". Laurel couldn't reach them because the barrier was too wide.) Hallucinating Elvis White Lines (at the end Sheila yelled "What kind of life is that" and Nick might have heard 'cuz he smiled) Mars Meets Venus Someone Else Not Me Skin Trade (Simon pointed to Sheila and Laurel because they showed a little tummy skin; either before or after this song we all yelled to Warren to take it off! We figured he heard us because he later changed to the muscle shirt) Too Much Information Rio (Simon messed up a bit, he was supposed to sing: "...and I might find her if I'm looking like I can..." instead he sang "...just like that river twisting through a dusty land and she dances on the sand". Everyone else was singing the right words and laughing and he's like oh for Pete's sake. LOL) Encores Notorious New Moon on Monday (set lists were blowing across the stage and he stopped one under each foot--rumor has it the lists contained the words) Girls on Film Additional Encore Late Bar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wild Boys (Simon sung high part--he didn't do this in Orlando per Laurel; Laurel lost a shoe--it went under a barrier and I couldn't reach it, I pointed it out to a Rhodie and he got it for her--I was laughing so hard!) At one point during the show the smoke machine went off--"What's that farting noise, did you hear that?" said Simon. "I think it's Nick" said Simon. Nick said "No, it's the fog machine." Simon said "No, it's bug spray". A few songs later came the bug rant: Simon complained about the bugs bothering them because of the bright stage lights, and then something about them really liking Nick because he smells good. Nick said "It's called Off" and Simon says "No, it's called FUCK OFF!" with two fingers up on both hands, which is trademark Simon (LOL) (as we recounted this in the car on the way home, we had to say slow down Laurel ROTFLMAO). Then he says "For all the children in the audience, cover your ears." I yelled "Too late Simon!" I'm sure Brandon didn't cover his. Then Simon said "That's what he uses to keep bugs away". One of the highlights were all the smiles and laughter over the bubbles. We got LOTS of attention and it was great! Simon turned around a lot during the show and showed his butt off. Another major highlight was Simon's introductions: Joe (solos), Wes, Nick, Warren, himself, and saying "last, but not least, the most important, the audience". I don't think I've ever heard him say that before. They should let us up front at every show and we'd give them the same treatment EVERY time! We were entertained and we entertained them! Fashion: Warren wore an unbuttoned pink silk shirt during the main part of the show, then changed into his pink/red and white butterfly muscle shirt for the encores. He also wore jeans and boots (his usual costume this tour), not to mention the sunglasses :). Wes had on black leather pants, and a sleeveless black shirt. Joe wore a black shirt with short sleeves and black pants. Nick wore a white shirt, black pants, and tennis shoes. Simon wore a white sleeveless (I think he took the sleeves off himself LOL) shirt with buttons on the side, blue pants, and tennis shoes. As the guys walked off the stage, Joe saw me, showed me his nails, and gave me a big smile :). Sharon threw a rose up on the stage for Nick and he picked it up. Two ducks got thrown up on stage and Nick looked down and saw them. He probably wondered what the heck they were. LOL. As soon as the show ended we raced to Angela's vehicle and drove immediately to the hotel we thought they were staying at. When we saw some familiar faces from the audience, we knew the guess was a correct one. We were happy to see that Lori and SuSaN (and Brandon) made it there! Lori had ended up giving a ride to this guy from the show that was staying at that hotel. This guy gave backstage passes to Angie and Mistress Carnal! He seemed like a nice bloke. After much more waiting commenced...Their bus arrived just as I was taking a water break, so I had to rush out to greet them. Simon got off the bus first with a long blonde-haired woman wearing a kerchief (dubbed a "Do Rag"), this woman gave me a dirty look later on in the bar for absolutely no reason! Simon allowed a picture with Laurel and Angela as well. Sheila told Simon "we rolled out the red carpet for you" because we had lined up on either side of him. As an aside, Laurel told Ang and Cindy (after the pic with Simon) that "They don't have any idea how much it means to me." Then I spotted Joe (then Nick, Wes, and Warren), and I stuck out my arm and was able to get a hug :). He showed me his nails again (he had the blue on this time). I asked him if he was having fun and he said "Yeah, I am". He asked if we were going to any more shows and I told him, "yeah, Atlanta, but we've got lousy seats". He said "Hotlanta" and smiled. I then told him I was thinking about going to Vegas and he wiggled his eyebrows. I'm like "yeah, I know you love Vegas!" Smiles. He tapped Laurel on the shoulder, she gave him a hug, and he asked how the vocal coaching was going. Laurel looked puzzled, so he said "That's what you do, right?" and asked where she taught. She told him Marietta middle school and he said "Isn't that North of Atlanta?" She told him it "...was going to be one hell of a drive, but it will be okay." He complimented her on her dancing "You were really bopping out." He then spotted Lori (beautiful in pink leather pants, a pink spaghetti strapped top and glitter) and started talking to her. He also introduced himself to Sheila and she told him she was a friend of Brenda's and he seemed puzzled for half a second and said "who?", so she said "redhead...obnoxious...chases after Warren", then it clicked. She said, unfortunately she couldn't make it. Angela got her picture with him. Joe said he enjoyed the bubbles. Laurel asked what kind of drums he played because she was curious. He told us and due to tiredness forgot it :(, so I e-mailed him about it later. Laurel also said "You know, I really have a lot of respect for drummers because I know how hard it is". He said "Drummers like to know you know they have the hard part." (Drummers have to beat their heads--disclaimer: I did NOT come up with this one and I'm not telling who did!). He looked closely at Laurel's DD pin. Ang suggested I ask him if we could buy him a drink, so I asked if I could buy him a drink and he said "yeah, if I come back down". Oh yeah, I showed Joe the pictures from Orlando and asked him to autograph the one of just him and the one of both of us. He said "Right on the picture?" and I said "Yep". He said "Where?" so I pointed out a spot on each one. I also gave him copies of each. When I told Laurel about it later, she said "This must never have happened to him before", to which I replied "...so I'm the first". I almost cried again I was so happy.
SuSaN got her picture with Nick. Laurel asked for a picture with Nick and she said something to him about appreciating his time because he doesn't have a lot of it and he said "I have all the time in the World". She also asked him if he was having a good time and he said he was "having a great time". Laurel is good at thinking on her feet! Nick told Sheila he would name his Power Book by Sunday evening. After the guys went inside, we decided to go into the hotel's bar. I needed WATER, however, didn't want to spend too much money in case Joe came down for the promised drink. During the long wait to get a bartender to serve us, Simon wandered into the bar with a bodyguard, whom I later found out was named Dave (he looks like a big teddy bear). Sheila introduced Laurel to Dave and they were having quite a conversation, I was just playing it cool sitting at the bar. They were talking to Dave about 50 cent rants and Sheila yelled "Fuck You" and it got all too quiet. So Cheryl (the pretty photographer) said something about you can see it on tv, but you can't say it. Dave tried to give her 50 cents, but she didn't go for it. Laurel acted as a censor by going 'beep', tried to hand her a nickle and dropped it. Dave picked it up. Simon borrowed SuSaN's shirt three times to look at tour dates. I then wandered down to the end of the bar to watch for Joe. While I was down there, Ang joined me. Dave told Laurel that Simon wasn't signing anything and she said "I don't need him to sign anything for me, he signed something for me in Orlando". Simon overheard this and looked at her. Note: Simon hates to be ignored (Laurel figured it out!). Warren walked in at one point and Ang nudged me, but I initially missed my chance to talk to him. Sheila asked Warren if he liked the bubbles, to which he replied in the affirmative and said "So you're the Bubble Girls". Then Warren started to walk out past me and I made eye contact with him and said "Hi Warren". He shook my hand (great...grip) and I said "I'm Cathy" and that I heard you liked the bubbles. Sheila came up and the three of us started joking around about what other things we could do. Warren proposed "Roman Candles" or "Sparklers", to which Sheila reminded him incindiary devices weren't allowed at the venues :). Then he said "balloons", Sheila said "beach balls". He was very sweet and all smiles. It more than made up for him ignoring me in Orlando. He totally won me over. (Note: He wasn't wearing his necklace and he had shaved.) Joe never did show up for that drink. After they stopped serving drinks, Brandon was allowed in the bar. We were so "euphoric" (Nick word). Some interesting Nick trivia: he doesn't drive because he never got a license. Tidbits about "The Reflex": It came around off the cuff--Simon making it up as he went along. He's also said that it's about a friend of his that has a big *ahem* shoe. On the way home, we listened to more great music including TI and had fun discussion about our DD adventures. Another quote came to mind from Sheila: "One way or another, they'll never forget us..." We decided that Simon was like Laurel's car's speedometer...Temperamental! Oh, and he likes to go fast! LOL. "Power like that should not be unleashed to the unready". "Hey look, it's a dollar store, do you want to stock up for Atlanta?" Sheila said. We decided we were screwed by Virgins in Orlando (due to the staff initially saying Laurel could get signatures for herself and a friend, so she gave her extra wristband to a needy Duranie, then when we got inside the staff there said we could only have one item signed, which we later found out wasn't at all true). "I don't darn socks, I damn them! Dammit, I'm buying a new pair!" |