Early August sees me at work, in my Pre PJ anxious moments.  I forgot a few thigns for work...things that turned out to be important, like, really important.  The kind of things that could cause a month long delay in a court martial.  SFC Wade was um, not too happy about that.  I received disciplinary counseling and almost got my PJ leave pulled...

So of course, at that point, I was sweating the consequences (article 15, and the loss of my MOS) I would face by having to go AWOL for these concerts. I didn't care though.  Come hell or high water, I was NOT missing these concerts.

But things cooled down a little, and, after about two hours worth of delay due to this bullshit army type crap, I hit the road for Virginia Beach and GTE Ampitheater, finally getting there at 3PM, just before the ten club tix were released. 

I SCORED FRONT ROW!!!! RIGHT in front of STONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my tickets and almost hyperventilated...especially after I was able to check the seating chart and confirm that I did, indeed, hold FRONT ROW tickets in my hand.

I floated on air the rest of the day.  Met up with Mark, another digijammer I was swapping jones beach nigth two and VA Beach fan club tix with.  That man....I bow my head in reverance of his taping ethics.  The man swapped his front row ticket with a man sitting FOB--just so he could get a good tape from his phatty Schoeps rig.  I am not worthy.  There is almost nothing on this planet would cause me to give up a front row ticket to a PJ concert.  I don't care what kind of rig I had.  PARTICUALLY sense it has been confirmed by Brett that the soundboard cd's are being released for this NA tour as well as the euro one.  I mean, yeah, I ran my rig too, but come Off he Goes I let loose and sang along and such.  My tape meant diddle to me really.  I screamed my head of during the Daughter "It's OK" tag.  Tapes are only momentos and carpe diem.  The show was bewildering.  Such a beautifull show to start the tour.  Third tour in a row I saw the first show in the U.S.  (Four if you count the Santra Cruz, Catalyst and Oakland shows)

I met Bob Lang at the show--a man that quickly became a good friend.  He was another digijammer, following the band to every show on this tour.  And in him, as well, I found comfort in a fellow smoker.  The two of us hung out all weekend, and he stayed at my room while we manueved to get his car repaired--it broke down while he was following me home from the Charlotte Show.  It was a tense time at Moore's Machien shop in Beer Creek (at the intersection of SR 421 and 902) as Triple AAA dicked him over by having revoked his membership for no reason.

But we eventually got it towed and had the waterpump repaired after all our efforts (including replacing the control module under the distributor cap) failed.  Bob was even able to make it to Atlanta in time for the show there. 

Bob's a great guy--we swapped taping stories--he particually liked my story about the Cure show, the Neil Young after show, and the San Diego PJ fiasco among the others.  My birthday was spent mainly trying to fix his car...but we gave up on it, trusting in the mechanic, and came back to Bragg--went to China Wok for dinner---hmmmm I hadn't been to that place in a while--missed it!  and got a couple vids. 

The Charlotte show was great too I thought.  I was like tenth row on the left--right in front of security... had a problem with that one-- security took the batteries just as the band came on stage--the red light on my SBM1 was showing (grrrrr)He took the batts from my recorder (i lied when he asked if the SBM1 had batts) and I had to shuffle the batts from the SBM1 over--thereby missing the first two songs...one of which was breakerfall.  Hehe I had told Bob that I really wanted to hear that song--they'd skipped it the night before in VA Beach...because, in my haste and anxiety about the batteries, I hadn't really heard them play it at Charlotte (it was the second song).  He gave me a hard time about that.  Heh

Security later came back and returned my batteries, saying he was sorry, that he had just found out taping was OK  (which, in a way, was true--the ten club just put out that DATs and external mics (both of which I use) are actually NOT OK....but the security guy didn't know I had either!)...so I threw those batts into the SBM1 and got a decent tape of the rest of the show.  It's funny to hear the security guard on the tape...I'm planning on making a high light cd of my shows and I'm sure I'll throw that on there at the end or something.

Greensboro....oh greensboro...this show was simply amazing!  GREAT setlist.  The coliseum uses metal detectors--wands, but Bob convinced me that I could get through them, and he was right!  Dear lord though was I dropped shit all over the place---even AFTER I got inside!  It was hugely comical.  I didn't even need to ACT like a moron!  heh.
My seat wasn't too bad--about forty rows back and ten rows up in the left stands...but due to a few friends wanting to sit with each other, I swapped my ticket and moved a whole section (about twenty rows) closer!  The band opened with Of the girl, played State, Leatherman, CRAZY MARY!, and many many other rocking tunes-Eddie remember the lyrics to the tag he had tried in Charlotte but forgot the lyrics to.  What's funny also is how Bob and I were dsicussing songs we couldn't stand anymore becasue we'd heard them so many times or whatever...well Whipping was one I had said that wore out on me...but they played in Greensboro and I loved it!  Listening to it right now actually.  The band just shredded all night.

SO of course, I'm back at work now and cursing Bob out every night I check the set lists for the shows I'm missing--Atlanta and WPB I and II. Hehehe.

Having problems with an officer at work.  He wrote me up a disciplinary cousneling because he says I was disrespectful.  We were having a farely volatle conversation in his office over Letters of reprimand, and I turned to leave.  This officer said something as I was leaving, and, having than turning around to reply, I said it over my back.  THAT was all.  Yes, technically, it was wrong, but I think he took it a little too far.  It's not the first time I've had this problem with this officer.  It's not the first time other's have had problems with him either.  In fact, he is essentially getting booted out of the brigade by the Colonel--his work performance has been rather lackluster and he's dropped a couple really important balls.

So naturally, I'm happy he's leaving, but godz he had me so worked up.  With everything else on my mind about what I fucked up before I left, the court martial, everything else pressing at work, my own expectations of myself--I almost had a nervous breakdown in SFC Wade's car on the way to JAG to see a soldier arraigned. On my first day back. 

But things are better now.  I feel *much* better, and only four and a half working dasy until I go back on leave for six more shows :)  Bob offered me his place to crash at up in Ohio, and Mark and Bob and Mike are letting my stay at their hotel room in New York for the Jones Beach shows...saving boocoo bucks :)  And bob is hooking me up for fan club tic to Cinci too :)  Score!  Cinci was the worst ticket I had too!
 
 

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