What? I’m back in LA? Wasn’t I just here??
Oh yeah. I was JUST here 5 days ago … or was it 6? Holy crap I’ve fit a lot of living into few days!!
I got into LAX late and Jane was already at The Greek doing sound-check so I dropped of my bags at the hotel and hopped a taxi to the venue. My cab driver was hilarious. He told me he immigrated from communist Yugoslavia to Prince George BC where he was a logger for many years. When I told him I was from Victoria – he almost crashed the car. He had spent a few years in Victoria before he and his wife moved to LA to be closer to her family. What a small weird world we live in.
Got to The Greek but missed sound-check. Poop. Met up with Arnold and his lovely wife and we went and grabed some french-fries at a dive diner that is just down the street from the Venue. The Greek is so far away from any real food … Good thing I packed a few Lara Bars. 🙂
Arnold and I walked around trying to find a good spot to park and take photos but The Greek is a weird theater for that – plus they are REALLY tight with their camera restrictions and you can only shoot from certain areas. 🙁
We went backstage and tried to find some good spots to shoot there but the stage was packed tight with equipment. Bummer.
The show started and I managed to wiggle up to the front of the stage and stood beside my friend Baub and rocked out to a few songs.
I’m so short that it was difficult for me to see the band from where I was so I went backstage and found a good spot near the side of the stage.
From that spot I could see the entire band and watch the audience rock out. At one point I felt completely out of my body and I realized that my brain couldn’t compute that I was watching my favourite band from backstage at The Greek. So I took a moment to close my eyes and ground myself. This was the last night I was going to see the band on this tour and I wanted to be present for it. 🙂
It worked. I was back in my body and I can still recall that feeling of standing on the side of the stage watching the band. If you had told 14 year old me that this week would have happened .. she would have told you to “shut up” and gone and sobbed with joy into a towel in the bathroom.
At one point during the show the band started playing Head over Heels and I heard a voice behind me say “I never know when you’re supposed to clap your hands…” I turned around and grabbed the arms of Andy Richter and showed him how to clap along. WHAT?!! Whoops. I thought he was someone I knew. *laugh*
My camera was being weird and I tried to record a few songs but the only one I managed to capture was Cool Jerk. A bunch of people I knew rushed the stage and started dancing behind Jane and the whole time I was filming I kept thinking … “why don’t you just go out there and dance” but I wanted to capture it all on video. I now live with a deep regret that I wasn’t a Cool Jerk. 🙁 Oh well. It’s probably for the best. I don’t think I have the lung capacity to sustain dancing for the entire song. *laugh*
After the show I went backstage to say hi and Jane asked me if I was able to grab food before the show … I shook my head no and she dragged me to the craft-service table and told me to eat. 🙂 I filled my guts with baby carrots, hummus, crackers and grapes.
There were ALL kinds of famous people backstage. Linda Perry, Sara Gilbert, I heard a rumor that Jodi Foster was in the room but I didn’t see her. There was also a rumor that Gwyneth Paltrow was supposed to be there. I saw Clem Burke again and I waved at him like were old friends but I’m not sure he remembered me from the Star Ceremony party. *laugh* I’m such a geek.
The SadSadConversation crew were also in full effect. Andy Richter, Josh Charles, Samm Levine (who I was still tongue tied around), Steve Agee, Sarah Thyre and a bunch of other people that I recognized but couldn’t remember the names of (sorry).
It was a lot of fun but my STUPID camera was acting up so I only got a couple of blurry photos … dang it. 🙁
We all wandered down to the after-after party and I loaded up on popcorn, more baby carrots and some watermelon. I was starving.
Jane wanted to head out to the after-after-after party so I went into her dressing room and helped her pack up her stuff.
I got to cross the tape into Go-Go’s territory! 🙂
We all headed back to the House in the Hollywood Hills that we had visited just a week before and we celebrated into the wee hours by turning the living room into an 80’s dance party again. So much fun.
Got back to the hotel around 5am (What?) and slept until noon. While I got ready to catch my flight and I said my good-byes to everyone. Nooooo! Was it really time to go back home? 🙁
As I left the hotel I could hear Jane’s voice down at the end of the hallway. She was in the conference room filming a new segment for Vh1 Behind The Music (they are doing an updated version to include the Star ceremony and the 30th anniversary of BATB). While I waited for my elevator I may or may not have eavesdropped a little to Jane’s conversation with VH1. Tee hee.
I got home and could barely express to Gerry how much fun I had …Â 🙂
So thank you Belinda, Char, Gina, Kathy. Thank you Art, Leah and Norty. Thank you Susan, Travis, Duke, Jimmy and Meg. And most especially thank you Jane for bringing me into the fold and helping to make my 2011 summer the best summer EVER!!
I wonder what will happen next summer…?