Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Well, I apparently have at least one regular reader, my friend, Jim, from Davenport (Hi, Jim!).

As a result of his email, we're doing a year-rewind in this entry and a brief Holiday update (which will be completed post-New Year's).

At the beginning of this year, I was located just south of Cincinnati, OH.



In July, I learned I was going to move to Las Vegas, NV.

My Dad and my friend, Liz, came to help drive the 2,000 miles west. That was a fun time, even though it was hectic. When we got to Las Vegas, Liz and I had tickets to see the current incarnation of Guns N' Roses at The Joint. I wish my Dad could have stuck around for a bit longer, I have fun hanging out with him.

Liz and I won tickets to Disney Live! Magic Show, Frightdome (can't find our tickets), and Pauly Shore at House of Blues.

Liz' Dad came to visit, as did her mom. Liz, Mark, and Michelle got a new couch when her Mom came out.



Rob came to visit right before Thanksgiving (all of our pictures from that weekend are on Liz and Mark's computer, so they'll be here later).

We went to San Diego for Thanksgiving to visit Aunt Ginger and Uncle Jeffrey. Liz' Mom and Dad met up with us out there. We also visited the zoo and LegoLand (we have to drop the film off to be developed, so pictures will be added later as well).

Jordan, from high school, popped in for a weekend just after Thanksgiving. None of us brought our cameras, but we all met up at the outdoor bar at Caesar's, had lunch at Margaritaville (thank you, Jordan), wandered around the Flamingo (do they feed the flamingos shrimps with food dye as well?), watched an old lady dance in an outfit she should not have been dancing in, and ended the evening driving Jordan back to Circus-Circus.

Things are mellow at work right now, we got delayed. Which is why I spent Christmas in Las Vegas instead of catching a flight to Florida (when we got notice, it was too late to get a good fare).

Christmas was fun, Michelle had a great time delivering and then helping everyone open the gifts. Michelle received several new outfits, three pairs of shoes (including some Crocs), her ornaments, a new suitcase, and a new chair equipped with a cupholder. Liz and Michelle received Santana Moss jerseys from Mark, Mark got Liz and I a room at the Luxor for January 27th, I hope Liz and Mark have a pleasant time at dinner at the Italian restaurant down the hall from the pub, and all of us will be enjoying the Red Rock spa deal we got. I was very proud of Michelle when we opened my gift and she exclaimed "Bob!" (LEGO's Adventures at Bikini Bottom set).

My folks sent me several things, including a book about the Rolling Stones, a new handbag, perfume from my younger sister, and two beautiful bookends (they are stones with various veins of blue color running through them). I feel bad, I had no idea what to get my older sister and her family and after talking to my folks, I was somewhat under the impression that Jamie was not going send a present this year, which is fine, she has 2 kids. My mistake...Jamie sent me steak knives and Weber Grill tools. I need to figure out something to send her, I just have no ideas (any suggestions are welcome).

For New Year's, Liz, Michelle, and I will be catching a flight back to Washington, D.C. Liz and I are attending the Redskins/Giants game, Michelle can chill out with her Grandma and PawPaw, and Mark can relax.

To be continued...

We left out of Las Vegas at 6:30 a.m., which meant we had to arrive at the airport around 4:30 a.m. Our flights were fine, we went through Chicago, not Denver, and arrived at Reagan-National around 2:00 p.m. Liz' Mom and Dad picked us up and we headed back to their house. We had a quiet evening, had fondue for dinner, and started to watch Cars again. I was the first person to fall asleep, followed quickly by Michelle and then Liz.

Saturday morning, we opened presents and then Liz' Mom and Dad headed down to the closest UKrops to pick up some sandwiches for Michelle's party on Monday. Traffic was absolutely horrendous and around 5:00 p.m., her folks called us and told us to give a neighbor a call to see if she could watch Michelle for a bit so Liz and I could start heading toward the football game. We dropped Michelle off, made it to the Franconia-Springfield Metro around 5:20 p.m., and hopped on the train.

If the fare card machine was actually working properly, we would have caught the earlier train. Liz and I transferred at King Street and it was somewhat amusing when we overheard one guy telling his buddy "no, we don't transfer here, they are going to be two minutes behind us all the way." Apparently, he didn't understand how the metro runs, so he and his buddy ended up on our train at the Pentagon. We switched back to the Blue Line at L'Enfant Plaza and found Rob in the process. So, the faulty fare card machine was actually a good thing, as Rob was able to catch the same Blue Line Liz and I were using, find us at L'Enfant Plaza, and ride with us to Morgan Boulevard. We decided to hike down the hill, up the hill, and then around the bend to FedEx instead of catching a $5 shuttle. For those transit folks interested in our trip on the metro, go to www.wmata.com and click on the metro train map.

We had fun at the game, even though we lost. Rob went with David, his brother-in-law, and our friend, Bartley, was there as well. We met up with Bartley after the game. Things were not as festive in the band area after the game this year, perhaps it is because our season ended and there are no play-offs for us. Last year, there was food all over the place and people partying in the band lot. I'm figuring that may be the reason that the FedEx sign is not on, like it was last year. We hiked back up to the metro, took the Blue Line all the way around (we were on the last train), left Rob at Van Dorn Street, and finally arrived at Franconia-Springfield. We made it home sometime after 3:00 a.m.

On Sunday, Liz and Michelle went to visit Sandy and Ned, Mark's folks, and her Dad went to church. Liz' Mom and I hung out, reading the paper, and trying to figure out if it would be better for me to go to DC today or tomorrow for Ford's Lying in State. We figured today would be better because dinner was going to be served after 7:00 p.m. because there was a church service that evening vs. Michelle's party at 1:00 p.m. the following day. I was dropped off at the Franconia-Springfield metro, took the same Blue/Yellow combination into the District, and deboarded at the Archives/Navy Memorial Station just before 3:00 p.m.

I walked along Pennsylvania Avenue, toward the Capitol, not knowing what to expect. Rob and I attended President Reagan's Lying in State in June 2004. He and I got in line at 6:00 p.m., after scoring a most excellent parking spot (I was able to see my car from all points, so I knew it hadn't been stolen), and walked down the steps of the Capitol at 11:30 p.m. When Rob and I walked back to my car, we were amazed that the line had grown by at least twice the size of that at 6:00 p.m.

This time, as I approached the Capitol, the line was disappointing, in my opinion. Admittedly, the Reagan administration coordinated the fall of the Soviet Union, along with Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. But Ford also served as President of the United States and that in itself deserves respect (note: friends will have to drag me to Clinton's and Carter's, but I will attend out of respect for the dead, as much as I disagree with their positions).

At Reagan's, the Capitol Police had a "check" area, where folks could check their cameras, bottles of water, sunscreen, etc, and pick them up afterwards. There was no check-point this time around, people were allowed to take such items into the Capitol. The Capitol Police were not as militant this time, perhaps because this was the second Lying in State in just a few years and they learned from Reagan's or perhaps because they were not expecting the massive turnout that Reagan's produced.

I was offended when people used digital cameras to record their journey around the casket, I don't record my friends' funerals, why would I record this? Yes, it is an event, but one has to remember the person inside the casket and their family. The chick recording her trip around the casket reminded me of the lady's cell phone that went off TWICE during The Changing of the Guard at Reagan's. I tell my family and friends about the experience and that is their memory, although my Dad watched C-Span for hours in order to see Rob and I walk through the chamber at Reagan's. Anyhow, I was in line at 3:15 p.m. and walking down the steps at 4:15 p.m. God Bless You, President Ford, and thank you for your service to our country.


Since paying respect to President Ford took quite a bit less time than we all expected, I headed on over to the Archives. Since I arrived about 4:50 p.m., right before closing, I decided to take the "American Triangle" tour (reference to the Louvre in Paris) and see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. There was time for me to actually read the information in the display cases, unlike my trip in elementary school, when there was no time whatsoever. In addition to the Triangle, there was Ford's first Oath of Office and excepts from his final State of the Union address as well as the 1297 version of the Magna Carta. The Archives closed at 5:30 p.m., at which point in time I headed off to catch the Red Line to Shady Grove to meet up with Liz and Michelle up at Ned and Sandy's.

Dinner was excellent. Duck is good, very good (damn, the lamb Liz' Mom made us out here was really good as well). I will now blame Liz and her family for my more expensive dining habits. Although, I do miss my Daddy's steaks. My Dad redeemed the Petty's gift card for New Year's dinner.

After dinner, Liz and I headed over to Rob's for a New Year's party. We got there later than expected, but had fun. It was nice to see everyone in one location and Liz and I liked our hats (although, Liz' didn't stay on very well). Rob was wearing a little hat inside a big hat, which was cute, imo.

Monday was Miss Michelle's third birthday party...and she is only two. God help us all when she hits 10, 16, then 18, and finally 21.

The party was somewhat delayed due to a 4 car pile-up on 95 South near the Lorton exit. And Michelle took a nap. Liz went upstairs to wake up Michelle so she could make an appearance at her own party. We had fun, it was nice to see folks from Liz' church again, and Michelle had fun opening her gifts. We were somewhat disappointed that more people didn't make it, Liz' folks planned for 60 and only 20 turned out.

Our flights home were fine, Michelle was a bit more fussy this time around. She calmed down a tad after we got the minimeal (Liz and I redeemed free drink coupons), and took a second nap after she and Liz returned from the restroom (Michelle got mad b/c she couldn't roam the plane/not get back into her seat, which reminded me of Anna being stuck in a car-seat for 3 days as my older sister and I drove from South Bend, IN to Bismarck, ND).

Overall, it was a very fun holiday. Michelle is a good plane traveler, she deals with the change in elevation/altitude very well.

I'll update the pictures as soon as I can, Liz' Dad has some saved on his machine.

And Happy New Year to All!

Snow!

It snowed overnight.

Here is a picture of the apartment roofs across from my balconey.


Here is a picture from 3LEES out of Henderson, NV (link at http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5835592) of their snowman. Parts of the valley got a bunch of different amounts, depending on elevation.

Liz' Dad dropped in for the weekend....

and we had a ball!!!

Saturday was relatively mellow, Liz and I won free tickets to Pauly Shore for that evening.

Sunday morning, we all headed down to the Strip for breakfast.

There are pictures of Miss Michelle and her new "eyes" (sun glasses from The Forum Shops), as well as pictures of the Stardust (we also won tickets to Frightdome @ CircusCircus, the roller coaster was cool).



Sorry for any crappy pics, I'm used to dealing with my mac and am now being forced to rely on other people's PC's.

:(

The emac I purchased 24 months ago has been useless since this past July...that is 1/4 of the time I've actually owned my new Apple machine...his new part, which is supposed to fix his issues, doesn't ship until 11/27/06!!??!!

WTF Apple!!!

:( :( :(

I don't want to throw in the towel, but this may be the last Apple product I purchase.

Should anyone doubt my family's history of boycots, I will present two examples:

1. I drove buses in college and one evening, a Papa John's delivery car cut me off while I was driving a bus, the car made a right hand turn from the left-hand lane directly in front of my bus, while I was traveling down the road at around 30-35 m.p.h. After that incident, I do not purchase Papa John's pizza, I only eat it if it is free. That car cut me off more than 9 years ago...nice job, Papa John's.

2. When StarTrek was cancelled by ABC, my mother swore she would never watch ABC again. This was recently revealed to me and explains the dominance NBC had in our household.

There is not much I can say at this point in time, except I will caution all on purchasing mac products...seeing as you can pay a fortune and get rewarded with a complete dud.

sorry mac/Apple, you've had time to resolve my problem (created by a faulty part mac used) and you failed miserably.

that is all.

Las Vegas and Red Rock Canyon

California

I didn't expect to visit California so quickly after arriving in Las Vegas, but we went last Thursday, my first time out there.



Skyline

Tommy's Wedding, July 15, 2006

>>>we're working on it here now, cut us some slack, lol<<<

We all got the email, Tommy and Jess were getting married. This was months ago, and somewhat surprising because we had always figured Tommy would be the last of us to get hitched. Jess is a good match for him, she is on the absolute opposite side of everything from me when it comes to politics, but is a sweetheart, she is really cool.

The day after the Cincy Poison show, I left on my way to DC. The plan was to stay at Rob and Scotty's that night, then the four of us, Rob, Scotty, Rashmi, & Me, would commute down 95. Rob and I had made reservations at the "Duke of York" in March, right after we got our 'Save the Date' notices. Got to Rob and Scotty's around 10pm and started uploading our pictures from Vegas, which took longer than I thought it would.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

I woke up, due to Scotty and Rob talking, and moved into another room to continue sleeping. Rob popped in a bit before noon, "What the hell are you doing, you're still asleep, get in the shower now, we have Tommy's wedding to go to."

Rob: "How many UVA grads does it take to wrap a couple of wedding presents. Apparently more than 4, seeing as we have now run out of wrapping paper."

We left, around 12:45-1:00pm, and took the back roads to 95 South. Rob and I grew up in this area, so we knew where we were going, although I didn't see the "Prison-View Estates" sign when we passed Lorton. Made it onto 95 South near Woodbridge.

Rob and Scotty were sending text messages back and forth, when suddenly, Scotty had to go potty. Rashmi motioned wildly to me (she was behind me, I saw her in the rear view mirror), so we took the next exit. Rob and I were talking about stopping at a McDonald's or a WaWa (I wanted a fountain soda, they are so much better than cans or bottles), when suddenly, her car took on a life of it's own, appearing out of nowhere in front of us, jumping around corners and whatnot, kinda like a cartoon. I guess she hit the Go Go Gadget Wheels button on her SUV. She dropped him off at the door of some Panera Bread joint and he ran inside. We got lunch to-go at Panera.

After we picked up lunch, we quickly returned to 95 and I was instructed to "step it up a notch." I found a Marine (he was driving an SUV with a couple of Marine stickers on his back windshield), "yo, this Marine will serve as our pace car." The Marine was cool, he was going 80 mph, although we were a little concerned when he got on his cell phone and I never got to wave "goodbye" to him (we lost him in traffic). He got us all the way to Richmond.

Me: "I feel like we're playing a real-life game of Frogger."

Made it to 64 eastbound, a drop of rain hit my windshield, and traffic came to a complete halt. The last 5 miles took more than 45 minutes. So, we're sitting on 64, listening to Appetite for Destruction, My Michelle comes on and Rob makes the comment, "So, I guess this will be the Daddy-daughter dance at Michelle's wedding." And I comment back, "No, this will be the Auntie f/Miss Michelle party dance at her wedding."

After moving two car lengths, then sitting for 10 minutes, repeatedly, we made it to our exit. Rob was talking with Nadia and Ana, who had both just made it to the hotel. So, we made it to the Duke of York, Rob and Scotty go to check-in. They gave our room away. Read that sentence again, they gave our room away...Rob and I made our reservations in March, and they gave our room away. We called that morning to confirm our reservation and they gave our room away.

Read my entire blog and the following bit is the only instance you will find of any real profanity, they gave our fucking room away.

I went in to find out what was taking so long, Scotty told me,"They gave our room away, we have to go someplace else."

My reaction, directed at the girl behind the counter..."You have got to be fucking shitting me, we made these reservations in March, we goddamn called this morning to confirm. Listen chick, we have a wedding to go to, I'm getting my clothes and I'm changing in your goddamn bathroom. Got it, honey?" I think I may have scared her, but I was mad, really mad, so mad my hands were shaking. This was Tommy's wedding.

So, we ended up at the Yorktown Motor Lodge, after driving through a battlefield.

Rashmi: "I don't think my car has heard so many "Oh my god's" since I got him."

The folks at the Motor Lodge were pretty cool, the guy behind the desk was really helpful, although when Scotty and I got back from 7-11, some folks were giving the two of us some really odd looks. I felt like telling them off, "Yeah, I live in Cincy and I'm hauling around a New York Italian Jew, got a problem with that?" Scotty cautioned me not to, so we went back in to see how Rashmi's "getting ready" process was going. We had assured her that there would be plenty of time to get ready at the hotel, although Rob, Scotty, and I bathed prior to leaving NoVa. It was proceeding as planned and since there had been some rain, the wedding ceremony had yet to take place.

And then Ana called. Her car was apparently overheating and she wanted to know if they could catch a ride with us. We told her it would be fine, get yourselves over here, and we'll go. While we were waiting for them, Rashmi and I dolled ourselves up even more, I think that was the most amount of make-up I have worn since I went as Daphne in a Halloween parade. 20 minutes later, she called back...Could we pick them up at the Duke of York (the place that gave our rooms away)? We were ok with it, but starting to really panic, and told her to get directions from the front desk chick (the one I yelled at). I'm not being critical here at all, just commenting, Liz and I managed to get my overheating Chevy from South Carolina to DC in about 10 hours while we were in highschool (prior to any bus experience), you turn the heat on full-blast, open the windows, and stop every once in awhile to let the car cool off.

After driving back through the battlefield, we made it to the Duke of York, again. To be honest, I was expecting the two of them to be sitting on the curb waiting for us, Rob had to call them. I felt kinda bad when I made the comment, "So, are they showing up sometime today or what?" when they were right behind me. The directions Ana was given were faulty, we got lost, then drove through another battlefield, found out we missed the ceremony, drove through a swamp, and finally some cornfields.

Rob: "Christ, I feel like I'm out in Iowa again."

We finally made it to the place around 7:30pm (we knew we were on the right track when we saw Tommy and Jess signs indicating which way to turn).

***more coming soon***

Sin City...Vegas, Baby, Vegas!!! Poison @ The Joint

The Joint @ The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, July 4, 2006

Liz (my best friend), Mark (her husband), Rob (my buddy from the DC area), and I will be attending the show. And I get to hang out with my God kid, Miss Michelle...woohoo!

Friday, June 30, 2006

So, my plane left out of Dayton at 12:03pm. It was a very good thing my mother called that morning at 9:30am, as she woke me up. I stopped by my rental office to pay the rent and let the managers know that if the mailman came to them and told them he thought I was dead because my mail was piling up, "Could you let him know I'm not dead, I'm in Las Vegas." I didn't have time at that point to stop by the post office and have them hold the mail. After calling everyone I knew to ask for directions to the Dayton Airport as I was traveling 80 mph up 75, I arrived at the airport at 11:20am, stashed my car next to a curb (where two other vehicles were currently parked, so I'm really hoping it is still there upon my return), made it through security at 11:35am (good thing I travel in flipflops whenever the weather permits), and made it to my gate as they were announcing the "final boarding" call...

Made it to Chicago a wee bit early, so we got a tour of the airport, waiting for our gate to open up. While waiting for my next flight, I purchased The Devil Wears Prada, imo, everyone must read this book, it is hilarious, and has been placed upon my "book pimp" list. Flight from Chicago to Vegas was ok, with one odd happening...about 1/2 of the way to Vegas, a male passenger, roughly my age, yelled out "Hey!" in such a manner (tone, volume level, and inflection) that the entire plane went silent, he also called for the flight attendant. Several passengers in the front of the plane stood up and turned around to see what was happening and a lady in the row behind me asked, to no one in particular, "What the hell is going on?" The flight attendant appeared out of nowhere. To be honest, I'm not sure what happened, the male motioned to a lady behind him, perhaps she was having a medical problem (I was afraid she was perhaps having heart pains, I don't know what the S.O.P. is for that issue on a plane). We landed, but the plane was essentially silent following that incident. Oh, a tip for those that have never flown into Vegas, DO NOT CHECK YOUR BAG, it takes about an hour after you have arrived at baggage claim for the bags from your flight to actually begin to show up.

Liz and I stopped at her and Mark's pub (at some casino, don't know which, but the staff knows them) for dinner and drinks. There was a cover band, we asked them to play either Poison or Guns and then chatted with the singer and another guy from the band, as well as some random dude that approached us after we were identified as "the Poison fans". I think the problem was that the singer didn't know any of their songs well enough to perform them comfortably. We made it home at 12:30am, at which point in time, I decided the best place for me to sleep that evening was not the bed, it would be on the carpet in the middle of the doorway to Michelle's room/the guest room...

Saturday, June 1, 2006

After waking up at 6:00am (and realizing I had napped on the floor), we watched the England/Portugal soccer game. I was somewhat pulling for England, but was ok with whomever won (Portugal did-we lived in Spain when I was a wee lass). We also watched several other Disney movies before the France/Brazil game came on, was pulling for Brazil, pissed France won (Important Disclaimer: I don't follow soccer, I'm an NFL/Skins girl. Mark follows soccer, therefore Liz follows soccer...). Had dinner at Islands, good burger joint, recommended for those that travel here.

Rob arrives sometime around 11:00pm Vegas time tomorrow, Mark has already made plans for a "guys night out".

Sunday, July 2, 2006

Mark watched Michelle, so Liz and I headed over to the Red Rock Casino. We had lunch, some margaritas, and people-watched. While Liz and I were hanging out, Rob was attempting to get to Reagan-National for his flight (flew out of Reagan-National, flies into Washington Dulles). He forgot his swimsuit, but managed to make his flight with a couple of minutes to spare, after he stashed his personal vehicle in the Vienna Metro parking garage.

Mark and I went back to the pub for a bit, then Liz and I headed off to the airport to retrieve Rob around 11:00 p.m. After retrieving Rob, the three of us went to the Stratosphere. I am happy to announce after gambling $1.00, I won $1.50 playing Black Jack (iirc, it was a quarter machine, should have cashed out when I made it to $2.25...oh yeah, baby, I'm a high roller, lol. Honestly, I don't understand why people gamble away their money, a few bucks is ok I guess, but you're giving your money away and are guaranteed nothing in return, no little toy, no plastic ring, no bouncy ball. I get screwed enough paying taxes, I'm not tossing the rest of my income down the drain).

Monday, July 3, 2006

Mark had to work and Michelle went to day-care, so Rob, Liz, and I just hung out, killing time before we got Michelle. We picked her up around 4:00 p.m. en route to the Hard Rock. We used the valet and actually had them take our bags up to the room for us (yes, we had that much stuff, please keep in mind we were accompanied by a 1.5 year-old infant).

Checked in (woohoo, Room 777...talk about a lucky room) and started to attempt to find the correct elevator to take us up. Since we were confused, we stopped outside the Hard Rock gift shop and I went in to ask. After receiving clarification, I went back out and Michelle was getting fussy (she wanted to get out of her stroller). Liz was just about to lean over and get Michelle out of her seat, when CC DeVille came careening around the corner, right between Rob and Liz, and myself and Michelle. At the exact moment he whipped around the corner, Rob was also turning to the right and almost took him out with Michelle's diaper bag.

We were obviously somewhat in shock seeing as we were mere inches from a complete and total disaster in the middle of the Hard Rock Hotel and well, it was CC DeVille. Liz and I looked at one another, like "WTF just happened! Is Michelle still with us or did she get taken out?" and we both immediately looked down to make sure she was still in her stroller. I was busy thinking, "Holy Shit, that was CC DeVille." Liz was busy thinking, "Crap, was that the singer from the cover band we saw or CC?" Rob was busy thinking, "Dude, that guy looks really familiar, who the hell is he?" He looks pretty good, imo, kinda Keith Richardsy though, and a couple of inches taller than myself. We debated for a bit whether to attempt to meet him, but decided to continue on up to our room because Michelle was still fussing, he was talking to a couple of other folks, and we suddenly realized all three of us adults were just kinda looking at him like he was an animal in a zoo.

We went up to the room for a bit. Rob and I went down to the bar while Liz hung out with Michelle, waiting for our luggage. He won $35 playing Black Jack. Liz and Michelle came down and the four of us went to take a look at the pool. Really nice looking, although rather crowded at one of the pools. Some guys with black hair that looked rather familiar kept looking at Michelle, Liz, and I...not sure who they were, perhaps some of the guys from Cinderella and I'm not quite sure why they kept looking at us instead of the scantily clad females in the pool, perhaps because we had a 1.5 year old with us, perhaps because Michelle was sneaking a straw into Liz' Jack and Coke whenever she could (no, she is not drinking the beverage, she dips the straw in and then gums it to death), or perhaps because of my amazing fashion sense (a black t-shirt fits just fine with a pair of navy blue board shorts and light pink flipflops, especially while staying at the Hard Rock hotel in Las Vegas).

Mark arrived around 6:30 p.m., after somehow having locked his keys in the car while in the valet line ("I'm blocking a Bentley!!"). He straightened that up and met up with us in the room. We headed downstairs for dinner at Mr. Lucky's 24/7, pretty good food. Following dinner, Mark and Michelle went upstairs and we sent Rob up to get the valet ticket from Mark, as Rob, Liz, and I had decided to head out onto the Strip, primarily to sign up for the Flamingo's players card so we could get our flamingo pens (had to buy them, they weren't handing them out anymore) and stopped by Margaritaville as well.

We got back to the Hard Rock, went to the bar (Mark and Michelle were asleep, so no strip club for the boys), and began checking out some of the displays. It was cool, they had Rolling Stones stuff, Guns and Roses, Beatles, Elvis, Kiss, Sublime, Nirvana, Nikki Sixx' bike from the Girls, Girls, Girls video, a Britney Spears display (where I had reminded Michelle earlier in the day she would not be a Britney, so we set off in search of Janis), and the Chili Peppers' lightbulb suits in the sports bar we watched part of a World Cup game...so, you get the idea.

Liz and I were checking out the Beatles display when CC DeVille, Bobby Dall, and entourage passed by us. Bobby was wearing a white shirt with embroidery and looks like a Florida hippy, reminds me somewhat of my surfing instructor. Unfortunately, I was forced to send Liz to the room shortly after this occurrence (she had decided to take a nap on the couch in front of the Hard Rock bank/cage area). Mark and Michelle made another appearance downstairs around 2:00 a.m. for a walk, she had woken up and was all decked out in her Mini-Sludge gear.

Rob and I continued to hang out in the casino, consuming way too many gin and tonics/red bull and vodkas, when Rob decided enough was enough, and we were going to talk to CC DeVille. For those of you that don't know me, my favorite guitarists (in no particular order) are Keith (thank the lord he survived his recent plunge from the coconut tree), Izzy (I could not believe what I was seeing in NYC this past May), and CC DeVille (I actually have the Samantha 7 album, it was pretty good, imo). After Rob tells me this, I'm thinking, "Great, just freakin' great, I'm absolutely plastered and he wants me to manage to talk to one of my favorite guitarists."

Rob and I stumbled (essentially Rob was dragging me, kicking and screaming...he kinda picked me up, tucked me under his arm, and carried me over there. I was so against the idea of me attempting to meet/communicate with him seeing my present state) on over to Mr. Lucky's and CC was walking out, talking to some guy about jogging. Rob starts talking to him (after he finished talking with the one guy). This is the exchange we can remember:

Rob: "Sorry about the almost collision earlier today with the baby." Rob briefly went over the earlier incident.

CC: "Is she ok?"

Rob: "Yeah, she's fine."

CC: "Great. Enjoy the show." (note: this is when he shook Rob's hand, while I was about 5 feet away, simply watching the exchange, because I'm, um, cool like that and could not believe what Rob was about to do...)

Rob: "I came out from DC for the show. You know, you could make my friend's day if you would shake her hand."

I heard him say this, my jaw dropped to the floor and probably turned as white as a sheet due to shock. Rob looked up and was rather surprised to discover I was now about 10-15 feet away from them. Apparently, while the two of them had been talking, I had been slowing backing away from them (heh, demonstrating my coolness factor, yet again...).

So I got to shake his hand (he actually had to walk over to me, because I was just standing there, in a state of complete shock; I have no idea if I was hauling around the Flamingo Pen/clutching it in my left hand at that point; his eyes are really blue, I do remember that; and I felt kinda bad afterwards b/c both Rob and I were full of adult beverages and he is trying to remain sober). Whereas Rob managed to actually have a brief conversation with him, I have no idea what I said to him (iirc, it was something about him coming around the corner and almost taking out my god-kid), due to my level of intoxication and just because I couldn't believe I was finally meeting him. Jodie and I met Bret Michaels a few years ago at Nissan (ok, so we joined the "Bret Michaels Intergalatic Fan Society " and spent $15 in order to do so), and I asked Bret if I could wear his hat, he told me, "maybe next time, sweetheart."

I then headed upstairs and went to bed. Rob was left alone in the casino, ran into a bunch of hookers (one of them, Veronica, gave him her card), and the one chick he ran into that was not a hooker told him about the $5 Poison poker chips (so he picked up three for us).

Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Liz, Mark, and Michelle went to the pool while Rob and I attempted to recover from the previous evening. At some point in the afternoon, I woke up and headed on down to the pool as well (Mark and Liz had just dropped Michelle off at the sitter's). The pool was nice, I meandered down the lazy river, did a circle around the big pool, tossed in a few underwater summersaults, and then started swimming back. For some reason, they shut the pool earlier, so we all got kicked out.

Rob was still snoozing away, Mark and Liz were at the Pink Taco, so after a quick shower, I headed down there to eat something. Apparently they had been attempting to contact me for quite some time and then realized I could perhaps be in the pool, therefore my phone wouldn't be on me. Prior to realizing I was probably at the pool, Mark made some crack to Liz, "She's probably out trying to track down Bret, since she has already met CC and you guys have seen Bobby cruise by a few times...Hey, speak of the devil, there he is!" Yeah, Bret walked by Mark and Liz while they were sitting on the patio. They also saw one of the guys from Endeverafter, along with a table full of their roadies.

After I finished my tacos (the Mexican place at the Red Rock was better, imo), we went over to see if we could bring cameras into the show...yeppers, just not professional. We ran upstairs, picked up our cameras and the tickets, found Rob, then entered the venue shortly after Endeverafter had begun playing.

>>>>>The show section and following will be fully updated shortly, as soon as the 4 of us can manage to find some free time (hopefully this weekend)<<<<<

We made it into the venue and sent the guys to get us drinks...they were freakin' $10 each (I was figuring the casino/hotel would screw us since we were essentially trapped in the venue, and yeah, they did, the price kept going up...$10, then $11, then a lovely $12 per adult beverage). We started on the right side of the stage (from the audience's view) then moved over to the left side. Rob made the comment, "This isn't the Mississippi Valley Fair, that's for sure." He and I (along with Jodie and Julie) went to see Poison at the MVF when I was living out in Iowa, we got our "bags o' beer" for $10 (6 beers and ice) and it was a fair-type atmosphere, people were wearing jeans/cut-offs and t-shirts...at this particular show, some folks were decked out to the 9's.

Don't ask me for a set-list for either Cinderella or Poison, I have no idea what order the songs were played.

Liz and I meandered into the crowd during part of Cinderella, which was cool. They were pretty good and she was really thrilled to see them.

It was the normal Poison set-list, opening with Look What the Cat Dragged In and played An American Band third. They played part of Dylan's Knockin on Heaven's Door as the intro to one song and we got to hear I hate every bone in your body (that video isn't from the Vegas show, it is from Pittsburgh, but the video in the background is the same). The show was just fantastic, I'm in Vegas at some tiny-ass club, and seeing Poison play with my friends that know me the best and I'm most comfortable around: Liz (we've been friends since highschool), Mark (her husband I met sometime when we were in highschool), and Rob (the first person I met at UVA).

Pictures from the show, currently somewhat unorganized (all show pictures are up though) because I tried to create a sub-album within a sub-album. Rob's show pictures are pretty good, he has the ability to take really good pictures at concerts, whereas I possess the unique talent of taking a picture while forgetting my camera has a "zoom" function and managing to cut people's heads off, all at the same time.

The show ended with Talk Dirty to Me as the encore, with red, white, and blue streamers. I grabbed a bunch of them to send to my mom.

Background on why I collect confetti/streamers from concerts for my mom:

As a kid, riding along in the car with Mom behind the wheel, we listened to everything, from oldies, to country, to classical, to show tunes, to current songs. It was all good, it was music. My Mom can sing, so she would sing along to the music and it was fun. Mom also saw the Beatles a few times, the Rolling Stones, and some how managed to obtain a drumstick from a Doors show, many moons ago.

So, my second year in college, my Mom calls, all excited, Hey, the Stones are going on tour! Theyre coming to FedEx! Do you guys want to go?

Mom got tickets for 4 of us. It was a good show, what Stones show isn't?

So the next year, the Stones were playing the MCI Center, March 8. One of my housemates and I cooked up a plan, we'll go up to DC and see if we can get tickets from someone there. So we leave town and I tell another housemate, "Oh, yeah, if my Mom calls, tell her I went to the library."

To make this quick, we got up there, got tickets from a guy at face value ($150), sat a few rows up from the floor, and when the guys walked out to play mid-arena, Keith, Mick and the rest were directly in front of us, only a stones throw (haha) away.

During the finale, they released streamers and confetti. I collected what I could in my pockets. When we left, my friend asked, "So, back to Charlottesville?" But I insisted upon stopping by my folks house, I had to let Mom know what we had done and I wanted to give her the confetti I had collected.

So we got to the house and made it inside. Mom was pissed, she had called twice. Once my housemate used the line, "Um, f went to the library," she knew something was up. I never went to the library for any real length of time while in school. So she started fussing, which was understandable, seeing as I was obviously up to something and no one would tell her what I was up to. I then told her we had driven up to DC with the hope of getting tickets at the door, actually got them at a reasonable price, saw the Stones, could have tossed a softball to Keith and Mick, and gave her the confetti I had collected. While all was not forgiven (yeah, I should have told her my plan prior to enacting it), much was. The confetti from that show was carefully packed into a Tupperware container, which I believe she still has.

So it came as no surprise to her when I purchased tickets for the Rolling Stones show in Charlottesville, of all places, along with plane tickets from Cincinnati. No surprise when I called while in line to get into the stadium, no surprise when I called during Ruby Tuesday at 9:45pm so she could listen in, no surprise when I called during the bomb threat to let her know what was going on and that we would call after the show, and no surprise when my friend dialed the wrong number at 12:15am in an attempt to find our friend, Mike.

And thinking about it now, no surprise when we called her at 3am Florida time to let her know how the Poison show was (although I couldn't hear a damn thing she said and I'm pretty sure we-us in Vegas-were yelling into the phone).

After the show, we walked around the club for a bit, looking for anything on the floor from the bands, another guy was doing the same, he managed to find a copy of Cinderella's set-list.

We went over to the bar with the Chili Peppers' suits to have a few drinks (this is when we decided it would be a good idea to call my mom over in Florida). At some point, we retreated to the room. Since we had a bit of a walk down the hallway, we all had plenty of opportunities to flick the cymbals that were hanging on the wall. Liz and Mark went to bed, while Rob and I were looking at the view out the window. I went to bed and Rob headed back downstairs to the bar. I have no idea when he returned to the room, but he shared the elevator with one of Poison's roadies, who was carrying some shirts and a pair of cowboy boots.

Quote List from the hotel/show experience

Me: I just want to shake his hand.

-----

Rob: Listen, we have this chance, it would be ridiculous not to.
Me: You have a point, but I still don't want to go over there right now. I don't want to bother him and how long have we been drinking now? Who knows what will come out of my mouth.

------

Rob: So, I was observing the flamingo pen this morning and you know, it kinda looks like him. Didn't he dye his hair pink and poof it all out a long time ago?

Me: Oh good lord, Rob, I can't believe you just said that...but you're right, he did and it kinda does.

-----

Me: Crap!! The Flamingo Pen has just become a double-amputee, his foot fell off. It is somewhere below my seat I think, hopefully it didn't fall off while I was holding him out the window so he could enjoy the breeze (my mom has one leg, my family loves leg jokes...).

-----

Rob: Listen, you are going to have to change, like now. The black shirt and navy shorts combo is giving me a major headache.

-----

Rob: I woke up this morning and was trying to figure out how we all got home last night, when I realized, "oh yeah, the elevator took us home."

-----

Me: So, we have 8 items to carry out of the hotel but we only have three arms, I'm not sure if this is going to work.

-----

Rob: God, I feel like I'm married to the two of you, "Rob, get us a drink, Rob, take a picture, Rob, can you do this for us?"
Mark: Welcome to my world, pal.

-----
Liz: So, who is going to carry the cooler out?
Me: Rob, because it is heavy.
Rob: Great, just what I was hoping for. Thanks!

-----

Rob: If we ever have to get married, we're getting married in Vegas.

-----

Me: Dude, Liz, if I ever move out here, we're getting jet skis (comment made while looking at a boat from the window of our room).
Liz and Mark, simultaneously: "Sweet" "No"

-----

Mark: Just to let you guys know how old I'm getting, my ears are still ringing from that show. (comment made at approximately 8pm the day after the show)

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

We left the hotel around 10:45 a.m. (checkout was at 11:00 a.m.), Mark had gone to pick up Michelle earlier and they were back at home already, picked up a few more items from the hotel, and went down to check out "old Vegas".

Michelle is currently sporting her new Poison gear.

We dropped Rob off at the airport around 9pm, he was taking the red-eye back to DC, then headed back to Liz's house and went to bed.

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Liz dropped me off at the airport sometime between 7am-8am, my flight was at 9:50am. TSA managed to find another lighter, which had made the flight with me from Dayton.

** Rant On** I don't mind TSA at all, they can search my bag whenever they feel the need to, I would just like the entire process to be somewhat similar across the country...I can wear my Doc's going through Reagan-National, can't wear my flipflops leaving Orlando, Dayton spends 30 minutes trying to find a 2 inch pocket knife (which had been in my bag since prior to 9-11 and I had no idea it was even in there), Moline spends 20 minutes searching for lighters while I carried one in my pocket through Reagan-National (not on purpose, I forgot it was in there). **Rant Off**

Picked up a White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks (the only time I drink Starbucks is in airports) and went to the smokers' lounge to people-watch and wait. One lady lost money in a poker machine, a guy won a bunch playing the Wheel of Fortune slot machine, and an old, plump, white guy tried to pick up a cute Asian chick (she played dumb, like she didn't speak English, to escape the situation). I checked my voicemails, my mom had left one, "You guys have to be awake by now, give me a call and let me know what is up...but please don't call me again at 3 in the morning." Rob called to let me know he had made it back in one piece, his car was still at the Metro, and he was at work. Apparently, he had the red-eye from hell, a 73-year old guy was really drunk in the row in front of him (the flight attendants cut him off, at which point he started waving $50 bills in an attempt to get another drink) and the 73-year old guy's son (55ish) was in the row behind Rob, vomiting the entire way to DC.

My flights were fine (Vegas to Denver, Denver to Dayton), got my bag, my car was still where I had stashed him, and made it back home around 9:00pm.

Final Thoughts about the Trip

* I'm pretty sure I speak for all 4 of us when I say "we had a blast, it was great, an absolutely insane time."
* Next time I'm in Vegas, I'm spending a few nights at the Hard Rock (it was only $129/night for us, on a holiday weekend...of course we did reserve our room months in advance)
* This was the best Poison show I've seen and the most fun I've had at/because of a Poison show. My friends and I go see them whenever they go on tour (we use them as an excuse to go visit each other around the country..."Dude, f, Poison is playing, you coming out?" "I'll get the tickets, you get the beer, and we'll be there.")

I'll add this here now, seeing as I was contemplating the differences between this story and the GnR story during my flight home. The Guns story is so much more detailed because I was the only one out of my circle of friends and associates to attend the show, therefore I wanted to remember everything so I could share it with them. To be honest, the majority of the Guns story was written between 4am (when I arrived back at the hotel) and 5am (when I realized what time it was and the 12 hour drive facing me the next day). That, and our normal summertime activities include seeing Poison, whereas me going to a GnR concert by myself and then prancing around the streets of New York City at 2 in the morning is definitely not.

My Excellent Adventure: Guns N' Roses, NYC; the reason I started this entire site...

Guns N’ Roses, New York City, May 17th, 2006

Friday evening, May 12, 2006, I returned home from work and was hanging out at my house. I decided to check a music forum I'm a member of to see how the Guns and Roses show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City was shaping up. On one of the pages, someone posted that Ticketmaster had just released more tickets for the Monday night show. I checked, and yes indeed, I could purchase tickets for the Monday night show. Problem was, I had a project due out on Monday at work and there was no way I was going to be able to pull it off over the weekend. I had to be at work Monday.

But then I thought about it, "Well, they released more tickets to the Monday show, I wonder if they've released more tickets for the Wednesday show? I don't have anything due until Friday of the following week." So I checked and there were tickets available for Wednesday. I called a few people and left messages informing them they had 2 minutes to call me back. I called my mom (who in her youth, attended various Beatles and Stones shows, and also somehow managed to acquire a drumstick at a Doors show she attended), asking her what I should do, she told me I didn't want to go to New York City and was against the idea. I called Liz, seeking advice. While on the phone with Liz, I decided that I was not going to wait for anyone to return a phone call because the tickets may be gone by the time they did. At 8:15pm, I purchased one ticket to Guns N' Roses with Bullet for My Valentine at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City for Wednesday, May 17, 2006.

After receiving the confirmation email from Ticketmaster, I was somewhat in shock. I actually had a ticket to a venue with a 3,000 capacity to finally (hopefully) see the current lineup of Guns and Roses...now I just had to get to New York City.




Quick Recap:
« I reserved a room at the Holiday Inn near Newark Airport. I didn't want to drive into the city and I remembered hearing some announcement about trains into New York City from when I flew through Newark en route to Vegas.
« I called Rob and left a voicemail after I got my ticket. He called Saturday, "Now, you know you can't wear your flipflops like you do for every concert. You don't know what will happen, this is a very small venue. If he doesn't show up, people will riot. You need to wear your Doc's. This is a closed-toed shoe show, regardless of how hot it will get in there."
« I checked the MTA and NJTransit websites but the trip planners were not working right. I tried to figure it out without the trip planners, but there are so many options in New York, I couldn't (even though I work in public transportation, which was somewhat embarrassing). I had never been on the train or the subway in New York. Actually, I had only been in NYC once before, on a school trip 12 years ago, for 2 days.
« I originally asked for just Wednesday and Thursday off from work, which was ok'ed. Then, while I was putting together my project I had some time to think. I was looking at a 650 mile drive, could I really make that drive and go to the show the same day? I asked if I could have Tuesday afternoon off since it didn't look busy. Tuesday afternoon off was ok'ed and I decided to split the drive to NYC into two days. I would drive to Breezewood, PA on Tuesday and finish the drive Wednesday morning.
« I sent an email to Pete (a former boss who lived in New Jersey and worked in lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center) asking for assistance navigating the trains/subways/etc. He called and told me about the NJTransit train and the monorail from the airport. He had a schedule at home for the train and gave me a call back Tuesday morning. We decided the best thing would be for me to park in long-term parking at the airport, catch the monorail, and then the train to Penn Station. Since the concerts had been ending at 1:15 a.m. for the past three shows, there would be time for me to catch the 1:41 train back to the airport, transfer to the monorail, recover my personal vehicle, and return to my hotel.

So, I left work Tuesday afternoon, after reserving a hotel room in Breezewood, around 2:00 pm. I called my mom at 2:45pm to inform her of what my physical location would be for the next several days.

The conversation went better than I thought it would:

Me: Mom, you may be very mad at me after I tell you this, but I need to inform you of what my physical location will be for the next several days. I am traveling to Breezewood this evening and then to Newark on Wednesday morning. I will then be traveling into New York City Wednesday afternoon/evening for the Guns and Roses show.

Mom: So, you went ahead and did it.

I left my house at 2:55 pm, had a nice drive for the most part (little bits of heavy rain here and there), and arrived at my hotel at 9:30 p.m. Now, for those that have traveled the PA Turnpike or through West Virginia know there is no cell phone reception for the most part, just at certain locations. I know this because I travel these roads to/from DC and Charlottesville. Whenever I get off at Breezewood to head to DC, my phone starts ringing with voicemails, same thing at one of the rest stops off 64 in West VA. I guess my mom called my sister to have her investigate the Guns and Roses shows in New York because I got a voicemail at 4:00pm letting me know that Axl was the only original member there, he was still fat, couldn't sing, etc, etc, etc. I'm not sure what review my sister read, it may have been the NY Times. Come on guys, like I didn't know Axl was the only original member of the current line-up. I also knew this may be my only chance in the U.S. to see any line-up of Guns and I had a ticket to the show.

Quick Recap:
« I stayed at the Ramada Inn in Breezewood. Apparently, you can smoke everywhere, except the non-smoking rooms, because there were ash trays all over the place. I wouldn't be surprised if they find a meth-lab in there one of these days.
« I drive a 2001 Honda Civic, we (me and my Honda) got 350 miles on 8 gallons
« New Jersey has a lot of trees.
« Stopped at a BP station to use the restroom just outside Newark. It was in the middle of a huge traffic circle/roundabout.
« Checked in at my next hotel around 2:30pm. When I got to my room, I opened the window shades and there was the Manhattan skyline, I could see the Empire State Building. I was there, I just had to get on the train and travel into New York City by myself. I spoke with Rob, asking for fashion advice (REM bunny shirt I wear to most concerts or We're Bus shirt-we went with We're Bus shirt). Speaking with Rob calmed my nerves quite a bit.
« While I was in the shower, my mom called and left a voicemail, "I'm glad you made it up there, now just be safe, and have fun."
« The elevator in the Newark hotel talked, "Going Down." Hey, it's Aerosmith! (the video cuts out for some reason and I can't get to a good code site for it, sorry). When the elevator talked to me, I thought, "Good Lord, what in the world am I about to do...well, no turning back now, I'm on the last leg of the journey to see the show," and then laughed. Actually, Steven Tyler's chuckle at the beginning of the video closely resembles what I did, and the elevator sounded just like the lady in the video, thus immediately prompting the thought of "Aerosmith!"
« Got on the 5:01pm NJTransit train to Penn Station and arrived at Penn Station at 5:25pm. I got off the train and entered Penn Station. My first thought was, "Geez, if it is this busy at 1:30 this morning, there is no way I'm going to be able to find train 3085 to Newark in 10 minutes" (Note: I decided to go ahead and use the hotel van to the airport because I was going to have to pay to get my car out of the hotel parking lot).

I climbed the stairs out of Penn Station and was suddenly in Manhattan. Holy shit, it was so surreal. I can't even really find the right words to string together to express what it was like, feeling like you're watching a movie but dealing with the realization that you are currently living the experience. I retreated out of everyone elses way in order to orient myself to my location, using Pete's directions and the several block map I had memorized in my head. I also heard very faint chants of Guns and Roses mixed into the city noise. Once mental orientation was finished (along with my cigarette), I walked up a block, looked to the left, saw the Manhattan Center and the Hammerstein Ballroom. I crossed the street and began wondering about my ticket, since it was will-call. I thought about trying one of the doors when I saw a guy, perhaps 18 years old with a mohawk, rather loudly explaining to an elderly lady that this was the last of 4 sold-out shows for Guns and Roses. I asked an older gentleman, who informed me that there is one line for right now, but they may separate the lines later. So, I walked to the end of the line and took my place at 5:30pm.

Between 5:30pm and 8:00pm, we moved three times, 30 feet, then 20 feet, then after the Hammerstein employee came out and told us the doors were open and we were going in, 5 feet. Part of the delay was that they were filming the line and some of the folks at the beginning of the line. I made it in at 8:10pm, redeemed my ticket from will-call, and entered the venue. The place was tiny. I bought a shirt, then headed down to the restroom, seeing as I had been without ready access for more than 3 hours. Picked up an adult beverage (beer special: Blue Moon, $4.00) and took my spot on the right side of the floor, about 15-20 feet from the stage.

There was a drum kit set up at the front of the stage. A guy came out and played with his hands, he had a bongo drum. It was pretty cool, kinda reminded me of Roni Size (drum and bass guy we went to see), like that type of music. I wish I could remember his website because I would direct everyone there. Yay! Just found it. GO HERE to see what I saw When you see the "Exit" sign on the left side of the stage, from the stage-viewpoint, that is where I was located for this show.

Bullet for My Valentine took the stage promptly at 9. They are from England and are more thrash metal. Not a bad band at all, I just haven't heard of them prior. I wish some of my fellow audience members weren't screaming for Axl or Guns. IMO, it was really disrespectful to the band and they didn't deserve it. They finished up around 9:40pm and set change commenced.

Quick Recap:
« During the set change, they played a variety of music, AC/DC, Metallica, Nirvana, Van Halen (not Van Hagar), Cypress Hill, Quiet Riot, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Ozzy, Nine Inch Nails, etc.
« Saw David Lee Roth from about 10 feet away.
« Saw Jimmy Fallon and some other guy. They came in the same entrance as Diamond Dave. Jimmy hung around and signed autographs for people.
« Around 10:15pm, another girl who came to the concert by herself showed up next to me. Both of us were checking our watches as 11pm drew closer. I was tired, my back was beginning to hurt, I had been on my feet since 5:30pm, I was getting mad, and trying to figure out how I was going to catch the last train to Jersey. At 11:10, she told me she was retreating to the back of the venue in case Axl didnt show up so she could get out before the rioting commenced. I wished her luck and told her I would either hide in the corner or join in the rioting.
« Saw Sebastian Bach (former singer of Skid Row) and entourage enter the venue at 11:15pm. Someone said Jon Bon Jovi and others were over there as well, I have no idea if they were, but whoever it was did look familiar.
« 11:20 pm, the show finally starts and it got really crowded in our little corner really fast.

The Setlist:

Disclaimer: This is pretty much the order I remember the songs being played, the memory got kinda hazy after Izzy made his first appearance. Near the end of the show, I was talking with an employee about how to get back to my hotel, so I wasn't paying attention to the band really. If you were at the show that evening and can help me straighten up end of the set list, I would appreciate it. I'm not sure which song was Chinese Democracy or Madagascar, I haven't heard those before.

Welcome To The Jungle: Axl was on stage before they dimmed the lights; they came on stage, began playing, and it was like getting hit by a train. We all know the song, seeing it live with pyro as the intro to what ended up being about a 2.5 hour set was nuts/crazy/blew me away...um, running out of descriptive words now. I realized at that point in time what I was about to finally experience...Axl showed up, and the show was off to one hell of a start. This video is not from my show and I was quite a bit closer to the stage, but serves as an example of the start, seeing as it is proving difficult to find videos from the 17th.
It's So Easy
Mr.Brownstone: one of my favorites
Live And Let Die
Think About You (with Izzy Stradlin): another favorite of mine. Intro..."We went through periods of truancy, early stages of substance abuse, skateboarding, some vandalism...ladies and gentlemen, my old friend, Mr. Izzy Stradlin." The crowd went nuts when Izzy took the stage. After the song was finished, people were chanting Izzy. This video was taken from the Mezz level, I was on the right side of the floor. When Axl darts that way in the beginning of the video, he was in our faces (I was busy paying attention to Izzy at the time, though). He also made a comment about how he could make millions (in reference to the reunion rumors of the original lineup).
Robin Finck Solo (guitarist)
Sweet Child O'Mine
Better: new song from the apparently soon to be released Chinese Democracy
Knockin' On Heaven's Door: made a comment about continuing to contribute to the Dylan retirement fund
Dizzy Reed Solo (keyboardist): he played the piano, pretty good
Blues: new song from the apparently soon to be released Chinese Democracy
Bumblefoot Solo (the newest new guitar player): pretty good
You Could Be Mine: featured in the Terminator 2 movie, they showed a montage of race car pictures on the video screens
November Rain: there was a wall of sparks that rained down during this one
Out Ta Get Me: talked about critics and others in respect to the apparently soon to be released album as the intro to the song
Richard Fortus & Robin Finck Solo (guitarists): they played Christina Aguilera's Beautiful. It was amazing. They were playing and I knew it sounded familiar. When I finally managed to recall which song it was from the bitbucket, I had been completely drawn into the performance...just somewhat odd at a Guns and Roses show.
My Michelle (with Sebastian Bach): (video obviously not from my show) a review said this was a horrible pairing and the performance was horrendous. I thought it was fine. It is rock and roll, not the opera. This video found recently is from my show
Rocket Queen: excellent
Patience (with Izzy Stradlin): Before this one started, Axl told someone to go get Izzy, who ever he told didn't hear it at first, so Axl told him again, "Go get Izzy". We got to hear Izzy sing some of the chorus. During the middle of the song, Izzy put his arms up and encouraged the audience to sway back and forth to the music, so some of us did.
Madagascar (?): new song from the apparently soon to be released Chinese Democracy
I.R.S.: new song from the apparently soon to be released Chinese Democracy and my personal favorite of the leaked tracks. Liz and I heard this twice on the radio when I was out in Vegas to see Aerosmith (once on the way to Area 51 and then on the way to the concert; when it first came on the radio, we were talking, then realized what we could perhaps be listening to, so the radio was turned up, we shut up, and then looked at one another. We lost the radio as soon as we got off the interstate, so when we heard it for the second time that day, she made the valet wait until the end of the song, in hopes that they would announce who it was and confirm our suspicions...yep, leaked track from Guns N' Roses). It was now 1:30am, I left my spot near the stage and made my way to the back of the venue, thinking, "They haven't even finished the show, there is no way Im going to be able to catch the train if I stay. Heck, I probably can't catch the train if I leave now."
Richard Fortus solo (guitarist)
Nightrain (with Izzy Stradlin and Kid Rock): another favorite
um, another Nightrain, pro shot this time around...

Chinese Democracy
: new song from the apparently soon to be released Chinese Democracy. I was talking to an employee about the PATH trains (whew, they run all night) at this point in time, didn't listen to the song; got my second adult beverage (no more beer special: Coors Light, $6.00) since I was now going to catch the PATH train back to New Jersey

Encores

Robin Finck Solo (guitarist)
Paradise City: (again, video not from my show and the confetti used at my show was yellow and red) Izzy didn't join them for this one, apparently he left because he had to wake up early the next day.

Random Show Notes and Thoughts
« Axl looks absolutely fine, like his age, less botoxy than 2002, and he is not fat. The problem is people remember the skinny kid from Appetite for Destruction, no one stays young forever. He wore jeans and a leather shirt. I wish he would drop the cornrows, though.
« The only audio issues I noticed happened when the earpieces fell out of Axl's ears, you could tell because when that happened, we couldnt really hear him. It only happened a couple of times and didn't really impact the overall quality of the show.
« As for his voice, since I have never seen him live before (except for random MTV performances), I have nothing to judge it on but CDs and videos, which have been remixed and whatnot. He sounded like I expected him to. He's not Pavarotti, he's Axl Rose.
« Richard Fortus (guitar) is really good (disclaimer: he was playing right in front of me for most of the night).
« They now have three guitarists (Stealing a quote from IggyPopWillEatItself Maybe he could round up a fiddle player, an accordion player, and a tuba player to fill the sound out a little more).
« Counter Point: all three of the guitarists are very good, they fit well, imo
« At one point, I thought Dizzy Reed (keyboards) had taken his pants off because I couldn't see them over the keyboards. He didn't, they were just real low
cut.
« Axl was in a good mood. People were taking pictures of him and he didn't say anything. Someone on the left side of the floor gave him a rose, which he carried around for a bit. He did yell at someone in the band who apparently messed up the beginning of Nightrain, "We played this twice in rehearsal," possibly the drummer (not sure exactly what happened b/c I had gone to the back by then).
« He also thanked a whole laundry list of people, including the NYPD, who he claimed "got him to the show." As a fan, who has been burned by him before, I muttered out loud, "Well, thank god someone got your a** here tonight...and you were late." There were folks around me discussing the last trains out of Penn Station before the show started, people left before the show was over (before I went to the back) so they could catch their trains.
« I don't know why they didn't use Dizzy's solo as the intro to/song before November Rain. It would have made sense, imo, the piano was already on the stage. Instead, we got to listen to "the piano coming on stage" and "the piano going off stage" music twice (seriously, that is what the guitarist-can't remember which one right now-called it).
« Being that close to the stage was really cool, but the view from the back of the venue was also good simply because the venue was that small.
«The fact Izzy showed up and played made my night. The only thing that would have made it better was if they played Used to Love Her (I love that song, favorite one actually, damn lucky folks in the UK...). I'm not quite sure how I would feel about the entire experience if seeing Izzy play had not been part of it. Lucky for me, I don't really have to contemplate that, I was one of the very fortunate folks at this show. Someone right in front of me did record all of Patience, but I haven't been able to locate that video online yet. Although, I will add this one here, a fan's recording from a show over in Poland. I have no Polish blood (although plenty of other blood), but Rob is polish and his Mom and Dad came over here sometime in the 70's. Rob once told me the meaning of life, the problem was he was speaking polish...I don't speak polish and he couldn't remember what he told me the next morning.

As soon as they finished Paradise City, I left (didn't see them come back and bow). It was after 2am. I asked a cop about how to get to the PATH station and if I would be safe walking there. He told me and said I would be fine, "It is actually quite a pleasant stroll." So I took off down 34th Street on my way to 32nd & 6th Avenue, making sure there were people in front of me and behind me. I did cut down 7th Avenue to get to 32nd St., whoops...should have stayed on 34th, as 32nd was dark and no one was on the street, except for a couple of construction guys. They looked at me like I was insane when I walked by them. I found the PATH station, got a ticket, asked someone how to get to Newark, and hopped on the train.

I ended up having a discussion with two guys about Ipods and then talking to one of them about why I was in New York City. When he asked what I was doing in New York City by myself, I told him I drove from Cincinnati to see a band. His response, "that's hardcore and quite courageous." I explained that I had never been able to see them prior and I wasn't quite sure if I would have the opportunity to see them again. Background: I was in elementary school when they first came out, Appetite for Destruction and Lies were some of the first tapes I somehow managed to acquire, can't remember if I bought them or if I asked friends to get me a copy b/c of the whole PMRC deal, I still have them and remember listening to them on my walkman while on the schoolbus; we had tickets in 2002, but they officially cancelled the tour the night before they were to play our show, Liz and I were so upset, I had flown home from Iowa to see them with her.

He and I talked about the DC area, Cincinnati, New York City, a guy that had died on a bus (ok, the entire car joined in for this discussion), relationships, and life in general. He recommended I return to visit New York again in the summer time. They did stop our train for a bit to haul off some drunk/druggie that had passed out (prompting the "guy that died on a bus" discussion). At first, he told me to transfer trains at Grove St., but when we got there, he told me to stay on the train until the next stop because there would be more people there and at least one police officer. We got to Journal Square, hopped off the train, and he walked me over to platform Number 4, where I needed to catch the Newark train. I made it back to Newark Penn Station around 3:30am and the next NJTransit train to Newark Airport wasnt until 4am. I was so tired at that point; I caught a cab back to the hotel. I arrived back at the hotel at 4 in the morning, approximately 12 hours after I had left to go to the concert.

The drive home was ok, I left at 11, had a minor mishap with the PA Turnpike (got on the turnpike too soon, resulting in an additional 80 miles added to my return trip), and the stretch from Columbus to Cincinnati was the worst, it was dark and I was exhausted. Made it home at 11:30pm, called my folks to let them know and called Rob to let him know I was home (last time I talked to him was right after I got into the venue before the show started), and crawled into bed with no alarm clocks set.

Final Thoughts about the Trip:
« Was it worth it? Yes, I had a great time, met some really nice people that I will probably never see again, and I finally got to see a line-up of Guns and Roses.
« Would I pay $63 again to see the current line-up of Guns and Roses? Perhaps, if it is guaranteed they would show up, they were great. I'm not sure if I would go out of my way like I did this time to see them, guess it depends on when they tour again next. This trip was a once in a lifetime experience for me.
« As a follow-up to my previous comment, this was one of the best concert experiences of my life. The show was fantastic, regardless of what the critics have to say. It blew my mind, I was walking on air when I left the Hammerstein...I finally saw Guns N' Roses, a band I've been chasing since my youth, who had put on one hell of a show. In my opinion, this show rivals that of The Rolling Stones in Charlottesville, VA (October 2005). I went into work Friday and a co-worker commented, "looks like you got blown away, guess it was a good show."
link to an old video of Keith, Mick, Izzy, Axl, and the rest of the Stones
« I'm busy trying to acquire the missing Izzy albums I don't have. If you want to listen to good, plain old rock and roll music, get an Izzy album or two. an Izzy site
« It is so surreal of an experience that if I didn't have the shirt, it could have been a dream.
« I traveled to New York City by myself and saw Guns and Roses. This is the most insane thing I have ever done.



photo credits: the two hotels shots I took myself; Stones picture (October 6, 2005, Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, VA) was taken by either myself or Rob; the Delta Mural and the PATH doors I found on google; pictures of Izzy, Axl, and the rest of the band were yanked from posters at the http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com forum, the pictures of Axl and the band are not from the show I went to b/c I'm pretty sure Axl was wearing white shoes, not red...lordy, I was close enough to see his shoes; without them and Sludge, I wouldn't have known about the ticket drop...and I am grateful for all the info they posted. (Note: if you get the blue box instead of a picture, click on the box and the picture should open). Additional thanks to the folks in the mIRC chatroom I'm in for providing lodging and travel advice, in addition to putting up with me talking about this show (we normally talk politics/current events).

Next up on the docket, Poison. woohoo, my favorite band, and yes, I'm serious. Liz and I are going (her husband and someone else yet to be determined are also attending). @ The Joint (yay! another small venue), Las Vegas, Nevada...Sin City, here I come. ;^)