Sea Of Adventures
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Enjoy these wonderful tales of
Beatle expieriences fellow Beatle fans have been kind enough to
share. If you have a tale you'd like to see on this page...send
it to me by visiting the Sea of Communications (or email me at jpm618@attglobal.net). Please
include a title, your online (preferably Yahoo!) id, and type
"Beatles Adventure" in the subject line.
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The dumbest
decision I ever made -- by Veggified (1991)
"In
Our Life" -- by Gearfabcohost (2000)
All Starrs
At Summerfest -- by Nicole_Paul (2000)
"Adventures
With Cynthia and Pete, 1994" -- by
johnnymclean2000 (1994)
Free as a
Bird... -- by ringosgirl72
"With
A Little Help"...our song -- by Nicole_Paul (1996)
"Coming
Together In An Elevator" -- by amarmylaidiemoon (2000)
Beatles
Trivia Tale -- by Nicole_Paul (1996)
Girls' Camp
-- by treehugger66
The Julian
Lennon Concert -- by Nicole_Paul (1999)
Meeting
Ravi Shankar -- by Sitarsrule (1998)
***************************
The dumbest decision I ever made --
by Veggified (1991)
It
was the day after my friend, her husband, daughter and I went to
see Paul McCartney in concert in 1991. Well my friend Judy called
to say that her, and I quote, "groupie of a husband"
was going to go and see if he could find Paul at the hotel he
thought he was staying at and if I wanted to accompany him as she
wasn't going to. Well I figured that meeting Paul would happen
about as much as hell freezing over so I declined as I had a
piano lesson to go to. The hotel is a very small and exclusive
one in Birmingham, Michigan. It has only three floors and all
have balconies. Well as he stood under a certain part of
the hotel he looked up and to his surprise, there hanging out the
balcony was Paul!!! He called up to him and they had a short
conversation about the concert and Paul was impressed that my
friend's nine year old daughter enjoyed it very much. My friend's
husband asked for an autograph. Well Paul wasn't about to let him
up, but promised him an autograph. Later as Paul left for the
airport in a limo, he had the driver stop and autographed my
friends album as he said he would. All I know is that If I had
made a better decision that day I would have met Paul McCartney
rather than having a mediocre piano lesson. What a dope,
huh. Just sign me
"loser"
***************************
In Our Life -- by Gearfabcohost (2000)
On
Sept. 6th, it was my mother's 72nd birthday! I
certainly didn't want to give her more fake jewelry,
or bogus cologne. So being that I am a
musician/singer, and I happen to know a local Beatles
tribute band who record stuff from time to time, I
asked them if I could record the tune, In My Life.
That one is her favorite song, although she prefers
the version sung at the beginning of the NBC series;
"Providence". So I recorded the song with the gang,
burned it on a disc, created art work, label, etc...
That is THEE best, most personal gift I have ever
given her! She can't stop playing it. That means a
whole lot to me, plus the fact, that since I gave her
that, she now REALY hears the words, and it gives her
personal meaning in OUR life! I love her!(hmmm, that
could be another tune ay?)
***************************
All Starrs At Summerfest -- by
Nicole_Paul (2000)
Arriving
home last night, this morn in truth...it was late or early
depending on which side of the coin you're on. In any case,
the family car pulled into the drive at 2:40am. So now at
11am on this Sunday July 2, 2000, still in a half asleep hazy
dream world, I sit at this computer with Beatle music playing on
the radio behind me and type my story.
The
morn of July 1, my bro (Ryan) was at work, I went out for my
workout, my dad went for a run, and my mom did a few choice
erands before we all grabbed a quick lunch and climbed into our
family van. I rested my eyes as my dad steered us to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Summerfest. The trip was about 2.5
hours and at about 4pm, we were there...out of the van, short
walk, $10 admission ticket, and time to explore.
Here
I will describe the fest itself quickly as we walked through
it. My fam and I started in what was labeled the global
village. It was a large market place area with alot of
Indian merchandise (clothes, hangings, statues, incense, oil,
jewery, ect), jewelry places, wall decoration places, tie die
places, beanie baby places (only one or two of these), a celtic
merchandise place, a place doing hendi, and more..... So,
we started exploring in the village, where I looked at everything
and then made purchasing decisions, but I'd have to go back later
to purchase. In the mean time, we watched a pretty bad
waterskiing show (the skiiers kept falling), checked out the area
by the rides (ferris wheel, roller coaster, orbit...and
more...though we didn't ride any), and scoped out the food
(seafood, Greek food, Oriental food, grilled pizza,
veggies, Wendies, Unos Pizza, cheesecake, icecream, shaved ice,
ect). I grabbed a iced coffee at a Gloria Jeans
stand...Yummy!!! It was time to check out some music.
Summerfest is all about the music with Tons of stages set up
eveywhere and fab acts. My group chose a steel drum band
that was rocking the house at the Piggly Wiggly stage. The
crowd even formed a congo line during the show, though I didn't
join.
Now,
Ryan wanted to see a specific show at 8pm and my mom wished to
see it as well, so we broke up at that point. It was only
7pm, but my bro wanted to get up front for his show. With
my parents, I grabbed a bite. My dad chose seafood, my mom
a giant turkey leg, and I some fried mushrooms, califlower, and
eggplant...and desert, a piece of key lime pie. We munched
our dinner by the lake front (Lake Michigan). Now, I better
pick up those items I wanted from the market, for it was a
quarter to 8 and I wanted to be at the Miller Oasis at 830.
I begged my mom to come to the market with me so she could put my
purchases into the large bag that she had brought into the fest
for just that purpose, but she refused to come...she wanted to
see that show at 8. *SIGH*...guess I'll have to carry
it. Back at the market, I had picked up a dress that had
caught my eye earlier and just as I was getting out my money to
pay, guess who dropped by the stand. That's right....my mom
showed up and offered to hold the dress for me during the
show...thanks. Before I left the market, I also bought a
lizard shaped ear stud. Then, quickly as I could, to the
Miller Oasis and I began to work my way to the front of the
already large crowd. It was 815...the big show wasn't to
start until 930pm. Guess everyone wanted a good view.
Finally
got up to the first bench, though there were two standing rows
closer to the stage than I, but still not bad. A rock band
called The Luxery was on the stage...pretty good group in fact,
and the crowd was dancing and singing along...lots of fun.
Interesting wait for the real show to begin as I met just about
every type of person imaginable. One was completely drunk
and kept spilling her beer on everyone (but not me thank
goodness). One lady was convinced she was going to meet
Ringo...good luck. But I did finally meet three new
friends, all about my age...two females and a male. As the
opening band finished up their act, the three of us got to know
each other and shared online info so we could keep in touch.
Our
long wait ended when the band was annouced..."Ringo Starr
and his All Starr Band"...yeah!!!! And the band, minus
Ringo, took the stage..opening notes of "It Don't Come
Easy" sounded from their instruments, but were soon drowned
out as the man everyone had come to see finally appeared on the
stage. Armed with our cameras (myself and my new
friends), we snapped picture after picture. Never
before had I been so close to the ex-Beatle, though I'd seen his
show twice before from afar. So, it was
screaming, dancing, pictures in the audience...and incredable
music onstage. Best of all, the band was playing to the
crowd, really interacting with us. That meant...it was time
to play the game.."Who wants to be a...." (just
kidding)...the game is called, "Get the musicans
Attention". I think my friends and I won. For the first half of the show I
stood on the ground, apparently a good choice as Mr. Starkey
himself tossed his towl right to that area. Problem with
towls is...well consider a homerun baseball, only one set of
hands fits around it, so eventually one person ends up with the
ball...five sets of hands were on that towl. Eventually,
all let go except for a woman in front of me and myself, so in
true Beatles fashion (peace and love...ect) rather than duking it
out, we ripped the towl down the middle and each took half.
As she then pocketed her half, one of my new friends and I asked
around for a Swiss Army knife, finding one in the pocket of a man
just behind us. From the side of my piece of the towl I cut
a strip, giving a piece of that strip to each person who had
gotten their hands on it and then one to the man who shared his
knife. One last piece went to a woman who had been knocked
to the ground and had her glasses scratched in the chase for the
towl. I felt bad for her and, though I don't know that it
was my fault, apoligized for her falling. Her husband
responded, "no you're not," but I had assured him and
her that I really was. It was about 15 minutes later that I
tapped her shoulder and handed her that piece of towl. Both
of them thanked me realizing I really am a good person (or I'd
like to think so) and shared kind smiles.
Now
I was standing on the bench for the second half of the
show. It was during "Yellow Submarine" I had
climbed up there hoping to get cleaner pictures (less audiance
heads in them). Funny how that bench was actually bouncing
with the songs beat. Even though I was standing still, I
couldn't take pics for I was rising and falling with the bench.
Now
a little side note, my bro actually came by the show during this
tune and from the theater's back, made sure he caught a glimpse
of Ringo, so he could say he'd seen the ex-Beatle. My
parents came to the show for just more than the first half and
actually figured out where I was standing even before I was on
the bench. My mom realized that Ringo had thrown his towl
right to my area. She'd get to see my piece
later.
Next
to me, on my left, stood Kim (one of those new friends). As
we watched Jack Bruce play his bass guitar as though he was
playing lead, we began calling to him, eventually grabbing his
attention and asking for his towel. He was happy to share
it and the two of us, plus the man to the right of me, caught
it...we made three pieces.
Now
Kim and I were really getting into our game...crying out names,
pointing, screaming. At one point or another we caught the
attention and got responses (just for us) from each band
member...including Ringo. First, we got Ringo to pose for
us for a pic (showing his double peace sign). Then as Eric
Carmen finished performing the ballad (All By Myself), being that
I had held up my lighter the entire time, Ringo said, "Eric,
you better thank the little girl with the candle." Kim
screamed and pointed at me as I proodly held up my lighter (which
I own for the soul purpose of holding at concerts). So,
Ringo knew where we were, and as he introduced the tune
"You're Sixteen", he asked where all the young girls in
the audience were and as he did, he pointed at Kim and I.
Sadly,
all good things must come to an end. Before performing his
last tune, Ringo told the audience to pretend the band had left
the stage and we were calling them back, as opposed to them
actually leaving. Wild screams in the from the crowd lead
the band into "With A Little Help From My Friends",
during which every time Ringo sang "I get by with a little
help from my friends," he pointed toward Kim and I
(and then at random others as well...but always us at some point
during the line). Before the song was over, Ringo was gone
from the stage, though he did return for a bow with his band.
I
stood with Kim and the other two friends as the crowds cleared a
bit. Then it was hugs, goodbyes, well wishes, and meet you
onlines. Additionally, I told the group about BeatleFest
Chicago, where we'll hopfully meet again. Goodbye. Souvenirs were cheap as it was
the last show of Ringo's tour, so for a mere $12 I bought a baby
tee-shirt, a key chain, and a program. Not a bad
deal. Then I met my dad. I asked to stop for a much
needed shaved ice (after all the screaming) My dad agreed
to stop and ended up buying three (one for my mom and bro as
well). And we happily walked to our van and headed home,
hampered only by the terrible traffic on our way out of the
parking garage and around the city. Perhaps if the
stoplights hadn't been turned off. Yep, apparently they
turn off the stoplights in downtown Milwaukee at night...go
figure...we don't even turn off the lights at night in my little
Chicago suburb. But we got out of the city eventually and
from there it was only two hours to home.
In the
middle seat of our van, I closed my eyes and saw the band upon
the stage, heard the incredable music. Recalled Jack Bruce
running back and fourth across the stage, as he played an amazing
solo on his bass at the end of "White Room", teasing a
man with a video camera...LOL. What a character.
Concerts are always the most fun when the band is into the
audiance feeding off the energy...and that audiance was
fab...completely into the band and show.
So,
finally, on my third attempt, I was able to stand close enough to
Ringo to see his face, as opposed to the other two All Starr
shows I'd attended, where he appeared as a spec on the
horizon. And I suppose Ringo was finally able to see one
more of the faces behind the screams, one more of the people
who's lives he's made a little brighter. Word is he may
never tour again. If that is the case, I can only thank him
for all the joy, all the incredable music, and his wonderful
message of peace and love. Should he never tour again, he
went out as high as he could, for though I'd seen Ringo play
twice before, never before has he and his band pulled the crowd
into the show so well. It was a night none of us will ever
forget, and if he's done...he ended with an incredable blast.
Here's
a list of the songs they played (I'll probably miss some):
It
Don't Come Easy
Act
Naturally
Hungry
Eyes (Eric Carmen)
Shooting
Star (Simon Kirke)
Sunshine
Your Love (Jack Bruce)
I
Hear You Knocking (Dave Edmonds)
I
Am The Greatest
Love
Me Do
The
No No Song
I
Feel Free (Jack Bruce)
All
Right Now (Simon Kirke)
Go
All The Way (Eric Carmen)
Yellow
Submarine
Back
Off Bugaloo
I
Knew The Bride (Dave Edmonds)
White
Room (Jack Bruce)
All
By Myself (Eric Carmen)
You're
Sixteen
With
A Little Help
From
My Friends
The
Band: Ringo Starr, Eric Carmen, Jack Brice, Simon Kirke, Dave Edmonds, and Mark Rivera
***************************
"Adventures With Cynthia and
Pete, 1994" -- by
johnnymclean2000 (1994)
I
met Cynthia Lennon and Pete Best in 1994 at a one time event
called
"Beatlerama 94" here in Toronto at the International
Plaza Hotel. Catchy name for a Beatlefest eh?
Making appearances besides Cyn and Pete were original Beatles
manager Allen Williams( who was just a little tipsy that day),
Ruth McCartney( Paul's somewhat pathetic half-sister) and Louise
Harrison, the one and only George Harrison's sister.
It was a well presented event. The organizers even had an art
exhibition of some of Stuart Sutcliffe's art. They also had the
usual array of vendors of Beatles memorabilia which was set up in
one of the ballrooms. There was a ton of stuff for sale.
Another highlight was the tribute bands they had playing. Their
was a great one called the Caverneers, who did a very faithful
representation of the early Beatles. They had a great spirit to
them. The headlining band was one of the Beatlemania bands, who
did a slick, professional show, though lacking the attitude that
made the Caverneers so charming.
Let me just back track a little bit. When I first arrived at the
hotel that day, I was a bit early, so I thought I would get a
drink in the hotel bar.
As I walked in, I could see a blonde, middle aged woman sitting
with a couple of older guys at one of the tables. It could only
be one person --Cynthia Lennon!!! I was a little star struck,
thinking -" oh my god, this woman was married to John
Lennon, she was right in the middle of the whole Beatles story,
what her eyes have seen!" I contemplated going up to her and
asking for an autograph, but I thought -" I dont want
to bother this woman, shes here to make an appearance and besides
I'm too scared!" So I just sat at the bar having my drink
and stared at her for a while, having a great time observing her.
Later, she did the Q & A session and I got to ask her about
John, I forget what I asked her, but I remember that she was very
gracious and had a real air of class about her. Afterwards, she
did a long autograph session and I got her to sign a copy of her
book, " A Twist of Lennon". She signed it "to
John, Love Cynthia Lennon", which was pretty cool. I was
cursing the fact that I didnt bring a camera with me because I
could have got my picture taken with her!!! Damn!
With Pete Best, it was basically the same set up. He did his Q
& A session and signed autographs. By the time I got to ask
him a question, so many people had asked him what I was thinking
of asking him, I asked him a really dumb question. When I tell
people about this, they always laugh. I asked him,"how do
you rate Ringo as a drummer?"
I talked briefly with him at the autograph session, he was very
polite, had a quiet kind of disposition, just the way you would
expect him to be. Also, Louise Harrison was very thoughtful and
informative. She seems like a really nice person. Allen Williams
was a real character and he told some funny stories about the
early Beatles(between drinks!)
Probably the most embarrassing part of the day was the
performance of Ruth McCartney who did one of her pop tunes and
featured some dancing on stage that was much like that of a
stripper. It made me wince and I felt sorry for her.All the same,
I was a extremely fun day for a Beatlemaniac, one I'll never
forget.
***************************
Free as a Bird... -- by ringosgirl72
Free
as a Bird...
I love that song. It's really great and it's very
special to my best friends and I. I had been friends
with Lindsey for about a year and then I met Janis.
Then a year later we met Magenta. We didn't think we
had much in common until we really got to know each
other and we found out we were all crazy for the
Beatles!! Ever since then, we have grown up together
and we know everything there is to know about each
other. I don't have any sisters, but I say that they
are my sisters. Last summer, Janis and Magenta moved
away and Lindsey and I had a very hard time getting
over it, especially me. But we remembered all the
great times we had and one night Lindsey and I
listened to "Free as a Bird" and we noticed that it
reminded us so much of Janis and Magenta. This summer
we all got back together and we played that song over
and over. It's like our anthem, and it will always be a very
special song for all of us.
***************************
"With A Little Help"...our
song -- by Nicole_Paul (1996)
It
all started in February of 1996, not too long after the Anthology
came
out. I was at swim meet sitting with my buddies and we were
jokingly
discussing forming a band. As we shouted out the
instruments we played, we
found our band would consist of...a piano, keyboard, tamborine,
chello, and
handbells (hey, it's the next sound !?). So to go along
with that we each
picked a Beatle to be our inspiration (or actually moreso, passed
out
Beatles)...including Pete and Stuart...then we called our band
The LadEBugZ.
For the rest of the meet we called each other by our Beatle
names, but then
felt like in doing so we lost a bit of our own identity...thus we
became...Sarh_John, Mel_Ring, Heather_George, Katie_Pete,
Brit_Stu, and
Nicole_Paul. Later on we added a Cameraman and a LSD (her
fave tune at the
time was "Lucy...").
Anyways, Katie_Pete moved to Texas the day after that swim
meet. So the
last day of the meet, our little group gathered for pictures
(memories)
before we went about swimming the last of our events. When
the time for the
last event of the meet came, I stood behind the blocks with John,
George,
Pete, and Ringo...looking around, I realized all of us were there
except
Stu. Interesting thing was, the last time we had all been
together had been
for the pictures. So, just as I told the others about my
observation, Stu
walked up to us singing "With A Little Help From My
Friends"...we all joined
in, though no one really knew the song. Stu knew it the
best and we all
kinda stumbled along through the tune, singing until we were
actually
standing upon the starting blocks...one person at a time was
picked off to
go race. That was the last time all six of us were
together, for as each
person completed their race, they headed to the locker room, then
home from
the meet.
In the locker room after all the racing was done, John, Pete, and
I stood
together....we all knew that as soon as we emerged from the room,
Pete would
leave for Texas. As we looked at eachother, we again sang
the tune, "With A
Little Help From My Friends"...this version more broken than
the one before,
for we didn't have Stu to lead us, but broken or not...we
stumbled through
the tune, unconcerned with the stares of the others in the
room....and upon
singing the last note, we just looked at one another, no one was
sure what
to say...as if we were one, with tears in our eyes, the three of
us began
the song anew, starting to sing at exactly the same time.
That night at home, I put on the blue album and played "With
A Little Lelp
From My Friends" over and over until I had learned the
song...and I cryed
for I would miss my friend.
***************************
"Coming Together In An
Elevator" -- by amarmylaidiemoon (2000)
I
went to Chicago Beatlefest 2000 and every single moment of it was
a brilliant Beatles memory, however there is one certain event
that really makes me smile everytime I think back to it. I
was on my way back up to the hotel room to grab something and I
boarded onto one of the crowded elevators. It started to go
up and I could faintly hear "Come Together"
playing. I immediately thought it was an elevator speaker,
but when other people started to question it, an older man pulled
out a little travel tape player in his pocket. He turned it
up so we could hear it better and on the elevator ride up
everyone started singing along to the chorus. It was just a
Beatley event I was more than glad to experience. I'm sure
everyone else who was in the elevator would agree... where ever
they are...
***************************
Beatles Trivia Tale -- by
Nicole_Paul (1996)
So
it was May of 1996 and the end of the track season. We were
down to the state qualying meet. A couple days before we
had gone to the track, where the meet was to be held, to
practice. Knowing that before I raced, I always listened to
a Beatles tape...one assisant coach (also my history teacher)
asked me a bit about my love of the group. This
conversation ended with him asking "Who shot John
Lennon?"...well, I told him I didn't know, but my mom did,
so I went home and asked her. So now I was at the state
qualifing meet. I finished second in the mile (top 3
qualify for state) and then first in the 2 mile (with a new
school record). Upon finishing the 2 mile race, rather
bending over tired and out of breath as the other finishers were
doing, before everyone had even completed their run, I took off
sprinting at a diagnol across the track to where this coach
stood. As I reached him, without pausing for breath, I
stated,"Mark Chapman killed John Lennon." Well,
he was highly amused by the sequence of events, so much so, that
he told our history class the tale the next day. As for me,
I was hooked on Beatles trivia. Thanks Mr. Clark!!!!
***************************
Girls' Camp -- by treehugger66
I
was at an all girls' camp one
summer, and I really wasn't to thrilled about going,
but I went anyways, and I was humming sarget pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band and this girl turned around
and said, "I love that song!" and we have been
the
best of friends ever since.
***************************
The Julian Lennon Concert -- by
Nicole_Paul (1999)
I arrived on the
scene at 7PM, though the gates had opened at 6PM. The
theater, Park West, was located in a bussiness area of
Chicago. Cars drove up and down the street where there were
stores and resturants on either side of the road. From the
outside, Park West almost seemed like an old movie theater...That
is, there was the large over-hang, the ticket office up front,
and they collected your tickets as you barely got through the
door. I hoped they'd allow my camera inside...well, let's
not risk that...maybe they won't notice this bulge in my
pocket.
I
was in...inside...and the show would begin in just a half
hour. Oh I hope there is room up in front (the ticket was
general admission). I found my way through a small lobby
where posters and t-shirts were for sale. I decided my
seat...well, stand...up front was more important than a
souvenior. Besides, I could probably buy something after
the concert. The theater itself was situated with a balcony
around three sides (not on the stage side). The ground
floor was set up in stair-like setting with tables,
chairs, and boothes. Four bars were stratigicly set
up at the edges of the ground floor to entice the audiance to
have a sip. At the front of the room was a small
stage...very small. The instruments were waiting on the
stage and a small crowd had gathered at it's edge. Quickly
I joined them, somewhat suprised that there weren't more people
waiting there.
From
behind me a man said, "Hi." A new
friend...wonderful. His name was Kevin and he was with his
wife Joann. The three of us stood..chatting...oh the
excitement. We talked Beatles...solo Beatles...and
specifically of George's 33 1/3 album. Smoke rose from the
many lit ciggies to the high ceiling above. Thank goodness
for that ceiling...I really didn't want to be breathing that
second hand smoke (or rather choke on
it).
The
room darkened and the opening act was introduced. I can't
recall the group's name...actually, I never caught it. But
nevertheless, there they were...a rhythm guitarist/lead vocalist,
a lead guitarist/tromboneist/ accordian player, a bassist, and of
course a drummer. An interesting act to say the
least....they played well, but not to the audiance. That
is, they proceeded to perform for each other...the singer played
to the lead guitarist, then to the bassist, and even to the
drummer...Yei!!! Then they would talk to the audiance...are
you trying to be funny???? I think that was meant to be a
joke...but no laughing....Hmmmmmmm. Well, that was how
their act went...great songs, great musicanship, no
personality. But wait, the act did have on
highlight....though it was a pure accident.
The
rhythm guitarist set up his capo on the neck of his guitar (if
you don't know, a capo changes the guitars key by changing the
pitches of all the strings equally. The capo is placed over
the strings on the guitar's neck holding them all down. Then the
capo is treated as though it were the top of the neck).
Anyways, the capo was set, and he began to strum the song's intro
for the bassist, who gave him a strange look. Within mere
seconds, the capo had been slid up one fret, changing the key,
and the strumming of the intro had begun again. The
audiance was in histerics. Go figure, they tryed to make us
giggle all night, and we laughed at their mistake....though I
think they were probably laughing too.
Finally,
the opening act had ended, the lights were back, and I'd
commenced talking with my friends. Now the excitement had
doubled, and the crowd by the stage was beginning to become
rather crowded. Nonetheless, there I would stay, for I
could see that Juian was soon going to be within a mere yard of
the place where I stood...<SQUEAL>...in fact, I could see
the play list, which was now laying on the stage floor. The
list remained there throughout the show, and I read it as we went
on, though I do wonder a bit if the show would have been more fun
had I gotten to enjoy the suprise of not knowing what was to
come. The stage hands reorganized the stage, the audiance
refreshed their drinks...and somewhere backstage was Julian
Lennon.
And
now, it was finally time. A quick intro, and from backstage
a figure emerged, a ciggie in one hand, a video camera in teh
other. Julian walked down the stage videoing all of us, as
we screamed and waved. The video camera was set at the edge
of the drum platform, the ciggie was put out in a nearby
ashtray. Jude approached his spot on stage, picking up an
acoustic guitar....Here we go!!!!!!!! Jude, and his
group, began to play one of my fave songs..."Get A
Life".
I
sang along word for word with Jude...my stare rarely left him to
glance at my new friends, but my eyes quickly found their way
back. Flashes of cameras lit the room and mine quickly
joined in. The camera veiwer could fit only Julian into its
veiw...and though I haven't seen the pics, I know the veiw was
good...just hope they are focused. I sang along
with each song (well, except 3 tunes that I didn' know all the
words to). One of the tunes I didn't know was a cover of a
song that was not on any of Julian's albums, another was a song
Julian had never recorded, but said he liked. We might just
see that one on his next album he claimed. The third was a
song called "Mother Mary"...it is from Julian's Mr.
Jordan album. I knew this song, but only about half the
words. Even so, my new friends were quite impressed with my
lyrical knowledge and told me I was quite the fan to know all the
words.
In
fact, I knew the words better than Jude. He messed up his
lyrics often. During "Salt Water", as he lost his
words, he told us to continue on...he'd catch up. A couple
of times, in a few songs, he faked his way through some rough
spots. Yeah, had I not known my lyrics so well, he probably
would've gotten away with it. Still, Jude's most
troublesome song, lyrically, was "How Many Times"...not
suprising (Whereas most tunes take only one hour for me to learn
the lyrics to WELL.....this one took me almost a full
week). Julian introduced the song as one he hated to
perform because, "it has so many dang words."
Perhaps he jinxed himself....lots of troubles.
But
no matter....we can't let a few words get in the way of an
awesome show. His voice was in great form...dispite the
half a pack of cigerettes he smoked while on stage alone.
Yeah, basically everytime Jude set down his guitar to simply sing
on a number, he lit up a ciggie....guess he was looking to occupy
his hands. He also grabbed his bottle of water at every
chance on these songs he didn't play. Ahhhhhhhhh...but what
a voice, the best description I can give is to say Jude's voice
is a cross between Paul and John's (that is, not as harsh as his
dad's voice, but not as mellow as Paul's)...It floated
beautifully over the notes, and though it missed a few words, it
never missed the notes....no cracks, no flaws, Ahhhhhhhh.
And
so he sang...and actually danced a bit. Well, on the tune
"Crucified", with a ciggie in one hand and a mic in the
other Jude did a little Spanish style dance, shaking his
hips...really swinging. Gave the crowd (which was closing
in on me...and eveyone else up front, at this point) a larf...Hee
Hee!!!! He too was laughing and would thus dance a bit,
then stop to giggle with us, then dance a bit more. During
the instrumental solo...Jude turned his back to us continueing to
wiggle those hips. A lady snaped a pic, and I heard someone
whisper about waiting to get a good side. The lady
responded, "That was a good side." You, know...I
must agree...a lovely veiw.
Still,
for me the highlight of the show was Julian's performance of
"Photograph Smile." He introduced the song for
us...told us about it. The tune was a bit of a story of a
time he had gone off on tour, leaving his girl behind. All
he had of her was a photo...of her smiling. In the end,
this relationship was not to be...actually, it was the tour and
the distance that broke them up. So Jude set down his
guitar and piano began the intro. Taking his mic, Jude
approached the drum platform and sat on the edge (right by that
ashtray and his ciggies)....but I don't think he lit one...the
only song he sang both guitarless and ciggieless. Gently
and painfully his voice broke through the piano's
notes..."There's a light on that covers the
gloom..." My heart began to melt. I snapped a
photo and felt immediately guilty for breaking the mood....others
took pictures early on in the song, but quickly the flashes were
gone. It was only Julian, in the spotlight, pouring his
heart out to us. There in his eyes was the pain....in his
face, the sorrow....and in his voice, all the grief he felt in
his heart for his lost love. "Heavenly voice won't you
guide me, help me I'm falling too deep." A tear was
swelling in my eye. I glanced quickly round the room.
No one moved, no one made a sound, or said a word.
And Julian sang to us....a delicate moment. And as the song
came to a close, we all wiped that tear from our eye....and
Julian, who was into the moment as well, sat silently for a bit,
reflecting on the song and the memories it had invoked. The
room was silent....no one stirred.
Julian
left the stage, but returned for two encore numbers..."Good
To Be Lonely" and "Stand By Me"....Apparantly he
has ended every concert he's ever done with "Stand By
Me", as a tribute to his fans...and there we were...standing
by him...and there we will remain. I stood in the theater for a
while after the concert...it was all like a dream and I didn't
want it to come to an end. Again, I was chatting with my
new friends. Maybe I'll see them again at a Beatle
event. I do hope so....but then again, I tend to run into
my Beatle friends again and again. My brother came in to
fetch me (he and my dad had been at the Cubs game...a Father's
day present from my bro and I for my dad...the 2 tickets.
Of course, I didn't mind that my dad chose to take my bro...I had
seen Jude. They had seen a Sosa home run...an O' Henry home
run...and a Cubs win. Oh yes, and as it turned out....Garth
brooks was sitting just a couple rows in front of them...it was
country night...and Kenny Rogers sang "Take Me Out To The
Ballgame") . Well, I guess that's it, but a quick stop
to buy a poster on the way out.
I
stepped outside to rejoin reality.
***************************
Meeting Ravi Shankar -- by Sitarsrule
(1998)
About
two years ago, because I play the sitar. It opened up a door for
me to meet Ravi Shankar (the one who taught George Harrison to
play sitar). It was very cool. He autographed the booklet for
Bangladash (benefit concert, which he played with George Harrison
in 1971). He was very down to earth, as well as approchable.
***************************
To the
YELLOW SUBMARINE
Thank
you to everyone who made this page possible by contributing their
stories.
