where to begin?
I am not good at summarizing so this is gonna take a while..
We arrived at the Brown and as I was checking in (eg was getting the car) I saw 2 guys pass that just had to be AReg & GtrPlyr… a quick shout out proved it to be true.
We checked in and commenced to knockin em back at the lobby bar… There was the Triple A Radio convention going on so it was quite busy.. Lots of long hair types with ARTIST passes around their necks and business men boozing & schmoozing.
So…
We mosey on over to the Theatre and watch the Ben Folds solo show and he was surprisingly good… Some one PLEASE get me that song about his daughter! And we continue on drinking (no food involved) and stayed through the Holmes brothers and the Patti Griffin Set….(slept a little during the HB set)
We then took a f*cked up cab ride (Whats the name of the band AReg? FLUXTRON?!!) to a pizza joint for our first food o the day… and drank up some BIG TALL Newcastles… I called “Flo” (52Media) while we were there and he said he wanted my extra tickets…Went back to the Hotel and when we get there there is a show going on upstairs… we go up to see this hot young thing playing an acoustic with a drummer (only)… And although we had had plenty all ready, we drank up all the FREE beer in the place… I think AReg got a CD.. they threw us out around 3-4am
Next day we meet up with $100 at Quizno’s and decide (since the rain had blown all our well made plans for touring the city) that we would just go buy some beer and have a hootenanny on the 12th floor.
The 12th floor had a REALLY nice meeting room/lounge (I guess) with 4-5 couches, chairs tables and a bathroom. SO we take the place over (no one was there) and EG and GtrPlyr played all the songs they know while the rest of us tried to sing along… and we drank the cooler dry.Then went down and got in line for the show… Flo shows and buys the tickets and I invited him back for our "after party"..
We were in the center – 3rd row… GtrPlyr met up with some really nice couple from Chcago that were right behind me… ( I was in a RESERVED seat on the 4th row, praying that whoever was
supposed to be here was not gonna show) The Chicago guy was a huge fan and said he had been lurking at MWT for a long time and actually new our “handles”… So they get invited over to the post show Hootenany….
We left after Patti Smith who bar none had the best band at the show….Very good.
We buy a load of beer and head back up for our “after party” and the Chicago guy tells us (quietly while his girlfriend isn’t looking) that he is going to ask her to MARRY HIM TONIGHT! He shows off the ring (beautiful) and asks if we can do born for me (we couldn’t
) We go through all the songs again and The Chicago man SANG SANG SANG!!! I got ElegantMule on my Cellphone and let her listen in… (she was laughing loudly)
The propos-EE gets up and makes a call to PWs room and says” We are having a little hootenanny on the 12th floor and would like you to come down and stop these guys from ruining yer songs”
And he responded something like “eh… I dunno”
We laughed at that and went on playing & drinking then Then the propos-ER makes another call and begs that he is about to propose so please come do this for me! And I think he responded something like “eh… I dunno - maybe”
So he gets down on his knee and proposes right there, and she was floored! It was so damn sweet I was near tears… They were both crying and kissing etc… and they got up and went outside the door to be alone….
Next thing I hear is: "You are ALL invited to the wedding, Paul too.."
We turn around and it is Paul f*cking Westerberg.. All jaws immediately hit the floor. He walks over and sits down next to me and picks up a harmonica off the coffee table, drops it in his red red wine and says: “Play me some blues in A”
DO I have to f*cking tell you what a mind blower that was? He wailed away on the blues harp as I tried my best to keep my mouth closed…
We stop and I say PLEASE take this f*cking guitar from me. He does, and tunes to Open G and the newly proposed took a seat next to me and he played the most incredible version of Born for Me you have never heard…. (again with the tears… and she cut off the circulation in my arm - she was gripping it so tight)
He stayed for an hour or so….
Sidenote: you cant get to the 12th floor unless you have a room key (I don’t know why…) AReg had one that worked… SO they had to go up to the 13th floor and WALK DOWN THE STAIRS to get there!! As the couple went out there they heard knocking on the stair door…. And behind door number one was PW, his manager and a couple of hangers on (I suppose)
Some funny things….
EM was on the phone. I pick it up at some point and say can you BELIEVE THIS??
Paul picked it up at some point and as it approached his ear he shoved it away like it was some god awful piece of technology that might harm him in some way...
Flo didnt come over for the after show (he called me a little while ago and made me tell him the whole story)
NO ONES cameras were working cause they had used em up at the show! I had my camera phone though and I realized I couldn’t take pics while EM was on there so I say” EM I gotta go its PAUL WESTERBERG!! She called me right back and left me a message that said “You finally get some body up there that can f*cking sing and you hang up on me!!!”
At one point he leans over to me and says “Your room is like 3 times bigger than Mine”
We really did a good job of not geeking out and asking him to do much.. I did request one thing I said Paul, I would really like to hear something off of Folker.. (August - recorded at home and NO You AM I for a backing band, in case you were wondering) He proceeds to play us Track 1… But we cant tell you much about it cause he swore us to secrecy…
I also said at some point that we all met through the MWT board (after explaining what that was) He said he didnt have a PC, but he did know who Kathy was..
What a night…
I did not go to bed until there was no more alcohol..
(Thanks CNote for the bonus Big Beers in my room!)
I needed it all to help me sleep.