"We arrived in Cleveland after a lengthy 8 hour trek that took us all the way
across Pennsylvania. Then spent the better part of the next day visiting the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame. It was quite overwhelming to lay eyes upon John Lennon's actual Sgt. Pepper
outfit, let alone a myriad of other artifacts from the likes of Queen, Led Zeppelin, Jimi
Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Aerosmith, The Police, and U2 which is just to name very few of
the artists that were represented there. We met up with some of the AFAT newsgroupers
while we were there too. The Hall of Fame happens to sit right on Lake Eerie where despite
a bit of rain, an air show was taking place. Which was sort of a bonus. After Cleveland we
did the same marathon drive all the way back to New York. Although, we did manage to stop
off at Niagara Falls along the way.
In Albany we spent almost all our time in the local shopping mall. Yes, I know, that
sounds real exciting. However, new clothes were bought, Jarrod got a haircut and
we took in a movie. The concerts in Cleveland & Albany went great. Although, we dearly
missed our comrade Brad who had to fly home to check up on work and family. (Worry not,
Brad will be back with us on the tour when we hit West Palm Beach and on) We did our
best to shine for the crowds though and they returned in kind with much enthusiasm.
Next... our longest drive yet."
Then the boys made the long haul down to Orlando from Albany. They camped out
there and waited for Brad before trekking on to West Palm Beach. John continues:
"During our week vacation, we took in, amongst other things:
Daytona Beach (where the waves were delightfully violent), Universal Studios, Disney's
Magic Kingdom and MGM Park (the Tower of Terror is highly recomended), and dinner and a
tournament at Medieval Times. We stayed in a really groovy little motel in Kissimee called
the Magic Castle. As it happens we also discovered the whereabouts of the Tupperware World
Headquarters. Our vacation and concerts were all great with the exception of the fact that
it rained the whole time we were in Florida. Most particularly whenever we went to the
beach or Disney World. And of course you know we were glad to have our friend Bradley back
with us in time for West Palm Beach."
And the rain, rain, rain came down,
down, down...
A little secret about Florida: it rains a lot in the summertime. It rained the day we
arrived in West Palm Beach. It rained the night of the show. It never really stopped
raining the whole time we were in Florida. But somehow we managed to avoid getting truly
soaked and had a tremendous, albeit damp, time. In West Palm, we met a lot of Brad's
relatives since that's were he's from. Brad showed everyone the house he grew up in, the
school he went to, etc. We also checked out some of the historic Gilded Age buildings on
Palm Beach island. And let's not forget the beaches. Jarrod fell asleep on the beach after
everyone else went back to the hotel and he got to know the sun a little better than he
would have liked to.
OK, whip your hankies out; it's time for the sob story. Brad and Jarrod took all of these
artful pictures of the various architectural treasures, South Floridian flora and fauna,
shots of the crowd and the concert, sentimental pictures of Brad's family, the band, and
the Albertane crew. And then promptly erased them. Brad still cries himself to sleep but
at least he's stopped sucking his thumb so we think he's pulling out of his grief. He kept
protesting in his sleep "I didn't know what that button was for!"
The show went well, the crowd was great, and we all had the opportunity of playing for
Brad's hometown. In Brad's own words:
"It was pretty odd being back and especially coming home to play a large
amphitheatre. None of my relatives there had ever seen me play in a band before this tour
and I've been playing in bands for over ten years so it was quite an event for me. Several
times in the middle of a song I'd just think 'Wow, this is bizarre'."
Onward to Orlando we went, tourist
mecca of the western world. And of course we had to partake
of the Elysian wonderland known as Walt Disney World. We met
up with some friends from the area and had a soggy but delightful
time. Notice our cheerful yellow raincoats.
The show was, of course, fantabulous and the crowd quite
animated. See below for details...
Brad and Jarrod were standing a little too close to the
stage at the end of Hanson's show. Zac noticed them and doused
them with a "Supersoaker", a herculean squirt gun
that we think should require a permit and a five day waiting
period to purchase.
These girls ambushed our van on the way out of the concert
grounds.
They had us surrounded and weren't going to let us get
away. Thinking quickly, we whipped out our trusty digital camera.
They immediately backed off to strike these vulcan poses. We
left and no one got hurt. Live long and prosper indeed.
We also had a disturbing event of an older fan trying
to find out where we were staying, and then following our van
all over town. We went to a restaurant and stayed there until
nearly 2am. When we left, her vehicle was parked outside but
it looked like no one was inside. As we started to drive off,
the lights to the vehicle flicked on and it started up. In a
panic, we drove off like scared little babies. But hey, you
never know, right?
Oh, and did we mention it was raining all night?
The next day we dried off and
headed back to Tulsa.
Home again. It'd been quite a while since we had all been
home. It was good to see family and friends and to sleep in our own beds--three
months of economy motels can get old. It's also nice to be able to jump in your own car
and know your way around town.
The concert was great too. The difference
between the first Tulsa show on the tour (stop #7) and the second Tulsa show on the tour
(stop #28) was amazing. We were more relaxed, the audience was more enthusiastic and the
security guards were slightly less uptight. To be warmly welcomed by your home town is a
Good Thing.
Of course, since this was the Unlucky Tour for us, Brad's
saxophone had to break after the concert as a sort of sacrifice to the gods of unluck. Or
something.
On our way to Houston, Jed lost
his wallet at a Long John Silver's resturaunt. Of course, he
didn't realize it was lost until we were far down the road.
Upon arriving in Houston, we promptly took a wrong turn and
drove for two hours in the wrong direction. Two hours and we
never left the city. That just goes to show you how huge Houston
is.
As we were snapping a post-concert-sweating-looking picture
of ourselves, Taylor Hanson snuck up and dumped his water bottle
on us. We put him in a half-nelson and worked him over right
after this photo. Really.
This show also had the nicest security guards ever. They
escorted Brad and Jed out to meet Jarrod's parent after our
show. Then they moved all of us into a private booth so that
we wouldn't get swarmed. It was funny getting herded through
the crowd surrounded by security guards like we were presidents.
Some of our friends
in Tulsa got all crazy for this show and (Buddy Holly be darned) chartered
a little plane to come see our show in Dallas. Luckily they made it
ok.
The dinner that night was lobster and steak.
Pretty rough, huh?
The show was great. The crowd was responsive and it
was a superior way to end the tour. We would've felt sad walking off
but we knew we'd be back in front of people again before too long.
After the show, we got a group photo of us and Hanson.
Well, what more can we say? After the show, we headed
home and everyone lived happily ever after.
Cleveland
and Albany (September
6th - 11th)
