Pete and Me in Chicago

He gave me the flu!

Been so long

Facebook has really impacted Blogging!

Been to long

I'm alive!

I have been very negligent to this little blog....a few missing Who adventures aren't even here.

La Jolla 4

La Jolla 3

La Jolla 2

La Jolla

The Past

I'm going to post some pictures that I just ran across of the night I first met Pete Townshend. This is at the La Jolla Playhouse Benefit event in June 2001. I had meet and greet tickets for both nights' shows. They cost a fortune but were worth every penny/pound/grand. I recall having terrible gastronomical discomfort on Friday night from a seafood Caesar salad at Planet Hollywood in San Diego. I have not been back to a Planet Hollywood or had a seafood Caesar salad anywhere since then. On Saturday, it was so very crowded backstage, and I did not push to the front of the meet and greet area. I was the last person Pete talked to on the way out, and I just asked if I could give him a hug. I told him I loved him (in a manly fan like way) and off he went. The rest of my history with Pete stems from my courage and financial abandon to make this trip. I met friends in La Jolla that I still see every few years. I have video tape of my mother and father and daughters from this trip and now that my mom has passed, the trip was invaluable to my life. Long live rock.

The Premier

Well, a great week so far..... I attended the Premier of the Who's new DVD/Movie on Tuesday night.

My friend, Steve, invited me along and I met a new true Who fan, Bob, Steve's other guest. It seems that early on in a hard core Who fan's life the spouse and children come along and are supportive; but in the end, there are just the die hard ones that just love the stuff Pete and Roger do onstage.

Of course, my daughters are still young and Hannah Montana tickets are soooo expensive now-a-days that my girls are still quite interested in The Who. We attended the Vasser event of The Boy Who Heard Music together this summer. We loved it.

On Tuesday, my planned 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hour drive into Manhattan became a nightmare at the very end ......as I tried to get into the city. (Yes, I do like to drive and walk in Manhattan.) I ended up running late due to traffic and found myself (in my suit and dress shoes) making my one and a half mile walk ...eh sprint....through the crowded streets to the event.

I got there late, but they were still not letting the audience in. Roger was in the lobby with the press giving an interview. Eventually they let us in and we walked the red carpet....no big thrill and we mingled for awhile. Then we went to the main screening room. There were other rooms which were getting a video feed from the main screening room in which we were seated. We had great seats....four rows from the top...dead center......for a screening room design...very slanted..these were some of the best seats in the house. My name was on an letter size paper on the back of my seat...so cool.

Roger was hanging around in the back while the center director did introductions.

Then the movie was shown...great audio.....and a nicely done movie. I was captivated despite my many years in Who-fan-dom. The part of the movie celebrating the Concert for NYC actually received applause.

After the show, Roger and Chris Stamp, and the movie producer and team talked about the movie. Roger, who refuses to watch himself on the screen, stated that he heard that the movie was very good. You can tell that Roger is very wrapped into the magic that happens when The Who are onstage, and I have to agreed that is magic from personal experience; but I missed Pete being there for the The Who can reach many with magic by various medium and settings....at least in my opinion.

My friends had to leave and I attended the after show VIP cocktail party by myself. I am usually quite social but talked to few there. I was tempted to sit at Roger's reserved table as he did not make it to the party. The food was great and I think I had one too many vodka tonics for I decided to walk back to the hotel.....turning the wrong way(s) of course as I chatted up a friend of mine (Hi, Colleen!) on the phone. It was a three mile walk by the end but quite a nice evening in NYC.

My feet still hurt. But I loved every minute of the trip and look forward to the next event where I can cross paths with my fellow fans and bloggers.

Hotel Cafe pic

Nice place to watch but bad place to take pictures from.

Hotel Cafe picture - the travelor

My new friend who travels to Europe to see The Who!

Attic Fest LA Two

Before the Who concerts, I traveled to LA to visit two dear friends of mine who I had met in La Jolla at Pete Townshend's benefit concert for the Playhouse in La Jolla in 2001. I suppose this is where my Amzaing Journey began.

Tom and Diane have two wonderful children and I loved spending time with them and thier children.

I enjoyed the weekend tremendously despite the horroibly long travel days.

While in LA I took in the Attic Jam at the Hotel Cafe. Terrible issue with ticket scalping occurred; but I was more focussed on meeting some new blogger friends who got tickets from me at face value and some great friends who I shared cheeseburges with at five AM.

I didn't eat any burgers quite that late...at least by local time....but did manage to get an In and Out burger, a Tommy's Burger and a Fat Burger in.

Three final Who concerts

Just got back from three Who concerts on the East coast. I got to make some new friends and see some old ones and go on a journey with a special one.

Band played the same set list, which of course gets challenging, if you go to more than a show or two. The boys played well; but I'd love to see them tap more of the forty years of music available.

I got a chance to see Pete sign a bunch of stuff for some competition winners and bumped into him and his entourage on an elevator on another night.

I will miss the shows and look forward to The Who returning to the US in 2008 or 2009.

Of course, I will keep my eye out for the Atticfest of summer 2008 and any Attic Jams that Pete and Rachel put together.

Rock On

To the Hotel Cafe

Well, I'm off to LA again at the end of the week for another Attic Jam at the Hotel Cafe.

I recall it is a good place to be tall and a bad place to leave your bar tab open.

Planning to see some old friends from Pete Townshend's La Jolla solo performances in 2001 and some new Attic Jamming friends as well.

Off to NY to support a cause and some friends

I'm off again to NYC to support some friends and their work with Down Syndrome.

Here's a link to the site of a very inspiration young woman who is a big part of next Monday's event.

http://www.riggio.net/index.htm

Da OOOOOO!

Planning on a few Who concerts in March before The Who end their North American tour......

Looking forward to seeing some old friends and some new.

May even take in a Judo tournament in NYC on the trip.

No Joe's

So disappointed ...no tickets to Joe's Pub for February Attic Jam......I tried valiantly like so many other bloggers.

Now I'm thinking that its warm in LA this time of year. Look out LA Attic Jam.......

Merry Christmas to all!

Hope you are all well during this great season.

I love this guy too!

Sharing memories of when we first met in La Jolla.....still don't know if he knows my name!

I love this guy.

Mikey is such a great pal and a fantastic musician.

Just can't shut my mouth

This guy is everywhere.....next time he's says he's infectious, I believe him.

Heading west again

Well its off to Chicago Friday for the Attic Jam there. Can't wait to hear what other talented artists will appear with Pete and Rachel. I know Mikey and Simon will be there; but the rest is a surprise.

A friend is a friend

A shot of me, Rachel and my friend Steve from Joe's Pub.

Caught red handed

No, not with a jacket, but Mark, the security master, caught me with the sold out sign from outside Joe's...yes, I asked Joe's if I could have it.

guitar help

I not only lack talent but technical skills so I search high and low for outstanding experts like Alan.

Joe's Pub November

I wish this guy would stop tickling me....my first picture with Pete without a girl in it and, and, and...I look like a total geek.....

Joe's Pub ...Foy

Here's my new friend Heather and Foy Vance at Joe's Pub in September.

Triplet

Went to see The Who in Atlantic City...may have been the best show I was ever at....got to talk to Pete before the show and had seats in the fifth row, dead center.

Took my daughters to see The Who in Hershey and Philadelphia. We had a great time.

Little Feat

Going to see Little Feat tonight with some great friends.....no meet and greet :(

a drink and a chat

It was just nice finding some pals who drank something other than bottled water.....

things in common.....

Of course he was quite amused that I just would not shut up.......here we are discussing the different color sharpies that we carry with us 24/7........other than having sharpies in common, I think he plays guitar too.

He had three and I only had two.....

Well, since I was there and had a picture and a CD, I thought I'd get "Mr. I've got three sharpies and you have only two" to sign them for me...what could be the harm....he was very gracious and patient with my new found hobby....

writing on the wall...no on the jacket

Well for anyone who has seen me at a Who concert or Attic Jam this fall could tell you I have been wearing this blue denim Hard Rock Cafe jacket.....Rachel signed it in NYC and Pete and Mikey signed it in LA......what's cool is if you look close at the pictures, you can see the signatures....... Nice! Here's the response to my statement "Sign Me".....

More Who coming

Well, after recovering from LA Attic last week, I am now getting psyched for three Who shows at the end of the month.....Looks like I will make it to the Borgata, Philly and Hershey shows.....and there will be other Rachel bloggers there.......and members of a younger generation will be my guests.......

I still have one more extra Hershey ticket that I need to sell to another blogger/fan.

dave in la

a truly nice guy

I loved speaking with Mikey at the LA Attic Jam....

some girls...or is it Tea and Theatre

Of course, some girls are always welcome to get in the picture....here's one of my favorites.....but you know what...she's got a thing for the guy with the sharpies....

girls always getting in the way

Every time I get in a picture with this guy with the sharpy, some gal jumps in and I'm left in the background.....bottom line, I'm buying sharpies...lot's of them.

Back to PA from LA

Well back from seeing Pete and Rachel and Mikey in LA....Loved seeing Nic and Mark on Pete's staff as well.......
this is my crazy accomplice, Cathy and some old guy with a sharpy ...didn't catch his name but I heard we should expect a lot of great music from him in the future.

To LA I go

Well I'm off to LA for my first time .......to see Rachel Fuller and Pete Townshend and guests perform.

Looking forward to a great show and a great evening with other Rachel bloggers and fans.

new post

I really need to post to this more often.

set this blog up to post

I set this blog up to post to Pete and Rachel's blogs

Hi This is my first blog entry

Yep, very first blog entry - Hi!