June 24, 2007

Duluth Entertainment Civic Center

Duluth, MN

Concert Review

I was very excited when I found out that Al was coming back to Duluth. It would be in the same auditorium that my very first concert took place, so it was a trip down memory lane for me, except I was in the first row in the orchestra pit, instead of up in the 2nd row in the balcony. Dan and me took off to Duluth at around 1:00, hoping we would get there in time to catch the bus pull in. We got to the DECC at about 2:30, and we saw Joe, the stage manager walking around out back, along with a few other crew members.

After waiting 3 hours out behind the venue, the bus finally pulled in. We walked over and saw Steve and Bermuda sitting at the front of the bus. Steve waved at us. Shortly after, he came out and before we could say Hi, he asked us where the nearest Barns & Noble bookstore was. I knew where one was, but I wasn't positive on the easiest way to get there, so I wasn't much help. Then Steve looked at Dan, and said he looked familiar and wondered if they had met before. Dan said they hadn't, but that he probably saw him in audience at Fargo, and Steve said he remembered seeing him there.

Before we went to Duluth, I went to the store to buy a whiteboard so I could collect autographs for my friend Megan, who was originally going to the show with me, but couldn't. So I asked Steve to sign it for her. He didn't realize he was using a permanent marker, so he asked me something like "wouldn't this just rub off?", then he realized it was a sharpie. We said goodbye, and Steve walked over and talked to Joe. We stood there for a minute, and we decided to walk back over to Steve and ask if we could get a picture. He joked around with us about how his comb over wasn't just right, and if I thought he looked sexy with his hair like that, so he wasn't sure if he should take a picture or not. Of coarse, he posed for a picture anyways. I just wish that the first picture had turned out, because he laid his head on top of mine for some odd reason...that would have been a funny picture. We were able to try again a 2nd time, so we did get our picture. :)

About 5 minutes later, my friend Monica came back and waited with us for Al to come out. Another 5 minutes went past, and Al came out of the bus and waved to us. I joked around a bit and asked him, "We've been waiting here for over 2 hours, where've you been?", and Al looked around nervously and said "I was on the bus." He stopped and signed Megan's whiteboard, and I asked him if he remembered who I was. He said he did...not sure if that's something he just says when he's asked that, or if he actually did, but still. My memory is a big foggy on this encounter, but there was some chatting between him, Dan, and me, then we got a quick picture, and he went inside. It was so nice of him to stop and talk with us, since I'm sure he had to hurry and get ready for the show. But I made sure to ask him if he had time or not, and I'm very happy that he did. :)

After that, we couldn't believe all of that just happened, and the concert hadn't even started yet! Monica, Dan, and me went to pick up our tickets at the will call window. There were yellow signs posted all over the place that cameras would not be tolerated, and after our experience in Fargo, we decided to just bring the cameras back to the car...big mistake, since there were a bunch of people taking pictures at the show. Oh bugger. We got back inside, and they opened the doors to let us into the auditorium. At the merch table, I bought the pimp t-shirt, and the White & Nerdy hoody. We saw Steve by the door entering the auditorium, but he disappeared very quickly.

We went to our seats...we were right in front of Steve...and the confetti cannons. haha. While we waited for the show to begin, Deb, one of Dan's online friends, came over and chatted with us until the show started. During this time, Steve and a couple of his friends jumped down from the stage into the pit. They stood there talking for a minute, then they said goodbye. When they were done, I called out, "Hey Steve, how's the comb over?", and that caught his attention, and he walked over and told me I was "as bad as Al." haha. He seemed happy that we had good seats for the show...which paid off later on in the show. We chatted for a minute, then he went back to work.

After about 10 more minutes, Funzone started, and the show began. The one thing I noticed about this show over Fargo was the bass was extremely heavy...it sounded great! Maybe it was because we were on Steve's side. Steve kept making faces at us throughout the show...it was great! Before Bob, Al mentioned that the last time he played Duluth, he noticed that the people here loved songs comprised of palindromes. So to make us happy, he did a song called........................Bob. He forgot a line at some point in the song, and had to look at the video screen to figure out the words.

It's All About The Pentiums had another highlight for me, right at the begining of the song. Al leaned over at the edge of the stage and did his fist punching to me...I could see his eyes looking at me through his sunglasses, it was a great moment! More great moments came during Wanna B Ur Lovr. He sang to Monica...I forget which line. I promised myself I'd remember what line he sang to her if he did...but I failed. Then another great moment, which I missed completely, was when Al was in the audience, and as I was watching, apparently Steve was at the very edge of the stage, hovering over me making faces. What's up with that???

The show went on as usual, no technical problems for the band to work around. I wish I could remember more details on the concert...I only remember a couple bits. After Albuquerque, Joe came over to us and asked us if we survived the confetti cannons. haha.

After the show, we waited out by the busses for a meet & greet. We met up again with Jeremy, and he filled us in on some of the things that happened at the Ft. Yates concert the night before...which Dan and me were originally planning on going to, but decided against it once Duluth came along. Then my friend Jon, his brother, sister, and niece met up with us shortly after. While we waited, Rubén came out and asked the crowd waiting there something like, "Are we having fun tonight?", something like that, then he went back to the bus. About 30 minutes later, Al came out and immediately started signing autographs. You could tell he was in a hurry since he moved through the line very quickly. I took a bunch of pictures with Al for Dan, Monica, Jeremy, Jon, and everyone else in our group, soI was the last person to meet Al, and Al, moving along very quickly, did not stop and pose for a picture with me. But thanks to Monica, I was able to get a couple pictures with Al as he signed an autograph for me.

After we met Al, we ran into Steve yet again, and he asked us if we enjoyed the show, and then we told him we'd see him in Green Bay. We then said goodbye to Jeremy, and met up with Deb and her fiancé again, and went through the DECC out to the parking lot. On our way through, we followed Steve and his friends out to the front, then went to our cars. Monica left a couple minutes later, and Dan and me stayed for about 10 minutes and talked to Deb before we left. Then we called it a night. :)

This was an amazing experience...it was amazing to meet Al and Steve multiple times, and interact with them during the concert. On to Oneida!

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Jared Marker / the27weirdal@yahoo.com