Fun. F-U-N. Those three little letters describe this show perfectly for me. I really needed this. :-) Since I wasn't planning on seeing the guys until October (!!), I was quite pleased when I learned they'd be at Media Play, a mere one hour drive from my Rochester abode.
I had originally planned to drag my friend Craig with me to this show. But, in fine Craig style, he bailed at the last minute. Fuming and frustrated, I gave a quick call to Jo and Jen. At this point, it was two in the afternoon, and I wasn't expecting things to work out as fast and as well as they did. Got both of them on the phone; we all decided to meet somewhere at four, and then head to Buffalo from there. We all made it to the 'rendezvous point' at nearly the same time, and started the short trek to Buffalo. After some mild traffic problems, we made it to the Media Play in Niagara Falls by 5:30.
The joint was already jumpin'. A stage area was set up, and fans had already staked out valuable floor space. Almost immediately, I started to run into old friends. Jen (a different one :-) and her parents were there, Tom, Laurie, Mike/Kelly/kids, Rosemary (!!), Chris/Moe, old college roomie Jim Ludwig, and many others, whose names and faces escape me at the moment.
After parking my carcass on the floor right in front of the board, I proceeded to talk this poor woman's ear off about the amenities of Fruvous. This was her second time seeing them, and after much cajoling, I think I convinced her to go home, turn off all the lights, and listen to her daughter's 'wood' CD from start to finish (she hasn't heard it at all yet). Chalk up one more point for the little guy.
Moxy came out around 6:30. I would say there were about 300 people there, if not more. The set was great; longer than I expected (little more than an hour), with a bunch of audience interaction, from a shy, young girl (named Kate, apparently) introducing the band, to Spiderman perched atop the customer service desk, to Jian's trivia question which yielded a $4.99 work-out video to the audience member with the correct answer, and culminating in the couple hours of autograph signing after the set.
After the set, the line for autographs never seemed to get shorter. A bunch of us waited patiently; I wanted to say hello to the guys, but they were quite busy. Goofed around with Toby for a bit, talked to Susan Tanner, and saw my old flame Melanie (with her new fiance - heehee). Also chatted with Maureen, Zac, Christine, said a quick hello to Terri (Mike's wife-sp?), and had a blast running around Media Play and goofing off. After taking a bunch of silly photos with those life-size cardboard celebrity cut-outs (the 'item of the week'), Chris Walsh and I decided to make use of the Media Play employee walkie talkies until we were chastised (politely so, however) for our flagrant misuse of company property. Ah well...
Said hello to the guys. They were surprised to see me since I had told them I probably wouldn't be seeing them until October. Things ran pretty late; we didn't end up leaving Media Play till well after nine, close to ten. Chris, Moe, Jo, Jen and I darted to the Ground Round across the street for some much needed food (I hadn't eaten since noon). If I remember correctly, Jo, Jen, and I didn't leave Niagara Falls until about 11:30, making it home to Rochester by 12:30.
What a fun night. It was so great hanging out with the crowd of Rochester fruheads that I've taken so many fru-trips with. Jo and Jen, thanks so much for making this such a great time for me. It felt like I hadn't seen Fruvous in a million years, for whatever reason. It was wonderful seeing everyone again, and hope to see a bunch of you in Burlington next Friday!
*smile*
Some other tidbits from the performance include:
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