PT.23
MSG was on my mind too, so I left the Apollo and headed back to MSG to pick up my ticket. When I approached MSG, I noticed a street vendor selling "Kanye sunglasses" for 10 bucks. Then another one. And another one. That's when, to my horror, I found out that Kanye was in the house that night. The first thing that crossed my mind was the "NO guests please" thread, and the fact that Kanye's show was the night before the finale, made it possible that he would once again appear onstage, spitting shit-ass rap, effectively lobotomizing the show. Thank all that is good that it didn't come to pass that way. Otherwise there might have been a barrage of CHA rocks instead of inflatables being hurled at the stage. It would have ruined the show. Kanye frankly blows.
I got my ticket, and was elated to see "ROW 1 section 111". I originally had a pit ticket, but gave it back because I wanted more of my fellow Nutters to have a un-obstructed woookie-less view of the stage.(< not true....I just love fucking with you guys.)
I knew the next day would be a long one. I had to leave for the airport at 2am right after the finale, then fly all day and work that same night, so I decided to crash early. I was just about to pass out when this guy calls me and insisted that I come to the Irish pub and down pints with him and some others. It's Dermot, and I hadn't met him yet, so I couldn't pass that up. Dermot wears his heart on his sleeve (a quality I like), he's a good natured person, and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to hang with him.
At the Irish pub were a bunch of familiar faces again; Bella (man, that chick is everywhere!), Chatchka, Roger, Takeshi to name a few.
A Japanese ambassador and a wookie:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29096307@N05/2809285624/
We imbibed until about 3am, then I went back to the hotel and crashed out right up until checkout time.
Then the next day came The Tic Toc diner breakfast. This was the cafe that was part of my hotel. I hadn't been on the web, so I didn't even know that it was the designated Nutter gathering place! What a coincidence! I just went down to grab a quick breaky and lo and behold there's a table full of legendary Nutters! When I first sat down it was Moe & Kel, copelandgirl5, Conroy, Dive, and PDXracer showed up soon after:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29096307@N05/2808454463/
Then we all took turns signing different things:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29096307@N05/2809104081/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29096307@N05/2809098865/
I had to share this hysterical moment: Conroy enjoying his own comedy while he's signing Sally's ~~~~~~:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29096307@N05/2809953298/
Then tons more Nutters showed up. SuperCat, Smudge, Hannah, EQ & VTfan (that pic is posted on page 1of this thread) to name a few. I really enjoyed meeting all whom I did, but I truly regret not having more time to mingle with everyone.
I checked out of the hotel, and checked my pack in the hotel's check-in area. But I kept my passport and flight info on me just in case something screwed up with my luggage so I could still make it home.
The pre-show gathering was at Fat Annies, but I really wanted to squeak my way into the soundcheck. So I hung out at the entrance for that. We very nearly made it in, too. The soundcheck had started at 5, and it was 5:10, and we noticed that there still a big bundle of laminates that hadn't been picked up yet. Those were worth 10K each, and there were at least 10 sitting there. Over 100k worth, going unused. A real travesty. "Happens all the time. This is New York" is what we were told. The lady in control of the passes really did try for us. She made phone calls, got on the radio, went to talk to people but to no avail. She said that if it wasn't a charity concert, she would have been able to give us the passes. But since some people (like Takeshi) had just shelled out 10 grand, and then you were to get in for free, some folks would be really pissed. And understandably so. 10k is a lot of dough. You could get a SC Signature Kit for that much. So we gave up, and headed to the gathering place inside the building. I'd been lucky as fuck all week, and thought I could run the table. Ah well, it was worth a shot.
TO BE CONTINUED...(only one more part. I promise)
I don't wanna work, I just wanna bang on the drums all day.