April 30th, Jillians

I can't imagine how much fun a Vegas show would be. I have a feeling we'd all get into a lot of trouble.

I can't wait to hear how the show was. Have a great time everyone.

Next time don't be shy, Travis is such a great guy to talk to!

Yes, they are very approachable and so very nice
#smilieband#

Wow. What a night. I have a few stories to tell from my adventure out west to see Blind Melon and my friends.

From my front door to the venue, my wife and I traveled 1947.27 miles (according to yahoo maps). I have good and bad things to say about the the experience.

The good... Blind Melon was amazing. I mean did you actually think I was going to say anything negative about the band. Seriously? Any way. Musically, they were flawless. Or at least in my very un-professional opinion that is.

O.K. Now that is out of the way.

The bad...

Our journey started at the Fremont Street Experience. Never having been to Vegas, this was a totally cool place to me. Walking up and down the street under that canopy, beer in hand, cigarette in the other. Every walk of life. Many lights. Tons of sounds. I digress. We arrive at Jillian's 5 till 8. The ticket states the show starts at 8. We round the corner to see a line. Not a long line (I'll get back to this) but a line. I for the life of me have never been to a rock and roll show where you weren't able to get into the venue at least an hour prior. The very "friendly" door staff advised me that "Yes, this was the line for the Blind Melon show" (without making eye contact). People in line were cool. The kinds of people you would expect to see at a Blind Melon show. We met some Canadians that traveled to see em. Very nice people. We get into the venue, well after 8 p.m. See a sign stating that no taping is allowed. What?!? Not the bands choice on that I presume. I taped anyway (hee hee). We walk about 50 yards to the left to see a stage set up in what seems like the corner of a small room. It was like, hmmm just set up over there. The beer selection was not very Vegas like. The opening band, Eric Hutchinson, was pretty good. Nothing like Alex Winston in Indy but good. I noticed the crowd was very thin. Very thin. Good for me as I was as close as I wanted to be (video links below). Bad for the band. I would say it was no more then 150 people. Makes me sad. Lack of promotion I would guess. The venue just sucked. The acoustics just weren't right. This place was just not designed for rock concerts. On Sometimes, the organ was way too loud coming out of left side of the stage. At one point in the show, Travis vocally complained about his volume. From what I understand the band was cut off. They played no encore. After they played Time, the show was over. I was floored. No encore! So, the crowd was sparse and they got cut short. Now you would think that the night was ending on a downer. That leads me to...

The Awesome...

The first brief encounter was with Glen. I was in the beer line and whisking past me very quickly was one Glen Graham. He headed to an elevator and disappeared as quickly as he appeared. Right after the show, I located the tour bus behind the venue. Only I didn't really think it was the tour bus. Why? Because there was no mass group of people to see the band (which I am usually accustomed too. Two guys were walking from a loading area with some boxes in their hands. I assumed they were working with the band selling merch. I was wrong. They did however, tell me that it was in fact the bands bus. I rounded up my friends and got them back to the bus. We waited around 10 minutes and I started getting antsy. I started walking down this hallway I know I wasn't really supposed to be in and rounded a corner and standing right there was Glen. I walked up to him, shook his hand and said simply thank you. He wasn't expecting to run into anyone but was gracious and shook my hand and said thank you back. I was stoked about that and turned around and there stood Brad. So, Brad to Brad, I thanked him for getting the band back together, and thanked him for putting out the Abandon Jalopy record. I told him I loved Blowing My Mind. He sang out the chorus to it and we both started laughing. It was just me and him. Really fucking cool guy an even really cooler memory. But it was not over. I run back to the bus and we hang for like 10 minutes with those guys with the boxes I mentioned earlier. Well they were letting me see what was in the boxes (really cool tube amps made from Heineken keg type cans. Um, here: cactustubeamps.com/ ). They wanted to give a few to the band to try out. Chris and Rogers appear from the aforementioned long hallway. What luck huh? We all talk, shake hands, take pictures. Tube amps were drooled over. Email addresses were exchanged. Brad showed back up and hung out. Glen exited the bus and discussed with me and my wife, Nascar, the forum, the shitty sound at the venue, North Carolina. There were only about 10 of us total plus the band just hanging out for like a half an hour. One of the tube amp guys video taped the whole thing (hope that shows up). Travis, from what I understand from one of the tube amp guys, was in a bad mood and went straight onto the bus after the show. He never appeared. My last memory was us walking away and Glen was ahead of us on his cell and he disappeared onto Fremont Street.

All in all, an amazing experience at a shitty venue. After talking with Glen, I don't think they will play there anymore. I hope not. I got two videos. Harmful Belly and Pusher. Links and pictures below. I assume no responsibility for the quality as I was in Vegas and I was happy from beer and smoke. After all, what happens in my head, stays in my head (that was a stretch). The end.

Peace

Brad from Cincinnati




Crummy picture of the poster. Shoulda grabbed one.



The ticket stub.



A sticker I bought for a buck.



Chris talking with the tube amp guys.



Rogers and my boy Douglas and my wife is peeking in there too.



Another one. Still the peeking wife.



Another one with Rogers.



Brad and Brad.



My wife and Brad. That sounds weird.

Note: No pix with Glen as sometimes it's just cool to talk and not take pictures.

Here are the video links. I put em up on youtube.

Pusher



Harmful Belly

Thanks. Two shows in and still no Down on the Pharmacy or Make a Difference. Still got the Cincy show. Fingers crossed.

Peace.

If you were right up front with an equally excited fella, I remember you. We were right behind you to the left. I think my wife kept you verticle a few times. Love the excitement.

Peace.