PEEP SHOW!
Rochester, New York - Auditorium Center - 11/12/03

I scored 4th row, directly in front of Steve's mic (just left of center stage), known as "Stage-Steve." This is consistent with past Ladies Room experiences at regular tour shows (4th row, 5th row). Friends of mine, on their first LR attempt, scored second row. Very nice.

During the Q&A session, my friend Janie -- who was sitting next to me -- and my friend's son, Josh, got to ask questions -- Janie asked about what cover songs they would like to record, Josh asked about their worst childhood memory and it was later deemed "the best question on tour." Rawk. It was very cool to have two people I had dinner with before the show get the opportunity to ask questions. I think they only did six questions, total (marriage/kid status, musical influences, and two others I forget).

Cover songs
Jim: "Dance Little Sister" by Terrence Trent D'Arby (he did his dance moves for us)
Ed: "Careless Whisper" by Wham! (woo! ) Their cover of this song is phenomenal.
Ty: "What A Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers, because the lead singer's voice is weird. They then broke into the song.
Steve: "Consider Yourself" from Oliver! which he performed a bit of, cockney accent and all! Amazing. He needs to do Broadway. Seriously.
Kev: Something about Tom Waits doing a cover of Styx's "Babe," prompting Ed to do a Tom Waits impression... but I think he was singing "I Got You, Babe," instead, which was hilarious!

Traumatic memories
Steve went into the audience himself to lend Josh the mic, since The Lord (drum tech and question wrangler Rob "Tiny" Menegoni, dressed up as God) had already returned to the stage for the first song after the Q&A.

Steve: peeing himself
Jim: also peeing himself
Ed: being awakened at 5:30 am by his cat SCREAMING because it got a fishing lure caught in its mouth! It was running all over the house, dragging a fishing pole! Poor kitty!
Ty: shaving his eyebrows when he was eight, which has forever affected the way he looks ("Eyebrows aren't like baby teeth, Tyler... you don't get a second set!" - Ed, I think) He DOES have wacked eyebrows... LOL!
Kev: food poisoning and puking in a bush (done as a blues number)

My two favorite rarities were definitely Great Provider and When You Dream , which Steve wrote for his oldest son, Isaac, whose seventh birthday was yesterday. Awww. And they did Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank acoustic! That was phenomenal. I always love hearing that one live, anyway... acoustic was a bonus! I had hoped for Powder Blue , a stunning B-side, and probably my favorite BNL song. As some know, I had made a sign that said 'Will Juggle 4 Powder Blue," which Steve saw, read, and smiled at, but no dice. Oh well. It was seen, at least.

Security were real jerks. As we came in, the front door folks just said "no PROFESSIONAL photography," but the power-tripping idiots down front kept yelling at people. They must have been disappointed that BNL fans don't mosh, and needed to feel useful somehow. LOL! I never got nailed, and my photos are here.

After the show, we waited outside in the cold and the wind (my god, the wind), and four Ladies came out. Kevin was the only one who stayed inside, and I don't blame him... he'd have been blown to Syracuse! Jim came out first, then Ed, then Steve, then Tyler. Between Ed and Steve, though, Tyler came down the line with a box of baked goods left over from backstage catering, and let us have a snack! That will be my lasting memory of this show! I had a gigundous rice krispie treat with a layer of chocolate in it. My husband had two chocolate chip cookies. Stuff like this is what makes me such a devoted fan... they're great musicians, but they're even greater human beings. They really, really care about their devoted fans.

The only Ladie I got my picture taken with was Steve, because my last attempt in Syracuse failed so miserably... and... well, it's STEVE! *swoon* I know I am going to look like hell in the picture... the wind was NOT kind to me. But I touched shoulders with Steve for the pic. LOL!

I got both Ed and Steve to sign my copy of Bucknaked (their first demo tape, circa 1989, when the band was JUST Ed and Steve). Ed said, "Wow, old school! I think Steve and I folded those inserts ourselves!" That prompted me to take the actual tape out, and ask him who wrote on the actual tape label. He took one glance and immediately said, "Definitely Steve." So there, one mystery solved!

So, you can imagine I had a pretty dandy time!