So all day, all I kept thinking was "It's the show tonight. It's the show tonight. Will the tickets really be there? Gary said they would be. Cathy said they would be. What if they're not? What if we're late and they don't let us in? What if we get lost and can't find the theatre? What if the tickets aren't there?"

So that was my day at work. Extremely productive, as I'm certain is obvious. The thing is, Nik normally works until 9p, and I figured that the latest we should leave was 7.30p, and we left at 7.40p, by which time I was having hysterics.

Quiet ones, but hysterics nonetheless.

The thing is that normally I am late for everything, and have a pretty cavalier attitude towards the whole thing, so when it matters for me to be somewhere on time I practically have a stroke what with the tension over the whole thing. I grew at least seven ulcers last night, baby...

Nik was being very sensible over the whole thing, as I gnawed on the back of the seat in the cab, saying "We have ten minutes! And besides, concerts never start on time!" but all I could remember was the Billy Bragg/Robyn Hitchcock concert I went to in '96 that actually started EARLY, so I knew that I couldn't count on the normal musician tardiness.

So we got to Town Hall, and I, shivering, sweating and wild-eyed, asked for my tickets at the window and...

They were there. It was fine, of course! And we sat down in our seats and the show started like fifteen minutes late so of course there was nothing to worry about, but you never know, maybe it was my frenzied worrying that made it all okay! Never doubt the power of negative thinking, that's what I always say.

Okay, now I am going to attempt to interpret my notes:

Act I

1. It's Money That I Love

People clapped at the intro, and Randy commented "This could be about 8 different songs that I've written!" Then, during the piano solo "One of the worst solos in rock and roll history!" One lone fanatic soul kept trying to clap along, but the throngs resolutely refused to join in. Sensible throngs.

2. Old Man

He started telling a story, then started playing this song, insisting that he wasn't going to play the whole thing, since the song was such a downer, but he ended up finishing it. "You write these songs in the third person, and then you find out they're about you."

3. Last Night I Had a Dream
4. Marie
5. Short People

Telling a story about his father, he mentioned playing the Universal Amphitheater, then, looking around the not sold out (!!!) fairly intimate theatre space, made this downward motion with his hand, saying "It's been a steady arc since. I'll be playing in a phone booth on 48th St. next!"

6. The Girls In My Life Pt. 1

Before this song, he said that for the past ten years he had been working on a song cycle, beginning with The Girls in My Life, rather like Schubert and Brahms had. During the song he threw in "Schubert WISHES he could have written this!"

Afterwards, he talked a bit about his film music, as this was ostensibly part of a film music festival, mentioning the Pleasantville score, and A Bug's Life, and that he has a song in the Babe sequel. "I think Mozart would have done the same, had he been given the opportunity"

7. Karl, The World Isn't Fair

This time through, the line that struck me as hilarious was:

If Marx were living today
He'd be rolling around in his grave

8. I Miss You

Another song from the new album. "A song for first wives and first husbands, and it's an enormously malicious thing to do." An extremely moving song. I'm looking forward to singing it.

9. You Can Leave Your Hat On

"Really touching and powerful at the same time!"

10. You've Got a Friend in Me
11. A Wedding Cherokee County

He claimed that it was originally his take on a traditional Albanian wedding song. This is hilarious live--the line "She'll laugh at my mighty sword/She'll laugh at my mighty sword/Why must everyone laugh at my mighty sword!" line was so funny, Nik practically choked.

12. Living Without You

"One more and we'll take a break--I gotta go shoot up. O, did I say that out loud? You know, when you get older..."

13. Political Science

Intermission--Jim Foley found me and Nik, and suggested that we try to get backstage afterwards. I nervously agreed.

Act II

1. Dixie Flyer
2. In Germany Before the War

I gotta tell you, I love Randy and I love this song, but the time is coming where he might want to take it in a slightly lower key...

3. Burn On
4. Rednecks
5. My Country

Another great new one, about watching TV rather than communicating with your family. He was worried about remembering the words, and said "If I get this wrong, the reviewers will crucify me! But that happened to Cats, and now look at it! Actually, I was hoping that a couple of derelicts would stumble in, thinking this was Cats!"

6. Louisiana 1927
7. Baltimore

Instead of "Drunk lyin' on the sidewalk, sleepin' in the rain", he mis-sang the lyric, then stopped and repeated, with disgust in his voice: "Drunk lyin' on the fucking sidewalk, waiting for a train?"

8. I Love to See You Smile

"You know why the Oscars are so shitty? 'Cause I'm singing on them every other year! Menken doesn't have to sing his own songs!"

9. I Just Want You to Hurt Like I Do
10. The Great Nations of Europe

Another new one. At this rate, the new album will be old by the time I get it! Not that I'm complaining. This was a really funny song about genocide. No, really!

11. new song

ANOTHER new song! I was getting spoiled as old milk, baby. This one was about being a big fat liar, and I was asked not to reveal the title, 'cause it would spoil the joke.

12. Birmingham

He TOTALLY messed up this song, getting it mixed up with the last one in his head and utterly forgetting the second verse, but through sheer determination and help from the audience, he got through it! It was great.

13. God's Song
14. I Love LA
15. Love Story
16. Mama Told Me Not to Come
17. Feels Like Home

The one I was hoping for. He started badly, then stopped, saying "That was Bonnie Raitt's key, not mine!"

18. Sail Away

And that was it. But the audience would not rest without more!

Encores

19. Lonely at the Top
20. Davy the Fat Boy
21. I Think It's Going to Rain Today

We met up with Jim and he took charge of the whole getting backstage thing. We approached this absolute harpy who screeched at us:

"You gotta have a white slip! If you don't have a white slip, you can't go backstage! Do you have white slips?"
"No, but..."
"Then you can't go backstage!!"
"But can't you ask him? Can't you tell him that Jim and Kymm are here?"
"WHO'S Jim? WHO'S Kymm?"
"Umm, I'm Jim and this is Kymm."
"I don't know you!"
"But he does!"

So she stuck us out in the alley and went up to find out. By the way, the entire exchange above was between Jim and the harpy, I didn't say a word, and were it up to me I would have just gone home.

Anyway, we stood out in the alley, listening to jackhammers and watching roadies cart out a really astonishing amount of sound equipment for just one man and one piano, centuries went by, the second ice age came and went, and finally, grudgingly, we were ushered backstage.

And Randy was sweet as pie, and stood around talking to the three of us for absolutely ages. The best bit was when, in talking about the new album, he mentioned a song that he did not perform onstage, asked me not to reveal the title, and then, get this, SANG us a verse!

Now that's cool.

We did not outstay our welcome, I think, and he kissed me again and we all said goodnight, then went out and chatted with Cathy for a bit. I was joking about how hard it was to get backstage, and she said "But you had passes! They were with your tickets!"

I may just be the stupidest person who has ever lived.

And I remembered seeing them in my envelope three hours before, thinking "What are those slips of paper that are not tickets?" and completely forgetting about it. Thank goodness for Jim, for as he said, had I gone home without trying to get backstage and found them then I would have been, um, somewhat miffed.

But I appreciated getting backstage more, 'cause it was so hard! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Today's horoscope:
Feelings of love build slowly and gradually. Nurture that growth with positive attention.

One year ago today:
"It's a meat cookie!"

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Last Updated Wed 11 November 09:08:09 1998