We didn't get "Cliché" or "Too Far Gone", two of my faves, but that's how it goes.
He really was great. The cool thing for me was actually getting an autograph. A bunch of us were waiting out front for him to come out, then my friend, Todd, who's been a fan as long as I have, said " Well, when I play here, I load in from the back, so let's check that out." Surely enough, we went to the back and came onto the tail end of Todd signing autographs. A van with NJ plates was running with a very bored looking sound guy (he reminded me of the assistant in "An American Movie") behind the wheel. The coolest thing was that a poor street woman with nary a tooth in her mouth asked for an autograph on a napkin and Todd gave it to her, treating her with dignity. He asked her name, and she gave her full name, and he said, in a funny, but not snide way " All I need i your first name, I'm not writing you a check." Then a guy came up with the CD insert of the first Utopia album and 8 actual albums ("Deface The Music" was on top), and Todd said "I can't autograph all of those, I have to get to this restaurant before it closes." He made sure that the Utopia insert was the most important thing to the guy, then he did an elaborate autograph.
I got the last autograph of the night, he asked is your name "Frank", I said no, "Craig" he asked how to spell it and autographed my ticket. I asked about November, and he didn't seem aware that he's going to be at the Birchmere on 11/4. He said that they haven't hit the West Coast yet.
It's such a thrill to finally, after 31 years, actually get to say something to your hero, and have him be gracious (plus get a cool autograph).
He's definitely one of a kind, and deserving of all of our worship.
