How to start......?
First I would like to thank Doug at RundgrenRadio for all his hard work and support of the AWATS tour. Without his enthusiasm and sincere appreciation for Todd and his art, we all may not have been able to be a part of this special moment in Todd's long career. And believe me, as a fan of 33 years, this was a very special evening....
My family and our close friend, Anthony, travelled the coast highway the short distance to the theatre from Santa Barbara early to hopefully meet Todd as we always do before the show. It is an added bonus hearing the sound check and sneaking a peek at the pre-show run through. We were early and pretty much first on line behind Doug's group. A very cool bunch of people... My little son Nicolas (6 years old), wearing one of my 1980 TR tour shirts, made the journey with us in hopes of meeting TR and giving him a very cool small collection of Dunlop Tiki picks which we found for him a couple of weeks ago. We painted handmade wrapping paper for the box, sealed it up with a little card, and were good to go. He also brought along his collage book with his drawing of Todd and colored AWATS imagery and we were prepared...!
Waiting during the rehearsal outside by ourselves, Todd came out and spent some time with us talking about the tour, his family, etc. He really enjoyed the picks, the handmade paper, and Nicolas's drawing... He signed a bunch of stuff, we took photos, smiled, mission accomplished once again. We are never disappointed, as Todd always makes the time to visit and chat a bit with us.. My little son has been beaming for 2 days already and can't wait for his turn at show-and-tell at school. How about that...? Hard to believe... Spent a bit of time with Kas too. Always fun. What an incredible bass player. Does he ever miss a note...? I honestly don't think I have ever witnessed that ...
Camped out stage left of the RundgrenRadio group, we took our positions, and held the front line on the right with fellow Todd fans, Carla, Ron, and Mark. Always fun seeing them and Gail too... Kasim straight ahead with Bobby behind him, then Greg, and Ralph. Excellent location to say the least. The rocking Robert Johnson set was terrific. We'll take that opening act anytime...! Onto the AWATS show and to say we were floored is an understatement. I had a good idea of what we were in for, but it exceeded all we had hoped to experience: the vibe from our group in front of the stage, the comradery, revisiting memories so attached to this record, making new memories, the musicianship, the theatricality, the emotions that spilled out from so many people around us.... It was truly a heartfelt experience for us.
Taking Doug up on his very gracious invite to the after show gathering with the band, my wife and I were able to spend a little time with Greg and talk about his past work with The Cars, and have a couple of Cars albums signed too. Very cool.... A bit more fun with Todd outside with the overflowing fountain of bubbles, one last thank you for the evening and his taking the time with Nicolas, and we were off to Santa Barbara once again. Thanks again to all of you for your part in making this a wonderful experience for all of us and to Todd, Michele, and the band. We are some bunch of fans you know..... :- )
Steve, Dorte, and Nicolas Di Giorgi
Santa Barbara, CA
stevedg@cox.net
