TEMPLEOFAERO.COM/KIMBOPERRY
AEROSMITH "O, YEAH!" TOUR CONCERT REVIEW
VERIZON WIRELESS AMPHITHEATER - CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
OCTOBER 8, 2002

The Author, kimboperry
Memoir from BBS.TEMPLEOFAERO.COM

THE TEASER...

The Charlotte show was awesome

Steven looked deliciously awesome

And...

Joe Perry IS awesome!

Wait till I tell you what happened...


POST I: The Morning After

Okay I'm up! That's the first time I've slept 8 hours in weeks. (Hey it took me eight hours to chase Joe Perry around in my dreams )

Okay so where to start??? I got there with no problem around 4:15. Well minor problem of missing an exit but I recovered it with a little Steve McQueen stunt-double-driving technique I learned from Tony.

I went to the box office as soon as I got there but no luck. There was nothing else available. There were several people who were hunting around for tickets. I offered my one leftover ticket for sale, but most people were looking for pairs and turned it down. One really young girl (no kidding, she looked to be about 12) offered to buy it but then she said, "I'm just here for Kid Rock, I think Aerosmith sucks really." So I turned HER down just based on principle alone!

But my seat (or seats as it were! ) wasn't bad. In fact it was great really. Section 1, turned out to be tenth row, my seats were on the inside aisle. Which later turned out to be wonderful in more ways than one.

Let me add that I wished that I could have taken one of you guys with me. Mysti, Roni, Catherine I know we're all within commute of each other. Roni I could probably walk to your house, right? But my sister (The Knucklehead) waited until about an hour before I wanted to leave to call me up and say that she wouldn't be going. Here I'm thinking she's in route to my place and she's sitting at home. I won't even go into her reasons really... okay well let's just say it had something to do with her husband and his wishes. So the likelihood of anybody being ready to jump in a car and drive to Charlotte was pretty slim. Especially it being on a Tuesday, middle of the day... some of ya have small kids to think about... work... I'm so insane I scheduled two days off work just for this day. Talk about obsession!

Okay on with the good stuff. MusT came on at 7pm. There were hardly anybody in seats at all. But let me just say it didn't phase these guys. They came out ready to rock and boy did they ever!!! FANTASTIC! I can't say enough about this band!!! They were so loud and raunchy!! In appearance they were all dressed in mostly black, quite Goth looking. They appeared to be quite short, especially the lead singer who reminded me somewhat of Angus Young in that respect. He was WILD, with really long hair! He wore a black hat with a white tank t-shirt on... and some kind of high-waisted, long black... skort looking thing and huge combat boots! It was great! They ROCKED in a major way! They are an excellent live band, full of kick ass energy. I can't remember all of their set but I do remember some. It was short, they only played about 30 min. They opened with Heartbreaker (God I love that song!), then did One Night Stand, Bubblegum Sleaze, No Way Out (I think??) and Freechild. There were probably one or two more that I just can't remember. I was writing the setlist down on a tiny piece of paper but something happened to it later in the night. Sordid details are coming.

But I have to emphasize...anybody who is lucky enough to see MusT... must go and see them. If they're opening your Aero show, don't miss them! They are FANTASTIC! I saw Tony Perry standing at the side of the stage while they were playing and he was clearly enjoying himself! Okay I'm gonna post this and work on the next post which will be mostly about Kid Rock's set.


POST II: His Name is Kid... Kid Rock!

Kid Rock... what can I say? It was my first time seeing him play live. The seats in the pavillion were filling up fast now, but still a lot of holes. I had nobody sitting next to me...well besides the empty seat...nobody was even sitting beyond that one yet.

Even at tenth row, I could feel the heat from Kid's pyro. He was amazing as usual. He wore all red. Red tank, red pants and was of course looking yummy. He put on a running, jumping, pimping, crotch grabbing show that was GREAT. It was a mix of rock, rap and country music that was quite unique. He was definitely LOUD and the pyro... let me say that this pyro scared me. It seemed like at any moment the stage curtains might go up in flames. Several times, I swear I felt the top of my head tingle. (was a little worried about the possibility of flammable hair products! )

His fans are so... raunchy is the only word I can think of. God they were so loud, THEY made my eardrums vibrate more than the freakin' music!! Lots and lots of testosterone was floating around in the audience from the stage in this back and forth kind of vibe. They were hyped up and then Kid practically whipped them into a frenzy. It was like throwing raw steaks to hungry rotweilers! And there was literally guys behind me barking like dogs... BIG dogs!

Okay let me not forget to say something about Kid Rock's dancers. Two females on either side of the stage, in some kind of cage type things, dancing around poles. They were tall, leggy girls. Really pretty with the kind of figure most women would kill for. Two of them were dressed in tight spandex looking jumpsuits with lots of cut out holes. The other two were in black two piece outfits. I am describing this to all you guys on this board who "suffer" constantly with our lusty Aerosmith moments. These girls were "hot" yes, but I did get a little sick of one of them. She was probably the one with the most ass and yes she was beautiful. But she had pulled down her pants to reveal her micro g-string and then proceeded to continuously BEND over showing her ass to the audience. She bent over so far, I swear, even from my row, you could see much more than was truly necessary if you get my drift. Of course the guys loved it and yes I know that if Joe Perry walked out wearing a guitar and a g-string I'd go nuts too. I'm not knocking her but I have to just say that after the TWENTIETH gynecological view of her I was just ready for her to move on to another dance routine. One of the crew finally walked out from backstage and put money in her g-string! Anyway, Kid Rock exited the stage leaving the curtains in tact and the audience unburned though I swear the front row must have been slightly singed.

Something I really liked about Kid Rock was his attitude. He did such a combination of music that really fit together into his own style. And he did it with this attitude of "if you don't like it, get the fuck out. He didn't say that but it was obvious in his body language that's how he felt. He even did a little "Motown" for a lady in the front row. I'm drawing a blank as to the name of the song... but it was like... a Supremes song I think. He just threw in whatever moved him, and rocked it to shreds in his own style. At one point, he had circled his entire band, playing everybody's instruments then going to the turntables. I didn't know that he could play drums but apparently he can cause he ripped into them like nobody's business!

Okay here's the BAD NEWS! Right now in my time zone its 3:11 pm. I have to go for awhile cause I have some serious errands to run that I can't normally do unless I'm lucky to be off work. When I get back, I'm gonna post all about the Aero part of the night, I PROMISE! I don't mean to leave you hanging, honestly but its a time situation. I promise it'll be worth the wait. Be Back Soon!!!!


POST III: Aerosmith Takes the Stage

I'm back! Roni's right about the freakin' traffic here. I got caught in a deadlock coming back home. Then the cats wanted dinner... the phone rings...all the usual home stuff.

But here is the best part of last night: The Aero Part!

Kid played for about an hour and a half, maybe less. Then it seemed to take awhile for them to clear his stuff away. He has a lot of stuff! But soon there was the appearance of aero-ness on stage...the amps, the amp decor...etc. (Joe has decreased his amp decor) It was funny looking at the equipment, seeing Tom's, Brad's...then on Joe's side this MONSTER WALL of amps towering over theirs! Speaking of amps, Joe was using Marshals again with a few smaller of those Gibson's he used last tour sandwiched between them. And I don't know if that made a difference but they were LOUDER than before. I saw a couple of times when it seemed that Steven's voice got lost in the sound and Joe would go over to them and fiddle around, make motions just slightly off stage. I'm assuming that's where the sound guys were. There was no side pit area for them. The stage in Charlotte actually appears to be smaller than the one in Raleigh, but I might be wrong about that. I know the venue holds like 18,000 people and it was sold out!

***Personal Note: I make no claims to knowing much about the technical aspect of the music. I can't tell you about the specs of anything except for in what I saw, heard and how it made me feel. So bear with me when I stumble through parts of it.

Then so the house lights go out, a curtain... kind of silvery blue or gray or smoky white I think, drops. After a moment, you can see their silhouettes. I saw Joe Perry's silhouette and just flipped. And when the curtain was dropped, they went straight into Toys in The Attic. Immediately I noticed the volume was roof blowing!! There was also another difference, I guess, an added depth or dimension to the sound. It was kind of like, looking back I could hear the progression as each of the bands took the stage. MusT was great, awesome...but Kid's sound was a little different, a little more...(loss for words) meaty I guess is a good term. With Aerosmith the difference was like night and day. I guess its the level of experience and the professionalism and maybe more expensive equipment. Maybe its just Joe Perry's amps!

Let me try to remember everybody's clothes. Steven wore tight white pants that showed all of his assets. I mean, he had the bulge of at least two men! He wore a tight sleeveless shirt with a brown and black exotic print on it. I remember seeing his shoes were black with gold laces and he was wearing absolutely no socks. I can't say for sure what was beneath the pants! Tom wore a blue t-shirt and I think... red pants? Or maybe denim blue. Brad wore black pants and shoes and a red jacket for most of the show. When he took it off finally, he was wearing a tight black long sleeve knit shirt beneath it. I'm sorry to say that I can't remember what Joey was wearing. He could have been naked behind the drums for all I know. Once my eyes fell on Joe... oh Joe! Joe wore that black silk shirt...the one that shows off his arms. It was open to his waist. Of course there were the bling-bling pants. They had new bling on them...beads that were draped across one of his back pockets, long enough to swing slightly. He had on the jacket with the flames. His hair was shorter, but still hung down in his face some. Just not the way it had been earlier in the tour. It looked a little damp... in a couple of places, like he had just washed it. (Ooooh... Kimbo imagines Joe in the shower..) Ahem, well that's the fashion report!

I'm gonna post this now and continue in another post. Don't worry I'm not leaving this time till its done!


POST IV: Sweet Emotion

Okay I want you all to know that I was thinking of you! I had a little piece of paper that I was writing the setlist down on as they played. You know, abbreviated initials that probably only I could understand. That piece of paper became MIA...or rather SIA (stolen in action) but then I'm getting ahead of myself in the story...

They did Toys, Back In The Saddle, Same Old Song and Dance, LOTEdge... it was all great! Musically they rocked them to the floor and then shredded them into little burning pieces. They all seemed to be in fantastic spirits and looked to be having fun. They were all moving around (except Joey of course ) onstage. Tom came out to play on the edges and up the ramps that bordered the far corners of the stage on BOTH sides. Even Brad who usually remains feet locked into place came over to the middle of Joe's side of the stage. Of course Steven was Everywhere. Joe I think only made it to center stage BUT that's not to say he didn't ShakeItLikeShakira! He had all these Chuck Berry/Elvis Presley moves and was practically humping the damn guitar. It was amazing! And can I say that in one inspired moment when Joe pulled the guitar away from his body and thrust it upward toward the sky... well let's just say that Demon of Screamin' isn't the only one carrying the Big Ten Inch I guess. That thing could have hurt someone! Or at least SHOULD have! So here's to the Joe Perry Penis, making yet another SOLID appearance for the masses! And may he COME to Raleigh...

Sweet Emotion. I have to discuss this song. We all know and feel what this song does to us. Steven may have written it to get back at Elissa but it has one hot sexy groove to it! When they started it, Joe wasn't quite ready yet and had to play catch up. He kinda shot Steven a "look" but he didn't appear to be mad. They rocked this song really hard. Then came time for... you guessed it: Amp Sex. And it was beyond belief. I had seen Jim Survis put out some piece of equipment before the song started. I have NO CLUE what it was. It was a small black thing on a stand... kinda like a VCR on long legs. I know, try not to laugh too hard at me. I don't know what this was. But at the end of the song, Joe walks over to the amps, begins the LOVING...moves over to this piece of equipment which is beside the amps and touches it... then he pulls his hand back and begins to make these sexy spanking motions to it. You can tell he's doing it on purpose, slow and over exaggerated. The way he's standing and doing his thing to the guitar and then smacking this piece of equipment...Do you get the picture? I mean, "Who's Your Daddy?" (smack! the guitar is wailing and grinding away. (then again, smack!) Joe had his back completely turned to the audience. It was like some extremely private moment that we were witnessing! So he gets really into it! And its like everything else onstage just stopped! They're all watching him! Brad is grinning, Steven is practically salivating over by the drums. (you could see his expression clear as day projected onto the screen) Tom had this kind of cute open mouthed look like he had just seen Joe sprout another head. Then he looked at Steven and grinned. Meanwhile Joe had stopped spanking the Unknown Equipment and moved back to the center of Amp Mountain and stood in front of the little Gibson's and finished it all off with this wild array of noise and thrusting and humping and jumping... yes jumping up toward like he couldn't get close enough to the amps or the guitar. Then he broke free and the band finished up the song. That guitar probably had to smoke a cigarette afterward.

Okay here's a post and I'm gonna work on more.


POST V: What It Takes

They played What It Takes...Brad came over to play with Joe. And Joe's solo was just screaming! Seriously he made the damn thing cry it was sooo good! You know, I read a lot about Brad and how he's under appreciated which may be largely true. HOWEVER, Brad watches Joe a lot while they're playing and he seems to truly "get off" on watching Joe "getting off". Know what I mean? Its like he feeds off that energy and transforms it back into his own kind of magic.

I haven't talked much about Steven. I've left him out but not on purpose! Joe just captures a great chunk of my attention. But Steven was running around, shaking his hair, grinning, laughing, swinging the microphone and reaching down into the audience. He was from one side of the stage to the other. At the end of What It Takes, he says to the audience, "You like that one? Do you know the words to this one?" Then the band goes into Rats In The Cellar which was extended to this really long jam. Steven really enjoyed himself during all of this, like he got lost in the groove of the song. He was actually like a man possessed by joy, riding a musical wave. The jam kind of went around and gave each of them a spotlight. Brad was truly HOT during this song. He gave it everything he had. Then Joe Perry picked up the remnants and played it into the floor until it was just one long, sweet, hot memory! That's when Steven asked the lawn audience if they were ready! "You ready for us to come out? We're coming!"

I must stop and collect myself before I write about their walk to the lawn stage. I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. Be back in a second...


POST VI: Close Encounters of the Perry Kind

Okay... (deep breath)

Uh oh, forgot to tell you about the nasty hairy-backed intoxicated humping people who had made their way into my row. Since they play a role in the whole Walk To The Lawn Story...I must quickly tell you of them.

Funny thing is I knew one of them. Doubt he remembers me. He's a cardiac surgeon at a local hospital I used to work at when I did phlebotomy awhile back. A real arrogant loser who sees himself as a Love God. Drives a convertible, wears sunglasses around the hospital...etc. You've seen the type. Well he shows up about 1/4 into Aerosmith's act and don't know if those were even his seats cause he played musical seats around the area, each time, someone showing up and causing he and he EXTREMELY intoxicated date to move. I mean she was so drunk or stoned that she could barely stand up. She came in riding on his back. I recognized him and just rolled my eyes. He is a true ass in every sense of the word. So they began in the row in front of me...ended up in my row, two seats down from me. They arrive with another couple and while they're in front of me its like some horny drunken lick-fest. The doctor, I'll refer to as "Homer" as in Simpson...based on his genuine uncultured ignorance. His date I'll call Intoxica. This is just for your reference cause it gets kinda like Twister. They were humping, grinding, licking, touching and feeling each other. Homer and Intoxica. I mean the first thing that Homer did was rip off his shirt and show his hairy back as he air-humps the drunken Intoxia who positions herself directly in front of him. I don't have a problem with sensuality but let me just say that there was nothing sexy or sensual or even remotely appealing with their display. It was tasteless and disgusting like dog sex in an alley. And he kept grabbing the ass of his friend's date. And she kept stroking his hairy back!! YICK!! And Oh God!! I was blinded further when Homer began to lick his own nipples during the intro to Sweet Emotion. Thank God Joe Perry dominates my memory!

And speaking of Joe Perry...

I was right on the aisle. I was all prepared to watch them drift by like gods from Olympus. I watched Joe put back on his jacket to go out. (he had taken it off like second song I think) Security is running up and down the aisle, clearing people who had drifted into it. So they all go into commando mode and form the human barrier around the band. But there weren't as many forming this barrier as I've seen in the past. Still, up the aisle they come... I see Steven and I just can't breathe. Some girl on the other side is talking to him so he doesn't look my way but he's like inches from me. There was a glow on his skin...the way the light bounces off of it. He just drips glamour and sex. I could hear him BREATHING in and out. He was glorious and in his passing, a sudden calm fell over me that put everything else in slow motion. Noises dimmed. But I breathed in...and I could smell Vanilla. There was the distinctive smell of Vanilla in the air with a hint of a very masculine spice. I've heard Patchouli mentioned before in reference to Steven and I believe that's what it was or at least something very close. But it was subtle...and the vanilla was stronger. Then came Brad, Tom who were smiling and speaking to people. I think Tom was cracking jokes but I couldn't clearly make out what he was saying. Then I saw HIM.

Joe Perry. I saw Joe Perry and he was inching his way down the aisle getting closer to me. Closer, closer...my knees locked. Then there he was.

He was like INCHES from me. I can't truly express how that moment affected me. I held my breath and remained perfectly still (like ET did when he hid in the stuffed animals). I just felt like if I moved I was gonna wake up or he would run or disappear. (Wise advice to carry Tic Tacs in your pocket in case of such encounters! Luckily I did!) And he is Beyond Beautiful. He is absolutely beyond any words. I don't know how I will describe him anymore in stories because I don't know those words. They haven't been invented yet. His skin is like velvet... poreless and smooth. I've never ever seen skin like that except on him. Is he flawless? He just very well may be. And then it happened...

I have to take a moment here and jump up to settle myself down... be right back...


POST VII: Contact

Somewhere up at the front of this group of gods, someone stopped. I could hear Steven talking to someone and making kiss-y sounds. I guess they all stopped so Steven could kiss some lucky lady. Just so happened that they stopped with Joe Perry right fuckin' in front of me... and since the guards weren't ringed as tight, there were gaps...and there was a gap between their heads right in front of me. And that's where Joe Perry stood, right in the crosshairs of that gap.

And the earth began to spin. The air here was different, so breathable... so electrified and so sweet. There was a breeze through the amphitheatre... coming across them straight to me. And I breathed in deeply. It made my eyes kinda roll back. I still can't interpret the smell exactly. And yeah I guess it could have been security... except for what happened later that let me know it was truly Joe.

That breeze ruffled through his hair... just like my fingers wanted to. It MADE my fingers itch... and twitch...and suddenly they were moving... Afterwards I couldn't believe I did it and I had to sit down for a moment. But I reached out slowly, not forceful or grabby, but slowly... and gently touched him.

Yes you read right. I touched HIM. Security acted like they didn't see me. (I thought about the Star Wars scene that Tori mentioned in an earlier post! "You don't see me touching Joe." "We don't see you touching Joe.") But Joe knew. He knew the INSTANT I touched him.

Up until that second, he had not necessarily been looking away, but he didn't look anybody directly in the eyes. He looked friendly and he nodded several times to people. But then there was me. I broke through and touched him. And his eyes immediately looked my way.

So now we're standing there kinda eye to eye. He didn't look mad at all. But it alarmed me and I took my hand away and literally smacked my own hand with the other and said, "Bad hand.." really softly. I kinda looked down, then kept my chin down but looked back up at him, biting my lower lip. He was trying not to smile then he broke into an enormous grin that was like...sunshine.

And then he tilted his head slightly and winked at me.

God!! I almost died. I actually could have used an inhaler right at that moment because it was difficult to breathe in.

Then the group started moving again and in an instant he had moved beyond me. I had to sit down. I was shaking like a leaf and couldn't stop. My fingers tingled where I had touched him. I watched the lawn performance from where I sat. I could see it on the big screen. They did Big 10 Inch, Dream On and Love In An Elevator. They rocked that tiny stage! Then they were headed back.

Now what were the odds that they'd head back down the same aisle? Well they did...

Just wait, it gets better...


POST VIII: The Return

At all the shows I've been to, I've never seen them take the same path back to the main stage. But I guess I just got lucky. Really lucky. It'll never ever happen again, I can pretty much surmise that!

Anyway, they get in the huddle to come back. Then I see security sweeping down through my aisle again. I heard somebody yell, "They're coming back this way again!!" And they didn't waste time getting back under the cover where the seats were. It had started misting rain outside and it was freakin' cold! I'm not a cold natured person and so if I'm cold, I know that someone else is probably Freezing!!

Anyway, they are making their way back down. Weird thing was I did not see Steven and yet he appeared onstage. I don't know if he clicked his heels together and said, "There's no place like the main stage..." or what. But I didn't see him come back down. Maybe he did and I was just DISTRACTED by Joe Fucking Perry! That's probably what happened because come to think of it, all I remember is Joe coming down and yet I know the others had to have been there. At just a few feet away, maybe within a long arm's stretch, Joe looked dead in my eyes and kinda smiled, gave me an upward nod of his chin.

Well, enter Homer and Intoxica into the picture. They had already moved into my row and were humping and frolicking again. They were pushing up against another guy, who had moved over to the empty seat next to me and now he was pushing me out into the aisle. It was all I could do to stay back. Just as Joe got within arms reach of me, Intoxica fell off the seat she was standing on and like dominoes the guy behind me fell forward. And I lost my grip on the seat and fell forward.

Not hard, but like a stumble. I stumbled into the nastiest acting security guard on the planet who practically snarled at me. He said something profane and I had already steadied myself and was backing off but he took his hand and shoved me back really hard. Ladies you know that kind of hollow spot where as it curves down from your shoulder toward your armpit on one side and further down is your breast? He caught me right there and shoved hard. I actually have a bruise there. But somebody said something to him.

It was Joe Perry. Again Joe Fuckin Perry. He watched the whole thing. I remember seeing his eyes get wide as I stumbled forward. I wasn't in any danger of hitting him cause he was still further back from me. And this all happened so fast... I don't know if he touched the security guard, I saw his hand move toward him. Plain as day, I heard him say to this guy really sharp and quick: "Hey cut that shit out!" And he looked pissed. The guard shut up what was going to be a bunch of expletives at me. Again this all happened so fast really, but the next second Joe was right there at me and stopped. I could barely look away from his eyes but I did see his hand move down his body and make a jerking motion. Next thing you know, he touches my hand and takes it just for a second into his. He squeezed it gently in a kind of tight grasp. And I felt something hard in between our palms...

**Must go get tissue... right back...


POST IX: The Gift, and The Atrocity

He had actually jerked a piece of bling...a very short silvery strand of thread with a few beads and glitter on it... and put them in my hand. He squeezed my hand gently and gave me a big smile. A sweet smile. A genuine kick ass sweeet smile and his eyebrows did a little arch/wrinkle that gave his whole face the expression of such... well, it was tenderness. I can't find another word for it. It was like a genuine, friendly, sweet tenderness. I know it sounds corny but its what I saw.

And he held on for a second...and then let go. But he did so gradually as he walked away. He let his arm hang back a bit as he gave me a final grasp. He was looking back as he did this and then after his fingers fell away from mine... he glanced back a second time. Still smiling. I could have died. I think I did die. I think that I died went to heaven at that precise moment.

But again, enter Homer and Intoxica. Or just simply Intoxica herself. Someone--which turned out to be her--grabbed me from behind and grabbed at what was in my hand. I remember yelling at her and twisting away but she pulled my hand toward her and literally pried my fingers from the piece of bling. I couldn't really get at her to fight because the poor guy between us was caught there. Behind her, Homer is going, "Get it honey, get it! Whoo Hoo that's my girl! Yee HA!"

Well the bitch got it, scratching up my arm. I turned to her, looked at the guy between us and I said to him, "You'd better duck!" He hit the floor in a crouch and I swung at her, grabbed for her hand. She pulled her hand away and all I got was a handful of her really long hair, which I yanked out! Then she laughs at me...LAUGHS AT ME and throws the piece of bling back over her shoulder into the air...forever gone! At that point she lunged at me and that's when one of the security guards came and pulled her out of the seats and escorted her out. I mean, she had been bugging everybody all night anyway! But my Joe Bling was gone... I looked for it later but never found it. Also at the end of the show, I had a chance to speak with the Big Guy who...is he Joe's bodyguard? But I don't wanna skip over the rest of the show.

Guys I'm sorry this is taking so long. I'm just trying to give as many details as possible because I'm so full of emotion about the whole thing. The rest of the show was of course unbelievable. They came back and did I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing, Rag Doll, Janie's Got A Gun, Jaded, Pink...

The Billie guitar made an appearance for IDWTMAT and Pink. During Rag Doll, Joe did something new on the intro and I can't tell you what it was but again, it was the sound I heard and it was like... something Kid Rock Style... he distorted it up slightly for about a few seconds and then did the usual. You could tell he was playing around with it cause he was grinning and looking over at Steven. And I don't know why some people consider Janie's Got A Gun as a weak song in the set. I love the sound of that guitar solo, its brilliant! I can't remember which song it was... but on one of them...Joey begins the intro and Steven is standing in front of the drum riser and stops him and says, "Mr. Kramer...can you bring that up just a C H ?" That's what it sounded like, CH...I don't know if that was it and if it was, I don't know what it means.

I'm posting this and will be back for the ending...


POST X: The End of the Show, The Concern of The Perry

I love Steven Tyler. What's not to love? Talent, brilliance, he's gorgeous, he's a great person... genuine and loving... and he loves Joe. That's so obvious! As Joe is gonna step up to do Stop Messin' Around...Steven says, "Well I'm gonna sit this next one out... maybe play a little harp!" The crowd goes wild. You can tell that Joe is getting a little nervous, its in his body language. He paces a little in a small circle... fondles the guitar and touches his hair a lot. I could see him kinda chewing his lip a little. Then Steven introduces him:

"Here's my soulmate... and the best fuckin' guitar player in the world... JOE (says to the crowd "You help me..." and they do) FUCKIN' PERRY!! Again, Joe kinda spins around, walks back to Joey's drum riser, runs his hand through his hair and when he walks forward to the mic, he gives Steven a sideways glance that just screamed affection. He suddenly appeared to be so shy! Which is such a paradox, considering his earlier rapturous moments of Amp Sex. But he clears his throat and starts to say something but then just stops and starts to play. He does the song, and god I love it when he thrusts forward on the final "rock you so hard you'll fall right outta bed.." Brad really shined on this song and it was obvious that Joe thought so too. I think during this Tom actually came over to Joe's side and played up on the side ramp...I THINK it was during this song. I know he did it at least once during the show. Then they did Cryin' and Dude Looks Like a Lady... really went all out on the ending of Dude and then left the quickly left the stage. The house lights went out but the crowd only got wilder. People were beating the seats like fuckin' war drums! It was wild, very animalistic. You could hear animal sounds coming out of the crowd in a very big roar, I'm not kidding.

Well they came back out. Steven and Joe I believe were the only ones to come out in different clothes. They came out arm in arm, well, actually arms around each other. They came walking out together, talking. Joe was smiling very very big at something Steven was saying. Steven was wearing a yellow and blue? striped shirt and glittery blue jeans. Joe is wearing the PINK shirt. Then they separated and Steven grabbed the mic and Joe goes to get the clear acrylic guitar...

Pink shirt... discuss! Notice how its more than just HOT pink. Its electric... it comes alive under those lights and is just the absolute perfect shade to complement Joe's deliciously tanned skin. It practically shimmers... both the shirt and the skin! Well you know what happens here... They do Draw The Line...one of my favorite live songs! They let it all rip, during this song, all of them went wild with some part of it. Yes even Brad kinda shimmied his hips and "got down" lower to the floor whilst playing. Maybe it was the tight black shirt. You know, he really looked good in that outfit, really sharp and wore lots of gold to set it off. Again...I'm so sorry that I didn't pay attention to Joey...he probably WAS naked back there.

But Joe finished off the song by playing it down down down into the floor, he didn't go all the way down but quickly came back up and walked back over to his side down by the amps. He slung the guitar off his shoulder really fast. Into the floor it goes... then like he's gone into some kind of trance, he quickly rips off his shirt...(can't you just imagine him doing that in your room...) and then takes it in his hands, steps back slightly then whips the freakin' fuck outta that guitar. Over and over he spanks it senseless and he gets lower and lower in the floor. The crowd is wild, but you can see those lucky front row people just standing mesmerized in some state of shock...they can't seem to move. I know I couldn't from my seat either. I was caught up in that moment with him; in my mind, I was that guitar.

When it was over, Joe was down on the floor on one knee with the other leg stretched out beside him. Steven, again, was EATING this all up! He was possibly just as excited as all of us women were. Brad was chuckling and did a little head bow to Joe. Tom was again, feigning some look of utter shock. I don't know whose look made Joe laugh but on the screen you could see that he was looking back at them and laughing. In fact, he cracked up and when he got up he ran and disappeared behind his amps to get another guitar. It was great! Steven said, "Joe Fuckin' Perry!!" Then they finished with Walk This Way. They thundered to a finish. Joey came out onstage...Steven introduced them all. Joe made gestures toward them and to the crowd after each introduction like he was "raising the volume" of the cheer. Then Steven introduced Joe...who again, got that fidgety action going and it was so clear on his face, as the crowd went ballistic that he wasn't capable of processing such admiration. It overwhelmed him a little. But he recovered and introduced Steven as his brother and I lost part of his words here cause he turned away from the mic...but said ...something like "all 145 screaming pounds of him.." Then they were leaving the stage. Steven told everybody to "Drive carefully, we'll see you on the way out!"

Remember that guy... I think maybe Joe's bodyguard? The big black guy with glasses? Well he had come out and crouched onstage. There was somebody down front that was speaking to Joe. I heard Joe say, "Thanks, its always nice to see you! Thanks for coming!" And he motioned to this big guy to go to them...and this guy retrieves a gift bag which he starts to take backstage. Then Joe grabs his arm again and says something to him and points out in the audience. Out my way...but I really didn't think anything of it at first.

I always wait a bit and let the crowd disperse somewhat before going out. I just hate feeling trapped in such a huddle of people. Next thing you know, this same big guy is standing right in front of me. I looked up at him like, in shock! I know my mouth fell open.

"You okay?" he said.

I couldn't speak but I nodded. He has this real tough guy look on his face.

"Well Joe wanted to know if you were okay."

I was just fuckin' FLOORED again.

I managed to say, "Yes I am. Tell Joe I said thanks."

Then this guy nods to me and shuffles back down front.

joewantedtoknowifIwasokayjoewantedtoknowifIwasokayjoewantedtoknowifIwasokay... (Kimbo passes out) Well not literally but close!

I have one more post to make and I'll try to hurry. Its about the Aero buses...


POST XI: The Motorcade

By the time I got out it was starting to rain quite a bit. Misting, but more profusely. It was a nightmare getting out! As I waited in line to get out of the parking lot I saw a bus come from the back of the venue. It didn't have the same design as the ones I had seen before. It was more plain, off white with more textural detail than design. But it was trimmed in a brilliant shimmery gold. I could see a TV playing in the window of it. Then I saw another one, exactly the same and I was wondering if that was two of their buses. I got a chance to pull in behind the second one and it had Oregon plates, so... who knows. Interesting at this point because the road going out of the parking lot had been divided with traffic cones into two outgoing lanes. You had to turn right, no other choice. But I changed lanes and went to the right lane because I was trying to let some poor soul into the line of outgoing cars. So I drove away from the bus...I looked up at it thinking, "wonder who's in there?" Smiling, thinking about the night. In my rear view I caught sight of another bus pulling out from behind the venue. This one was blue and silver with some kind of colorful ribbon streamer type of design on it. But then I turned onto the road and lost sight of it.

Turns out I was in the wrong fucking lane in order to get to the main road where I needed to get. That put me traveling the opposite direction of my the exit where I needed to get onto 85North bound. I was pissed and to top it off... the roads were slick, mirrorlike and you could barely see the lines. I fumbled my way through turning around and on my way back that's when I saw this blue bus had made its way to the traffic light. It was turning onto the road I was on and headed toward the exit. I on the other hand was confused still because I couldn't make out whether the exit sign said 85N or what... But I slowed down and let the bus slide in front of me. The driver blinked his lights, I guess to say thank you...or maybe fuck you... Whatever. I thought Geee, there's that bus!! And I followed it down toward the ramp and guess what. It took the exit... and the exit was the right one for me. It was 85N headed right where I needed to go.

I don't know whose bus that was. Perhaps it was an Aero Bus... The other buses were gone already so I don't know where they went. But this bus continued my way and I followed it all the way to Greensboro. I lost it shortly before the city limits so I don't know if it went further or stopped in town... It had picked up considerable speed by then and was leaving me in the dust. Either way, aero or not...it helped point me in the right direction for home. Kind of a twilight zone ending, eh?

I told a friend of mine about this earlier and she just sighed and said, "Only you, Kimbo! You don't plan cool shit...it just happens... you just stumble into it!"

I have other stuff to add but will probably do it tomorrow. I have to tell you about how Joe's skin FELT. Oh and yeah I figured I did catch his scent on the first trip to the lawn cause after he touched my hand and walked away... about thirty seconds before I was attacked by Intoxica... I just impulsively touched my hand to my face and... there was that same smell I had caught earlier in his presence...

In his presence... (sigh)

Oh yeah and Tammy... it was his arm I touched. Just beneath his elbow. Very lightly. I guess I was trying to go unnoticed!

And the setlist I had been writing down? I lost it when the fight went down with Intoxica. I dropped it and I guess that somebody thought that was what Joe gave me cause I remember seeing a blur of a blonde diving for it on the floor and then she was gone.

THE END