IRVINE

Fan Nation was in Irvine on Sunday. It was...um...interesting. Counting Crows did a question/answer thing for about an hour which was incredibly stupid "Adam I love you, will you marry me" The biggest laugh came when someone said "what relation are you to Fred (Durst)?

But the guys were troopers and since most of the questions were directed at Adam he answered as nicely as he could given the circumstances. "Adam you're my soulmate" "everyone says that, I'm a soulmate slut" They weren't scheduled to sign autographs but they stood out in the hot sun right after this part and signed just about everything for everyone. "Mobbed" would be the word I would use here, but I thought it was nice of em to hang.

Their set was about 50 minutes long, with the only new song played being Richard Manual is Dead. Good thing I kept a setlist or It'd all be a blur:

Murder Of One
Angels of the Silences
I Wish I Was A Girl
Round Here (Sedated alternate)
Mr. Jones
Richard Manual Is Dead
Long December
Rain King (Thunder Road alternate)
HanginAround

Lots of energy, Dan's sexy red pants, two full alternates in a short set - it was fun. One thing tho...no matter how good Adam makes it sound, I just have to giggle when I hear "I wanna be sedated" being sung very slowly in the middle of Round Here.

Just imagine: Rrrrrooouuunnd Hhhheeeerrreee...I wanna be sedaaaaaaated...hee hee It's good but it'll always make me giggle.

Other notes about that day: Wallflowers set was good. I remembered how much I like that song "The Difference". Adam and Charlie came out for 6th Avenue Heartache.

Thanks Shelbyy!

Hi, I was lucky enough to be at the Viper Room show on Tuesday, May 8th. I was listening to 98.7 and they said there was a rumor that the band may be playing the Viper Room. They called someone associated with the club and he said "all I can say is you won't be disappointed if you come on down." That is how I heard of the show.

The Painstakingly Detailed Details-

We were at the corner of Sunset and Larrabee at 5:30. Adam was outside the Sunset entrance just looking around, standing by himself. The traffic wasn't letting up and we couldn't make the turn onto Larrabee fast enough. I was a complete mess. "turn, turn, we gotta turn! I can't believe he is just standing there. This is a frustration dream. I got to get out of this car." Of course by the time we do get a chance to turn and I run to the front of the Viper Room, Adam is back inside. So we take our seventh and eighth places in line and wait for doors that don't open until after nine. A case of bottled water and pints of strawberries were given to the line, compliments of the venue. Waiting in line was half the fun. I met people from the AOL message board which was cool and I got to watch the band be normal people. Ben moved his red sports car from across the street to the lot. Dave Bryson moved his tan Mercedes convertible twice. Dan came out of nowhere and walked into the club. Adam and Immy walked over to Tower Records, bought stuff and came back. Matt came out and said hi to the line. As the night grew on, and the line got longer, Adam came out a few times to see how long the line was getting and to say hi. They were all in good spirits. They all looked happy and healthy.

Bicycle Thief was first. They played six songs. I spent the whole set watching the band pop their heads in and out of the side door. It was hot in there so the side door would stay open for a minute or two and if you're a freak like me, this is a good thing because then you got an uninterrupted view of the band talking to their friends and getting ready for their set. Since I was so early to the show I was able to get the prime spot for the first time in my life. Dead center, right in front of Adams microphone, 1 person back. The thing about the Viper Room that differs from other shows I have seen was not just the 250 people capacity (which was ignored that night) but how close the band is to you. There are no barricades, the stage isn't four feet high, there aren't any security guards between you and them. So I am literally 13 inches away from Adam. This is the coolest thing I have ever experienced in my life. He has gray in his beard. His teeth are perfect. His lips are full and look as though they have never seen a harsh winter in their existence. His eyelashes are thick and dark. His eyes are clean and clear. His chest moves and his hands clench with such emotion. I don't even stand this close to people I know. He is in a good mood. He changes shoes because he keeps sliding off of the monitor he is jumping on. He is knocking into Dan and Immy because the stage is small and you know how he likes to move around.

They Play:

Untitled Masterpiece
Catapult
I Wish I Was A Girl
1492
Recovering The Satellites
Goodnight L.A.
Angels of the Silences
Round Here
Mr. Jones

And then I faint and drop like a sack of potatoes and have to be carried out of there. An ambulance is called, I can't stop shaking, security is splashing water on me. I am disoriented and pissed off that I will not only miss the rest of the show, but I won't get the setlist I was eyeing. Apparently the cops come and there is concern about max capacity issues. So I go off to UCLA medical center, and the band plays:

Speedway
Los Angeles
Have You Seen Me Lately?
Goodnight Elisabeth
Rain King (Thunder Road)
Anna Begins
Outside Chance (Turtles cover)
Hanginaround
The Ballad of El Goodo (Big Star Cover with Adam, Immy and Dave Gibbs)

I didn't make it to the next nights show because I was on a plane headed back to Buffalo. I heard that before he played Wednesday night, Adam said that the night before was the performance of his life. It was most definately the performance of mine.

Thanks Jessica!

Wow - what a venue! Picture this: You walk in and there's this "not large" stage on your right, chairs are arranged in front of the stage, and the ocean right beyond. There's a restaurant in the back that has an upstairs balcony where you could watch the show from. The place is a hotel resort, so if you happened to be renting a room by the stage you get to see a show!

The capacity is only around 1,300. My friend and I were standing at the back, leaning against a wall during Glenn Phillips and we could see just fine. But we did manage to get reseated next to my friends (one of whom had a wheelchair) and that happened to be right up front, stage left. And next to Tony! I planned that ya know.

And it was such a beautiful night too, a nice breeze comin off the waters, that ocean smell, and great music. That in itself was my "moment" for the evening - I tell ya it made for a great night.

Here's the setlist:
Miami
HYSML
Anna Begins
Untitled
Mr Jones
Richard Manual is Dead
Catapult
American Girls
Black and Blue
Omaha
Hangin Around
Butterfly in Reverse/Maryanne something-or-other (I can't remember haha)
Rain King (with Thunder Road)
(encore)
Round Here (with 'Sedated' alternate)
Angels of the Silences
Goodnight Elizabeth ('got your christmas comin down')

I just have to say (again) that I REALLY like Richard Manual is Dead. And American Girls caught my attention too, I hadn't heard that one before and I liked it. I was missing Los Angeles, but I'm NOT complaining heehee. This time I got chills during Rain King/Thunder Road and Goodnight Elisabeth was soooooooo.... good! The show ended with Adam and Immy facing each other, one singin and one playin, the band keepin a low tempo - and Adam just singin and singin, Immy matching with the guitar and it was really beautiful.

And that's my review! That place is really a great venue, I was impressed. Almost a 4 hour drive up, home in 2 heehee (traffic sucks sometimes). I enjoyed meeting everyone ~ hope to see you all again soon! And I hope they add dates in everyone's areas so you all get a chance to hear the new stuff before it comes out!

One thing I hadn't mentioned when I posted this review to other sites was the fact the most of the crowd sat through the majority of the show. I disagreed with one of my friends; he thought two guys next to us should sit down but I thought they should be able to stand if they wanted to. I hate sittin at a concert, but I did a lot last night cause I didn't want hear anyone yelling at ME to sit down. It's not like it's dinner theater, it's a concert! I think you should be able to stand.

Thanks Shelbyy!