Cool story, bro

[bobbyb5]

Do you have a cool story about meeting a famous musician?

[Tap]

this one time I was walking outside and across the road i could see a line of old ppl waiting for the show and as I'm walking past another old person, I hear all the people in line make excited noises in my direction and I'm like huh that's weird, and I get further up and I see that Graham Nash was playing at the venue, so I figure he was the old guy I walked past.

[bobbyb5]

[AAL2014]

The closest thing I have to a surprise encounter was just recently at U2's Joshua Tree tour show at Ford Field in Detroit (phenomenal show).

Beck was opening and on this tour I knew he had one of my favorite drummers playing for him, Chris Coleman. I was walking around the general admission floor with a friend about to buy a beer and Chris is nearby talking to one of the security guards. I didn't want to intrude so I just stood at a distance like a complete idiot until there was a break in their conversation. I just reached my hand out and said "I love your drumming", again like a complete idiot.

I began to walk away after he said thank you with the hugest smile on his face but my friend goes "Don't you want a picture?" Luckily Chris is a naturally nice and seemingly genuinely good spirited person, and said of course he would take a picture.

This story isn't as random as a gas station encounter, but seeing Chris right after I was telling my friends about him was a funny shock.


For those unfamiliar with Chris, here's a drum solo video:


Link

_________________
Attention all planets of the solar federation: We have assumed control.

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

Since my concert security stories are pretty bland, I'll give you summaries of some of my Dad's old tales from the 80's. I can elaborate on some if you like.

Carried Stevie Wonder out on stage.

Played Nerf Ping Pong with Mike Mills and Bill Berry from REM.

Kicked Brett Michaels ass.

[AAL2014]

[bobbyb5]

Man, you guys DO have some cool stories. All I can say is, Cool story, bro.

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

I'd have to call him to get all the details, but I'll do my best to recreate this story.

KEMPER ARENA, KANSAS CITY, MO 1986-7?

RATT, POISON, DAVID LEE ROTH

Don't know if I got the other two artists right or not, but Poison were obviously there. Anyways, my dad was one

of the biggest guys that worked there, about 6 feet tall, 290 lbs, i.e. not someone to eff with. Well, that night for

some reason, he was the only one working behind the stage where VIPS could get in. This was the 80s, so there

was much less worry about people just wandering around, and because Poison were hitting their peak popularity at

that point, people were going crazy. He had to block a small hallway by himself to keep out dozens of people.

Before the show, nobody gets past him. No problems. However, Brett Michaels, drenched head-to-toe in hairspray,

plastered with make up, and dressed in a shimmering silver leotard, goes up to my Dad and says something like,

"make sure none of these people gets back here, OK Fatass?" Needless to say, that is not something you should

call someone three times the size of you who is your only protection. During the Ratt set though (or

whoever the hell it was) a fight broke out in the crowd that my Dad had to respond to. He said that there was

some jackass that had yelled some racial slurs at some young black men in the crowd, and then they began a

pretty large fight in the pit area. The way he tells it, he goes out there separates them and tells them they are

all kicked out, when all of sudden they go at each other again with my Dad in the middle. He blacks out for a few

minutes, wakes up with one of his security friends above him asking if he's OK. "I'm OK what happened?" he

asked as he looked around him, seeing the bloodied faces of the assailants. "Never mind," he said, as he stood

up and brushed himself off, preparing to go back stage again. Still a raucous crowd of people back there, but

once they saw my Dad come around the corner they quieted down. I imagine that some of them could have seen

the fray that had happened earlier, and decided it best not to provoke him. Poison is going to go on soon, and

Brett Michaels is standing in the hallway with the small crowd looking on. Disoriented, my Dad resumes his post,

but right as he returns, two teenage boys rushed through the crowd and past my Dad towards Brett Michaels.

Michaels starts to freak out yelling for my Dad to get his "Fatass" over there. He rushes down the hall grabs the

two boys by the shirt collar, and takes them down to the exit at the end of the hall and throws them out. Cheers

come from the crowd, but not from Michaels. He is irate, and starts berating my father with all sorts of insults

about his weight, his looks, his mother, and just about every other thing you could think of. Tired of listening to

this sissy's remarks, he grabs him by the shoulders, spins him around, and picks him up by his spandex waist

band. One hand on the back of neck, like a puppy's mother, and one hand grabbing the tearing waist band, my

father proceeds to take him down the hall, kicking and screaming all the way, towards the same door he just

threw the teenagers out. One kick to the door, one drop kick to Michaels shiny-silver ass, and he was out on the

street. Before he could get back in my Dad shut the door, and made sure it was locked. He went down to where

his supervisor was, and told him that he quit.

[AAL2014]

Tha1ChiefRocka.... One of the best comments in my 3 and 1/2 years on BEA. Bret Michaels is obviously a douchebag, and everyone can tell, but I hadn't really heard any stories from that kind of account. He's trash.


I'd be interested in the Stevie story too if you'd care to go into detail.
_________________
Attention all planets of the solar federation: We have assumed control.

[bobbyb5]