Atlantic City review/Phil Bates news
wca...@mnsi.net
Just got back from an incredible two shows in two nights at the Sands Casino...
Both sell-outs!!! Both sounded incredible!!! Incredible fan response!!!
The hardcore ELOpt2 fans 'you all know who you are' had a feeling something was
up but couldn't exactly put a finger on it because of the top notch
performances.
Nobody at the shows were told of Phil's decision so as not to ruin the weekend
of the fans who may have travelled long distances, I'm think.
I still consider the weekend perfect, worth every penny & the two planes I took
to get there.
Phil is a great man, musician & performer past & present... I will stand by him
wherever his career takes him. He deserves at least this. Yup! I'm tired & sad
but life goes on & who knows maybe my favorite drummer, bassist, violinist,
knighted conductor & favorite model citizen will find the right label & songs to
propel them into the top of the music world again... Hmmm
Well I only hope Phil doesn't play the same night as ELOpt2 I'd hate to miss
either show.
Rock on everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bill 'kinda sad' Carter
FTM Canada
Dundagel
<< Both sell-outs!!! >>
That's good news!!!!! :) :)
GMKaren
Where were you seated! I would loved to have met you! We had the somewhat
rowdy table ,on the left. There were fans from all across the country there.
At our table alone- there were the "superfans" that follow them everywhere,
including; "Buffalo Jill and Joy from upstate NY, And of course Jenn and
Danielle from Mass. (They miss you Serena) And I met a different Bill, from
Tenn.(or somewhere south like that, I forgot!) And Shirley from Wisconsin(she
took 14 rolls of film that night alone!) And Mike (Mikodo) that flew in from
California and of course my husband and I, that only had to travel and hour
from central NJ. And it was also nice to meet "Cailin" from this newsgroup and
her lovely family.
Afterwards, in the lounge, I met so many other fans, that I can't even
remember all their names. Except for Mark from Carnegie PA and his nutty
brother. They were memorable!
And of course seeing Kelly, Eric, Bev and Mik is always a thrill. A special
treat was meeting Phil Ackrill, he was so nice. He told the funniest stories,
including the one from Bev's book, about the "babies arm holding an apple", I
won't expound on that one! I turned 6shades of red!! He is just hysterical.
Mike even had him sign Bev's Book, on the picture of him with the Diplomats.
He seemed embarrassed at how young he looked, but then later, he asked for the
book again, so he could prove to the houseband, that he did, indeed, play in a
band with Bev!
And regarding Phil; Like I said earlier, Eric found out (via-E-mail) on
Tues. that Phil wanted out. They immediately cancelled the photo- shoot and
planned a meeting with band members and management , in AC. I wasn't there on
Sat. , so I had to wait until Sunday to find out the outcome. But moral
remained high, depite the set back and Saturday's show went well... Although I
heard that Sunday was the better of the 2. I couldn't tell if it was the many
technical difficulties or the announcement-but the band wasn't as "on" as ,
say, in Delaware for example, but the show was still great. Poor Baru, they
couldn't have had more technical problems. First Eric's ear monitors went out,
then while using a blow dryer to work on another set, the power to the monitors
cut out. Although it was amusing to watch them "rewire" Eric in the middle of
a song! Then Phil's foot petals went and they kept changing them. Then Mik's
violin "tuner"(I don't know what you call it) but it "re-calibrated" itself in
the middle of the set.
So there were alot of glaring looks and hand signals flying around, but the
songs went on beautifully. But poor Barrie, was sweating it out backstage.
Oh, I can see that I'm rambling, so I'll cut this short now. If I think of
any other amusing anecdotes, I 'll write again later.
When Mike returns to California, he'll have much to say.
Susan
(SLM...@juno.com)
wca...@mnsi.net
says...
>
>Bill,
> Where were you seated! I would loved to have met you! We had the somewhat
>rowdy table ,on the left. There were fans from all across the country there.
Ask Buffalo Jill or Shirley, I may have met you & didn't know it... I sure I saw
you anyways as I was at the bar each night as well till 3am.
I was at the end of the table about 5 rows from the right as you face the stage.
I usually had to camera's & wore a white T shirts each night, one featured a
radio station on it.
Sound familiar
Bill
OH FTM Canada!
UnBal
>Ask Buffalo Jill or Shirley, I may have met you & didn't know it... I sure I
>saw
>you anyways as I was at the bar each night as well till 3am.
>I was at the end of the table about 5 rows from the right as you face the
>stage.
>I usually had to camera's & wore a white T shirts each night, one featured a
>radio station on it.
>Sound familiar
>Bill
Were you the one walking around, holding the ELO letters up and screaming the
name of the band?
GMKaren
>name of the band?
Oh gosh no! Her name was Pam I believe and she was seated right behind us. So
distracting!
Eric referred to her as a "pain". Being excited about the performance is one
thing, but screaming contantly and running up and down the isles with signs is
another.
I was at the bar till 3:00am too,, Bill! I must have bumped into you and
didn't even know it! What a shame! I was the blond in the yellow dress! And
Mike(mikodo) was the nut running around with a violin in his hand and an ELO
shirt on, with long black hair. We had quite a group going there!
Well hopefully we'll have the chance again.
Eric said yesterday that all the Oct. dates are up in the air and there's a
50-50 chance that they will do them. Oh well, sorry west coast, looks like you
get jipped again.
Then he said, "I guess I better get busy looking for a new guitarist". When I
mentioned Glen and someone else, he said that the band wants someone British.
Hey Ken, you better go check out that ELO tribute band again, maybe they can
spare their Jeff look-alike! Afterall that's how they found Phil, playing in a
club. For that matter, that's how they found Kelly too!
Sincerely Susan!
wca...@mnsi.net
>I was at the bar till 3:00am too,, Bill! I must have bumped into you and
>didn't even know it! What a shame! I was the blond in the yellow dress! And
>Mike(mikodo) was the nut running around with a violin in his hand and an ELO
>shirt on, with long black hair. We had quite a group going there!
>Well hopefully we'll have the chance again.
Ok I remember seeing Mike! Now I remember seeing a pretty & tall blonde wearing
a light colored dress standing & sitting at the corner of the bar as you
enter... I was sitting my exhausted self directly in front of you then, my back
was to you majority of the time...
Hmmm plot thickens.......
Bill
wca...@mnsi.net
>Were you the one walking around, holding the ELO letters up and screaming the
>name of the band?
Were you the one in the striped shirt, hat with the gloves that had knives on
the fingers????
Get some more sleep.........
Bill
GMKaren
>a light colored dress standing & sitting at the corner of the bar as you
>enter... I was sitting my exhausted self directly in front of you then, my
>back
>was to you majority of the time...
>Hmmm plot thickens.......
Oh, you are too kind! (blush)
See, you should have introduced yourself and I would have introduced you to
everyone else. Anyone that you didn't get a chance to talk to. My husband was
there too(Lee) and a fellow from down south(loved the accent), another Bill. I
was bold enough this time to introduce myself to Bev and Mik's "lady friends".
I see them at all the North east shows and never had a chance to talk to them.
They were very nice. Did you have a chance to talk with any of the Tech staff?
Baru was on his best behavior(I heard he was alittle out of hand on Sat.) and
Simon is just so funny! I offered him one of the cookies that I baked (they
were floating around the bar, should have grabbed one!) and he asked me to
marry him! Ha Ha! I told him I was already married and Eric told him ,"Hey,
get in line buddy", and Baru chimed in "Yes, and you would be at the end of the
line". Now you see why I love these guys--they are so sweet!
Susan :)
GMKaren
> My husband was
>there too(Lee) and a fellow from down south(loved the accent), another Bill.
>I
>was bold enough this time to introduce myself to Bev and Mik's "lady
>friends".
>I see them at all the North east shows and never had a chance to talk to
>them
>They were very nice.
OOPPSS! Again. It seems I've put my "foot in my mouth" again.
I just want to clear something up::
Previously, when I referred to "lady friends" it was in no way to imply
"girlfriends"!!! They were just two lovely ladies that I have seen several
times before and just wanted to introduce myself to. I referred to "Mik and
Bev" because I was trying to describe to Bill(Carter) where, in reference to
the bar, they were seated! It just happened to be next to Bev and Mik!!
Please don't misconstrue or misinterpret what I posted to imply that these
gentleman were doing anything questionable. They were just standing there!
Well again, I'm sorry if anyone was misled by my comments and I think I'll have
to go back to my previous idea of "reading and not posting".
It 's really not worth the aggravation.
Susan!
Dundagel
GMKaren
>Did you get a call from Mrs. Bevan on this one, Susan? :)
Well, no. A different member of the band.
But you know, it was a rude awakening for me in that I let this "little
diversion" of mine get out of hand and take up too much time in my life. I
used to write to this group as a "stress-reliever" and now it has become a
"stress-causer". And I've had enough. I won't elaborate on the agravation,
because I never felt that this group was the place for "name-calling" or
"airing dirty laundry".
So, I'm sorry to say that this will be my last post. However I will continue to
correspond, via E-mail, to the many wonderful friends that I've made here. So
please continue to write me and I will be happy to share any info. that I get.
(That way I don't have to worry about being cencored or checked up on,
constantly.)
You guys have been great! I'll miss you.
Susan :)
>feel free to write me at SLM...@Juno.com
Cygnett1
are those two guys already spoken for?Do they have wives or significant
others?