The Entire Wonderful, Horrible Story of the San Francisco In-store
Cannonball
of the legendary Paul Westerberg performances, to take its place
alongside all the Bob-in-a-dress, Paul-broke-his-finger,
Chris-passed-out-on-the-drum-stool stories that have been told and
retold over the years. Luckily, or unluckily, I was one of the few
who who got the complete picture of the beautiful/ugly episode and
I'll try to pass it on with as much accuracy as I can muster. This is
going to be long, but I thought it was a story worth passing on.
Based on the reports from Seattle, I feared that I would have
difficulties even getting in to the show at the Virgin Megastore, so I
arrived about 3 hours early to buy my copy of Stereo and get my pass.
They hadn't even set up the stage at that point and there was no sign
of rabid PW fans anywhere, so I went out to get something to eat. I
called my sister who had seen the Portland show the night before and
her report sort of squelched a little of my enthusiasm. She said that
she actually had a hard time watching him clearly struggling onstage
in front of an audience that was relentlessly calling out old Mats
tunes. By her count, he only finished four or five songs in the hour
that he was onstage, and as she witnessed his exit to a backroom where
he promptly laid flat on his back in exasperation, she realized that
she wasn't going to be able to bear meeting him face to face.
I returned to Virgin a little over an hour before showtime and there
were exactly ten people standing in front of the small stage. I'm not
saying that this is going to be the case for every show on this tour,
but there was no line, you really didn't need to buy the CD at that
particular store to get in, and to top it all off, the "pass" that was
handed out with the purchase of the CD meant absolutely nothing. I
never even took it out of my pocket.
After milling around the store for a half hour, I figured I'd better
get in position. It was around 45 to 30 minutes to showtime and there
were around thirty people around the stage area. With the the next
ten minutes or so, the crowd multiplied, and by 5:00 there were maybe
100 to 200 folks waiting for Paul to take the stage. At one point I
heard an employee say that they were expecting 800 people. A few
minutes later, another employee said that they only sold 150 copies of
Stereo. You do the math.
Paul was about 15 minutes late when some guys behind me became
restless and started yelling out Goo Goo Dolls song titles. I only
half heard what was going on, but it was clear that their behavior had
started a minor argument with some other folks. Paul came out a few
minutes later, wearing a beige suit covered in paint splotches, a
bright green western-style shirt, bowling shoes and shades. He
recognized a group of three or four guys who had caught the Seattle
and Portland shows (I didn't talk to them, but I overheard them
talking about the trek) and said, "No, not you fuckers again. I'm
sick of looking at you guys."
The moment Paul picked up his guitar, I was shoved hard from behind.
(Keep in mind that the crowd really isn't that big, and everyone has a
generous amount of personal space.) He had his arms folded and
pressed into my back, so I turned around and said, "Are you going to
hug me?"
"What?" he mumbled without moving back.
"You want to take a few steps back or do you planning on hugging me
the whole show?"
He looked at me for a few long seconds, apparently not noticing that I
was a head taller, and said, "Only if you buy me a drink, bitch."
Paul kicked into a laid back rendition of The Best Thing That Never
Happened and I stared this idiot down until he became uncomfortable
enough to take a step back. I wasn't going to miss the show because
of some jackass who wanted to rub up against me, even though the urge
to headbutt him was almost irresistible. Next, Paul comfortably slid
into Lookin' Out Forever and I felt somebody push my shoulder aside.
I turned around again and glared at him for a really long time, just
trying to fight the urge to kill. My wife put her arm around me and
told me not to kill him until the show was over. I turned back around
and felt someone grab her arm and yank it off me. I spun around ready
to spit blood, and saw her fists in the air about to swing. It
happened fast, but apparently the idiot's friend thought that her arm
was his, and in trying to stop a fight he pulled it away. He
apologized profusely and wisely moved his friend about 5 feet to the
side of me.
I put it out of my mind as Paul moved into a medley of Eyes Like
Sparks and Dylan. He kept muffing the lyrics to the Dylan song (I
can't even think of the title, so I understand) and interjected,
"There's only one good line anyway." He seemed in really good spirits
and quickly eased into a confident and a relatively flub-free set of
Mats classics and new and recent solo tunes. There wasn't a whole lot
of chatter between songs and he really seemed to be giving his all.
It was a really emotionally charged performance, with many
lump-in-the-throat moments.
Unfortunately, my antagonizer decided to start heckling. The first
thing he yelled--after Paul flubbed the Dylan lyrics--was "Play
something you know!" After Paul spat out a few lines of some UK (he
sang with a British accent) punk song that I probably should know but
don't, the idiot yelled out, "Play something you know that's good!"
Paul was clearly pissed off at that point, but brushed it off and took
it in stride.
The guy just kept up the heckling, though. He talked and laughed
through the quietest songs and kept screaming out completely moronic
comments. For instance, when Paul started playing Swinging Party, the
guy decides to break the spell by screaming, "Is this one of those
Replacements songs?" After a tremendously moving rendition of Lush
and Green, where Paul added heartbreaking lyrics that explicitly
detailed the suicide of a friend ("She ended her life as best she
could/That morning in Emily Woods"), I thought that the heckler was
shut up for good, but he yelled something idiotic and some real anger
flashed across Paul's face as he said, "I still know how to fight."
Paul glared at him to let him know that he was serious, and
unbelievably, the guy actually muttered, "I better shut up now."
Unfortunately, he did not shut up. Just a couple songs later and he
was talking to his buddies, laughing at Paul's most emotional moments,
and occasionally belting out some out of tune lyrics (I should point
out that the show was very quiet and the rest of the audience listened
in complete silence--followed by enthusiatic applause of course).
When Paul went to the side of the stage to change from his dark shades
to some light blue-tinted glasses, the idiot yelled, "Rock star!"
Paul, still trying to keep his good humor, stepped up to the mike and
said, "That's rock and roll star." Everyone applauded and when it got
quiet again he added, "Actually, I just wanted to see who was heckling
me," and shot another long stare in the asshole's direction. Again,
this idiot muttered something about it being "time to shut up before I
get my ass kicked." And again, he apparently couldn't control
himself.
Paul started playing Someone Take the Wheel on his hollow body, but
after the first verse it was clear that the guitar was tuned wrong.
"This is fucking F," he said as he took the guitar off and handed it
to his tech guy. He strapped on an acoustic and picked up the wrong
amp cord. His roadie tried to get his attention and give him the
right cord, but Paul was a little too frustrated to see what was going
on. At that point, the guy behind me yelled, "That was a real Sonny
Bono move!"
For a split second, Paul looked like he was going to fight back with
another joke, but instead he got pissed. "Sonny Bono? That's it," he
said as he flung down his guitar. He bolted off the stage, broke
right through the movie theater-style barricade between him and
audience and went straight for this asshole. I involuntarily
exclaimed, "Exactly! Thank you!" as Paul shot past me and wrapped
both hands around the guy's neck. He throttled him one
quarter-jokingly/three quarters-roughly for a few seconds, then pulled
one hand back to punch him in the face. He stopped short, and with
one hand wrapped firmly around the guy's neck he slapped him hard
across the face. Paul turned quickly and stormed away from the stage
and up the escalator. The crowd was completely silent and Paul
clearly muttered, "Thanks, Bob," as he made his way to the second
floor.
When he was halfway up the escalator and it was clear that he was
going, the crowd burst into applause, no doubt hoping that they could
coax him back. Paul waved over the railing and disappeared upstairs.
Everyone fell completely silent and turned accusingly to the asshole,
who was beet red. I couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or inflamed
from Paul's all too gentle beating, but this guy was frozen in his
tracks. In the dead silence I called out, "He's right here if anybody
wants to kick his ass!" As a small, but solid, guy pushed his way
through the crowd, I thought it was going to happen, but he just got
right up in his face, poked him hard in the chest and said, "Get up on
that stage and apologize to everyone. Right now!"
The heckler sheepishly walked up to the stage, but the roadie started
yelling at him to get off and then gave him another push back into the
crowd. The same audience member got right up in his face again and
snarled, "Apologize."
"I tried," the moron said weakly. For some reason, he and his two
friends just stood shell-shocked while everyone else looked on, most
of them trying to figure what exactly had just happened. His friends
decided to slowly usher him out, and since I felt that the asshole
hadn't been humilated enough, I yelled out to the silent crowd,
"Somebody's got to kick his ass on the way out!"
Well, nobody did, and I'm actually glad for that since I'm usually not
such an instigator, but I did feel that the memory of the public
humiliation he suffered would prevent him from proudly retelling "Paul
Westerberg kicked my ass" stories for the rest of his life.
Everyone shook their heads and started to shuffle off, certain that
Paul was gone for good. A Virgin employee announced that Paul would
be signing on the second floor and most of us headed up the escalator,
not really expecting to get anything signed or shake the hand of the
man who had just put on such an
amazing/horrible/beautiful/painful/hilarious/pissed off performance.
We all sort of naturally fell into a long line in front an empty
table, and soon there was an announcement that Paul was "calming down"
and would be out in a few minutes. As I expected, the concept of the
signing passes was pretty ill-conceived. Nobody could really enforce
the rule that "those with passes go first" and nobody even really
tried. Everyone fell into line as they came up the escalator and
there were no arguments as far as I could see.
Of course, most everyone was trying to process what had happened, and
I had to tell the whole story a number of times as more and more
people tried to gather all the details. Paul waited long enough for
the general mood of the crowd to change, and my little section of the
line discussed how the SF show was probably just as long as the other
shows and probably better in many ways. He eventually shambled out
and took a seat in front of a corner window. It took me about 20
minutes to get up to the front and I saw that Paul was clearly having
a difficult time.
This was no normal CD signing. Many people took just a few seconds to
say a few words and have him sign the disc, but there were many others
who engaged Paul for a decent length of time. A few people in front
of me had what appeared to be some lengthy heart-to-hearts. Paul
became fully engaged with these people and was clearly willing to
speak to anyone for as long as they wanted. Nobody seemed to take
advantage of this, but as some people left the table, Paul was very
emotional and needed to take a few moments to rub his eyes and take a
deep breath. The kid in front of me moved in very close to Paul and
after only a few moments of speaking, Paul rose from his seat, gently
cradled the back of the boy's head and kissed him on the cheek. Paul
sat back and spoke with him for a few minutes before my turn was up.
I waited a few seconds as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
He looked up at the Virgin employee who was guiding the line and gave
a look that said, "This is getting tough." I decided to lighten his
load with an enthusiastic handshake. "I had your back, man," I said
jokingly.
"What?" He was still in a bit of an emotional fog.
"I had your back. We could've taken him."
He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "There's always one asshole. What
are you gonna do?"
"Well, I thought slapping him was a damn good idea," I said.
I introduced him to my wife and he took my CD out of my hands to sign.
We told him what a beautiful performance it was as his pen hovered
over my disc trying to place the best spot to sign his name. Instead
of signing it, he leaned back and said, "Well, the sound was much
better here than at the other two shows, that's for sure." He was
obviously willing to hold a relaxed conversation, with no pressure to
move on to the next one in line, but I only wanted to thank him and
shake his hand, so he signed my disc and we were on our way.
I was really impressed with how open and genuine he was with the fans.
On the ride home, listening to Stereo for the first time, I
recognized the same openess and genuine sentiment that I had seen in
person. He's obviously a troubled man, which makes his empathy and
williness to connect on a personal level with his troubled fans all
the more impressive.
It was an amazing show.
meMe
I'd like to think Westerberg has fans who are smarter
than the average rock fan. Guess most of them are, except for a few.
And it doesn't sound like this was some homeless guy who just
wandered in off the street trying to give someone grief 'cause he's
mad at the world or something. The guy obviously knew the songs
and was a "fan."
But there's this theory about even the most diehard fans: some of
them think that if they piss off the subject of affection, they will
become a part of the person's life, even if only briefly. Yeah, I
know it's warped -- but there it is.
Ultimately, I would hold the management at Virgin
responsible for what happened: if you get a heckler during a
mostly-quite-acoustic set, you deal with the idiot ASAP
and politely show them the door. Simple. And from a business
standpoint it makes sense: if the show had gone off without a hitch,
there would have been plenty of happy consumers milling about the
store afterwards in a good enough mood to make a few purchases.
No doubt, many people probably left in disgust.
If I was there, I would have gladly put my boot up that guy's ass
as he walked out.
Thanks for posting.
whoamuleshine
guy. What a complete idiot.
Lil
Now posting that guy's name and address...that would be a good idea!
"If you go to San Fran Cis Co....summertime will be a love in there..."
Annette
Janetplanet99
to me?
Please?
Emerick Rogul
: I keep trying to download this story and it won't. Can someone
: email the story to me? Please?
Janet,
It's available on Google at the following URL (make sure you copy the
entire link, it will probably wrap):
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_umsgid=793706cd.02042...@posting.google.com&hl=en
-Emerick
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emerick Rogul /\/ "how young are you, how old am i?
eme...@cs.bu.edu /\/ let's count the rings around my eyes."
------------------------------------------------- 'i will dare', the mats
DLew022
feet from the *incident* and the guy who got slapped had it coming LONG before
Paul got to him. me and my friend were constantly annoyed by him all the way
through. Before Paul hit the stage, he was annoying. talking WAY too loud and
then starting a fake fight with his other lame ass friend. Odd foreshadowing.
Then, as Paul got going in the QUIET acoustic way he's been playing these
in-stores...this fuck wad starts throwing up the Ozzy Devil horns with his
fingers. He's like 6 feet from Paul and just keeps doing that....total dork.
I'm glad Mark said someone tried to make the guy apologize and that's why he
got onstage. I thought he was trying to bail like a true pussy. Also, mark- I
heard you yell "someone please kick that guys ass" and I think you missed him
respond with, "Oh, I'd like to see you try." Jesus....in a room full of 200
plus pissed off people...that's brilliant.
I was REALLY bummed that the show ended that way. I've waitied literally 17
years to see Paul and it felt like a bad ending. i stood in the autograph line
for a bit and was just too bummed to get anything signed. I know, I know...I'm
being melo-dramatic...but I felt like I had just seen my favorite baseball
player whiff with the bases loaded to end the game.
I feel better today though. There's every sign in the world that Paul will be
back with a band so all is not lost. I also know I'll see that prick who ruined
the show at some OTHER show and I'll have some beers in me...and we'll talk :)
dom
skumpet
a thing, especially at a free show where there's a guy all alone
onstage playing his songs..Usually a guy like that makes an ass of
himself everywhere he goes; he's probably pissed off more people today
then most of us will in a years time..
Jason Czeskleba
> Ultimately, I would hold the management at Virgin
> responsible for what happened: if you get a heckler during a
> mostly-quite-acoustic set, you deal with the idiot ASAP
> and politely show them the door. Simple.
Yeah, that's the most amazing thing to me. They should never have let it
get to the point where Paul was pissed off enough to jump off the stage. If
not from a commonsense standpoint, then a liability one. This asshole could
probably sue Westerberg and the store for what happened, now.
C9
Un-fucking-believable. He should have just pummeled the guy. It's
pretty bad when Paul hasn't toured in 6 years and had a real aversion
to it, then he finally decides to play in public again and shit like
this happens.
The guy should have been thrown out as soon as he started acting up.
Too bad the crowd didn't lynch him!
C9
S. Smith
Exactly. It's no wonder that the guy has an aversion to touring, with
people like that out there in the world making his life miserable.
It seems like every live show I go to these days has at least a couple
of these idiots in the crowd. Whether it's in San Fran, Chicago,
Minneapolis, Pittsburgh (all places I've seen live shows over the
last couple years)...there always seems to be one or two in the
crowd that have to make life miserable for the artists and fans
alike. The Wilco shows have gotten especially ugly lately, as they
are attracting a lot more of the backward-baseball-cap-drunken-
college-boy crowd these days. I have a few stories I could tell
about scuffles with idiots at shows...but I'll spare you all the ugly
details.
Thanks for the story, Cannonball. Hopefully Paul can build up his
tolerance for this crap with the in-stores. After his long hiatus, he is
probably more sensitive than usual to this treatment. It's only bound
to get worse as he starts touring with a band and playing bigger
venues. The general public is full of idiots...and geography doesn't
really have all that much to do with it, IMO.
Dan Contreras
I agree with the assertion that someone at the record store should
have taken care of this clown right away. Hell, this guy's 'buddies'
obviously knew the guy was a shit-disturber and drug him outta there
themselves. Let this be a lesson for how to handle idiots at future
shows.
I agree with Annette, post the shithead's (not Paul, the other
shithead) address until enough people take his picture and he moves
out.
Even though he obviously knew it was just the one guy causing the
trouble, I find it incredible that Paul composed himself enough to
come back out and sign autographs. That was a hell of a gesture after
that episode.
ma...@mhvf.net (Cannonball) wrote in message news:<793706cd.02042...@posting.google.com>...
Rody0
in-store appearance could turn so ugly? Good for fucking Paul to go after that
prick.
Brame
pissed off.
Let's sic Paul on Axl so he and Tommy can tour together again.
- Jb
Charles Ford
"Cannonball" <ma...@mhvf.net> wrote in message
news:793706cd.02042...@posting.google.com...
> The crowd was completely silent and Paul
> clearly muttered, "Thanks, Bob," as he made his way to the second
> floor.
I assume you mean that he was addressing somebody in his entourage named
"Bob" and not channeling Bob Stinson at that moment.
Charles
Charles Ford
"meMe" <m...@me.com> wrote in message
news:l6tfcuclpd6hmruf1...@4ax.com...
>
> Ultimately, I would hold the management at Virgin
> responsible for what happened: if you get a heckler during a
> mostly-quite-acoustic set, you deal with the idiot ASAP
> and politely show them the door. Simple.
Exactly... That's how I've seen hecklers handled in the past. If the
management is not catching on, you can stop playing and announce that there
will be no music until the jerk is tossed out. I saw that heppan at a Cheap
Trick show... the crowd cheered when the guy was evicted and the show
continued merrily on..
Charles
DLew022
Let's sic Paul on Axl so he and Tommy can tour together again. >>
As I said...I was there and it was actually a VERY Axl moment when he came into
the crowd...
don
Rob Nargi
him....damn....if he gets sued, or worse yet arrested, he'll never tour
again
Charles Ford <cfo...@austin.rr.com> wrote in message
news:_e%x8.10262$d17.5...@typhoon.austin.rr.com...
Cannonball
It was sad, but I was really glad that Paul decided to come out for
the signing. Despite the fact that he was being put through the
ringer at times, he was more than willing to share in the pain of
others and I'm sure that all the "thank you"s and praise wiped out any
lingering bad feelings about the heckler. He made a lot of people
feel great that afternoon and I'm certain that he also felt better
after talking to so many fans. At least I think it served that
purpose for me, my wife, Jason and the few other people I was talking
with in line. It was much better than stumbling out of the store
shaking our heads and wondering what the hell had happened.
I've been telling people that it's one thing to have some buffoonish,
drunken heckler at a Mats show, where Paul or Tommy can leap off the
stage, slap somebody and get right back to playing without lettign it
bother them too much, but to have it happen at a solo acoustic show is
just an aggressive assault on the performer. Paul was really laying
himself wide open up there. It must have been scary as hell just to
get up there and sing these incredibly personal songs without a net.
No band, nowhere to hide, just staring into the faces of an audience
that's a few feet away from you. When some idiot starts heckling you
in that situation there's nothing else you can do but throw down your
guitar and strangle him.
Mark
Janetplanet99
Unbelieveable.
>Exactly. It's no wonder that the guy has an aversion to touring, with
>people like that out there in the world making his life miserable.
My biggest fear is that he won't tour because of a**holes like this.
>attracting a lot more of the backward-baseball-cap-drunken-
>college-boy crowd these days.
Just watch, one of these guys is going to be president one day.
Okay, you guys, we now have to go out and provide protection for our hero.
Badges, we don't need no badges....
Janet
Janetplanet99
>management is not catching on, you can stop playing and announce that there
>will be no music until the jerk is tossed out. I saw that heppan at a Cheap
>Trick show... the crowd cheered
In my job, I know that when someone is acting up, you need to take him
down...crowd control is essential. If this had been a bar, a bouncer would
have been available to do the job that Paul had to do himself. Lets all agree
that if it happens again, we take action.
Janet
S. Smith
>>attracting a lot more of the backward-baseball-cap-drunken-
>>college-boy crowd these days.
>
>Just watch, one of these guys is going to be president one day.
Too late...he already is. ;)
John Nargi
Janetplanet99
>>>college-boy crowd these days.
>>
>>Just watch, one of these guys is going to be president one day.
>
>Too late...he already is. ;)
I know, I know.
Janet
Holtz
DLew022 wrote:
If Axl had been in that position and did exactly what Paul did, you guys would be
ripping him apart, isn't it nice to be hypocritical?
foggynotion
seeing him perform and asked if we would see him in the Bay Area again
anytime soon. His response: "Yeah, I think so - we're probably gonna come
back in the summer and play a real gig."
This may have been the most intimate, unique performance I've seen in 23
years of live shows - go see him at the in-stores and look forward to seeing
a tour this summer!
"John Nargi" <jna...@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:Rd0y8.45015$%s3.19...@typhoon.ne.ipsvc.net...
John Nargi
sjconro
the crowd after a little old lady or a toddler-in Axle's case, a fair fight.
JSmoliak
emotional show. It was great talking to Paul afterward, and to Mark and his
wife, is was cool meeting you as well. Hope to see you at the next show.
Jason
Rody0
either by Paul or Vagrant or somebody else? That would be SOOO lame...unless
the guy was Paul's friend and they just did it as a goof...
Cannonball
Well, that's why I didn't speculate on what the "Thanks, Bob" comment
meant. "Bob" could have the manager of Virgin for all I know. It
didn't look like he said it to anyone in particular.
Bob Stinson is obviously still on his mind, though. During the solo
break in Swinging Party, Paul stepped back from the mike, closed his
eyes and said, "Take it, Bob." I'm sure some folks here remember Mats
shows where Bob brought things to a screeching halt by fighting with
audience members (or other members of the band). I have no idea what
Paul meant by the comment--and he obviously wasn't trying to be funny
or clever, since it was mumbled in anger--but it's possible that it
was a private joke between him and his late guitarist.
Then again, maybe his roadie's name was Bob. I don't know.
Shannon
wrote:
Nah. I wouldn't, anyway. Any musician in that position, who dealt so
well for so long with such a person, wouldn't get any crap from me
when he finally blew a gasket and smacked him.
Shannon
Jason
I agree. It's especially difficult for people who have anxiety
attacks like I've often heard it said that Paul sometimes suffers
from...it's difficult enough to get yourself into a state of mind
where you go through with the show at all, and all it takes sometimes
is one bad moment to throw your emotional state off-kilter (and when
you're on stage with a few hundred eyes upon you, there's not much of
a chance to get your equilibrium back).
It's a lot easier when you numb yourself with alcohol first, but since
Paul's not a drinker anymore I can only imagine what he's going
through. People's expectations of him are so high, especially given
how little time he's spent in the public eye the last few years...
Jason
Janetplanet99
that makes my rock 'n' roll heart skip a beat.
Speculate all you want...I know what I want to believe. Call me sentimental.
Janet>> > The crowd was completely silent and Paul
whoamuleshine
college-GIRL crowd that was irrittating actually.
Some college freshman was yammering away with her idiot drunken
college buddies the entire show. I thought I was just being
overly-anal in my annoyance but others eventually started yelling at
her to shut up. That was the first time I heard someone be told to
shut up at a rock show because they were talking and not heckling. I
don't know why she was even there. Definitely not a fan.
--Dan
On Thu, 25 Apr 2002 13:39:33 -0500, S. Smith <scott...@visi.com>
wrote:
whoamuleshine
On Fri, 26 Apr 2002 02:26:28 GMT, "John Nargi" <jna...@attbi.com>
wrote:
John Nargi
time I saw him was at the Paradise in '96. Best show I've ever been to. I
actually got to meet him after, and he was the most 'down-to-earth' guy in
the world. I was shocked...usually when you (I) have a high opinion of
someone, they turn out to be jerks. He signed an old 'mats T-shirt for me
and I said to him, "You made my summer". He replied, with his wry smile,
"No, man, you made mine" I know he was fuckin' with me, but it felt good
nonetheless.
John Ellis
meMe wrote:
>
Ultimately, I would hold the management at Virgin
> responsible for what happened: if you get a heckler during a
> mostly-quite-acoustic set, you deal with the idiot ASAP
> and politely show them the door. Simple.
Or not even that much - just give the guy a warning or something and if
he does it again, then show him the door.
John Nargi
ANAL part). Guys (and gals), he did what any NORMAL person would do. Shit,
If I'm doing my job and some ass is heckling me, I'd punch him in his gob
too.
S. Smith
>On Fri, 26 Apr 2002 02:26:28 GMT, "John Nargi" <jna...@attbi.com>
>wrote:
>
>>I don't know, the last prez looked more like a frat boy to me.....
>>
>They're ALL frat boys.
Which is really part of the problem, isn't it? ;)
Cannonball
> Just thinking about this whole SF show...any chance this incident was staged,
> either by Paul or Vagrant or somebody else? That would be SOOO lame...unless
> the guy was Paul's friend and they just did it as a goof...
I'm sure they didn't hire the guy to pick a fight with me. No,
there's no way it was staged. I'm sure a lot of folks thought that
Paul was just goofing around, but it was clear that he was genuinely
irritated, and ultimately pissed off, at the disruptions. The guy's
been dealing with hecklers throughout his whole career, but it's a
whole other thing when it's just you up there with an acoustic guitar
singing songs that you've never sung in front of a crowd before. Not
to mention the fact that it was only his third show in however many
years. When he charged at the guy, it was genuine. It wasn't a stunt
or a joke or just Paul trying to be funny. I'm sure he really wanted
to strangle him. He didn't leave the stage happy. But, like I said,
I think the signing probably helped and it's funny to hear Paul
calling the show "boisterous" the day after.
Phil Garcia
I actually did go after someone heckling then getting personal at a
show I went to quite a few years back. Promptly getting restrained but
still managing to kick mr hecklers ribs a few times before being
completely contained. The funny thing is that the singer for the band
scolded me afterward for not being respectful of others views..
Well that singer is dead now.. partially cause he could not tolerate
anymore idiots in his life and other peoples views of him
became more than he could bear. I never condone violence for the sake
of gettin yer yaya's. But you gotta stand for something in your life
or you just fall down all the time!! Where were Pauls roadies?? My
roadies from back in the day were almost scarry stormtrooper like in
the way they took care of us skinny musician.. If my roadies had been
there mr heckler would... well... not be!!
Phil
Charles Ford
> At that point, the guy behind me yelled, "That was a real Sonny
> Bono move!"
>
"Sonny Bono?" That doesn't even make sense...Who would make up an
insult involving a rock star turned politician who was killed when he
wrapped himself around a tree in a skiing accident? (or maybe that was
the point)
Charles
Lil
He is. Can you think of anyone else like Paul? Tom Waits maybe? But
Springsteen fans know about him, Jonathan Richman? people know him from
that Mary movie. Paul is the most un-famous famous person I know of.
and the thing that will always always stay in my blood is the respect he
gave us, the fans. From the first time in I saw him in 1985, he always
had more time for fans then he did for the DJ du jour who was sent over
by the radio station to introduce him...I guess in a way stuff like that
wasn't too helpful for his career.
Anyone ever try to explain him to people (like parents of your kids'
friends) I say stuff like "There were 1000 people out to see him in LA
last night! He'll be on Letterman!" Blank stares...they perk up when I
get to the Friends soundtrack though. If one more mom tells me how much
she likes Sting.....
I think my question for Paul will be "So, when are you doing the music
for a Nickelodeon show?"
(is that Macy Gray on As Told To By Ginger? Great show)
Annette
Lil
>>In my job, I know that when someone is acting up, you need to take him
down...crowd control is essential.<<<
You must be a teacher! a Middle School teacher! :)
Annette, a former Middle School English Teacher from New Jersey
Janetplanet99
>down...crowd control is essential.<<<
>
>You must be a teacher! a Middle School teacher! :)
>
>Annette, a former Middle School
Close, a waitress in the sky.
Janet
Kathms
> either by Paul or Vagrant or somebody else? <<<
Did you know Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln and Lincoln had a secretary
named Kennedy? Coincidence? I think not....
k.
**********************************************************************
The Paul Westerberg Page
http://members.aol.com/paulspage/main.htm
**********************************************************************
DLew022
know if I'm just speaking for myself, but Paul seemed real nervous and very
insecure up there. The new songs were fine and Paul knew them well, but he
seemed very poignant on the Mats tunes. LKike I said though, maybe that was
just me feeling excited to see him and saddened by the loss of The Replacements
as a band...per se.
What that heckler did was totally f-ed up. I'm on another music list and a guy
at the Paul in-store actually went to Mark Eitzels in-store later that night
and CONFRONTED the slapped heckler who was at both. I'll try and get that email
and post it here. The short story of it though: the guy is an asshole and tried
to justify what he did and blame it on Paul's reaction.
don
DLew022
at(I think) Rock in Rio? Aside from stage size, both fan attacks were
strikingly similar ;)
Hell, Paul could have just asked one of us to beat the guy and we would have
done it.
don
Brian
There were Three very well dressed guys standing to our left. Perfectly
coifed hair, expensive leather jackets, trendy as hell. New software money.
Anyway for the first 25 minutes or so one of them was giving the other a
crash course on Westerberg and the 'mats. And he was getting most of it
wrong. My wife and I were getting a little annoyed as he just kept talking.
He had comment for everything. Fans all around were getting annoyed. At one
point he wasn't even facing the stage. I finally got fed up I leaned over
and yelled "Shut the fuck up asshole I paid to listen to the music, not
you."
He looked at me shocked, my wife cringed and people around us stared waiting
for the shoe to drop. They started thinking three against one not bad odds.
One of them moved towards me and someone from behind him grabbed his
shoulder and said, " Yea, shut the fuck up." Then someone else chimed in.
Then with two of these asshole's in my face another guy (Very big guy)
walked over and stuck his finger in Mr. Chatty's chest chest and said "
Leave asshole." They quickly figured out that their presence was no longer
tolorated so they slunk off.
Funny thing is that the big guy who came to my aid looked a lot like the the
"FRISCO" asshole.
Brian
"whoamuleshine" <whoamu...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3cc8cb01...@netnews.attbi.com...
OSU Buckeyes
years after the first time I met him. Pretty amazing. Comes out and
talks/signs stuff after every show...
--
CDR Trading Page:
http://www.geocities.com/hthull.geo/entrance.html
Bad Traders:
Andy Chard - Manchester, UK
Ryan Benja - Fletcher, North Carolina
Zach Falb - St. Paul, Minnesota
Ben Harrell - Lakeland, Florida
John Nargi
and saw him in Cambridge a little while back....Always a great show... Talk
about underrated, or not getting their due.....
"OSU Buckeyes" <thu...@columbus.rr.com> wrote in message
news:thull1-ya0235800...@news-server.columbus.rr.com...
Shannon
wrote:
>That's amazing.... I've never met him, but saw the Alarm a couple of times,
>and saw him in Cambridge a little while back....Always a great show... Talk
>about underrated, or not getting their due.....
Loved that band. I only managed to see them live once, but it was
really a great show.
Someone remind me when Paul's on Letterman, can't find it. :P
Shannon
John Nargi
"Shannon" <srae...@iglouGoAway.com> wrote in message
news:llhjcu000us4od6e8...@4ax.com...
John Ellis
someone because they took his picture or something stupid. Seems apples
and oranges to even compare that to a drunk heckling a performer at an
intimate in-store.
Phil Garcia
musicians. Sometimes I fear for my fav musicians when they become
known for being that aproachable. I;m always afraid some ass will do
something stupid.. you know and then I'll have to kill them slowly....
Mike Peters, Paul Westerberg, Andy from Jellyfish, Elvis Costello,
Alice Cooper and Dirnt from Green Day have all been so cool in public
when I've seen them with fans. So much so that I usually don't bother
talking to them as everything I may wanna ask will be addressed by one
fan or another.. In fact usually more than once and everytime the same
question is asked, those guys answer as if was the first time anyone
has ever asked those questions.. Just gracious they have been... So
usually I'll just hang out and listen to what they chat about.. and
think damn I have great taste in musicians to admire!!!.. Yeah its all
about me..
Phil
HHHHmmm donuts
Kevin M. LaFrance
one of those bands we won't see on "where are they now?"
John Nargi
"Kevin M. LaFrance" <laf...@northnet.org> wrote in message
news:3CCD1B18...@northnet.org...