August 26th Andy Griggs performed at Great Adventure. Andy has such a strong soulful voice and wore some really cool leather pants. He too has not achieved the success yet that he should. On August 30th, it was back up to Connecticut to see Phil Vassar at the Wolf's Den. Linda had emailed me after seeing a message I posted on Phil's website message board, expressing an interest in her and Wayde meeting me at the show and having a drink together. After seeing primarily high rollers being given the prime tables at the Wolf's Den, it was learned that through the grumbling of many, it would be changed for this particular show. Nonetheless, we set out very early in the morning stopping for gas. As I was coming out of the convenience store and older gentleman told me I had on a very pretty dress. (It was way too early for that. LOL) We arrived at the casino at about 7:00Am where there were six others in front of us. That is where Jen and I would meet again. We knew we had a long wait before the show would begin that evening and we made the most of it. A few hours later, Linda and Wayde arrived and we chatted for about 40 minutes before they took their place in line. They turned out to be really nice people and we would get together a couple more times.
When it was time to begin seating, because there were six people ahead of us they were seated at a booth on the upper level. There were only two in my party and two in Linda's, so they sat us at the same table which was in the center and one table away from the stage! We had a lot of fun getting to chat some more and enjoy some drinks before the show.
When Phil and the guys took the stage, they looked phabulous! Phil had on a white long sleeve fitted (what he calls his Vegas)shirt on and black pants that were snugger than usual. He was even more good looking than ever before! He did his Elvis lip thing and swivel...OMG!! Of course, later in the show he donned what I call the Dwight Yoakam hat too. Jenn said she didn't take as many photos as she would have because the camera kept getting in the way. Suffice it to say, he did most of the songs on his CD, plus those recorded by Tim, Jo Dee, Collin, etc., Piano Man, he covered some rock songs and...he did Play That Funky Music White Boy. Now, inspite of the fact that I'd seen Phil perform 3 times prior to this, the band was not present with him. But on this night, the band not only complimented Phil extremely well but they ROCKED the house(what an incredible group of musicians) and allowed this lion to roam and roam he did. I'd witnessed Phil leap atop the piano once before but in one stride, he went from the stage to the tops of the booths and prowled along shaking hands as he went. He was all over the place. I think Scott (his road manager at the time) got a little nervous when he did this, not knowing if someone would lose control and pull him down but this audience was rather well behaved. :)
Now, I'd been to a couple of other shows at the Wolf's Den before and I've witnessed those standing outside of the railing who were not able to get inside but I've never seen the number of people all around the perimeter of the Den like they were that night. Undoubtedly the gamblers heard the music, came to investigate and stayed to watch in awe.
Phil met with those on the fan club meet~n~greet list after the show and some who hung around afterwards. We were taken into to see him a couple at a time depending on who was with who. He was so sweet and smelled wonderful. I was given a glimpse into his heart when he called me by my name! Inspite of the fact that they had to get on the road to ME, it was almost as if he HAD thank each and every one. As I just drove back from CT August 31st, all I could think of was how long it had been since I had been to a show like that. The date was 9/8/98, the place was Philly and the artist was Garth Brooks.
On the morning of September 2nd, Charmaine and I drove down to Hagerstown, MD to see Phil Vassar and Trick Pony perform at the Hagerstown Community College Ampitheater. When I called the venue to order the tickets, the guy I spoke to was amazed that we were coming down from NJ to see a show. I told him it was only about a 3hr. drive and that was nothing. He pretty much let me pick our seats as he told me what were available of the best. We ended up in the third row of the orchestra pit. We arrived there about 10:00Am and found a place to eat breakfast. After we made our way to the campus, we discovered that we were the first ones there and decided to explore the area. We started down a road that ran behind the ampitheater and saw Trick Pony's bus. At the same time, I realized we probably should not be there. Inspite of Char urging me to continue and a cop waving us forward, I turned around and drove the other way. Trick Pony rocked as well as did Phil and the band. During Phil's performance Ira Dean (Trick Pony) came out to bring him some water. Ira had rolled up his shirt exposing his stomach where he had written "I love Phil" on it. It was so funny! I ran into both Sue (Mark Wills/Marina show) and Renee' (Eric fan) there. I also got to meet some fans of Phils there that I had exhanged messages with. During the meet~n~greet, I walked up to Phil and while I covered my name tag, I said "okay Phil what's my name?" He said "don't even try it Cheryl". I just wanted to see if he remembered. LOL
Seven days later, a country fest was held at Great Adventure. There we saw, Sherrie Austin, Hal Ketchum, Restless Heart (YAY!!) and Pam Tillis. Each gave a good show and it was so good to have RH back together again but Pam really performed! Both Sherrie and RH signed autographs and took photos afterwards and were all really sweet.
On September 11, 2001, our lives would be forever changed. I was at work standing at the back door when the Dispatcher frantically called out to me to come and see what was on TV. The first plane had hit one of the twin towers (the World Trade Center) in New York. How could anyone not see that building in broad daylight, was what I wondered. When the second plane hit the other tower, I was convinced that it was no accident. In shock, I ran to a phone and called the other employees in the building to come into the police station. If this were to be the commencement of more horrible things to come, I figured they'd be safer there and we could be kept informed via television and teletype of what was to come. The remaining part of the day and evening was spent glued to the television. Tears began to flow as another plane went down in PA and yet another crashed into the Pentagon. Horrible images that none of us will ever be able to get out of our minds unfolded right before our eyes and while I was forty something, I felt like a fourteen year old waiting for Dad to tell me everything would be alright.
A day passed and my phone rang. It was my Sister calling to say that Joey, her brother-in-law who was a NYC Firefighter and who responded to the World Trade Center, hadn't returned home. Oh God no, he wasn't even on duty but that was the kind of person he was. Days and weeks went by and with glimmers of hope in our hearts still, the family decided to plan on a memorial service for Joey on October 10th. Knowing that I had made an extensive number of acquaintances over the net, my sister called one evening. She asked if there was any way I could get in touch with Bruce Springsteen to perhaps sing a song at Joey's memorial. Joey and Stacy were huge fans of Bruce's and had seen him perform close to 100 times. I had no idea how I could accomplish that but I instantly thought of Brian in the Netherlands. I emailed Brian and he wrote back with two email addresses. I had no idea who I would be emailing the request to. I received a reply from one stating that my email had been forwarded to Bruce's management.
A few days later after I returned from a weekend away, I received an email from a lady saying that they had been trying to contact me about Joey. They called and left a message not knowing if they had the right person and for me to call 'Barbara' at the office or at home. The office was closed so I rang her residence and as it turned out, I spoke to someone who was with Bruce's management. She told me that as much as Bruce wanted to pay tribute to Joey and others for that matter, he could not bring himself emotionally to do it. I then asked if there were any chance he would call her. She said she was sure he would. A devastated Stacy who for the most part lived in a fog after 9/11, answered her phone one day to hear, "May I speak to Stacy?...Stacy, this is Bruce Springsteen." They talked for about 40 minutes and for the first time in weeks, the smile that Joey had many times before put on Stacy's face resurfaced. Bruce subsequently invited Stacy and the kids to a benefit concert as his guests. Bruce is the man...and why wouldn't he be; he is from Jersey afterall. I remain indebted to Brian and to think, had I not gotten into Country Music, I may not have been able to help out at all. Months and months later, Joey's remains were found. He went home one last time.
"Well, you hit the World Trade Center, but you missed America. You hit the Pentagon, but you missed America. You used helpless American bodies, to take out other helpless American bodies, but like a poor marksman, you STILL missed America. Why? Because of something you guys will never understand." So begins a 'Letter to a Terrorist', author unknown.
Around this time, XTU had made an announcement regarding a newly created festival called "The Philly Chili Cook-off" to be held at the Philadelphia Race Track in Bensalem, PA. On the bill was Phil Vassar, Keith Urban, Montgomery Gentry, Martina McBride and Brooks and Dunn. Tickets were purchased through Ticketmaster but it was general admission, which as you've probably guessed, meant a run once the gates were open if you wanted to get close to the stage. Linda and Wayde had decided to come down from Connecticut and a friend of Char's offered to put Char, Sandy and myself up in her apartment only a few minutes away from the track. I don't think any of us got much sleep; maybe Linda and Wayde who stayed at a nearby hotel got more than the rest. Char, Sandy and I decided to check out the race track area to see if they were allowing people to camp out. It didn't appear at the time that they were but when we were leaving, we spotted a few people in the dark sitting in lawn chairs near one of the gates. They had not allowed anyone to park on the grounds though, which is why we almost didn't see them. Char dropped us off and went to find a place to park on the street. Jim and Cathy arrived shortly after I called them to let them know what was going on. I think it was around 5:00Am when Brenda arrived, then Linda and Wayde. It started to rain...yuck!...but we were prepared.
Seeing that there were a number of gates that people would be let into, we devised a plan to split up and whoever reached the stage area first would grab enough spots for everyone in our group. I believe it was around 10:00Am when the gates opened and poor Sandy and Cathy were loaded down with backpacks and lawnchairs and everyone who cared to made a mad dash. Go Jim, go...I was right behind him running through puddles and yet managing not to fall on the slippery grass as I rounded the corner; and at the same time egging him on! Whew...we ended up right at the stage where the only thing that separated us from the stage itself was a barrier where security would stand that was about 3' deep. It then began to pour and our ponchos and umbrellas shot up like tents. When the rain slacked up some, we were able to walk around and seek nourishment. When Phil came out, it was still raining some and Sandy held the umbrella over me to avoid my camera getting wet. About mid-way through his performance, it stopped raining but the stage had not been mopped yet so he splashed around in the puddles. Some of the water splashed on one of the security people and the guy was not happy. We managed to get him to loosen up and smile because afterall we were all already wet, so what the heck. LOL
