Wendy's Dallas LiMBO Recap

Maybe the recaps are maybe getting a bit redundant, but there is always a bit of a twist in how we see it all. Those who are used to going to shows/ concerts might not see it as a big experience. So, bear with me, please.

Sharon8’s brother-in-law somehow didn’t believe the rest were ‘real’ people. Didn’t know each other before, met on mj’s except for Becky (who is a family friend of Sharon. We keep telling our kids to be cautious about meeting people online, and here we are... At least Sharon8 now has many pictures to go with the names, so we can now be real people. Of course, we are careful adults (maybe until time to go fangirly). It is breaking out of some bounds to find yourself going out for the evening with relative strangers... and yet, for us, I felt like I already knew these people from the blog. In some small way, the meeting new people part is as important as the rest.

Sharon8, Carol, and Kathy left early from Houston to head for Dallas. They were gearing up with Cyndi Lauper, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, and .. Roy D. Mercer?? Don’t know him... ask Sharon8. Meantime, I was already pacing with excitement, waiting for them to stop and pick me up.

Our first stop was at the Nokia theater in Grand Prairie for what we lovingly called “bus stalking”. The others are going to the main show in Houston, and I was only doing Limbo, so this was our chance to see who would come out. I really really wanted to tell all of them how we hoped they would enjoy Texas. It was a surprise that there wasn’t more than maybe 25 people there, all seemed fairly normal like us (if we can be called normal). The Pickler people were waiting for Kelly, but none of the girls came out. Son (about age 14?) and daughter (about 10) were completely dressed in pink, even to the hair. Hmmm. Since none of the girls ever showed, the guard was nice enough to take their photos back for Kelly to sign, and when he came back, Kelly had sent out a gift Tshirt for them. We spent some time talking to the guy who was waiting to see Elliott, in his black shirt that he had jazzed up with letters down one side that spelled Elliott.. all embellished with green rhinestones. Several of them had not heard of MJ’s, and of course, we told them it was the best site online.

Buses were at the back of Nokia. I try to be discreet, but hollered “welcome to Texas” for all. Chain link fence... Ace came to the fence, climbed it like a monkey, since a gift would not fit through. Bucky got smart, he just walked over to the gate and came on out. We chatted with the security guard. normally works with Bruce Springsteen, and is gearing up for next tour which is Europe. Claire, I think he said Ireland was included. Maybe the guys do “fan greet duty” on shifts, since none came out at the same time. Chris came out after Bucky. At first, Chris seemed reluctant to respond with more than one or two words, but that seemed to pass and he was comfortable signing, and made sure fans got pictures (and he smiled too!). Elliott walked between the back door of the theater and the bus several times, and each time, he acknowledged the people, but seemed busy. He said he would be there in a few minutes, and he may have, after we left. (Lu, I wanted to especially give Elliott greetings from you, but it wasn’t to be).  It wasn’t too bad when we first arrived, but it got hot as hell. Sweat dripping from ends of my hair, and down Kathy’s back. Chris mentioned how hot it was, I assured him that REALLY, we had turned the temp down some for them. Dallas had about a month of 100 or more degree days, so I think we were about 10 degrees less. I am not sure he believed me. We really need to give these kids more credit, for the fact that it IS a long and intense tour. And few have experience with the fan experience... people lined up (or scrambling) to see them, say something, get pictures, blah blah.

Kathy had brought a gift for Taylor. The guard offered to take it back to him, but she sweetly said “no, thanks.” She was more than willing to wait and see if she could not have the pleasure of giving it to him herself. Knowing what we know of Taylor, it seemed like he would make time for the fans. I do think the guard mentioned that he went to the bus, and let T know that someone had a gift for him.

Energy spiked when Taylor finally walked towards the gates. It happened to be that I had been standing closer to the gate opening, and was “first”. I admit... I had worked on not being pushy, and I so wanted to say something 1/2 way intelligent. I hoped it would please him to hear that MJs is gaining people from different places in the world, even Ardnian who introduced some of Taylor’s original stuff to people he met in Beijing. And the lady in the Phillipines who was hunting for the single to go on sale there. And we have Claire in Ireland. Somehow, I hoped for 30 seconds of a real conversation on a human level... not just flustered fan. I MAYBE managed that much (and I think he heard what I said about China) before the brain started sliding into “holy crap, I am actually standing here next to him”. I tried to retrieve “discreet” ..and in the process, backed off before asking if he would do a picture with me. DUH. Of course, my husband and whole family were so damn thrilled FOR me to go, I HAD to come back with a picture. So, I tried to go back to the line, let everyone have their opportunity, and prayed that he would not think I was a total nutcase. Just a small forgivable nutcase.

So much for the socks issue... when tay came out for autographs, he was just wearing shoes with no socks. After dealing with the fans, he worked off some energy tossing football. Picky fans that we are, we gawked, and lo and behold socks had materialized. My take on this... I sure as hell don’t expect him to worry about “style” or fan preferences, when out there tossing around a football. Who the hell wants blisters, when they have a show to do, in a few hours? Oh, and besides that, he had on a Stevie Wonder t-shirt with shorts. Little wonder (pardon the pun).

After two hours of waiting for autographs/ pictures, the heat did us in. And the rest of the evening was ahead. We headed over to check in at the motel, cool off, catch up more on getting to know each other. Limo was booked for 6 pm (oh, what a treat). Had no idea where to have dinner, so we drove around the area, debating what sounded good. When we went past Hard Rock Cafe, it just screamed out at us... I mean, what could be more appropriate? Of course, WE are convinced that the day will come, when Taylor Hicks memorabilia will be displayed there. Carol found a T-shirt, and then Sharon8 spotted the drumsticks with Hard Rock Dallas on them. PERFECT. Those were for Zippy’s welcome to Dallas, and he was floored, when she went up to him to give them to him, before the show.  I really doubt that anyone would have guessed that we were NOT friends of many years, to see us, talking away and laughing. Come to think of it...

All I can say about Limbo, keeps coming back to Holy Crap. Wow.

If Taylor’s exuberance bothered you on the show, read no further. You probably won’t like this. These guys are freaking ALIVE with every song they do. I thought I was prepared for them by prior reviews.... nope, nothing prepares you for this. Since I am just getting to know them, I may goof on names (or earlier band members). Brian Less does keyboard and vocals. At one point, I was able to see his hands ... they FLEW across the keys. Jeff Lopez was on sax and clarinet. Oh, the joy in him was so thick, it almost dripped. He smiled and laughed, kept beat with his head, directed attention to others when they were “on”. One song, he came out with “mouth” music (for lack of a better word). Zippy Dietrich is on drums. Before seeing him in action, I could never imagine a whole song of nothing but percussion. His performance easily shows me how that could be. Sam Gunnerson is bass guitar, and if not mistaken, Abe (Becker?) was not usually with the gang. He seems a bit younger. All that is missing is the harmonica man, but we all know where he is, for the moment.

To see Limbo, is not a simple performance. It is an on-stage party, and everyone there is part of the action. The guys interact with the audience, pulling the “guests” into the action. I didn’t understand “scatting” before, now I do. Every once in a while, the impromptu lyrics mentioned some guy named Taylor Hicks, and with a big grin, of course. Honestly, I can’t see these guys doing arena type shows, because I think it would create a barrier between them and the audience. And with arena or theater seating, it would be difficult to dance. I would feel confined, to listen to them and not be able to stand and sway, or wiggle, or whatever. I turned at one point, to see an older guy (60ish?) who was moving with the music. And there was the girl in the white top... I had to wonder if she danced professionally. I hardly remember her sitting down at all. Yes, there probably were 2 to 1, in terms of females to males, but for some guys, that could be a “draw”. I think most guys would walk away with a respect for the band.  I think it is a major statement of their talent, that the crowd had both young as well as mature fans.

I admit that I have almost no knowledge of many musical complexities. Didn’t need them, at least for me. the music just was pure gut level as far as I was concerned. As for debates about original songs versus covers, they did original songs that I don’t have a clue what the title was. But many of the songs were oldies that I KNEW, and could sing along with. Didn’t matter... at least to me, they put so much of their own style into them that they were old songs and new at the same time. A purist might see it differently. Having been in my little world for a long time, I can’t describe the style/genre as others might. Soul, blues, rock, pop? But, not sure it really matters so much, as the fact of how the music GOT to me. Was tapping my pen on the table, until the pen broke. Some of the songs they did...

Don’t Fade Away
Honkey Cat ... holy shit for Brian on the keyboard
Bright Lights, Big City
What I Say? (Ray Charles)
Great Balls of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis)
tribute to new orleans ?? ad libs and improvising
New York State of Mind
zippy drum solo, just stunned and watching him lost in it
jeff lopez on sax and clarinet... unbelievable, just unbelievable.

The end of the evening was a raffle for a signed guitar, with proceeds going to the Make a Wish foundation.

Having seen Limbo in action, I feel like I understand Taylor so much more. I totally loved what I saw him do on the competition. Now? Looking back, those performances seem as if he was boxed in, especially by being unable to have any instrument to be playing. After Thursday, the thought crossed my mind that Taylor’s uniqueness (on the competition) may have seemed like a single puzzle piece, in such contrast to the other contestants. Once you see Limbo, the puzzle is no longer a puzzle.

At the same time, those who only see Limbo as a chance to “catch” a bonus appearance of Mr Hicks, are missing the boat, BIG time. And insulting the talent right in front of them. And if Taylor doesn’t get to have Limbo with him on his cd, it will be a huge loss. Taylor is great on his own, and Limbo is great on its own. I hope to hell I won’t have to choose between the two. And I sure hope Taylor doesn’t have to choose between the guys who KNOW him, and some other band, selected by whoever does such things.

We left just after the show ended, and drove off, talking about the fact that even if Taylor hadn’t shown up... we darn sure had gotten more than our money’s worth. I was floored to pour my coffee the next day, click over to MJ’s chat for the day... only to find out that Taylor had finally arrived! The supreme joke? Sharon had arranged for transport for us all, not only for safety, but knowing that Dallas is an easy place to get lost in. It had jokingly crossed my mind earlier... gee, what if TAYLOR gets lost? Here is a spot to give a quick prop to Steve, our limo driver. He didn’t get lost, and he was an enjoyable young man to boot. I really encouraged him to find a way to see Limbo.

**Wendy sighs**. Back to real life. GO SEE LIMBO if you can.