Travel Ghoulies and The New Cars

Well, hiya! How was everyone's weekend? I missed you so!

Did anyone else suffer the travel ghoulies like CruiserMel did? Oh hell to the yeah, it's gotten to where I'm not even surprised anymore by my missteps in travel. It sometimes even gives me the giggles.

Friday morning came and I was almost too excited to be driving because I knew in 12 hours I would be seeing my Todd Rundgren with The New Cars. It had been since November since TNC had toured, and frankly not many expected they would tour ever again, after the lousy management last time around. But they've switched companies and perhaps they might get a little more PR in '07. I've had Todd up on a pedestal since I first heard him singing "Hello, It's Me" on my radio as a kid and though I've come close, I've never actually met him, but let's just say I was determined to change that, this time.

I should've taken heed in the fact that of the 4 of us who had bought our tickets together, two had to cancel. But CruiserMel was determined to make it to a place named Kinder, Louisiana at a casino, and L was still going to drive in from Houston and meet me there. So yay!

I dropped CruiserDog off at his Aunt CE's and hit the road. Then the A/C in the CruiserCar acted up - but I was still not daunted. Thirty miles outside of Dallas, I saw the flashing lights of one of Texas' finest. She wasn't stopping me for speeding, a broken taillight, or a dead body hanging out of the trunk. No, she stopped me for not having a front license plate. Lamelamelamelamelame. Wench. And I didn't mean to laugh when her trooper hat blew off and she had to chase it into a ditch. The giggles were about to give me a stitch in my side as I drove off with my written warning.

To add further stress to the situation, something was wrong with the starter on the car, so every time I stopped, I was faced with the question of "is there a rental car place or mechanic nearby?" It happened 3 times in the six-hour drive. But CruiserMel was still undaunted.

I got to the hotel, met up with L, whored-up, had a cocktail, and headed to dinner and the pavilion. It was showtime! And it was tons-o-fun! I found my way up to the stage and took some amazing photos, too. It was so much fun that I can't even think of a better word than "fun."

When the show ended - I insisted L & I go around back to see if we could find Todd and get some treasures signed by T the G.

I did not go all that way (again!) to just be happy with seeing Todd on the stage. I had a mission and had suffered that awful drive, so I deserved dessert, dammit.

First we saw Atom (the bass player who sits in for Kasim when he's with Meat Loaf) who graciously signed my stuff and visited for a little while. He looks amazingly like Benjamin Orr who was the original bassist for The Cars. Amazingly! When I'd seen him in November, I thought he was cute - but his hair's grown out and he's, well - whoa!

Then Prairie Prince came out and signed my stuff - and I think L got a little crush on PP, but shhhh, don't tell her I told you so. He was funny and charming and we were impressed that he was so humble, seeing as how he's played with the likes of Jefferson Starship and The Tubes, along with my Todd for so many years.

Then - there he was. Todd Rundgren. I didn't have time to get nervous, thankfully. He was all sweaty and wearing his "11" shirt from Spinal Tap. And he was very sweet and nice and it was a good visit. He signed my vintage Utopia handbill and upon seeing Kasim's autograph said "I see Kasim's already been here." (hee) Then some handler beotch came and hurried him along. Even he didn't look like he was ready to go to the hotel. *sigh* By then, CruiserMel was walking on air!

We met up with some folks I'd met in an online Todd forum at the bar in the casino. Great new friends! We exchanged some stories and before too long - here comes Atom and Prairie! Girrrrrrrl, I was out of my mind with glee when we found ourselves hangin' with da boys. And it even got better when Greg Hawkes (The Cars' original founding member / keyboardist) came in, ordered a martini and joined us. The only ones missing were Todd and the other guitarist, Elliott Easton. Pity for them.

That's Prairie, L, CruiserMel and Atom. Cute, huh? Ummm, hummm. *okay, J will never ever know about this blog, just sayin.*

This is Greg & CM. Fantastic man! The sounds he pioneered in the 80's with the keyboards still send shivers up my spine. And I told him so. He probably thinks I'm a nutball. And he would be right.

The next day, CruiserMel and L parted and I drove home with a wicked hangover and very little sleep. It was a beautiful drive through a wooded east Texas and I enjoyed seeing the little towns and Dairy Queens along the way, as opposed to the interstate highways I'd taken the day before.

But because state roads take longer, I missed watching Steve Nash that night. Whattadrag.

Oh well - there's always tonight!

So - what did I miss around here?