Bill & Sabine

Bill & Sabine are super dear friends of ours -- the friends we have known in Europe the longest. We have a total blast with them and have done a ton with them, and have gone through a lot of stuff together.

Bill lived in a few villages from us when we lived in Belgium and at that time, Sabine was living in Germany. Funny enough, when we left for Stuttgart, Sabine had their son Christopher (the little elf) and moved to Blegium. It seems we are always crossing paths.

But now, we are in the same country, living only a few hours away. I always say it's just a travesty that we don't get together often, but with work and kids, it makes things a bit complicated! But when we do get together, it's always a swinging time.

We made it up to their new townhouse, just outside of Frankfurt and spent the afternoon together with them. It was the first time they got to see the little man and like everyone we know, he took to Sabine right away....geesh, who wouldn't? She really is spectacular!

So - here are some great shots of her with little Beaner Boo and their beautiful garden. Enjoy!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

That's A LOT of beer

Uh, what can I say? Friends come over, we have a good time, beer gets drunk...heh heh heh.

Here is our little army of Bitburger soldiers... a case (20 half liter bottles) and 72 - .33 liter bottles...did we really drink all of those?!

bitte ein bit - ja wohl!

Father's Day 2007

For Father's Day this year, Terry received a "Best Dad, Hands Down" t-shirt (emblazed with Trevor's handprints), Trevor's 1st finger painting experience, a Beers from Around the World coffee table book and a much wanted (and complained about - that he didn't have one) universal remote -- evidently this makes working the TV and satelitte a bit easier - yeah, okay.

It was a gorgeous day, so we all packed up with Michael & Claudia and headed to the Vogelvoog Park in K'town. This place was amazing. It's got a huge lake, the amazing playground and little cafes sprinkled through the place. We went there to see the Irish Federation Foundation band play - Claudia was interested. They were pretty good, for Irish music (not too familiar with it). We had lovely afternoon beers, listened to music, we all played with Trevor on the playground and had a good time. (you can check out all the photos from this day here.)

Trevor started to get a bit antsy, so we headed out a bit before M & C, but they came over to the house to keep the festivities going.

Terry and I had a lovely fish and chips dinner and a big ole double chocolate chunk cookie for dessert (Terry's favorite)...it was a super day and we look forward to the next Father's Day - we'll have to see how we can top this one!

Just a Friendly Reminder....

WE MET PETE TOWNSHEND!!!

The Stones v. The Who

Round One:
Ticket Price

The Stones - free. My gal pal, Bunny, volunteers at the USO - The USO were given tickets to The Stones show to give out to the personnel on base. She got comp tickets and offered a set to us. Terry didn't have much interest in going (plus we didn't have a babysitter) and I never pass up free tickets to anything. Terry,, very interested in the going rate for these free tix was astounded to find out that The Stones were bringing in prices that ranged from 60 euro to 197 euros. For The Stones? Honestly --- who would pay that kind of money to see a bunch of old dudes? Evidently a lot of people. The 197 euro tix were sold out as was everything down to the 60 euro tix. Unbelievable.

Terry bought the tickets for The Who ages ago and one of them was Michael's birthday present. At 80 euro per ticket, it's not a cheap price, but The Who are definitely worth it. That seems to be the mean price for seeing anyone now-a-days, so kein problem....unfortunately, it's not the same as being free.

The Stones: 1 The Who: 0


Round Two:
Venues

The Stones played at the CommerceBank Arena in Frankfurt, where their soccer team plays. A (surprisingly) covered arena and the accoustics were CRAP! Talk about echo-mania and trying to figure out what song they were playing. Geesh...you'd think they would be concerned about how the sound is, especially with people paying A LOT of money for this show. Again, I would never pay that kind of money to see The Stones - as a matter of fact, I don't know who I would pay that kind of money to see...maybe, Prince.

The Who played in the middle of nowhere in Fulda (on an old air base). It was completely open for milling around, bleachers were set up for the old farts who didn't want to stand. Had a very festival-like feel to it - accoustics were great - we were able to get up close - we knew exactly what songs they were playing without struggling to figure out what it was.

The Stones: 1 The Who: 1


Round Three:
Discombobulated entry to The Stones ~~ Waiting in line to get in for The Who

Since The Stones were playing in an arena, we had an initial check point to go through. This is where the trouble started. The ticket chick started telling us that we need to go to some tent to get new tickets since ours were no good or something. They were good enough to get us into the arena complex, just not good enough to get us INTO the arena. We stand in a very, very long, slow moving line - not quite knowing what we were doing. After waiting in the hot sun for some time, Rob asked a woman who was taking questions what the deal was. She said we didn't need to get new tix and that all is okay. That was, until we got to the arena entry and that security woman said, No Way - get new tix, then called security to find out what was going on -- now different people were telling us different things. Turns out they over booked our standing section and were trading one location for another. Laura was about to freak until we were given the actual OKAY to get in. Once inside, the section we were in was packed, packed, packed full. The section next to us was not. We all decided to con our way into the less full section and grabbed some spots for the show.

The Who consisted of a big group of people trying to get through 4 lanes of security/entry. After that, it was whatever you wanted.

The Stones: 1 The Who: 2


Round Four:
Security Levels

The Stones had unbelievable security -- probably 20 - 30 men standing in that "no man's land" space between audience and stage. Also, they had security located all throughout the arena and there was no access to anything or to get anywhere. There was one door at the bottom of our section that lead out onto the floor of the arena and it was guarded by a kid who looked like he was 17. I told Laura that I could make it passed him...but then where would I go? Everything was cordoned off and there wasn't anywhere to go - if I wanted to run around the floor like a nutter, I could have managed it, but that lacked any kind of thrill.

The Who might, might, have had 3 guys in "no man's land." Hard to say, I only ever saw the one blonde guy who was hanging in our area. Due to the openess of the performance, maybe I didn't notice all the security that they actually had -- but it didn't matter because we by-passed them all and made it backstage.

The Stones: 1 The Who: 3


Round Five:
Beers & Bathrooms

At the arena, they did not have any deposit on the beer cups, so you didn't have to keep track of tokens or getting your money back. Additionally, I found a super secret women's room that no one seemed to know about...hooray! It was just at the top of our new seating section and the beers were just around the corner as well.

The Who concert was a bit tougher...you had to pay a deposit on your beer cup, you got a token, then had to go to another location to trade that in for your money. What was that all about? They were serving in plastic cups and you didn't have to return the cups (I don't think you did) so that was a bit more messy than above. Also, since it was outside, we're talking Port-A-Potties. Ew, talk about a big yuck factor. Bummer.

The Stones: 2 The Who: 3


Round Six:
Mick & Keith ~~ Roger & Pete

Mick was running around the stage like he always has done - I am assuming. He went to either side, down the middle and all around. Keith played but since the accoustics were so bad, I don't think it would be fair to comment on his level of performance. I was surprised to see a black dude playing guitar in addition to Keith and Ron Wood. What was that all about? Both Mick and Keith did several shirt changes...all I could really tell (from the distance I had from our location) was that when they started Mick was in red, Keith in turquoise - then, Mick was in a black t-shirt with sparkles, Keith in a sparkly jacket - then, Mick was in blue and Keith was in red. Wow. That's a lot of changing. Shouldn't they have spent that time playing their gig?

Roger was incredible. He was in super shape (oh, those huge arms of his) and he sounded amazing. Pete did the windmills and jumps and blew everyone away with his playing. No shirt changes, never left stage other than to say goodnight and back for an encore.

The Stones: 2 The Who: 4


Round Seven:
Length of gig

The Stones, I swear to you, played for maybe and hour and a half. I will have to double check with my concert mates, but it wasn't very long. Not as long as I had anticipated. They played the classics - Brown Sugar, Satisfaction, Paint it Black, Jumpin' Jack Flash among others and some new stuff. That's it? No Shelter Me nor Sympathy for the Devil?

The Who also played their classics - I think nearly all of them as they played for a whopping 2.5 - 3 hours. OH YEAH! Full value for the money.

The Stones: 2 The Who: 5


Round Eight:
Effect on Voice

There is always a sure fire way of finding out if I had a good time at a concert - the sound of my voice. A really good show will break my voice and will produce a rough, raspy (sometimes lost) voice. Terry calls it my "sexy, marge voice."

With that said, my voice was not effected my The Stones show. Sure, I did some screaming and yelling, sang to the songs I thought I had heard...but no problem the next day with my voice.

After The Who...I could tell I broke my voice. Two days later, talking on the phone to my friend, she asked "are you sick or something?" "Nope. Saw The Who...screamed at Roger...met Pete Townshend."

The Stones: 2 The Who: 6


Round Nine:
Nice to meet you...

Not even a chance to merely imagine making that happen with The Stones. Plus, no desire. If it were even remotely possible, sure - I would have attempted it, but not at this place. Plus, meeting either Mick or Keith would have been cool, but not life changing.

Holy crap..WE MET PETE TOWNSHEND! 'nuff said.

The Stones: 2 The Who: 7


So with all of that said...yeah, it was cool to go see The Stones, because now I can say I've seen them -- thanks wholly to the free ticket. But they were absolutely NO COMPARISON to The Who. I was enormously disappointed with the quality of The Stones concert. It goes to show that at this point in their careers, accoustics, length and accessibility are just not on their agenda. It seems like it is more important to see how many people you can get into a location, see how much those people are willing to spend (which is really waaaaay too much if you ask me) to be there, then give them a half-assed performace that they think has rocked everyone's world. Sorry, to say...Mick & Co. don't even hold a candle in comparison to our favorite ROCK GODS -- PETE & ROGER.

**enjoy the photos of The Stones...the quality on some of them aren't that great, but you can tell who's who and what is going on....

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Who's Next?!

Evidently, THE ROLLING STONES!!

Again, another band I grew up listening to on the radio ... know a lot of their stuff ... never been inclined to see them in person ... unless of course, you get FREE TICKETS!!

Surely, this concert will not be nearly as exciting nor as climatic as The Who was ... but you just never know!

Check back over the weekend, when even more new reports will be posted!!

Heh heh heh....what a week!

oh My GAAAAWD!

IT'S PETE FRICKIN' TOWNSHEND!!!

She Said...the who

Stacy's story:

I grew up with The Who -- I remember listening to Debbie's (my sister) cassette that had Boris the Spider on it and thinking that was the coolest song I had ever heard -- at that point in my short life.

I've seen concert footage and interviews, retrospectives and numerous countdowns that included them. I know that Pete Townshend is a guitar GOD and has been instrumental in the influence of all those that came after them. But, I never really considered going to see them in person.

Now years ago, in Philadelphia there was a double bill -- The Who, friday night - Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes, saturday night. Can you believe that I couldn't find one person to go with me to both shows?? Even Terry (before we started dating) declined the offer. I was a bit bummed, but no matter -- at that point Jimmy and The Crowes were much more important to me. So, I skipped Pete & Co.

Fast forward, 7 years ... and one less band member and the time had come for us to travel to see them. Terry was ecstatic about this concert. He talked about this for months - pulled out the tickets numerous times to show them off like a proud Papa. It was getting old. Yes, we are going to see them - settle down. During the week leading up to the concert, Terry kept asking, "Are you totally excited or what?" I was like, "yeah, okay - this will be cool," but really no more than that. Why? I have no idea.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I cannot pass up seeing just about any band playing live. I live for concerts - the excitement, the loudness, the singing, dancing, jamming....there isn't ONE aspect of live performance I do not like. However, this was the first concert (or serious outing) Terry & I have gone on together since we had Trevor. I wasn't worried at all about leaving him - he was with Claudia for crying out loud...he's obsessed with her and I knew he wouldn't have one problem being with her for a whole day. But maybe there was something in the back of my head that just made me a bit reluctant...could be.

But we couldn't have had a better day -- there was no rush, no stress and total excitement.

We had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us with some looming rain clouds - which finally hit - thunder lightening and the downpour... would it do this in Fulda? Terry was like, NO WAY! He had absolute confidence that clear skies would be all around just for the concert. Terry carried the buzz for all of us...He was out of his skin - couldn't wait! It was a really wonderful thing to see someone so jazzed.

There was one point along our drive that I think had all three of us concerned. The rain storm that was following us. Then, a car accident clean up site - on the side of the autobahn - the engine...but the car? Up the side of the hill in a pack of shrubs and bushes...that wasn't good. Next, we saw a house fire being put out. What the...?! What's next and will we be okay?

But as Terry predicted, Fulda was just lovely. And seriously - what a really beautiful, sleepy little town. I cannot wait to go back to explore it some more. We had time to walk a bit, we had THE BEST food for lunch at a place called The Romantica (italian bistro) and had some beers and espresso. By this time, we were ready to head to the stadium and get this thing started. Terry's enthusiasm was now contagious and both myself and Michael were getting anxious to see one of the most important people in Rock's history...yes, this IS going to be wicked cool.

The concert was situated on an old US airbase and trust me when I say, this was nothing fancy. It was totally a temporary stage set up in the middle of a huge area of fields. No matter. It was open air and no seating assignments, although, there were stadium bleachers set up, that by the time we arrived had been completely filled. This was not boding well for our desire to reach the front of the stage. But I had instructed the guys - just like I did with Terry at the Werchter Festival in Belgium - WHATEVER YOU DO - NO MATTER WHAT MAY HAPPEN - DO NOT LET GO OF THE BACK OF MY SHIRT! I was going to get us to the front, just like I always do.

But there wasn't any rush, like I said, this was a stress-free day...it was awesome. We pursued the stands (all 2 of them) - made our way to the beer truck, looked around, saw people sitting on the ground reserving their spots and noticed that the front was not packed at all...as a matter of fact, we were able to walk right up to the left front, in front of the speakers and slowly eased our way to the center ... we didn't make it all the way center, but it was way better than even I had anticipated.

At this time, we also learned that there was an opening band -- this was a bit of a controversy since Terry was not able to find any info on supporting bands on this tour, but I couldn't believe that they wouldn't have one. They did - and Terry nearly had a heart attack when he found out it was The Cult. *time for a tangent*


Terry is a huge fan of the whole 80s hair bands and groups I likely never heard of before. HE has this habit, it only happens after a night of successful boozing, when he pulls out the music in search of the perfect jam. It takes him a while to find it, 10 seconds of a song here, half a song there, on and on. Well, for some time, his jam was She Sells Sanctuary but The Cult. I had never heard of this band before, never heard this song before, but at this point, I do honestly believe that I have heard this one song at least, REALLY, at least 1,000 times. Now, we find out we are going to see them...we're both a bit stoked.


Okay...the excitement is circling the area...everyone is a buzz...lots of folks wearing really old concert shirts...we're up front, The Cult is opening...Terry goes to get some beer...lightening strikes, thunder rolls and the downpour begins. People start running for cover...the umbrellas come out, rain ponchos are thrown over heads...and Michael and I stand there, cracking up at each other, pointing at how soaked we are...and I mean SOAKED. We looked like we had just stepped out of the shower.

After, literally 5 - 10 minutes of absolute pouring rain...it clears. Terry comes back with a fistful of beer and dry as a bone.
We are having a blast & we are ready to ROCK!






The Cult comes out and blows both me and Michael away -- neither of us are familiar with the band (other than the tangent mentioned above) and there were really really killer.

Terry offers the bass player a beer and he is all like, "Thanks. Kinda busy right now." Cool. We are close enough for contact! I decide to make a WC and beer run before they finish and naturally that is when they play the one song I know. Ah well...I was still rocking out...it was a really perfect opening to what was to be the ultimate concert experience for all of us.

And then...after all the anticipation, excitement and buzz, the thrill began...by 2 men, in their 60s, walking onto a stage and a crowd that roars like I had never heard before. I'm totally rocked by 2 rock legends. Blown away by how surreal this all was...Pete Townshend? Roger Daltrey? 100 feet away from us? This is really way too cool. I'm LOVIN' IT! Out come the classics...everyone is singing and dancing along, shouting...riding the wave of ecstasy. Yeah...HELL YEAH! LONG LIVE ROCK!

And they played and played. Pete looks at Roger and asks him, "Can you hear her?" and points off to the right side of the audience. Cool...but not to be out done...I scream, "Roger, what about me?" He walks over to our side of the stage and says, "Yes, I can hear you too, love." OH MY GAAAAWD! Roger Daltrey was talking to me. And dudes...he was lookin' gooood. For a man that age and from the distance that I was standing and looking at the photos...the guy has a body on him...just look at those arms!

Things from that point on go wonky -- Terry threw my bra on stage...then his Eagles hat - it hit the stage, but then landed in that no man's land between audience and performer. They kept playing...they kept rocking...and we were all in a hysterical state of bliss. And then, the end came and we were all bummed. But, for 2 1/2 - 3 hours -- life was unbelievable..

Terry decided to try to get his hat back by talking with the blonde-y security guy in no man's land. He just shook his head, "no way." Terry is totally bummed. I'm all like, "let me try." I lean over, get the dude's attention and start talking away. "Hey, that hat down there is my husbands. Any way of getting it back?" No problem. Terry is thrilled he got his hat back, as it now considered the Eagles hat that hit The Who stage.

Michael at this point, I do believe, is ready to get back to the car and start our journey home. Where we had been standing for the show was just inside to the backstage steps that lead to the stage. We all took notice of this earlier, but it resonated with Terry at this particular moment. He sees an older couple talking to a security person. The security person walks away and the woman starts to pass between two gates that leads to the backstage area. Bless him, Terry actually listened to me after all these years. "If you act like you belong, no one will question you. If you have the confidence to be there, no one will bother you." He hooks arms with the woman and passes swiftly and safely through the gates. Michael and I look at each other incredulously, not believing what Terry had just accomplished. "C'mon, Mishy, we gotta go!" and I head to the break in the gates. *time for a tangent*

Up until this point, Michael was in there with us having a really good time. He hadn't heard of The Cult before, but he dug it. Now, this guy is a regular shmoe like you and me. He drinks and parties and knows how to have a good time...to a certain degree. I think he nearly lost it when he saw what we were about to do. Being the good, law abiding German that he is, this is a major no-no in most circles. But, he's one that can hang and bless his heart he did. Geesh, he didn't have much choice considering his two passengers (what I am sure he considered) did the unthinkable.

So, there we are...walking around the backstage area. I check out the buses (Becky, sound familiar?) and Terry and Michael meet up with some dude also hanging out. He's an American married to a German and he's waiting for Pete Townshend to come out of his trailer. "That's his trailer? It seems so retro." This thing looked like an old Zephyr camper trailer. It's conspicuousness seemed so blatant, like "who the hell does that belong to?"...and for some reason, unreasonable that that is what Pete would hang in. But it all makes sense in retrospect.

The other dude had to go because his wife didn't want to wait around any longer. Terry perused the caravan of buses and trailers and temporary eating tents. Michael is getting antsy but is curious and take a quick peek around. I'm just milling around like I own the place. Then...a man starts putting stuff into the car trunk that is parked in front of Pete's trailer. Terry starts to walk near the car and Michael says to me, "you might want to get your camera ready." Ready? Ready for what? Like we are actually going to see the rock guitar god and legend - Pete Townshend. I switch the darn thing on, start walking towards Terry and Michael and I'll be damned if Pete didn't come out and start getting into his car.

HOLY CRAP-OMILE!!! Terry starts taking about something, Pete was all like, "Where are you from?" Terry says, "Philadelphia." Small pregnant pause, I step forward and start babbling like a fool: "All my son and I have heard about for the last 6 months is Terry talking about coming to this show...."..."......some other stupid stuff....."......"can I take your photo?"

Pete steps out from behind the car door towards Terry and Pete starts to put his arm around him...this is SO funny...out of the left corner of my eye, Michael makes a bee line for the other side of Pete and says to me as he passes me, "I am getting in on this!"

Picture taken...everyone is shaking hands...I think, he gets into his car and starts talking on his cell phone (probably to security asking why the 3 of us were there) and we start to walk away. I turn, take a photo of his rental car...and Michael is now able to wrangle us back to his car. We literally take 5 steps away when all of a sudden we hear Terry scream (not unlike a 13 year old girl groupie) "AAAAH MAAAA GAAAAAAAWD! I MET PETE FRICKIN' TOWNSHEND!" and that is what we heard for the next hour or so in the car, until he passed out.

Now...I cannot stress enough how surreal, fast and blearily that last portion of our evening went. Terry and I keep asking each other questions of the details of our encounter with Pete. I do not remember hearing Pete speak, I don't remember seeing hands being shaken...I don't remember all the stupid stuff I said. But it doesn't matter...I've got the proof that it happened and that we all met him.

Terry, dear little grasshopper, you have learned your lessons well and have officially bypassed your master of stealth and deception and have moved onto the next level. I have to honestly say that I do not think I would have had the desire to do what he did, or to make what happened happen. He's learned from me well and I am very proud...and wicked psyched that we all met PETE FRICKIN' TOWNSHEND!


photos from the whole day:
Saturday, June 9, 2007
The Who - Fulda, DE