It's that time when I get to act on my favorite obsession, Glenn Tilbrook and Squeeze. They started the US leg of the Spot the Difference last night, Friday July 9 at the LC Ampitheatre in Columbus, Ohio. As usual, Laurie was Thelma to my Louise and of course we had VIP meet and greet tickets.
We pulled out of Hamtramck a little before 1:00. The ride down was harrowing at times due to the torrential rains that seems to follow us. It slowed down our travel considerably and I was (as I am wont to do) growing worried that we would miss the 5:15 deadline ominously conveyed in the VIP confirmation e-mail I had received a few days earlier. All my worries were for naught as Laurie safely delivered us to the Renaissance Downtown Columbus Hotel with 45 minutes to spare.
We quickly checked in, ran up to the room for a little freshening up, and a costume change. We were told that the venue was walking distance from the hotel, so we started afoot, but the weather turned foul once again and we opted for a cab.
We arrived 15 minutes before the 5:15 deadline and grabbed our tickets from will call. Sadly, the venue knew nothing about the meet and greet. They tried to find out and asked us to wait. So we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. We waited an hour before a representative from the band finally came to retrieve us. She apologized profusely while taking us backstage.
As we hit the backstage area, the guys were finishing "If It's Love" in the sound check. The rain had stopped at this point. The band wandered back and immediately I could spot the difference between and Glenn Tilbrook meet and greet and a Squeeze meet and greet. A Glenn meet and greet is pretty free-wheeling while the one I experienced felt more constrained, even though no one was pushing us along. Perhaps it seemed less loose simply because it was the first night of the tour.
That said, there were several funny moments that stick out to me. The first occurred while chatting with Simon and Chris. Simon asked if I had a raincoat and I said no,but I had an umbrella. During this very brief and innocuous exchange, Chris gave Simon a slightly horrified look and said, "I thought you just asked her if she had a wanker."
I looked down at my skirt and replied, "I don't have one of those either."
Simon then insisted on telling me that a wanker is actually a bottle opener and that should I be in London, I should go in a pub and announce that I need a wanker. I told him that I was sure that every man in the bar would gladly volunteer.
The next funny moment happened shortly after Chris abruptly left. I asked where he had gone,. The band representative explained that he had gone to throw out the first pitch at the baseball at the stadium down the block. That wasn't what I heard. I swear she said he went to throw up. Glenn and John Bentley both chimed in that they had heard the same thing.
Finally, I asked Glenn and John if they would have a chance to watch the World Cup final on Sunday. Absolutely, they both smiled. John asked me who I thought would win and I said Holland and he agreed. This prompted Glenn to ask me if I had heard about the octopus in Germany that had accurately picked many of the games, including the game Germany lost to Spain. Something about the octopus (or squid) squirming around on something. Anyway, the octopus has chosen Spain as the champs.
Naturally, they had to leave, so we left to go find a spot in the general admission crowd. From the number of t-shirts, it was clear that this was a Cheap Trick crowd. The sun really broke through the clouds as the boys came on the stage and launched into "Black Coffee in Bed." Despite the heat, they were all properly attired in suits: Glenn in that lovely brown pin stripe suit her wore on Regis, Chris looked very chic in black with his shades, Stephen was dapper in a blue suit, Simon wore a vest, and John delivered the bass dressed in gray, topped with a fedora.
The rest of show was peppered with songs I hadn't heard live like "When the Hangover Strikes" and a D & T song "When Hope Fell Down." The complete 17 song set is at the end of this post. They were tight and on fire. Glenn played like the guitar god he is, duly impressing many of the nearby Cheap Trick fans. In the middle of his solo for "It's So Dirty" the two guys next to me turned to each other and said "this guy is fucking great."
As the opening act, they had no encore, so it's off to Chicago.
Play List
Black Coffee in Bed
Take Me I'm Yours
Annie Take Your Gun
When the Hangover Strikes
Loving You Tonight
If It's Love
It's So Dirty
Goodbye Girl
When Hope Fell Down
If I Didn't Love You
Cool for Cats
Is That Love
Someone Else's Heart
Up the Junction
Hourglass
Slap and Tickle
Tempted
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