Gotta share some fun stuff!
Last night, The Who were playing at The Palace of Auburn Hills, near Detroit.....one of my husband's and my favorite bands-EVAH! In addition to DS (of course)! Much as we wanted to go, the economy (our economy) prevented us from purchasing tix.....
The Story:
Gerry has been working and become friends with a photographer-Tom Wright-who is a very close friend of Pete Townshend's. Tom and Pete met in London, back in the old days, while both were in art school. They became good friends. During this time, Pete was forming The Who with Roger Daltry and John Entwistle. Keith Moon joined the band later. Tom, being an aspiring and very talented photographer, captured the early days of The Who. He moved back to the States and when The Who started the concert circuit over here, Pete invited Tom to join them and he eventually became their tour manager, albeit briefly. He subsequently toured with The Who several times, taking photos and chronicling their rise to fame. Tom and Pete remain close, to this day.
Several months ago, Gerry (who co-owns a digital imaging business) was approached by someone who knew Tom and wanted to help him catalog and print the bazillion film negatives which Tom has in his possession. Long story short, my DH and Tom hit it off and became friends. Tom also published a book-ROAD WORK-which chronicles his adventures with The Who, The Small Faces (Rod Stewart) and Joe Walsh (The Eagles). This is an amazing book of fabulous personal photos and Tom's experiences in the 60's (which mirror many of our own-if we can remember them). It's truly a wonderful book.
Fast forward to yesterday....
Tom called Gerry and wanted him to deliver some prints to the concert venue-so that Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend could sign them. He also suggested that he might be able to get him a backstage pass for the concert. My darling husband said "On one condition:that my wife be able to accompany me". I love my DDH! Tom said he didn't know if he could get 2 backstage passes, but he would try. GULP!!!!! We got to The Palace of Auburn Hills at around 5 PM and were able to park, for free (!), in the VIP section, with a parking pass provided by Tom. He was also able to procure 2 backstage passes for us.
We wandered past security guards and magic doors, proudly wearing our passes. We saw trunks with "The Who" printed on their sides. We got to wander, at will, up and down backstage corridors, all the while getting smiles and greetings from various security personnel. We stood next to the stage, looked at and took pix (on my iphone) of Pete's guitars. We saw Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend as they wandered in and out of their dressing rooms. We got to see the various roadies and guitar techs do their thing. We sat 30-50 feet from the stage, in premium seats and got to hear and see The Who! LIVE!!!!! WOO WHOO! It cost us dinner, gas and a Who sweatshirt! We got out of the VIP parking at a humongous venue in about 5 minutes!
WOWIE! I'm still pinching myself.....Wish I'd had my camera with me-iphone pix will have to do. Check 'em out!
http://picasaweb.google.com/gbobmi/THEWHO#
