(you can click on some of the pictures to see a bigger image) |
The Show
The club 14 Below is really tiny. I heard something like 150-200 tickets were sold for James' appearance. The room was pretty small and we were really crammed in. And of course idiots decided they needed to leave their spots and try to move around. Let's just say trips to the bathroom were a bad idea. To top it off, the show got off to a really late start -- we heard later because James had car trouble and got to the club late (you'd think a big time TV celeb could afford reliable transportation ;) and once he got to the club, we also heard that he had major equipment troubles. We're not exactly sure what happened, but it made the crowd in the club pretty surly. There were reports of a lot of drunk people. I'm not sure how they were able to drink when we were packed in like sardines. But anyway....
James finally came out to much screaming and cheering. My first impression was that Oh hey, I couldn't see him!! There were a lot of tall people in our way. But I managed to get some decent glimpses. Many of my pictures are small because I had to crop out a lot of heads. Anyway, once I saw him, I just kept thinking "He's so beautiful!" He really is good looking in person. His set was really short (about 6 songs) because other bands were waiting to get on stage and perform. It would be nice to think James insisted he go ahead and play late, not to let us down, but it really aggravated the band after him. I don't blame them. It was an unpleasant situation all around.
Some of the songs James played were:
"Chocolate Jesus" by Tom Waits
"Fire" by Bruce Springsteen
"Who Are You" by Tom Waits
"Come As You Are" by Nirvana
James also played an original song called "Angel."
Between songs James chatted with the crowd. After "Come As You Are" James dedicated the song to Kurt Cobain, late lead singer of Nirvana. He made reference to living in Seattle at the time of Cobain's suicide. At one point we were asked to stop taking flash photography, but James held up his hand, and said "Thanks, but don't worry about it. They do worse to me at work." James also mentioned that he still has the "SOCK" that he's worn on Buffy in some of his more "revealing" scenes. He said if his acting career doesn't go right, he might sell in in 10 years. After many screams, someone in the back suggested ebay. James also played a little bit with the sound guy, joking about not being attracted to him ("You're cute, but I don't think of you that way").
My encounter with James
I was so nervous when it was my turn to go up and meet James. I started shaking a little bit and I was a little numb. The adrenaline was really flowing. What was I going to say?? He said hi to me, and I said hi back. I thanked him for coming out and doing this for the fans. My voice was shaking, and I know he could tell I was nervous. He leaned toward me and whispered, "You know what? I still get nervous every time I play." I had heard him say this before in interviews, but I thought it was an incredibly sweet gesture for him to try to make me feel more at ease. He took the picture I had brought for him to sign and said, "What's your name?" I said, "Tanya with an 'a'" (the standard response). He paused a little bit after he wrote the "T" and I spelled the rest of it out for him. The pen he was writing with started to run out of ink when he got to his name and he shook it up and down to get it working again ("Come on, don't run out!") I took the time he was signing to stupidly say, "I'm a really big fan of your work." He thanked me and handed the picture back and I said, "Can I take a picture with you?" He smiled, almost like he was surprised I asked him, and said, "Sure." He put his arm around me, and I put my arm around his waist and Cass took the picture (yay Cass!). After the picture, I gave him a little squeeze (without even thinking) and he squeezed me back. I turned to him and thanked him repeatedly. He smiled and again looked a little surprised. Sigh! Then I had another great moment when Cass went to have him sign the "James Marsters" 2002 calendar I made for her for Christmas. He thought it was really cool and she pointed me out to him (I was standing nearby) and he made eye contact with me and gave me a nod, or some sign of approval. Wow! That was really cool too :)
I know that James meets thousands of fans every year, but he has a strong reputation for making every fan feel special and important. He was extremely polite, attentive, courteous, and really tried to give a good impression to each person he met. He really knows how to make someone feel special, and I imagine it comes from him knowing what it's like to be a fan. He's at the right stage in his career where he's not too popular that he can't take the time to do this. Of course, he doesn't have to do anything for his fans, which makes it all the more meaningful.
Here's my autograph
And here's my picture with James!
Some candid photos of James with other fans
Some Iinks for James Marsters:
James Marsters Official Site
James Marsters Unofficial Fan Network
Spikespotting.com
