St. Xavier University

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

This concert was actually part of my big trip to:

Nollie’s dad was going to drive us to the concert, so we had gotten the directions from Mapquest the night before. Of course (not really a surprise), the directions had one step wrong, and we got a little lost. But, soon enough, we ended up at the Saint Xavier University Shannon Center. We went in and got our ticket stubs back, then started to go into the large gymnasium. As we walked, I spotted Tom and greeted him. He smiled and half-waved, and I told Ina and Nollie who he was.

We immediately searched for some decent seats, and I spotted several empty ones up front, to the right. This was a good spot to have, close to the front, and easy to leave for dancing when Gaelic Storm came out. We put our jackets over the seats and made our way back to the merchandise table. Both Ina and Nollie got t-shirts and a black and white promotional photo. Nollie gave me the picture and said she was going to have them sign her shirt. LOL We went to the restroom and they changed into the shirts. I was severely tempted to buy a shirt too, but my funds were low (read, nonexistent! LOL), and besides, I bought that shirt just for this concert.

Now some of you know how I hate opening bands most of the time. But this one, called "The Katie Sullivan Band" was actually decent! They did some traditional Irish songs, sure, but they also did Janis Joplin! I agree with Ina’s thought—our friend Russell would love them! By their third song, I looked up to see Stevie walking towards us (not heading FOR us, just about to go by, actually) and I called a hello. He came over, hugged me tightly, and knelt at my knees. During the following conversation, I had no idea that Ina and Nollie were drooling all over themselves. Though who can blame them?
Helen: "Ya know, I came all the way from Ohio to see ya’ll!" (slightly untrue, but he didn’t need to know LOL)
Stevie: "Dayton right? Now, wait, Cincy."
Helen: "No, Dayton...but I saw ya’ll in Covington last time. I’m Helen..."
Stevie (sly look): "I know, you’re Bob’s friend."
Let that sink in a moment. STEVIE KNOWS ME AS BOB’S FRIEND!!!! Okay, we may now move on.

I told him that I was also going home the next day, and would be seeing them in Dayton too. Impressed, Stevie promised me my second didgeridoo lesson in Dayton. WOO!! Then he got up and went to sit several seats down. THAT is when I realized I had not introduced him to Ina and Nollie. Oooooops!! LMAO

During the next few songs, I noticed some faces that looked familiar. They were in the front row, in the middle section. So, once the band was done, I popped over to see if it was them. And it was! I got to meet about 5 people from the Gaelic Storm forums in person, which is always cool. I’m not mentioning names, since I don’t know if they’d want me to. They know who they are! *waves*

We made one last pit-stop during the intermission and I searched the crowds constantly for any more of the band. I had asked one of the Forum girls how much the bottle of water she had was--$1.50!! So, of course, we’re all dying of thirst, and I have $1, and a quarter from Nollie. The stupid water vending machine wouldn’t take my dollar (it was only $1), so I ended up getting Diet Pepsi. Good thing too, since the show was in a gym, and you know how hot those get!!

Finally, it was time for Gaelic Storm to come out. I told Nollie and Ina that when they came out, we would go up to dance. Then I changed it to when the Forum people made a move, we would. LOL So, they did, and we did, and got some nice spots right up front. Right in front of Stevie. *grin*

It’s time for my list of funny stories, in no particular order!

Something was wrong with Patrick's sound-earpiece, so Tom came up and changed it...in the middle of a song!! The FACES that Patrick made were priceless, and after the song, comments were made...LOL
Patrick, while introducing "Johnny Tarr" got the audience to do the "blbblblbl-badoom" thing. Well, of course, with a gym full of people, it sounded ridiculous!! LOL So he remarked, "That’s why you should leave it to the professionals!"
During "Swimmin’ in the Sea", I noticed that one of the Forum gals had taken out an eye patch! She explained that she had worn it before at a show, for the line "we’d dream of smugglers and pirate ships", and that it had cracked the guys up. So I took a pic. LOL

Patrick said the line about Stevie being in more sheets than Ghandi again. I love the look on Stevie’s face when he says that—so innocent! LOL
At one point, Twigger realized that we didn’t have any alcohol and they did! He made a show of slurping it and remarking that it was soooo gooooood. Schmuck. LOL
While doing the traditional "Drink the Night Away" repeats, Twigger said, "Ya know...I’m so easily distracted and –huh? What’s that?"
Tom really got into "The Schooner Lake Set" and did this little hip wiggle that made us all swoon!!!
Patrick went on a tangent (what else is new LOL) about how Stevie was all excited that morning—"Hey guys, I saw the most awesome show on the Food Network! It was the Iron Chef Championships..." Patrick imitating Stevie as a ditzy, perky dork was highly entertaining. As was Stevie trying to explain that it was indeed a cool thing, and not as bad as Patrick insisted. LOL

Suddenly, it was time for Intermission. Don’t ask me where the time went, I was having far too much fun to notice! LOL We didn’t want to stray far from our great spots up front—and rightly so, while standing RIGHT THERE, this lady tried to get in front of me!—so while Ina and Nollie stood there, I made my way over to Stevie. I kept making puppy eyes at him, and he seemed to be semi-ignoring me. So I made a joke to the girls that he was ignoring me and didn’t want to meet them. When he finally paused—wouldn’t you know he was explaining, in detail, about the Iron Chef Championship LOL—he said to me, "And I’m not ignoring you, I’ll just be a minute!" LOL

Finally, he broke free (or the guy he was talking to broke free, whichever LOL) and I had the chance to introduce him to Nollie and Ina. He was his usual friendly self, grinning and saying hi...until he noticed that THEY wore Gaelic Storm shirts, and I did not. I was then berated for not having the right shirt. I apologized and said that my money was nonexistent at the moment, and that I had worn this shirt just for this concert. He rolled his eyes, laughing, and said, "yeeah, suuuure".

I took this opportunity also to tell him that I had a message for him from Misti. He nodded in acknowledgement of who she was, and I explained that I had just met her for the first time in person the day before. He said that was awesome (he was right!) and then I told him the message. She wanted him to be aware that the coming weekend, Brother (another Celtic band that Misti adores) would be playing in the area. He expressed his dismay at missing the show, since they were going to be heading to Dayton in the morning (DARN RIGHT! LOL), and he wished he could see them. He also told me to email her and to say hi and that he missed seeing her at the show (she couldn’t come). I suggested that I could call or text her right then and there to let her know. He grinned and said, "Call her when I'm up on stage" and then he kinda chuckled evilly. LOL

Before he could make a run for it, I took pictures of him with Nollie, and then with Ina. He did his usual big tight hug for them, and they both agreed that he was yummy. *grin* Then we let him get going. LOL

Intermission was over, and the guys started back onto the stage. It turned out that Ellery’s birthday had been on April 24, so one of the Forum gals had brought a cake. We sang Happy Birthday, which sounded surprisingly nice with the whole audience, and she blew out the candles.

More funny stories:

When they had gone back onstage, I had my cell phone all set and ready to call Misti for Stevie. But time and time again, I tried to catch his eye, but couldn’t. A few times, it seemed he was looking at me, so I hit dial. But it turned out to be a false alarm. Misti answered, and I tried to explain, but with us being right by the speakers, neither of us could really hear. So I told her I would call her back and explain later. LOL I kept trying to get his attention, but in the end, it just didn't happen. Poo on him. LOL
When it was time for the usual drawing, Patrick said that the price WOULD have been one night with Stevie. I hollered, "WOOOOO!!" and he looked down at me. "But...he’s married, sweetheart!" *grin cuz Patrick called me sweetheart* So, really dramatic, I snapped my fingers and said, "Aww, shoot!" He mocked me, doing the same thing, then added, "I suppose then that I’ll just have to be the prize!" Then I REALLY Woooooo-ed! LOL
One of the prizes was won by someone from Sandusky, Ohio!!! LOL His name was "Bob", but with the Chicago accent, it was "Bahb" (as in hat). Patrick had some fun with that one, and with his IRISH accent, it was really cute.
Nollie and Ina both loved Stevie already, but Nollie decided that Twigger was sexay too. Well, he IS, but it would figure that she’d pick him, since Twigger is the oldest!! LOL

When the show was over (why did it seem so short?! LOL), we made the rounds to get autographs and say hi to everyone. Stevie was closest, so we grabbed him and I got a picture with him. Then he signed Ina and my photos, and then he signed Nollie’s shirt. LOL He was at it a while, and when I stepped around to see what he was up to, I busted up laughing. He had drawn a heart with an arrow through it, with PATRICK’S name in it on her sleeve. That done, he signed on the back part of her shoulder, grinning at us.

Next we grabbed Twigger from the stage, and I remarked that I’d see him the next night in Dayton too. He gave me a smile and an eyebrow bob. Hehehe I felt like I was dragging Nollie and Ina around, but I don’t think they minded much. LOL We went behind the stage and I proceeded to make eyes at Ryan until he dropped what he was doing and came over. LOL He didn’t have a marker, but Stevie was nearby and did, so he signed all of our things. I told him that I was going to be at the next show too, and he seemed really surprised. He kept giving us that grin he does, and I know I was blushing. Don’t worry, I got my revenge, but that was the next night. LOL

Ellery was also back there, so we got her to sign, and I remarked that Ina and I were visiting from Ohio. She wasn’t short with us, but somehow she didn’t seem too thrilled. LOL As we headed towards the back, I spotted Tom at the sound system equipment. Getting his autograph too—he seemed like he was in such a good mood that night! Perhaps because he lives near there?—we moved on.

Finally, we cornered Patrick…er, I mean we found him. He was speaking to the girls who had run the merchandise table (business stuff), so we waited patiently. Ina and Nollie weren’t sure what it was that Tom had drawn with his autograph, so I explained that it was bagpipes. I love that he does those. Hehehe Once we had Patrick’s attention, he signed our pics, and Nollie’s shirt—where he drew the famous Stick Patrick. *grin* I wanted a picture with Patrick—he had his shirt slightly unbuttoned and it was mostly blue...my favorite color. WOO! But this is when he played a dirty trick on me! LOL
Helen (placing arm around Patrick)
Patrick: Ah! Be careful, love, stitches! I have 7 stitches on my back...
Helen: What happened?!
Patrick (deadpan): I was stabbed.
Helen (eyes wide and gasping): What?!
Patrick (eyes twinkling, though obviously in pain): Naw, I had a mole removed...

Laughing, I found a spot that didn’t hurt him, and we got the picture. Nollie and Ina got pictures too, and made very sure not to hurt him. It figures that I’d be the one to hurt him huh? LOL

Once I said goodbye to him, I realized that I had one more picture on my camera. So I went up front, where one of the forum gals was, and got a picture with her. That was the last picture, we had seen all of the guys, and we needed to call Nollie’s dad to come get us.

Not wanting it to end (since when do I EVER want a Gaelic Storm concert to end? LOL), we headed out into the lobby. My shin hurt, so while Ina and Nollie sat on the loveseat, I plopped onto the floor. As we sat there, watching the St. Xavier people cleaning and closing up, I spotted a girl walking by with a ton of posters—the ones they’d had up on campus to advertise the show. I made a show of wanting one, whining and drooling...and to my surprise, she gave me one! WOO! Turned out that her brother (Bahb LOL) had won that drawing before, and that she was also from Sandusky. I told her Ina and I were from the Dayton area and we remarked about the small world aspect of everything. Hehehe

Shortly afterwards, Nollie’s Dad showed up to take us home. We rambled on and on about the show, probably drove him nuts...moreso than we had been. LOL Since we were now starving and thirsty, he drove us through to get some things. It held us over until we got home and we could break into our leftovers. I had mine from the Olive Garden, and they had theirs from Wok N Fire.

To be continued...