Concert Experiences


This is a story...a true story...a long story...but a story none the less.

12/21/96

It's a cloudy day in Los Angeles. I have no worries, I enjoy the clouds. It would seem that it didn't get cloudy until I stepped off the plane the night before. Odd coincidence, I'm sure. We're in a rental car, Jessa and I. We've been driving around Beverly Hills all day checking out the scenery. We stopped once to look at some darkly lit stores. Inside we found a *very large* statue of Buddha. I sat on his lap while Jessa took a picture. (tourists:) We've decided to park the car and hang out in Denny's drinking coffee until the concert starts. We found the Wiltern theater easily enough, so now we have a few hours to kill.

We can only handle so much of Denny's so after about 30min we decide to walk around outside and smoke. I got a slight cough so I'm sipping on cough medicine in-between drags. On the way to a toy store we notice there is a bar right next door to the theater. The Atlas bar & grill...it'll be opening at six...maybe we should down a few before the show...good idea...

The Atlas bar & grill Everything was gold. A very fancy bar with lightening bolts hanging from the ceiling, finely dresses bartenders, maroon leather chairs, and one single Jazz horn playing in the back. Jessa and I take a seat at the bar. She orders a Long Island Ice Tea and I order an Amaredo sour. Jessa starts telling me how she likes the bar...she wishes we had one like it in Portland. I look to my right, I look to my left, Adam Durtiz walks by me. I do a double take. No doubt about it...it's Adam Durtiz, with Courtney Cox to boot. They're meeting some people a few stools away from us. They get a table and sit down to have dinner.

In the mean time Jessa can't stop staring at him and I can't stop thinking that he is right over there! So I order another drink. What should we do? We don't want to go over to their table and bug them. But the show is starting in 15min. So I order another drink. I tell Jessa that after this drink we have to go, even if we don't get to meet him, she agrees. As soon as I say it, Adam gets up from the table and heads for the door. I jump up...should I go? Damn straight I should go. Jessa takes my coat and I almost run to the door. But Adam is slow these days...bad knee...he has to use a cane. I call him by name. (I'm kicking myself for that) He turns around and says what. I stick out my hand to shake, tell him I just wanted to say hello, and that I'm a very big fan. He says thank you very much. (He has very soft hands, Kyle. I could tell he has never done a day of hard labor in his life.) Anyhow as I'm walking away I'm wondering why I hadn't said more to him? There was so much I wanted to tell him. How he should get on the net more, how much he has indirectly influenced me, how glad I am that he came around when he did and why. Why didn't I tell him all these things, and why the hell wasn't Kyle in LA with me?!? The concert was phenomenal. I was so happy to see them play I could've cried. (Well, happy and drunk.)

So after reading all this you can understand why Disneyland wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. :)