October 19, 2001 - The State, Regina, SK Posted By Ladylike I'll warn you now, it's a long one! Right now it's 4:15am and I just came home from the show! Words can't even describe the night I had! Exciting, fascinating, sweaty, and incredible don't even begin to descirbe it! I'll start from the begining of my evening, sitting in the parking lot of the State with my friend and a young guy comes to the window. Asks how much I'd be willing to sell my ticket for? (YEAH RIGHT!) And I told him more money than he had! So he tells me if I know anyone that wants to make a quick 100 bucks, let him know. So I see him later inside and go downstairs and congratulate him and his friend for getting in. He tells me a story about meeting the band out back and they gave them the tickets, his friend said they got 'em from some guy for 40 a piece. I ended up hanin' out with those guys for the whole show and had the time of my life! So, first came Joydrop and I positioned myself at the left hand side of the stage second row from the front! (Incredibly hot! I spent a great deal of time on my hair tonight and by the end of the show I looked like I just spent two hours in a sauna!) Anyway Joydrop was really good! Really great voice that lead singer has! Incredible guitar and drums! I was pretty much deaf by the second song! They were good but you could tell they weren't what the crowd was looking for. Finally at 11:45, Big Wreck hit the stage! Wow I was blown away! They immediately went into "Inhale" and the crowd went nuts! Myself included! Then from that into "Look What I Found" Incredible!! I was right infront of Brian and Ian was slightly to my right and there was a large post not far from the stage that obstructed some of the view. The order of the rest of the songs is a little fuzzy but I remember all the songs they did. Inhale Look What I Found Under the Lighthouse (amazing intro!) That Song (crazy song live!) Between You and I Undersold Mistake Ladylike (Wow!) Breakthrough (Another Wow!) Knee Deep (Ian said it would be their next single) Encore: The Oaf Head in the Girl (crazy intro!) and finally Immigrant Song (went up to the second floor for that one!) The energy of the show was amazing! I didn't expect them to sound so much like the cd, and yet better! Ian's voice was incredible! I LOVE THAT WAIL! The end of Breakthrough blew me out of the water! They are incredible musicians, you almost have to see it with you own eyes to really appreciate the sheer raw talent that's embodied in these 4 men! I was blown away! Anyway, after the show, my friend and I went to the lounge area in the back of the building, where all the meet and greet winners were waiting. I met the DJ that gave me the replay song the morning I won! (I'd sent him an e-mail thanking him and letting him know I was the one that won) He gave me a hug and thanked me for the e-mail saying it's great when the true fans win! We then discussed the lack of new BW being played on the radio. He told me he was a real fan and wanted to play more but has been told he can't. It's bullshit! He called them the one truly great Canadian band. And I couldn't agree with him more! We were told we were gonna meet them on the bus in small groups, and then we were filed out into the unbelievably cold night and made to wait outside the bus for around 20 minutes! But I can't say it wasn't worth it! When I got on, the first one I saw was Dave sitting on the left and Ian directly behind him and Brian sitting across from Ian. Ian said hi and asked how I was, I said cold! I then shook his hand and told him my name and my handle on the mess board. His eyes lite up! "Really! That's so cool! I heard it's goin around I'm a heroin addict!" A conversation then insued over the Ladylike video and how he was tired and looked puffy! "It's like 6:00 in the fuckin morning and I gotta lip synch in this video!" The conversation grew to involve Ian, Dave, Brian and myself. Dave then asked who that guy was? "That Regina's Finest or something?" "Oooohh Simon." I said. Both Ian and Dave said "Yeah that guy! Fuck he's funny!" Ian then said "The way he rips on everybody! It's hilarious!" "Yeah" I said "well he ripped my ass too!" Dave bursts in "Are YOU Shelly may?" "NO" I kind of yelled! I then told him briefly the greif I'd been given here and why. "Big Fuckin Deal!" was all he said. They were all so nice and I got both cd's autographed, a poster they handed out to the winners (The "Disembodied Head") and a poster promoting the show! I got a hug from Ian and Brian and had my picture taken with Ian, Brian (first replied no to my request of a picture, then said he'd do it for $50 bucks) and Dave. It was an amazing night and one I will probably tell my granchildren about! I had a terrific conversation with everyone in the band! They all said RTH was the most emotional show they'd ever done and Brian said he spent most of it in tears. God I could kick myself in the ass for missing that one! Dave also mentioned that his computer has a virus so he can't use it. But said they will hopefully be able to post again soon! I can't believe it's already over! And I can't believe it's now 5am and I've rambled on like this! If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read about my first time! And now I'm going to go to bed, good night.