Thanks for the thread
@Jackonfire
I found something today that I know you Rock and Roll fans might find interesting. Clearly way off topic.. Not meant to derail. I apologize. But I think some of you might enjoy the story..
I was rummaging around today. Because the house (my parent’s house) is for sale. So I wanted to make sure that my memorabilia collection was still intact. I left it all in a spare bedroom in their house in 2013. When I moved to the US..
On the many boxes of my collection that are all still sealed from before 2013. I have a list on the outside of the box of everything in the box. Just written on regular paper. And securely and completely covered with packing tape on the top of the box. So I know exactly what is inside without having to cut it open.
But I found a small box on it’s own. It was not sealed with tape. I opened it up..
On August 6, 2000, I took my 15 year old niece to Summersault 2000. A one day Rock and Roll music festival in Commonwealth Stadium, in Edmonton. She had never been to an outdoor Rock and Roll festival like that before. She was pretty excited.
The lineup…
The Smashing Pumpkins
Our Lady peace
Foo Fighters
A Perfect Circle
Deftones
Treble Charger
The Catherine Wheel
Eve 6
Finger Eleven
Sum 41
It was fucking AWESOME (Except the Smashing Pumpkins.. They flat out sucked.. BRUTAL. I was more disappointed in seeing that band live than I ever thought possible).
General admission including the floor of the 63,000 seat stadium (it was built to hold 48K in 1978. They expanded to 63K. Then getting brand new seats circa 2012, that were wider than the original seats. The capacity dropped to about 56K.
It was 63K seats, plus the field for this show.
When it’s General Admission.. I WILL be in the front row. That’s exactly how that goes. So l told my niece.. Mosh pit, 5000 people behind us pushing to get closer to the stage. Crowd surfing assholes kicking you in the back of the head. A steel barricade that does NOT give in any way. 6’ of security beyond the barricade. And then the stage.
I told her how fucked up that shit can get. So, I asked if she was sure she wanted to try that? lol.. Damn right she wanted to. She said .. “Auntie told me you and her have done this a bunch of times. And she’s never been hurt (all true). Auntie told me you wouldn’t let me get hurt” (true again).
I ALWAYS knew that if shit got crazy. All I would need to do is get my wife/niece over the barricade. Security ALWAYS help when somebody had been overcome. I’ve seen it many, many times. GA is no fucking joke in a huge crowd. Security also catch the crowd surfers, and usher them out the side. Back into the main crowd but nowhere near front row center where they went over the barricade.
11 people died at a GA concert in Cincinnati in 1979. The band was The WHO (In my top two favourite bands, ever. I’ve seen them 3 times in total, in Canada and the US). That was a SERIOUS tragedy. People should not die at a Rock and Roll show.
So I said, Attagirl.. I put her against the barricade in front of me. With both of my hands reaching around her and onto the steel barricade to give me a base to frame her off to protect her. If you know what I mean.
So a local FM DJ was introducing one of the bands. That was coming on stage in about 5 minutes (A Perfect Circle). In his hands he had three cassette tapes. I didn’t know what they were in real time. But he tossed one right at us. I caught it. He said.. If you caught one of those come around the side, over here (his right, our left). You have a meet and greet with Foo Fighters..
Holy fuck, man… Woohoo! My niece freaked.
We obviously had to bail from front row center. It was between acts. So not a mass of people surging forward, praise Jebus.. But there was no way we would ever be able to get back there.
Oh, well.
We met Dave Grohl back stage. He was really nice. I asked if he’d sign the cassette. He was happy to.
He gave my niece and I a big hug. I thought he was a really cool dude. Very down to earth. I told him “Monkey Wrench is in my top ten favourite Rock and Roll songs of All-Time. (true story).
This was 2000.. most homes didn’t even have shitty dial up internet back then. And we sure as shit did not have cell phones with any kind of camera.
The cassette was a 3 song EP. It has a cardboard sleeve.
American Psycho by Treble Charger.
Promise by Eve 6.
Next Year by Foo Fighters.
Just because you don’t have pics.. Doesn’t mean it never happened.. Trust me on that with several stories I could relate. They are all true.
Been there done that.. bought the shirt to prove it. Excuse my handwriting. The nerves in my hands are not back to 100% yet.
100% of my collection is legit. All signatures were acquired by me in person. And this cassette is such a tiny part of it. That it was not even in one of my sealed boxes. I’ve put it in a small sealed box now, though.
None of this is shooped.
Edit. Typo, and forgot the front cover of the sleeve.
Dbl edit..
Monkey Wrench..
