Gary and cousin Lori’s adventure to Philadelphia to see Jill Sobule on February 6, 1999 at the Tin Angel
Theme of show: pajama party
The 2.5 hour trip to Philly from Long Island was luckily uneventful with
perfect directions. The show was at 10:30, our dinner reservations
(to assure us of a reserved table at the show) was at 8:30. My plan
was to eat from 8:30 to 9:30, then get on line. Even with a reserved table,
I thought it was still first come first served for those who had reservations.
We get to Tin Angel at about 6pm. Now what do we do? There are some cool
places in the area, but not too many. It is February, so it is cold. Not the best
conditions to just stroll around for 2.5 hours. There are plenty of bars around.
I decide that we could hit the Irish bar that has a nice Guinness sign in the window
at 8pm, hang there for half and hour and then go eat at Tin Angel.
First we go to Tin Angel so I can ask where my table is, or if they have
even assigned them yet. My questions was whether the reserved tables are pre-assigned,
or are they first-come first-served for those who have reservations? He asked my
name but just checked to see if I was on the list. He said don’t worry, I’d get a
good spot and that I don’t have to get on line early. I told him that if my table
wasn’t close to the stage, I’d rather take the general admission seating, where I
can get right next to the stage, albeit, on a stool rather than a table.
We walk around the block and find a little coffee café, where I have
a homemade hot chocolate and a mousse dessert. Lori has a coffee. That takes up
about half an hour; good! Then we head to the liquor store so I can look for a
bottle of 1994 Joseph Phelps Merlot, or my favorite South African Merlot that I
always get in the Hamptons. I don't want to buy it, but just to use up some of our
spare time. No luck, but that wastes more time. We then take a
leisurely walk around this college-style town and go to Tin Angel to eat.
I notice that the waitress is the same one from the November Jill Sobule
show I went to. We sit down and when the waitress comes over I mention to her that
I remember her from November and ask her if she remembers the guy who was supposed
to meet the internet girl who didn’t show up back in November. She said, "Yes,
I do. You sat back there by the pole, and I even remember what you ordered."
Wow! Lori couldn’t believe it, but I told her that it’s not as outlandish as it
seems. How many people meet an internet chick at the Tin Angel?
We order only two appetizers and feel really bad when they bring out one
plate with half of one appetizer and half of another. Feel bad? Why? Because we
are taking up a table and only being charged $14. We’ll leave a good tip. I go
to the bathroom to change into my pajamas. When the bill comes, it’s only $7.
That will not do. We leave $20, so the tip turns out to be close to 200%. I hope
that made the waitress feel better.
We head to wait on line, which is already 20 people long! Shit! I look to
the top of the stairs to see if I can find John N (name abbreviated to keep privacy,
and he has a long last name that’s tough to spell anyway). The guy who I asked where
my seats were said, "Hey’ you’re in the front row." Sweet!
Show time.
We sit down right in front of the stage. I set up my mini-CD recorder
stealthily. Um, I mean, if I were recording the show, I would be setting up a
recorder right now. John N comes by and I introduce him to Lori. We have a nice
chat. We are joined at our table by three people. I ask them that if Lori and I
get on stage, if they can take pictures for us with my camera. They ask if I plan
on going on stage. I tell them the whole story. I also tell Lori that if I get on
stage, I’ll see if I can get her up there too, as opposed to her just walking up
with me. I lent her a copy of the Clitoris song, and she added harmonies to it.
She sings in a barbershop quartet, you know.
Jill it at her best, as always. There is no such thing as a so-so show by
Jill. I am undecided on whether to have a clitoris incident tonight. She asked for
requests halfway through the show and I stayed silent. She asked for a request from
John N, and he asked for "Big Shoes." Jill said that she couldn’t remember
all the lyrics. Damn, if I just knew that song a little better, I could have helped
her out. It was at this point that I knew what I must do, I just had to find the
right time. She stumbled through "Big Shoes." I thought, "Next time,
I’ll carry the lyrics to that song also."
She has John N come up on stage to hold her lyrics book for two new songs that
she doesn’t quite have down yet. She then says she only has a few more left and
that she wants to please everyone. That’s my cue. I kinda whine,
"Clitoris?" someone else yells, "Lucy At The Gym." She looks
in my direction and goes, "Alright." YES!
She tells the story about how the song was born and then looked at me and
asked if I had the lyrics with me. What respectable fan would I be if I didn’t
carry around the lyrics to "Clitoris" with me, so I said yes and she
asked me up on stage to sing it with her. Upon walking up, John N gives me a high
five. When I got up there I told her that my cousin sings barbershop quartet and
that she has done some harmonies to it. I asked if she could come up too. Jill
approved. Lori comes up; nervous. I’m cool as a cucumber. We have to figure out
how to get three people in front of a single microphone. Her performing partner,
Jim Boggia offered his microphone, so Lori and I moved to it, but then Jill said
she needed to look at the lyrics. I knew them by heart, so I took the other mic,
Jill was on her mic, and Lori was between us both. It was a cute sight with me at
one mic, which I must say was too high for me, but who am I to adjust someone else’s
mic, while holding up the lyrics for Jill and Lori. (a poorly formed sentence, and
probably not grammatically correct)
The crowd was in non-stop laughter. I didn’t want to sing too close to the
mic as my voice is only slightly better than Counting Crows. Lori has a great voice
but there was no way you were going to hear her from where she was standing. I
could hear her on stage, but the audience could not. While Lori did her harmonies
during the chorus, I could see Jill look over with a smile of approval. Maybe she’ll
ask Lori to sing backup on her next CD. Hehehehe.
We went back to our seats and got pats on he back. After the show was over I
went back stage to give Jill a couple of CD’s of previously recorded shows that I
know she was interested in. She asked if I recorded them myself, of which the answer
was "yes" to one of them. She said she hoped someone recorded this
night's show, but I was too scared to say that I did. I'll make sure she gets a
copy.
Now for the letdown. When I went to hit stop on the recorder, I noticed it
was off already. Either it finished or I hit stop at the beginning of the show
instead of un-pausing it. Damn, because the last time I sang with her, you couldn’t
hear me on the recording. This time, I was closer to the mike just enough so you
can make me out. I had no way of knowing if it recorded, as I didn’t have headphones
with me. Also, I wasn’t sure that having the minidisc run out was bad. I know you
have to hit stop to create the "table of contents" on he minidisc, but
I never read anywhere what happened if it just ends on it’s own. Damn, now I have
to wait 3 hours until I get home.
When we leave and go to the car, we get passing comments about our pajama
attire. A couple of drunk girls are standing with us while waiting to get our cars.
They ask why we are in pajamas and we tell them the story. They can’t believe we
came from Long Island just for this, and worse, that we are now driving home at
one in the morning.
On the New Jersey Turnpike, I have an idea. Although I don’t have the
headphones with me, I can still see if the counter is going up on the minidisc
recorder. Good news, it recorded. Bad news; the next day, while recording to my
PC to burn a CD out of this, I anxiously await the Clitoris song, and it gets cut
off one minute into the song. At least there is proof I was on stage again with
pictures and the beginning of the song.
Thank you for the chance to satisfy what’s left of my fifteen minutes of fame.
I still have a few minutes left on that counter.