My 15 minutes of fame only lasted 5, so I guess I've got another 10 coming.
Me: Smiling like a kid in a candy store.
Sting: Are we done yet???
We drove all night, me and a local singer, Carmen Hedges to Seattle to see his show at the Seattle Center for the Nothing Like the Sun tour. Having had the tickets lost in the mail, my boss at the radio station said, go, they'll be there at the will call window. Well when we got there and picked up the tickets, the woman who was handling it felt so bad she scooped us a couple of back stage passes, which was fine by us!! The show was fantastic, we sat in about row 30 on the floor and walked in with some fish and chips in hand, to the opening chords of Lazarus Heart, just in time. After the amazing performance with such greats as They Dance Alone, We'll Be Together, '86 Don't Stand So Close to Me, Little Wing, Englishman in New York and tons more, we made a quick dash to the ladies room to make sure we were presentable for the back stage encounter. And lo and behold we damn near missed him. So having been ushered back and told we'd get a photo op, I overcame my fear and immediately stood nearby waiting my turn. Meanwhile, Carmen, a singer who performed regularly on stage, chickened out. But I wasn't going to miss this for the world. I waited my turn, and after having a nice eye contact moment as I waited across the room, I stepped up and shook his hand, a great, warm, firm handshake, and expressed how great the show had been, and the woman doing the introductions said I'd traveled from Montana for the show, Sting exclaimed Montana! The Goon's from Montana (his photographer, who I was also introduced to, from Missoula, of course). Then we both looked forward to have the pix snapped, me grinning from ear to ear, Sting with that serious Rock Star look, and the moment was over. Whisked into a waiting white limo, off he went into the night. But I'd had my moment, memorialized in time by the 8 x 10 glossy I received a week or so later c/o the radio station. My boss who scored me the tickets was a real gem, and beamed as he handed over the photo. Anyone could see from my expression how thrilling the experience had been. So, on to Bonnaroo to see the Police reunion, this too should be a memorable event.
