BS Friday

I am feeling much better now, thanks. (See previous post.) Stuff like that never lasts too long with me. So now, back to our regularly scheduled program which just happens to be BS Friday. I'll write it, you tell me if it's BS or not. This one is called "I know you better than you know you".

NOTE: I won't be able to answer until sometime Sunday. I'll be away all day tomorrow.

A couple of years ago I went to one of the 'Concerts in the Park' that the city has every Summer. I usually don't go but this concert happened to be Nils Lofgren. If you don't know Nils, go here for info and a way cool music clip. Nils is an awesome guitarist who has played with Neil Young, Grin, Crazyhorse, Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr's All Star Band. He has always been one of my favorites. He plays a lot of blues and he never uses a pick. It's wild to see him play like that.

Anyway, I went to see him play. I was so psyched to hear he was in town because the big names usually didn't come our way. While I was there waiting I ran into a friend from work. He and his wife were there. They were big time Nils fans too. We chatted for a while about Nils and all the music we loved by him. My friend seemed to have a very good knowledge of Nils' music history. I was impressed.

The concert was great! He and his band are top notch and I loved every minute. After a second encore, we got a surprise; Nils had agreed to meet and greet fans behind the bandshell! There was a set of stairs that led up and around the back of the bandshell and people were going to be allowed to go single file up to the top to meet him. Well, my friend and I hightailed it over there quick. We were pretty far up in line and we got to watch as Nils talked with people who were ahead of us. Some got autographs, some just gushed, some got pictures. I remember wishing I had known beforehand that we could meet him. I'd have gotten an autograph or better yet, a picture of me with him. But I didn't have anything for him to sign and no camera. Damn!

We finally got to the top of the stairs and my friend's wife talked with him first. She got a hug and told him he was great yada yada yada... Then my friend started talking with him. At first it was a normal conversation. He told him how much he liked his music, told him about the other times he'd been to see him, then he told him his favorite song was **** (I forget which song he mentioned) ... and how much he like the album **** (again, I don't remember) Funny thing was, he had the wrong album. Nils politely corrected him about which album the song was on. Then my friend says, "Are you sure?"

Nils said he was quite sure.

That started it. My friend started telling him how he was sure the song was on such and such an album and how he remembered it because it came out right before such and such an album.... Nils then told him that he also had the album order wrong. The album he mentioned had come out after another one was released between the two.

Well that set my friend off. He again asked if he was sure. Nils rolled his eyes and looked back at one of the official looking guys standing behind him. That guy smiled and looked like he was holding back a laugh. My friend meanwhile was going on and on about how he was sure this album came out before that album and this song was on this album - Nils correcting him along the way.... He had so many things wrong that Nils finally just said "Maybe you should go and check on your collection again." Nothing smart assed or anything. Just a polite way to get off the subject, I think. Then my friend said, "No, I think you probably forgot some things. After all these years, it's no embarrassment." WTF???

Again an eye roll and a look over his shoulder, this time I think for help. The smiley guy finally stepped forward and gently nudged my friend the expert along, telling him that others were wiating. He went, but with a reassurance that he would be checking on those songs & albums as soon as he got home.

As I stepped up, Nils quietly said to the guy behind him, "Can you believe that?" Then he turned to me and said, "Do you know that guy?" I smiled and shook his hand and said, "Nope. Some people. I wonder who he was anyway?"