• By the time I took my seat, I could pick out the women who would be invited to dance on stage with him during one of the final numbers.
• I knew when he would swap “Portland” for “San Francisco” when he sang San Francisco Days.
• When the overture from West Side Story plays, the show is about to start!
• I’ve heard the trailer park story before… and noticed when he left a particularly racy part out.
• The most popular songs for the couples in the audience to kiss and canoodle to are *always* Wicked Game and Wrong to Love You, although the entire show seems to get folks pretty randy.
• When he left the stage and people started leaving, I knew to stick around because he’d be back in moments wearing a mirrored suit.
• I’ve heard the “We’re gonna play the songs we know for a few hours, then get started on the songs we don’t know… maybe some ABBA, maybe some Blue Oyster Cult” line before… and it still makes me laugh.
• He usually talks about women coughing up sequins the next morning after a night with him, but he makes it sound so appealing!
• When he asks people who are in “loving committed relationships” to raise their hands in the air, Chris tells the guys in the band to only pick from the women who *don’t* have their arms in the air.

More random notes from Thursday’s show:
Chris and the guys of Silvertone were great — lots of energy. Just have to remember that sometimes the gals in the front row are just as entertaining to watch as the band is, and even funnier when they are pulled up on stage. There was even a mother-daughter team, with the mom completely putting the moves on Chris! The front-row women were much less skanky than the women at other shows I’ve been to like Reno and Seattle… Seattle in ’02 was the worst with the drunk gal at the signing booth begging Chris to return the bra she threw on stage during the show. LOL

We had great seats, but I misjudged where he’d be going out in the audience and he wound up the balcony instead of in the orchestra where we were seated (and I thought he would be). Although considering how many fan-type interactions I’ve been lucky enough to have with him, including him dancing on my table during a lounge show, I really have nothing to complain about.

He sounded really good, and he told many jokes in bad taste that are half the fun of the show, although the funniest joke was unintentional. Chris was making local references as part of a story, and he pronounced Willamette as “Willa-met” The audience, already close to tears from laughing so hard, kind of lost it at that point.
There were two catty bimbettes sitting behind us who insisted on talking through the entire show, although they got a little quieter after I told them they were being disruptive. It was sort of like watching the show with an unwanted running commentary.

“Oh, he is so cute! I’d take him home and eat him for breakfast!”
“Girl, no, we need to take the whole band home with us!”
“I wonder if he’ll sing that song off of [insert name of popular overcommercial recent album here]?”
“This is my first time seeing him in concert – this is pretty cool.”

They literally talked like this through the *whole show.* I hope it’s her last, or if they go again that they not talk through the whole thing. I had half a mind to give her the keys to my car so they could listen to the music on CD and talk without bothering anyone.

He sang Going Nowhere, which is one of my favorites, but I’m still waiting to hear him sing Like The Way She Moves or I’m Not Sleepy during a show. Since they are non-radio play tracks off of Speak of the Devil, the chances are slim. I love to hear him sing, but I would have been perfectly happy if he hadn’t sung anything from his most recent album — all the songs from that album are pretty lackluster. Loved that they balanced the show out with an acoustic set in the middle, including songs from Baja Sessions. Heard official confirmation that he is releasing a Christmas album — with four original tracks! How cool is that?

When they were winding up the show, he told us what a great audience we were and that he wanted to stick around and sing for us for a while, then slid into a fabulous acoustic rendition of Forever Blue. I think someone told him in his ear bug that the show was over because it wrapped up seconds after he finished the song, with a very hurried thanks to all the members of the band. This was a bummer because they usually end shows with a rocking rendition of Diddley Daddy, which also has the potential to contain wickedly funny stories.

Went home wanting to watch my boot-leg copies of The Chris Isaak show until the sun came up so it wouldn’t seem like the concert was over. *sigh* For the record, this is the eighth show I’ve attended. No, I’m not a fan-girl at all.

1. What was my friend’s response when I asked to borrow her tent for a weekend?
   • Sorry, we’re using it when we climb Mt. Rainier this weekend.
   • Sorry, we’re using it when we go to the biker rally this weekend.
   • What do you want to do with it? You don’t camp.
2. T or F: I led the 20th anniversary of the eruption website project four years ago, but this was my first trip to the Mt. St. Helens Monument
   • True
   • False
3. When I coated myself in bug repellent to keep the mosquitos at bay, Aaron‘s response was:
   • Damn, baby… that smells sexy!
   • Good idea! Can I have some, too?
   • How cute, baby – you smell like Pine-Sol!
4. My attraction to signage comes from:
   • Fascination with the many ways a message can be conveyed
   • A desperate attempt to cling to civilization while roughing it
   • A subconscious desire to produce a coffee table book about signs
5. Camping is great because:
   • You get to experience chipmunk mating season
   • Everything tastes better when it is cooked over an open flame
   • Despite popular belief, being out of technology range for a weekend won’t kill you
6. I enjoyed the Ape Cave because:
   • It was damned hot outside and a chilly 42 degrees in the cave
   • It was fun to watch Aaron do his best Batman impression
   • Listening to the shrieks and screeches of small children and babes in arms echoing off the walls of the cave is the most effective birth control I have ever encountered
7. I will return to the Mt. St. Helens area again soon because:
   • We were unsuccessful in channeling Harry Truman and would like to try again.
   • I’m curious to see if the potato chips have different stories on the bags the next time I swing by the One Stop.
   • I can’t get the “Sack Your Trash” song out of my head.

Scoring: For every question where you were dead certain of the answer, go out and buy yourself a drink. For every question you had to guess on, promise to do better next time.

The gig: A character meet and greet with a group of nursery school kids
The assignment: Get the character in and out of costume, escort the character into the event, assist with photo ops, and so on.

It went really well. The suit was a bit of a challenge at times, because once the costume was on there was padding at the bottom of the leg that looked like it belonged elsewhere. A bit trying to get all of the paws on, too. In the box with the suit came a list of regulations stating that the character must not speak, can not sing or dance, and should refrain from crude gestures like lifting its leg. It can not appear with any other characters, which is a bit of a shame since the kids were asking about the other characters from the show.
The children were very well behaved, although a few of them had difficulty staying quiet during both story books that were read. One of them nearly broke my heart because he is very attached to the character, and when it was time for the character to leave the boy ran after and hugged the character tightly so he couldn’t leave. We found out later that boy had just lost his father and is going through a transitional period where he’s still not sure what happened to his dad.
I had originally volunteered to be the person in the suit, but I am sort of glad I was assigned to be the handler instead. I don’t deal with heat very well and my friend in the costume was sweating bullets by the time the event was over. I did get to try part of it on, and I think it looks pretty good on me. Also got a shot from inside the head. That’s another reason they need a companion – the mask takes away peripheral vision, and they need help knowing where to walk.

After the ceremony, we wanted drinks and a bite to eat, so we took them to a sports bar so they could experience a “typical” American bar. I don’t think twice about onion rings, poppers, or mozzarella sticks, but all of these things were new to the family and had to be explained.

Only a few people in our group are fluently multi-lingual, and the rest of us communicate in broken sentences, wild gestures, or ask for translation. The toughest part for me has been speaking slowly, because nearly all of us can gain a rudimentary understanding of what is being said if it is said slowly enough. Mas despacio, por favor!

We had some fun with Pablo’s very charming cousin, Ruben, who nearly injured his neck at least once looking at pretty girls. He asked me about good ways to introduce yourself to women, and the first thing that came to mind was, “Hey, baby!” He repeated it with an emphasis that sent the entire group into a fit of laughter. I then explained that it probably wasn’t the best phrase to use, and suggested a few alternatives.

I’ve been helping out as a tour guide, even teaching them useful American slang for items such as the “oh shit handle” you hold onto in the car when the driver takes turns a bit too sharply. Gerwald was a bit too enthusiastic on the curves when driving up the Mt. Rose Highway to Tahoe, so the term was immediately applicable.

Spending all of this time with la familia has cemented my decision to return to Madrid in the fall. Money is tight, but I’ve decided that no matter what, I’ll figure out a way to get there. Also on my to do list: buckle down and take that Spanish course this summer. My vocabulary isn’t too bad when it’s been refreshed / in use, but my sentence structure is horrible. It would be best if I am more fluent by the time I go.