So! Wow! What a fantastic day! The ‘My Funny Valentine’ Event was a complete delight from beginning to end. The Event was organized and well-run, if a tad convoluted and a bit ‘out-in-the-boonies’ getting to the venue (OK, granted, Californian here, with freeways that go nearly to one’s front door, it is mostly a non-Cali thing to have to travel what equates to ’out into the countryside’ in my worldview! And those ‘expressways’!?! YIPES! I’ll take California’s freeways any day! I‘m just glad I wasn‘t driving!) ;) The venue, SOPAC--South Orange Performing Arts Center--was a bit smaller than I expected, but the more intimate setting was very nice, modern and clean; the acoustics and sound system were really top notch. The JamesEvent workers were genial, patient and efficient. (I know Peg and Helen, but still do not know the third lady’s name—sorry!—but, thanks y’all! You made the day very pleasant!) The blend of both old and new fans attending, and James in a wonderfully engaging mood made it one of the most enjoyable events I’ve been to in my seven years of happy JamesAddiction. The simple but very enjoyable schedule, which ran smoothly and almost perfectly on time*, made the day pass extremely pleasantly, if all too quickly, even during the three and a half hours of photos and autographs. There was no merchandise for sale, nothing extraneous going on, to distract from the pure enjoyment of JamesWatching. No one was rushed and James was his most warm and charming self--and obviously in his element, happily chatting and playing with each person, while those not in line had the freedom to wander around the quaint little town of South Orange, watch James-centric video programming, or chat with old friends and make new ones. Casual, friendly and laid back, it was definitely worth every penny spent! Truly a wonderful experience all around, IMO. I also had the extra joy of being close enough to my daughter, Wendi, for her to come join me in NJ for the weekend from her home up in New England, and had gotten her a ticket for the concert in the evening. Wendi isn’t particularly a Whedonverse fan, though she enjoyed the shows well enough when I got her to watch them; moreover, although not really a fan of James, per se, she did once see him perform with Ghost of the Robot when they played in San Francisco (she’d mentioned afterward being more interested in bassist Kevin McPherson, who was more her age), so I wanted very much for her to see *this* James. ;) She volunteered (OK, I volunteered her!) to drive a few of us to the venue…she was the unlucky soul to have to figure out the freeways, and eventually wound up taking not one, but two carloads of us crazy JamesFans, getting lost several times, before finally getting the hang of it! (*HUGS* Thanks, Sweetie, it made the day SOOOO much easier on us, even though I know it was stressful for you, to say the least!!) I went on the second trip—thanks, MySpikeysCrypt, for waiting with me and being so cool when we were sure we‘d be late! By some miracle (and expertly insane driving by Wendi!), we actually made it, just barely by the skin of our teeth, right at noon--the first video started before I even made it to my seat! To open the event, we were treated to two slightly different versions of the “Dragonball: Evolution” trailer. YUM! I so cannot wait for this movie! Once they had aired, Steve Himber (James’ manager, for the newbies) came out to welcome everyone and announced the day’s schedule, then introduced James. James looked hot. There is just no other way to describe him! He looked so cool! (Hmm, he was hot, he was cool, he was all-temperature James. Heh! I always wanted to use that line!) His hair is its ‘usual’ length, short sides with just enough hair on top to show the wave without the curl. He wore a very nice white dress shirt with multiple thin, neutral-colored accent stripes on it, with the sleeves rolled up to just below the elbows, and over that, a vest (waistcoat to you Brits!) of a deep blue (or maybe black…it was hard to tell in the uneven lighting, but in the photo ops it looks deep blue). It fit him absolutely perfectly and looked very *very* good on him. He was wearing a pair of new-looking black jeans that fit him just as perfectly--not too tight, but just-right tight! The effect was casual elegance with a hint of the “Alien Western” guy lurking. YUM! And he wore his white-with-black-accents running shoes, as usual. He was thin, trim and buff, looked happy and was in great spirits. He welcomed us briefly (and somewhat humorously), saying this was his first time in New Jersey (?! He never went to NJ when he lived in NY? LOL!) and then he was whisked off to start photo ops. If I remember correctly, “Superman:Doomsday” was screened to entertain those not in line. When it was my turn next, I took off my 4” (very-cute-I-couldn’t-resist-them-I’m-such-a-shoe-whore) heels and then dropped them to the other side of James (I’m already just a smidge taller than him in bare feet!). James greeted me very warmly and hugged me, and I mentioned something about my heels as I was dropping them (nervous babble, sigh), prompting him to say, “You’re wearing flats?”, look down at my bare feet and say, “no you’re not.” So, I pointed at my shoes and said, “No, I have 4” heels. I took them off.” James looked at them (lying there all innocent-like) barked out a laugh and with a huge grin and a headshake, said “You know me SO well!” HEE! I grinned right back, we posed and as I turned to go, pointed out my T-shirt, saying I was immortalizing this one this time (I have a large collection of T-shirts, and it gives me something to differentiate the photo ops while ‘immortalizing’ the T’s forever, instead of the posing variations others do. This particular one said “Police State: Coming to a Democracy Near You!” Heh.) James read it, grinned, nodding enthusiastically and excitedly, and said, “Yes! Wolf! Um, Naomi Wolf! The book you gave me! Scary! I thought we were all done now, but she says ’No way‘!” I said, “Oh, you’ve already read it? It was good?” He said, “Oh yes, very! Terrifying!” I told him I hadn’t gotten the chance to read it yet, and he said it was really well worth reading and then it was time to move on. Floating on a cloud, I was!--James not only remembered the book I gave him when I saw him at the “Numb3rs“ location shoot, but read it and remembered to comment to me on it! How very cool is that! :D I decided to get a second photo op, wearing the regular blouse I had actually chosen to wear that day, a dressy one in honor of Valentine’s Day. When it was my turn, James gave me another warm smile and handshake and we posed. As soon as the shot was taken, he said something about his bookcase at home, which I didn’t catch as I had already turned to go, so when I turned back, he then said, that when he looks at his bookcase at home, he thinks of me because all the best books on it were from me. =:O To say I was in stunned shock is putting it mildly! I was walking backwards and almost tripped on a cable, then dropped my glasses – twice -- trying to retrieve them! LOL—grace, thy name is *not* Patti! I gave him a big grin and said something intelligent, like Great, I’m glad, my pleasure… OK, I have *no* idea what the heck I mumbled out! I was grinning like a total loon as I came out to the front of the auditorium again--he thinks of me at home!! Heh. Next was a group photo with some of my online-group friends from JMF, and the organizer of it, StephenS, had us pose like “Charlie’s Angels”. (I’m thinkin’ Jaclyn Smith and Farah Fawcett, of course, cuz, ya know, I’m old!) James, upon hearing that, piped out with “Ooh, am I Drew Barrymore, then?!” ROTFL!!! We all assumed a proper “Charlie’s Angels” pose with fingers up for guns (OK, I was posed wrong. Hey, I never watched the show *or* movie, so sue me!) ;) After the shots were taken, James told us that when he was filming “Numb3rs” and he had to shoot his gun the first time, he got carried away and said “Bang!” out loud! LOL! He said Rob Morrow teased him about the rest of the week. :D Next up on the agenda was the autographing session. James had promised to not only sign, but personalize and Steve promised not to rush anyone too much, but reminded us that the longer we took of James‘ time, the less time there would be for Q&A, so no one really took an extremely long time, but it still took quite a while for James to personalize 150 items and sign god knows how many extra autographs! On many of them, he wrote “One Love” along with the person’s name and his signature. I like it. :) We were also given the first of our two gifts, an autographed 8X10 of James as Piccolo—the early one where he’s not green with the hood over his head. There was also the first of two drawings for prizes, mostly “Dragonball” related items. During this time, I visited with people, when not just watching James with the fans, which itself is very entertaining—he’s very animated and gracious with everyone. More video was aired--we got “Torchwood: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” and most of the “Numb3rs: Guilt Trip” episode, but the line moved so well, we didn’t even get to finish the latter! When Captain John (James’ character) came walking out of the rift in “Torchwood“, the whole auditorium erupted in cheers, causing James to jump and look up warily. When he saw the screen, he grinned a bit smugly, then went back to signing. There was an even louder cheer at *that* kiss, and when he looked up to see what caused it, he just sort of cringed a little, looking a bit embarrassed (but grinning), and turned back to signing again. I don’t think he looked up at the screen again after that! LOL! When it was my turn, James and I talked about how things are going in his life, and I gave him a couple of silly Christmas gifts (I also told him I’d actually donated to Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation in his name for his Christmas gift, which he sincerely appreciated) and that was pretty much it. Short-ish but very nice. :) There was a short break to give James a chance to grab a bite to eat. After only about 10 minutes, the Q&A began, and lasted around 40 minutes (or so I heard, I forgot to time it! LOL). He was often hilarious, but almost as often, serious and contemplative. I did get to ask a question… but I will put them in order as asked. I’ve may have missed a couple, I apologize if I left someone out! Q&A (They had set up a microphone, but James looked down his nose at it and refused to use it - he’s a well-trained stage actor and doesn’t need a mic to project, doncha know!) The first lady asked James what he would put if he were to write a Single’s Ad for himself… He said he tends to ‘barf out all the bad stuff when he meets a girl, right off.’ But if selling himself…he could lie... “46 year old male, decent chest hair (lots of laughter), writes music, paints and works out.” Then he turned back to the questioner and asked, “Would you date one?” to which she gave an *iffy hand waver*. James laughed and said “I’m lucky I’m on TV.” StephenS asked James what type of question he would like, general or music. James, a bit surprised at being asked, debated a moment then picked general. SS asks James if he’d ever wanted to ask fans questions, so James asked SS what his favorite book was (I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear what it was). SS then told James this was his 12th event and there are only two songs he’d never heard live and could James do at least one—“Patricia” or “Three”. Immediately he said maybe “Patricia” and cringed a bit while admitting that “Three” ‘cut a little too close to the bone’. He then went on to say he’d thought about doing every song he ever wrote at the concert later, but figured out he would have to do it without pausing, literally, to fit into time limit. He’d even tried it but it ‘sounded terrible’. He then invited us to shout out something if he didn’t play it, later. Does James have a diversified career by design or did it just happen? He likes diversity; it keeps him from getting bored. He talked about “Without a Trace” gig. They hired him for a recurring role, but then when he got there they changed it to week-to-week and paid him the legal minimum they could. He was still OK with it, he’d hoped to break into the non-action stuff to save his body some pain—he could live without the wire work and setting himself on fire. He figured he could semi-retire doing a cop show; it’s easy work, you ‘get in and out of car a bunch of times and go home’. He’d be set. But not on week-to-week, so when Dragonball came up, for way more money, he said ‘bye’ Jerry Bruckheimer, who got upset. Of course it was back to wire work, and his body paid price for choice. He got his ‘butt kicked…in Mexico’ because there was no stunt man. (Actually he said before that there was one, but the director didn’t like his make-up or something, and made James do all the stunts anyway.) I was next. I wanted info about “Alien Western” so I asked how he got involved in the project, when it was to air, if he had to ride a horse and “most importantly, what everyone wants to know…Did you wear chaps?…Leather chaps?” James totally busted up laughing, as did the audience. Heh. :D “No chaps, sorry!” He went on to say that the SciFi Channel had been trying to get him to do a movie for several years, but this was the first one Steve felt was worth his time to do--a good script, good cast, good director, and if the effects are any good, it should be a really good film, he said. We can hope! ;) He said understood the character and it felt easy, which is usually a good sign for him when looking for roles. He said he did *NOT* ride horses, that he’d told the producers he doesn’t ride. But getting him on horse was pretty funny because he’s such a method actor--the movie was a lot of him running in fear from the aliens, so he’d spook them when he got within 30 feet when he was in character! But, it was freezing cold the whole time, he said, and then continued that he “…Can take any kind of …no, I shouldn’t say that…*seem”* to have, up until now, a high tolerance for pain and discomfort, but cold?…“ *vigorous head shake* So, he’s a wussy California boy, and he apparently whined about cold a lot. LOL! He mentioned he had a good-looking coat, but not a big warm fluffy jacket, you never see people wearing ‘real’ coats on film—too bulky. They filmed on the same set they built for “Cold Mountain”, which is not a real town, and has no heating system at all. His whole memory of filming Alien Western is that of hypothermia…and lots of mud, due to rain. There was so much mud, he thought maybe that’s why cowboys walk funny *demos hilarious walk* so he was doing that walk, but then found out they were framing out the mud, so here he is, trying to look all heroic…walking like a duck. He didn’t have any clue when it would air, though, sadly. The next questioner asked if he secretly watched reality shows, especially ones about celebrities in rehab, saying, “do you ever secretly watch them…and think …I hope I never end up like that!” He laughed and said “I went through that phase way before I got famous, so I’ve already done that and I’ve come out of it, so I’m not likely to go back. Plus, my kids would never…” and trailed off. He doesn’t like them because they’re all about the ‘train wreck’. Talked about German TV show (lots of groans from the foreign contingency! Obviously they knew what the show was and it was pretty bad.) “I just wanted to take shower, *scrubbing motions* “…off my skin, you know?” Reality TV isn’t good for the 1-hour-drama actor, and he’s not psychologically into that kind of thing, either. Next, someone asked him about his bathtub, if he had a jacuzzi tub, but there was something I couldn’t see going on off to one side, that ended with James cracking up and saying “Steve has an ego of granite, you can’t shake him.” He then said the only bathroom he had with a tub was shared by his niece and her nanny, so he had to shower. *makes very sad face* “Showers suck.” She must have said something about remodeling one in, because he said he could buy one, but he has to send kids to college. He’d told his kids he’d send them to college, so they started getting good grades. *EEK face* Someone hollered out “scholarships” and he said, “Yeah that’s what I’m telling them now!” Asked about where he was, what he thought and how he reacted about the inauguration: We needed an FDR and didn’t deserve what we got [for the past 8 years], so he’s grateful for Obama getting elected. Talked about the book, The Next Hundred Years, by George Friedman. In it he talks about how the U.S. has 50 year cycles where we have a big problem,” then a new leader comes forth and ushers in a new era.” It gives him hope--we try something new when the country is ailing. Then he jumped up, saying, “Every day I’m like…” *hops around all joyously* then “…before… “ *majorly depressed slump*. Even “being left handed I’m like“ *fist shaking* “’Yeah!!!’” Then in a really geeky voice and face, “heh heh, can I have your autograph?” He has a fantasy that he can become Obama’s press secretary for second term, another fantasy that he gets to play guitar for the Obama kids. LOL! He said he loves it, it’s so good, and Obama is so smart; he feels we will find out that you don’t mess with Obama –a nice man, but don’t get in way or he will get you *out* of his way, and that is a very good thing, James says. Specifically, he was at home and he was crying on election night—then went out and kissed the ground. Joked about last time he kissed the ground: He was in Seattle living in a bad part of town, so it was a bad thing to kiss the ground! A question about “The Green River Killer” and the electric chair scene, did it freak him out to sit in it?: Nothing is real in Hollywood, the rig obviously wasn’t plugged in or working so it didn’t make him nervous. He talked some more about acting choices. He talked about his fear of hanging on the set of “Alien Western”: They had a real noose and they didn’t rig the ropes; had built a real gallows, and they’d just nailed the trap door shut! He said he was thinking, “Boy, this is going to be a fun shoot. I’m in Rumania, they have me by contract, and this big noose to hang me on.” That was his first day, and he was ready to bolt… “What’s the next country?” But, it got better after that, he said. Someone asked him if asked, would he be willing to portray Brainiac 5 (?), just introduced on “Smallville”: He asked what it looked like., then after she described it, he said sure, he likes working on “Smallville” and was very complimentary to everyone. But, playing a robot is kind of hard for him— they’re too undramatic. So he played his cool and complicated. Asked a question about ‘coverage’--does he adjust his performance for the kind of shot? Very much so. He mentioned Michael Caine’s book, Acting for Film. And then tells one of the hints: Every time they come in closer, cut your emotional responses in half (so you are doing virtually nothing b y the time they’re in close up). Also: Don’t mess up your first shot. It’s an introduction, like shaking hands. If you mess it up you can’t get back from it, but if do it right, you can get away with a lot. Does James have a different approach for a fictional character vs. real person? It’s harder to do a real person. There are expectations, ‘sacred-cow’ kind of thinking. He was lucky with Buzz Aldrin, he just read his biography, instead of researching and writing about the character, like most roles require. He told very moving stories of Buzz Aldrin he’d gleaned from his research, and summed it up with, “…Buzz did something more beautiful than going to the moon, he saved himself.” He fears Buzz will punch him out for how he played him, and retold the story of Buzz decking the heckler. The problem is, James said, is that fighter pilots (where Buzz started his career) are inherently boring—they are trained to be calm in crises. So to play the real guy is too boring, but to play it up emotionally would make them into “touchy-feely thirty-something characters” so James basically ‘split the difference’. They built the set to be more like the actual cramped command modules were in reality--he talked about the hands coming in all over him, etc., and that it was the least comfortable thing he’s done in his life. He said that ‘Buzz wore an ‘880 pound suit’, which takes a lot of strength to use. James ’ suit was ‘80 pounds’ *but* Buzz worked in Zero-G, while James ‘worked in Full-G trying to make it look like Zero-G’. Then he said, “I’m not trying to say I had it *harder* than Buzz, but I think I got a little taste…” Heh. Next, a “Dragonball: Evolution”/Piccolo question--why did he choose to do it? He talked a bit about raising his son on “Dragonball”, who loves it. He described a scene, using ‘voices’. He was worried about the violence it contained, showing that to a child, but then saw the good lessons it has. He went into his thoughts on what distinguishes a man from a boy in relation to “Dragonball”: Boys pick fights, men fight only when forced. He was excited to audition, and very happy to get part, but wasn’t sure he would be right for it. The director knew he would, though, he said—he loved James’ audition. James said he just did what he thought would sound right. *Does Piccolo voice* But by the time he got to the set, he felt like he was the only one on earth who could play the part. Next question: “Was Kermit right when he said ‘It’s not easy being green’?” Big laugh. For him it was not easy to “*get* green” he said. He had to fight for the green: “When you do “Superman”, you have to have the cape, when you do Spock, you have to have the ears, when you do Piccolo…” *growls out* “…he has got to be *green*!”. But when he finally did get his green, he was ’happy happy happy” If James had the opportunity to change/effect something politically…what would be the most important need to address?: “…’Habitat for Humanity’. Houses!” She then suggested he mention these kinds of things on his official site, because the fans would be willing to volunteer for something he supports. He looked very contemplative, and said he hadn’t thought of that, but he thought she was probably right. He straightened up, all chest puffed out, and said “I have an army! I think Barack better call me up!” Then he made a huge *swelling head* motion. LOL! A guy was next: “Sarah, Amber, John Barrowman…” then asked who he would chose to kiss. “John has good lips, I gotta say, and he means it when he kisses, “ he said. LOL! Whiskers suck, though, and he shaves closer now—‘it’s not fun being hurt.’ He then said that movie kissing is not romantic at all and is just part of job, but it’s still intimate, and it makes you vulnerable. His willingness and how it comes off on screen has to do with trust. He’s been lucky, he’s not had to kiss anyone he “really didn’t want to…wait…” *thinks hard* “…much.” *grin* He said, however, the one he kissed without being ordered to was Amber. “She’s hot. We were together for like *that* long.” He was asked to do the accent, so he did a whole silly riff about working as Spike and the accent/lack of accent. (He did it in a vaguely British accent, but he doesn’t do “Spike” when he does it, just James doing a British accent.) Does James have a Bucket List? No, he doesn’t have one--he’s been living it since he was 17 ½. He lives in fear he’ll have a boring life, that he’ll miss a door--what’s behind the door. This has led him into dangerous situations. He would like to try skydiving, and mentioned two other things I didn’t get. Asked if he wanted to do, or would be doing, “Dr Who”? He thought maybe when they gave him an action figure for “Torchwood” he’d be called in to do it, but not so far. How does he balance family and writing music? He writes best when rested, which he’s not very often. He described how his music-writing works for him, and how he has to get past the intellect to the emotional core. There were a couple of other character-oriented, analysis questions – one was something about not liking to portray Falstaff and Sir Toby Belch and similar characters because he isn’t right for them…I couldn’t hear most of it. Sorry. :) The last question was called, and James said “sorry guys” to the rest left standing, then pointing around, said “yes, yes, no, *completely random comment*” LOL! Asked what he thought his flaws were, (I believe, I couldn’t quite hear the question), what he doesn‘t like about himself? He said he gets arrogant when pissed off, which is irritating. If he feels someone is coming over his line he gets belligerent *jumps up pissed* and goes to a “low-grade war” too easily, and he’s offended easily once he’s there. He feels rejected too easily. Then, after a pause… “And I have a small bump on the back of my neck…” (end Q&A) At about 4:15PM, Steve ended the Q&A, so they could set up for the play, which was next on the schedule. James did the seat-ticket-stub drawing for the prizes this time. Lots of teasing between James and Steve ensued. James (pulls out first ticket, turns it sideways a couple of times, trying to figure out what to announce): “And what do I …? it’s this here…?” Steve: “Here, just give it to me.” (*shakes head, rolls eyes at James being challenged by tickets*. James (*rolls eyes, but immediately hands over ticket*): “I put up with this all day…” as Steve: “Just be pretty and give it to me.” *smirk* James continues to shake his head mumbling about how differently actors in theatre are treated (“they come in and say ‘Good evening Mr Marsters‘--there’s respect there!”) from actors in Hollywood (“everyone expects a total airhead“). Steve is standing next to James, silently keeping him on track, but somehow without saying anything, makes a humorous, silent counterpoint…LOL! James doesn’t notice--he’s drawing tickets and talking, completely oblivious. When he’s done drawing, James finally says “...the problem is I’m too smart…” Steve gets slightly smirkier and then starts doing this motion thing for James to *go* now—which James doesn’t notice right away, either…. When James does notice and realizes how it looks, he pretends to not understand, and leans way over to look where Steve is pointing. Then he straightened up, grinned, waved and said “bye” to us. James then got up and hugged Steve, before leaving to get ready for the play. At about 4:30PM, Steve came out to introduce the play, which turned out to be “Love Letters”, by AR Gurney, in honor of Valentine’s Day. He then introduced James and his acting partner, Beth Thompson. For those not familiar with this play, it is always read (*not* memorized), by a couple sitting simply at a table (never acted out *physically*), and when I saw it originally, it was always a celebrity couple (I first saw it with William Shatner and his then-wife, Marcie Lafferty), and was rotated to a new couple each week. This performance was flawless; the play is lively and funny one moment, and heartbreakingly poignant the next, and James and Ms Thompson were well up to the task and very well-matched. Both were outstanding; Ms Thompson was a definite asset, an equal to James’ excellence of performance. Very *very* enjoyable! Mucho Kudos to James and Ms Thompson on a job brilliantly and entertainingly done! After the play, we had a two-hour break to pick up photo ops and get food or whatever we wanted to do, while they closed the doors to get the stage ready for the concert, and so James and everyone ‘on staff’ could also take a well-deserved dinner break. We were also given our second free gift at this time—a full-size lobby poster of “Dragonball: Evolution”! WOOT! A group of us walked up a couple of blocks in the little town of South Orange and had dinner, which is where my daughter, Wendi, joined us. As we were walking from the SOPAC to dinner, we saw Steve and James walking out to their car, so we hollered “Hi James!” and he turned, grinning, waved and hollered “Hi!” back! We got back just a couple of minutes before 8, and the concert started less than 5 minutes later. The people who had been sitting next to me all day didn’t return, so to my happy-happy, Wendi got to sit next to me after all (instead of 4 rows back). :) James had changed his shirt, and was wearing the black sleeveless tank shirt with the white contrast stitching (Champion brand, I believe) – the same one he wore at The Borderline last year in London. He came out and hollered “Hello, you beautiful people!” The concert was really good—James was really into it and gave it his all--though James might have over-extended his voice a bit during the day, as it was slightly strained-sounding on some of the higher notes on the first few songs (maybe he shoulda used that mic for the Q&A after all…) ;) But overall, he was very up for it, and he sounded great. It was chock-full of James songs, a really good mix of them, and one cover; James played for well over an hour. James didn’t pause too often at the start to talk, though he did get a bit more chatty as he got into the set (he just can‘t resist commentary!) and eventually got very interactive with the audience, often being very self-deprecating: “What do I know, I’m just an actor *shrug*” LOL! It was a lot of fun! James reiterated his ‘shout-out’ policy of earlier, saying he might do some if we gave him enough ‘junk’ about it. LOL! And for the most part, he did just that…. I say for the most part because… well, read on…. Concert (with notes): >Katie >Looking at You >Bad (written for a lady in London he “met at an event just like this”) >Smile >Layabout (which about filming in Wales, he specified, because he realized ”it could sound like something else…”) At the beginning he turned his pick wrong, then moments later, mid-song, he stepped on his guitar lead and unplugged himself! He just shrugged it off and said, “Third verse is the best, I don’t care man!” and he continued the song. When it was over, he joked that all the “dudes in the house are so laughing at me…what kind of professional…steps on his lead? It’s gonna…take all night to get back from this…” ROTFL! >Fall of Night >Don’t Worry, Son (He said he’s in trouble now, his niece wants her own song “it’s comin’ it’s comin!”) >Patricia (dedicated to StephenS, who asked for it earlier) Dangerous was then yelled out; James leaned on his guitar while studying his set list, a very cute scrunchy ‘hmmm!!!’ face, and then said ‘yeah I forgot that one, man! Let’s do it now!’ He then said it was “a song I wrote about Michelle Trachtenberg. He then said we were the first he’d ever admitted that to” Pffst yeah right! Then, jokingly, “It won’t go on the internet or anything will it?” Then I think he said “It’s OK, she can take it.” >Dangerous >Finer Than Gold >For What I Need (Steve tosses the rather sweaty James a towel. James kicks it contemptuously aside, and launches into the next song….) >Over Now/Poor Robin James paused, tuning and resting his hand, and mentioned that his son has started playing guitar, for about 6 months now, and “he’s better than me.” He ‘s creating some ‘good lead licks’ and James said it felt weird to be playing alone. “But he’s in school.” Someone asked if they were recording, and James said yes, “but only on my Mac Book.” “No Promises” was requested; it was coming up…he promised. >Civilized Man (about a *guy* who made him mad, not a girl) (Uses towel) James said the guy was a coke addict, that it “wasn’t just me.” Someone in the audience apologized on behalf of Toronto; James grinned and said the guy was “the only jerk in Toronto.” Someone asked his guitar’s name -- it was a never-before-seen, lovely, mostly blue-faced, wooden one. “Chow,” he says in vaguely Asian-accent English. “He’s from Korea, but he can be depended on, so he’s ‘Chow‘.” LOL! >Too Fast: (Hardly ever played it before, because the band didn’t like it, but he does, so the heck with them! Then, sotto voce, says “This song is about Eliza Dushku”) Goodnight Sweet Girl (misnamed “Goodnight Sweetheart” by the requester *and* James!) was requested, but he said it was a GotR song and he need ‘those four other guys’ to do it. “Chocolate Jesus” and several others were then called out; he finally agreed to do “Chocolate Jesus” even though it wasn’t actually his, of course, and it had been a while. “I’ll try it, if I mess up it’s your fault.” *Shrugs* LOL! >Chocolate Jesus (mentioned that it was a Tom Waits song from the Mule Variations album) There were several more requests, but when *I* ventured to shout out *my* request (“Dance Slow”), he repeated it questioningly, kind of hedging and hemming and hawing while he looked to see who had shouted it… then when he saw it was me, he said, “ummmmm…NO!” …and grinned at me all smugly. *POUT!* He then broke, and ducking his head, started giggling, then grinned up sheepishly and said he hadn’t practiced that one. Sigh. I wish I’d thought to shout out another one, but I was kind of startled when he said “NO!” so adamantly at first…until I saw the giggling. He was *so* playing me…because he knows he can! James, you are an evil, evil man! And you SOOO owe me, Buddy! Heh. >All That She Wanted >Goodbye >Angel (this is his niece’s favorite song…and then asked that we not say what else he told us about it!) >Up on Me >No Promises/Runaway James said he had one more song, then he’d “pretend to leave” so he could get the “ego gratification of you guys clapping but I won’t make you do it for very long.” ROTFL! He then said it was a new song called “I’m Falling Down” (the one he broke in Atlanta last year). He said he wrote it during the filming of “Moonshot” where he discovered a fear of smothering from wearing his 60’s style, airless space helmet; about freaking out and wanting his GF to come save him. It occurred to him that Buzz Aldrin might have felt the same way, needed a hand to hold. He thought about calling it “’For Dr Aldrin’ …but the lyrics don’t exactly make that clear, so…” (No kidding! LOL! It’s a very lovely, romantic, angsty song, sung so very beautifully! But, yeah, not remotely about nor does it in any way refer to Dr Aldrin!) >I’m Falling Down ENCORE: (James literally did come back in about 30 seconds, entering all perky and pretend-smug. “That really feels good!” *squeaky voice* “I like it, I really do!” *giggle* LOL! >(Button-Down) Vandals (as he started to play, he realized the guitar was turned almost all the way down still; after adjusting it back up, he joked, “I didn’t claim to know what I was doing. I’m an actor!”) >London City (“Sometimes being a musician comes in handy, like when you’ve been a real dick…”) >Birth of the Blues (he explained why he wrote it, the Robert Johnson/sold his soul to devil at the crossroads story, and that this really how Blues started –“with all respect to Mr Johnson.”) At the end of the show, James pretty much threw out *everything* he had on and around him! LOL! Several picks, the towel Steve had thrown him (wipes face before throwing), and the set list…which was, for some reason, printed on the back of a photo op! Heh! The list floated down and landed in StephenS’s hand; the towel French fan B’Angel got--just snagging it before Wendi, seated next to her, could. ;) The venue had great acoustics for music, and James sounded really good. A most enjoyable concert in other ways too—James was very give-and-take with the audience like never before, with the “taking requests”. It was fun! And, hey, maybe we’ll get a father-son concert sometime, hmmmm James?!! That would have been it…except that after the show, I was keeping Wendi company outside while she smoked (ew) before starting the runs back to the hotel, and freezing my butt off (it was *way* too cold out for this SoCal girl!). We were both standing there shivering uncontrollably, when we noticed James and Co going through the parking lot. Without conscious thought, we both started walking after them. About halfway to their car, teeth chattering, I said to Wendi, “I have no idea why we’re following them out here.” She said, “To introduce me to James!”…which we’d joked about earlier, knowing she wouldn’t get to...or so we thought. We kept going, though, and arrived just as James, last outside, was about to get in the car. We stopped just short of the car, a hopefully-respectful distance in case he just wanted to go, but he stopped his motion to get in the car when he saw us, closed the door, turned back fully toward us and said “Hi”, so I said, “I just wanted to introduce you to my daughter, Wendi.” He gave her a huge smile, came forward and shook her hand, then said “You have the coolest Mom!” and told her about his bookcase, too! :D (It’s official, kids, I’m the cool Mom! HEH!) I told him about her seeing him way-back-when and wanting her to experience this James, and he looked very surprised, then almost pained and said “Well, I hope I don’t suck anymore!” LOL! My usually-gregarious and normally razor-sharp-witted daughter, rather silent up to that moment, mumbled something about the show, then blurted out that she did karaoke. LOL! I told James I’d forgotten the DVD of her singing I was going to give him and he told me to bring it next time, he really wanted to hear it (isn’t he sweet!? He knows just the right thing to say to this *completely objective* Mom!). I did mention our You Tube site, PBnJ Stuff (shameless plug! where SilentJ and I have posted Wendi’s karaoke, mingled among our James -n- stuff clips), though I doubt he’ll remember. ;) I thanked him for taking the moment and we let him go. It was about that moment I realized…I was no longer shivering…and was, in fact, feeling toasty and warm all over. Hmmm…. *sappy smile* Wendi commented, as we were walking back, that she didn’t know why on earth she’d blurted out the karaoke thing the way she did, feeling kind of silly for having done so—she’s never particularly been the ‘star-struck’ kind, and seldom has trouble chatting with anyone. In a rather puzzled voice, she said she’d not been at all nervous or excited about possibly meeting him as we were walking over…but just seemed to go blank the moment we got up to James and he smiled at her… I laughed out loud and told her “We call that JamesFog, Sweetie, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a big fan or not, it effects everyone the same way!” :D One Love, y’all! Peace Patti :)