Oh yes boys and girls....ladies and gents...it's been awhile. We hope that in our absence everyone had the opportunity to see Roger tour, and all props to Master Daltrey for his inexhaustible drive and passion for the music...the maestro's music... We thought it made sense to break for awhile. With all the press and posts and general excitement and thrill over Roger's performances, the timing didn't seem right to throw even more into the mix. But now, with the sum sum summertime blues behind us, we'd like to do a lil stirring of our own!
Yeah, we heard you! You were ready for more and we want you to know how appreciative we are of your patience and support. We're thrilled that you're enjoying the adventures of 'The Glow Girls,' and your letters and comments have been incredible. Hopefully, you have all had the chance to catch up with all the archives, and remember where we left off.
So, where were we? Ahhh...yes...backstage at Madison Square. We had arrived in our chariot, actually, in Pete's chariot. Wedged in the back of the limo between Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. The Birdman and The Ox. Imagine yourself in the same situation. Would you be contained...would you be nervous...would you speak? We were catatonic. We used our eyeballs to communicate with one another and didn't say much. Pete was in great spirits, very mellow and when we picked John up at his hotel, the mood got even lighter. Many of you may not know this, but Thunderfingers has a great sense of humor. Very quiet, very dry, but mischievous none the less and when he joined us, Pete's vibe got a little silly. It was amazing to see them like that, though we didn't really absorb it the time...we just all became more comfortable in his presence.
The limo pulled up under the bowels of Madison Square Garden, far away from the fans that were trying to get a glimpse of their heros. It felt like we were really far underground in a protected holding zone. We just kept in step with Pete, as he hadn't given us any indication of what would happen once we got there. But we figured if he took us in his limo, things must be in our favor and we didn't need to ask any questions....So as we wandered along with him, Ann Weldon, part of The Who's business & management team, handed us laminated passes. No...not just passes. ALL ACCESS PASSES.
When we looked down at the pieces of plastic in our hands, and saw that they said all access, we knew something incredible was going on. We had been given clout to go anywhere...and we felt like rock and roll royalty...We followed Pete past the curtain that separated the private area for the band, the
'green room,' and sat down on one of the couches, trying to look comfortable. Tables of food and drink, friends & family...you know the deal.
As we told you the last time we wrote, there were a couple of components that we were trying to manage in our heads. While the vibe was casual, the tidal wave hadn't hit. That tsunami many of you know as ROGER DALTREY. We hadn't seen Roger since we were at his farm in England, and he, had no idea that we were going to be there.
We heard him before we saw him...that throaty laugh you know could only belong to him. And know, that we don't know how he does it, but when he enters a space, even from a distance, the energy changes. Everyone becomes a little more rigid. He just has this power, this charisma that hits you in a way you eventually come to expect.
When he entered the room where we were sitting, he stared straight at us, and we knew in a split second by the look on his face that he was less than pleased to see us there. We surmised that given we didn't arrive with him, he had to have known we had arrived with Pete, and for that he could only assume we were doing more 'riding' than we were. It wasn't as if we would walk up to him and say, 'Hey, good to see you Rog, and no, we're not having sex with Pete or anyone else on this tour. We're still the naive virginal girls we were when you met us.' So, it was an unspoken perception that we were stuck with for quite some time to come.
Roger went off to warm up his voice and the sound of his vocal exercised, 'e e e' oh oh oh' could be heard from down the hall. Pete was off with his roadie prepping his guitar....the show was drawing near and the Garden was full...everyone waiting for The Who. We still didn't know where we would be once the show started! Everyone took off in a million different directions...We were still trying to get over seeing Roger...with his new haircut no less, and found ourselves pretty much alone in the green room feeling clueless. You could feel the energy draw from the room as roadies, management, and ultimately the band were heading toward the stage.
In the flash of a moment, Ann found us, handed us two tickets and disappeared into the mist of Who-land. Clutching our tickets, we found our way out into the audience. Our seats were in the loge, an area above the floor and off to the side of the stage where 'friends & family' were seated.
While this might have worked for the friend and family group that does this kind of thing all the time....it did not work for us....or at least one of us. We wanted to be as close as possible...just as we were when we walked through the masses the first time we saw The Who at the Garden, and ended up in front of the stage. We didn't want to be contained and polite! It was the fucking Who! But, we had no choice. We were there because of our guardian, Pete Townshend, and we behaved respectfully. For the moment.
We would love to give you all the nitty gritty show details, but we can't. We don't remember. We were basically catatonic and only held it together to keep up a good front given the company we were in. But as the show ended, we followed the rest of the All Access-ers back to the green room and tried to seem as though we were 'cool.'
Shortly after everyone settled in, Pete wandered in to the room and parked himself between us. It was amazing! It was as if we belonged to him, with him...moments before he stood on the stage in front of more people than you can imagine, one of the most brilliant musicians of our time,,,and everyone, EVERYONE watched in awe....and now? He was a low key, gentle giant sitting down between us....
He wanted to know if we liked it....if we enjoyed the show...how was it...can you imagine????
It was a shock to even us when one of us said, " Well, to tell you the truth, the show was great, but I get claustrophobic in large groups of people. We were kind of far from the stage." As outrageous as that sounds, it was just the plain truth. Maybe something in the way Pete was so natural with us allowed that to come out...WHO knows...Pete smiled that Pete Townshend smile... he didn't say anything at first, and then with a smirk on his lips he sighed and in a quiet, little voice, he said.... 'I'll take care of it."
We had no idea what that meant at the time. Had we known, we probably would have fainted right on the spot. But he knew exactly what he had in mind...and he knew that we were completely perplexed by his response. He enjoy that little routine. It worked for him. And guess what? As it turned out....it MORE than worked for us.
Unitl we meet again...The GlowGirls
