One mistake I’d made 7 years prior was not preparing myself with knowledge of the band’s music. While there are some songs by KISS that you are probably going to be generally scorned for not knowing, there are others that are maybe not as commonly known. So, I did my research into their current set list and got pumped for the show. I even went out to the store and bought some face makeup so I could do myself up like Ace Frehley!

After about an hour of applying makeup and getting ready, I left my apartment around 5pm. I prayed none of my neighbors would be sitting outside with their kids, because they probably would have thought I was off to a devil-worshiping ceremony. LOL. Luckily, I made it out without getting spotted. As I drove down the street, however, I spooked a couple of teens who were playing some game in the street.

It had been over a year since I’d been to this venue. Normally I’d have gone there several times over the summer, but the venue was packed with country shows which I…erm…did NOT attend. I parked in the dusty gravel lot and started my short journey to the gates of the arena. The doors had just recently opened and the lines were still pretty long. I got the first few of many compliments from men (a few from other women too, though!). I enjoyed smiling and waving when someone called out to me. Makes a girl feel good to get that sometimes!

As I reached the gate and got in line, I realized how very hot the evening was going to be. The short walk had done it, and I could feel perspiration forming on my face already. This was not good…was all of my intricately-done makeup going to just run off of my face?

The venue was located at the NC Music Factory, the same location where my friends and I had seen Styx, Foreigner and Kansas in June. While that show had been at Road Runner Mobile Amphitheater, this show was at The Fillmore, a smaller, indoor theater.

I arrived at the venue a little after 4pm and to my surprise a woman and her 10-year-old son were the only two people standing outside the theater. Funny how you just never know if people are going to get there early to line up or not! We chatted for awhile and I learned that they’d come all the way from Ohio and that this would be her seventh Tears for Fears show. This of course was my first so I enjoyed hearing her stories about meeting them, and how much she loved their shows.

The sun was still pretty high in the sky and it was pretty hot out. But we knew we had to stick it out…we had a good 3 hours before doors opened! A few more people showed up at the gate within the next hour or so. One of them was a young woman in a huge sun hat named Kim. She started telling some amazing stories — apparently she had seen every show on this tour, and had over a week of it left! She lived in Los Angeles and took most of her vacation time (and savings) to tour around the country with them. It might sound crazy to some, but I was so full of admiration for her. Working so hard and traveling so far for something that makes her truly happy — and doing it all by herself! What could be better? It’s further inspired me to do something like that in my future.

Around 5pm, we were all excited to see Roland and Curt walk out of an adjacent theater entrance, apparently to get back to their hotel for a little bit. We all turned and waved and they waved back, but didn’t come over. Oh well, at least we got a wave!

As a 20-something, I remember the Counting Crows as a part of the soundtrack to my high school years. Their hits were everywhere on the radio and at least half of my friends were huge fans of the band. Given that, it was easy for me to presume that the majority of the people I’d find in the audience would be, well, close to my age. While there was a decent amount of people of this category, there was also a significant representation of the over-40 crowd, which I admit surprised me a bit. And you know what? The over-40s were no less into the show than the 20-somethings. Whatever their age, the members of this audience remained on their feet from the first song to the final encore!

A rustic curtain fashioned to look like an old canvas hung at the front of the stage for the opening of the show. As circus music began to pour out of the speakers, performers reached out from behind the curtain to pull a piece of rope which drew the curtains open. All of the performers were on stage for the opening song, Caravan!

The format of the Traveling Circus tour is an interesting one. Instead of your usual opening band / closing band sets, the performers (mainly Counting Crows and Augustana, with rapper Notar in the mix) swapped places on the stage, moving back and forth between performing eachothers’ songs. The lineup on the stage was consistently fluid, with performers coming and going between songs. Adam Duritz of Counting Crows offered backup vocals to Augustana’s songs, and Augustana’s Dan Laynus offered his to Counting Crows.

As a result, the entire show had a cheerful, laid back tone. There weren’t a lot of special stage effects aside from a simple lighting scheme. It was just a bunch of guys with their microphones and instruments, armed only with their raw talent. The folksy, acoustic tone of the show was amped up at times by instrumentally-backed insets from rapper Notar. While it would seem that a rapper would be out of place among such a lineup, he managed to bring something new to the mix while still fitting in nicely throughout the performances. His freestyle piece during Hanginaround even included some custom lines just for Cary, NC audiences!

Augustana, a band I was admittedly unfamiliar with leading up to the show, meshed really well with the members of the Counting Crows and showed off their own considerable chops in their hits as well as several new songs from their upcoming album. Lead singer Dan Laynus has a pleasingly versatile vocal range, and especially during their song Dust I was very impressed by the raw energy that came from his performance.

1. The venue was only a 10 minute drive from my apartment
2. Lois was coming with me
3. We had front row center seats!

I was also excited about the fact that I was getting to review this show for the CaryCitizen. I had initially been hoping to get a press pass and some additional perks as a result, but as it turned out I was treated just like any other fan. Oh well, I’d live!

Lois and I got to the venue around 4:30, a half hour before the gates were to open. I stopped by the box office to pick up our front row tickets (squee!) and also to see if there were any media materials for me. I’d gotten mixed answers on whether or not there would be anything, and after standing around for a few minutes, I received a “no.” So, I got in line. I saw Dixie and Angela on the way too, and we’d see eachother in front row soon!

Before the line started moving through the gates, a venue official addressed the crowd. He started talking about the camera policy, and Lois and I smiled when he said something along the lines of “The guys in Styx say that every good and bad picture has already been taken, so bring those cameras in.”

When we got inside, I couldn’t wait to make it to our seats. I also wanted some water, but the cooler was locked (?) so I had to wait for that. It was pretty hot out. While the cloudy skies saved us from the hot sun, the humidity was killer and there was even a chance of thunderstorms that night. We were really hoping they’d pass us by!

Sitting down in first row felt awesome, especially after the night before when I was stuck in stupid 4th row. The security guard next to me seemed nice enough and they were putting orange wrist bands on the entire front row. The evening was looking good

I was already breaking a sweat before Kansas started their set. Bleh! Anyway here is their set list!

The trip went smoothly until we got off of the highway. Road Runner Mobile Amphitheatre is a relatively new venue, and apparently even the latest GPS software can’t figure the area out. The lack of signage had us completely turned around. We were going down narrow one-way streets and encountering a lot of closed roads.

Finally we found a place to pull over near a gravel lot. There was a man standing outside of his car and Angela asked him for directions. It turned out that he was a government employee, and he offered to let us follow him all the way to the venue! It was really nice of him to do that for us. Thank you, unnamed government official!

We found parking, picked up our tickets and got in line before the gates even opened. It was a hot day, though not unbearable, and luckily we were able to stand in the shade! We waited for about a half hour or so, during which Janet came by to say hi. When the gates opened, we bypassed the seating area to visit Casey at the merchandise stand. For those who don’t know, Casey is Styx’s Merchandise Man Extraordinaire. I don’t know what his official title is, but it probably should be something like that.

We all purchased our own copy of a Styx concert program that Casey had put together. It was the first official one in 20 years, and best of all the proceeds from sales were going to charity! It also didn’t hurt that it contained a bunch of awesome photos of the boys. Angela, Dixie and I sat by the concessions area for a few minutes flipping through our programs before we made our way toward our seats.

When we finally got to our seats, my emotions were mixed. Angela and Dixie had gotten some second row seats but mine was in the aisle of 4th row. You see, there was a bit of a presale fiasco that caused us to have less than perfect seats. I technically wasn’t that far back, and the fact that it was an aisle seat was a plus, but what can I say? I’m a bit spoiled. It also seemed unlikely that I was going to have the opportunity to move up — the security guards were putting wrist bands on the front row patrons and there was a guard stationed at the edge of each row to prevent people from passing.

Of course this did not make me happy. But I kept reminding myself that I had front row center the following night, and that this show, if nothing else, would serve as a good warm-up

The show started at 9pm with a band called Miniature Tigers. I am not going to bother reviewing their performance, because quite honestly I didn’t go to this show with any intention besides seeing Jukebox play. I sort of brought my B-game that night. I didn’t record a set list and the few photos I was able to take didn’t come out to much. I was there to relax and not record much. I bet you’re glad that you’re reading this now, huh?

Anyway, it was very humid that night (summer had surely sprung) and the inside of Local 506 was probably worse than outside. I already had perspiration dripping down my forehead and into my eyes by the time Miniature Tigers’ set was over. Great, I’m sure I looked awesome. At least the performers were covered in sweat as well!

Jukebox the Ghost was the second of three bands to play. Just like last time, they were very fun and entertaining. Seth and I had a spot at the right side of the stage this time around, right next to Ben, the keyboardist and vocalist. He turns his keyboard to the side on the stage, so I had a perfect view of the keys.

It’s really amazing to watch a truly gifted keyboardist play, at least for someone like me who can barely play “Ode to Joy.” He pounded out the notes as if it were second nature (it probably is), without really having to pay too much attention. His energies seemed more focused on his vocals, and turning to give the crowd a glance with a raised eyebrow. I hadn’t noticed at the last show that he likes to circle his head around his microphone while he’s playing, but not singing. Anyway the point is, I really appreciate the skill and energy that he displays during the performance. It really makes it a lot of fun for us, the audience!

The songs included in their set (that I recognized) were as follows: Under My Skin, Static to the Heart, My Heart’s The Same, Lighting Myself on Fire, Hold It In and Good Day. I’m sure there are a few I missed, as well as some new ones that I didn’t know the name of.

During the set the band also mentioned that their new album was to be released this coming September from YepRoc, which is an independent record label based in Chapel Hill. That gives me hope that we’ll see them around town again soon to promote it!

Seth and I were ready to leave immediately after the set had ended. Geez was it hot in there! Apologies to Free Energy, the third band, for not sticking around to see their set. I had a great time seeing Jukebox the Ghost again…and I look forward to their next show!

The festivities of the evening started at 6pm at Falls & Firkin Pub inside the Fallsview Casino. I’d come there on Friday night with Amy and Juile after the show, and they presented me with the bright idea of asking if they took reservations. It turns out they did, so I reserved a large table that would hopefully fit all 15 or so people who had RSVP’d on Facebook.

It worked out pretty well! We were a little squished once everyone arrived, but all seemed to have a great time. I ended up at a table surrounded by Janet, Norma-Lee, Shane, Julie, and Amy. I had a greek salad and arranged the remaining pieces to look like a face when I was too full to finish.

At one point someone was pointing out the window, and I turned to look — oh geez, that couldn’t be snow, could it? It was! There was a slight chance of snow that day but I didn’t actually think it would happen! The snow only fell for a couple of minutes, but boy was that odd!

After getting a few group shots of everyone, the party broke up and most of us headed over to the Avalon Theater. People were hanging outside the lobby for awhile, and while I was anxious to see my front row seat, I did wait out there for a few minutes.

Janet and I decided to take a picture of an ad for the concert that we’d seen down the hall. As I was taking the picture, a guy came up to me and complimented me on my shirt. I thanked him, and he soon found out that both I and Janet had come up from North Carolina to see Gowan. “Wow,” he said. “You are huge fans! Are you going to the meet and greet?”

Janet and I exchanged “WTF” looks. No, we replied, we had no knowledge of a meet and greet. Craig (which, I later found out, was his name) said he’d gotten into the meet and greet because a friend of his works at the casino. Without thinking twice, he said he’d call her to see if she couldn’t get us in somehow. Unfortunately, when he made the call we could hear in his voice that the answer was going no. Man, so close! But it was very nice of him to ask for us. He had to go because the meet and greet was starting soon…so we told him goodbye!

Not only that, but his band was going to be brimming with talent. He would be joined by his brother Terry Gowan (original Gowan bassist), Peter Nunn (original Gowan keyboardist), Todd Sucherman (drummer from Styx), Taylor Mills (backup vocalist for Brian Wilson), and guitarist Danny J. I was beyond excited about seeing this band in action!

I stayed with my Uncle Andy that weekend in Buffalo, NY, which was roughly a 30 minute drive from Niagara Falls without traffic. However, traffic was certainly an issue. My uncle was kind enough to taxi me to and from this show (as well as the show following night), and I will be forever grateful for that and his and my aunt’s hospitality during my stay.

The plan for the evening was that I and any other Gowan fans who wished to join would be meeting by Tim Horton’s inside the Fallsview Casino at 7pm. Unfortunately, due to more traffic than anticipated, I didn’t get dropped off at the casino doors until closer to 7:15pm. The casino was quite fancy. It was a tall glass building with a huge, beautiful fountain just inside the lobby. I had a floor plan of the place, but decided to just ask an employee for directions to Tim Horton’s. When I arrived at the food court, I found 7 or so people already seated. Mj and Carol were the ones I immediately recognized. Norma-Lee and her fiance, Shane, also joined us a bit after I’d arrived.

We had a nice time visiting and moved toward the Avalon Theater around 8pm. Norma-Lee and Carol seemed concerned about the whereabouts of Janet, whose phone wasn’t working and had not yet shown up. I told them that even Janet herself had said she tends to be “right on time” for stuff, so while I hoped she was safe I was sure she was going to show up at any minute.