Welcome home, John!

My first order of this fine day...getting my groupie mobile washed. It had picked up a thin film from the dirty rain-soaked roads of Washington and Oregon. With luck, I won't have to get another wash from now till the end of my road trip!

Before heading over to the Five For Fighting show at The Wiltern in the afternoon, I thought I would grab a bite to eat at Pink's Hot Dogs. I was dying for one of their chili dogs! But, my GPS chose the wrong moment to let me down once again. By the time I realized I was heading south on La Brea Blvd instead of north, it was getting late in the afternoon. Traffic was already murder and I wanted to get to the venue early to be first in line. So, I abandoned my quest for chili dog and headed to The Wiltern. McDonald's was conveniently nearby, so I almost reluctantly got something to eat there.

Afterwards, I walked over to the theater and found there was no one in line yet. Feeling the cover shirt I had was inadequate for the slight chill of the shade, I went back to my Blazer to get something a little warmer. But, by the time I returned to start my vigil...there was someone waiting there! Hmm...I was no longer first in line, but it was no big tragedy. To a Five For Fighting fanatic like me, second in line was almost as good as first...if you know what to do with it. I started talking to the gal who was waiting. Her name was Alma, and she had walked over to The Wiltern from work nearby. It was Alma's first Five For Fighting concert, and I told her she was going to enjoy it a lot! She was waiting for the arrival of her husband and a couple of friends. I was also awaiting my friends Lynne and Dave...I had attended John's Largo show last November with the two of them. As the hour grew late, and doors opening was fast approaching, our respective companions finally arrived.

When we entered the theater, my friends and I were in total agreement as to where we would watch the show. Alma and her companions chose the seats, whereas we elected to be right at the stage in the standing only orchestra section. As the section slowly filled up, a guy walked up to us and boldly introduced himself...a Devon something. He wasted no time crowing about opening act Matt Wertz, and basically dissing Five For Fighting. Claimed that Matt was a true singer-songwriter and John was "corporate." Excuse me? Turns out this Devon jerk was not only promoting himself...I think he said he would be touring with Matt...he had never even HEARD Five For Fighting's music! Kind of hard to pass judgment when you don't know what you're talking about. At least I could say that I had listened to Matt...having gone to two previous shows already...but, I just wasn't into his stuff. Needless to say, I had no further interest in listening to the clueless idiot. He has a lot to learn about respect and paying your dues.

After politely listening to Matt's set, there was a brief intermission as the crew set up the stage for Five For Fighting. While I waited, I got into a lot more pleasant conversation with a couple of fellow Five For Fighting fans. That's part of the experience of going to these shows...meeting other nice people who are also admirers of John and his music. I ended up giving out a few of my fan site business cards...hey, the more folks who know about my site, the better! Then, what we were all waiting for...John and the band took the stage. The set list was the same as the Portland show (see Right place, right time...and a little luck blog). As in previous shows, after John finished singing NYC Weather Report, he looked for a child to join him on stage for his next song. Since John was at his home base of Los Angeles, it was no surprise his family was there...wife Carla, his kids Johnny and Olivia, and his parents. And, it was only fitting that John selected one of his own kids to grace the stage...in this case, his son Johnny. It was such a touching moment!

When the show was over, John and the band stationed themselves in the lobby for autographs and photos. I made myself useful by taking pics of my friends, and likewise, Lynne took photos of me with the band and with John. Before parting ways, I thanked John for the pic and told him that I would see him in San Diego tomorrow. John replied, "Manana...have a safe drive!" In case you don't know the Spanish, manana means tomorrow. And, so, I'll be heading south for the 4th show of my 6 show groupie road trip. Since, I'm still wanting that Pink's chili dog, I'm going to make a quick stop there before heading out of town. It opens at 9:30 am! Ahh...the perfect road trip breakfast!