Ron Good meets John Waite

Detroit, MI
May 7, 1999
(VENUE: State Theater)

Thanks to Ron for sharing his pictures and story with Net Waite.

I must preface by saying that I am a JW fanatic. I have idolized this man and his voice since 1984. "Missing You" got me hooked. I have seen John live three other times. Two times with Bad English in 1988/89 and once in '91 when he was solo. I met him in '91 at a performance with Glen Burtnick.

The adrenaline was running high Friday, the day of the concert. I could not believe that I was going to see John perform live again and solo to boot. The Vegas reviews got me even more excited. I was hoping for a set close to his second performance.

I arrived in Detroit at 6:40 p.m., just shortly after the doors opened. A tingle went up my spine as I arrived at the State Theater to see JOHN WAITE on the large overhead sign-- SWEET!! I was thoroughly impressed with the state theater, very classy. It wasn't what I expected. A large bar at the top of the theater, bleacher type seating up above and tables neatly arrange at the bottom. I knew I was in for an audio treat as I heard the sound system as it played music prior to the opening act.

I grabbed a beer and walked around checking the place out and trying to spot someone to find out about the Meet and Greet. (Hope I am not boring everybody with all of these details, I'll cut to the chase here soon ;-))

I asked around if they were selling shirts and nobody knew. I was beginning to think a Meet and Greet was out of the question. I met fellow online fan Robin in the lobby and chatted with her for a while. Robin had the best seat of the house, the table right in the front/center of the place!! Uggh I was envious, my tickets were on the next tier of the theater, nice seats but not the best!

The first band played and the were OK--the music sounded good but they were in desperate need of a lead singer. They wrapped their act up in about 40 minutes. After that act I figured there would be no Meet and Greet since I had not seen anyone anywhere. Oh well, the concert will be great. But then I spotted the woman in charge of the Meet and Greet. I introduced myself to her and she gave me a VIP pass and one for my girlfriend! I immediately ran and told Robin. She got her passes as well. Man, I tell you, my heart was beating a million beats a second!! I would be meeting John again in just 10 minutes, stage right!!

Everybody lined up along the wall to see John (about 50 or 100 people). It seemed like forever waiting in that line. The M&G was in like a basement, very small and boiling hot. They took people down a group at a time. Finally got close to being the next group down. Then our group was up. They took us down and I almost fainted!! There he was!! About 30 feet ahead of me, meeting and greeting fans and being his charming self. The management told us to try and keep it brief because John was trying to preserve his voice for the concert.

I immediately started snapping pictures, more as I got closer. Finally the moment! My turn! I walked up to John, he looked at me and knew this was the moment of my life. I tried to contain myself. I said "Hi John, it is so great to meet you again. I am such a big fan!" I was shaking his hand and not letting go.

I said, "Back in '91. You had just come out with the "In Dreams" single and did a set with Glen Burtnik."

He said, "Yeah, that was down by the river." I said, "No, it was in Greenville South Carolina, some radio station sponsored you." Then he lit up!! He started laughing and said "Yeah! I remember! We were playing on milk crates!!" I laughed back...he wasn't kidding about the milk crates!

What a feeling, talking and laughing with John Waite, just like we were old friends. I told him that I drove about 14 hours to see him in South Carolina. He asked me how far I drove to Detroit. I told him that I was only in Toledo, about an hour away.

He said, "Yeah, I spent Christmas in 1975 in Toledo." My girlfriend laughed and said that she wasn't even born in 75.

I told him I planned on driving to Lexington to see him and I asked him if that was a confirmed date. He said "Talk to Chris" (his manager).

I also asked him if he had everything ironed out with the King Biscuit CD and he again replied to talk to Chris. (I never did talk to Chris.) Finally, I posed for a couple of shots and shook his hand and said good-bye. What a day!!

We got back to our seats and had another drink or two. The second performance was very good. The lead singer sounded just like Steve Perry and they played some rocking tunes! I told my girlfriend that the best thing about everything was that we were going to see John perform soon. The best was yet to come. John immediately won my girlfriend as a new fan. I felt I had dragged her along and I had really contemplated not taking her. I am glad I did. It excited her to meet him and see his charm. (And his accent is pretty cool, too. She didn't know about that.) Since the concert, she has bought her first three John Waite CD's.

The second act finished and Robin was making her way back to our seats. She said that the couple next to them was only there for the opening acts and that we could have their seats! COULD LIFE GET ANY BETTER!!!????

We immediately headed up to the front table, forgetting about the drinks we ordered and the tab that came with it. (I did square up later.) I can't put into words the euphoria that I felt. John would soon be performing a concert right smack dab in front of me!!

Finally the moment came. I could faintly make out the band members and John as they huddled at the side of the stage while final checks were being made. Then John came out with the band. The spotlight hit him. He was sporting an English looking outfit, must have been warm in it.

They opened up with "Missing You." The band was a bit off balance, it was hard to tell it was "Missing You" at first. I immediately stood up and cheered, but the momentum was not yet present to bring the rest of the crowd to their feet. John was not as loose as I have seen before. He did perform well, though. Their next song was "When I See You Smile." I love that song! Again, it started out a bit sluggish--the keyboard was definitely in the wrong mode. Nevertheless, everybody in the theater knew what the song was. When John would get to the part in the song where he sings "Ooooooh-Oooooh," Robin and I would wave our hands from one side to the other (like the video). John immediately acknowledged that with a smile and did it back!

Next song was "Change." Love this one too. I tried to get a rapid clap going, like in the "No Brakes Live" video. John did as well, starting out with a few claps. Crowd started for a while.

The next song was "Act of Love." Boy oh boy, do I like this song!! I am so glad he played this one. Who would have thought you would ever hear this one live! Not even a hit! The passion, the lyrics, the beat, THE VOICE! These are the songs that make John what he is in my mind. The songs that take me away.

The next song was "Straight To Your Heart." He opened it up with some sort of comment like, "I used to be in this band called Bad English." I was anticipating this song, if I had to pick an all time favorite of John's, this would be in the running. I was disappointed in the sound though. I guess it's just not the same without that stellar supergroup.

The rest of the songs I forgot the order, but he played "Downtown," "WYWM," "In Dreams," "How Did I Get By Without You," "Encircled," "Isn't It Time," "Back on My Feet Again," "Midnight Rendezvous," and "Head First."

My favorite song of the night? "Isn't It Time"!! I never really liked this song. I was surprised he played it in Vegas. How could he pull it off? All the instrumentation, the female backup vocals, NO WAY! Well…. WAY!! John ripped my heart out with this song. He was so into it, it sounded so good, and the crowd was into it. I just melted during this song.

By the way, John is sporting BIG Hair nowadays and it was all over the place toward the end of the night. I think I like it better when he keeps it short.

"How Did I Get By Without You" was dedicated to a couple for their anniversary. He couldn't remember their names because he lost the bar napkin it was written on.

John was getting all sorts of requests. People would walk up between songs and hand him a napkin. Sometimes just a kiss or to shake his hand. John obliged on all occasions. John received one napkin and started fumbling around in his coat pockets which was hung near the drum kit. Finally a fan ran up and pointed somewhere. He was looking for his glasses and set them down on an amp. He put them on and laughed -- made a comment about his fans having to keep track of his glasses. John was able to read the napkin at that point. Someone gave him some flowers as well.

John was very receptive to the crowd. I, as well as many others, took a lot of pictures. He would sense the flash and turn around and smile at whomever took the picture. He gave a lot of high fives and let one guy sing a verse in one of a Babys songs.

There were a couple of times that John would go back and talk to Shane, sometimes for a while. Probably figuring out what song was next. He also slipped on a couple of lyrics but recovered very well.

The final song was "Head First." The crowd was finally on its feet for this final song. John finished the song and exited. I thought for sure they would come out and play "Saturday Night." It was, after all, on the play list displayed at the feet of each band member. I snagged one of those and gave it to Robin. That was John's list. The bass player had one as well and I tried to snag that one for myself but this girl next to me told me otherwise. She reached over and grabbed it and ended up getting busted by security. I did get a snapshot however of that play list.

In summary, a great concert. I cannot Waite to see him again!!!!!! Hopefully very soon!! Take care all!!

Do you have a "I met John" picture and/or story that you would like to share with Net Waite? If so, e-mail me!

Ron Good meets John Waite

Detroit, MI May 7, 1999 (VENUE: State Theater)

Detroit, MI
May 7, 1999
(VENUE: State Theater)