Doug Guillory meets John Waite
Henderson, NV
November 21, 1998
(VENUE: Sunset Station)
Thanks to Doug Guillory for
sharing his pictures and story with Net Waite.
This was the third time I had a chance to see John live. The first time was in Baton
Rouge with the Babys. My friend got sick and threw up on people, so we had to leave a
great spot right up front right in the middle of Tony's drum solo. The second time in
Monroe, LA on the No Brakes tour with hundreds of screaming fans, mostly girls,
pushing and shoving to get to the front, throwing bras and red roses...awwwwwww! I
couldn't compete with that crowd and fell back deeper into the audience. Fourteen years
later I get my chance to finally MEET John Waite and what happens when I do? I blow it. I
was so star struck I made a fool of myself. Lesson learned. If there is a next time, I'll
rehearse what I'll say beforehand.
My friend Dave and I had never been to Las Vegas so it was quite an experience just to
be there. Slot machines greet you as you get off the plane. My idea of gambling was to
play the 5 cent slots and, to tell you the truth, I had more fun taking in the crowd.
We arrived at Sunset Casino around 8:30 Saturday
morning, riding in the van with another couple who turned out to be online fan Lisa Walton
and her friend. Since we didn't know what each other looked like, we didn't realize it
until after the concert. Next time I think we should all wear name tags!!!
Around noon we walked by the front desk and who do we
see but JW :-0 and co. checking in. It's odd but I felt like just hiding behind a post and
staring at him, not knowing what I was gonna say. Just then I spotted two lovely ladies
talking to John. I knew one of them was online fan Claudia Medecki as soon as I saw her.
The other person with her was her mom. Claudia was telling John something and her mom
chimed in "John, I can vouch for her, I've heard nothing but 'John Waite' for the
past twenty years." Can we all relate to this or what?! My turn came and I shook his
hand and told him how excited I was to be here but kept it short because I was about to go
crazy and hug him and stuff. After all I'm to old for idol worship, right?
After meeting John, we were on our way to the room and
I looked back to see John right behind us. OMG...I was so nervous I ran to the elevator so
I wouldn't have to ride up with him. OK I know this sounds weird but I was in "John
Waite overload" at the moment.
I had to find a place to buy a cheapo camera so Dave
and I walked across the parking lot to a mall. On the way back noticed a huge video
marquee out front advertising future events. Sure enough, after a few minutes a picture of
John came on the screen along with "featuring the hits 'Missing You,' 'Every Time I
Think of You' and 'Back on My Feet Again.'" It mentioned nothing of Bad English nor
did the posters in the Casino lobby, which I though was odd.
Finally, it was show time. Our seats were third row
center, right behind online fan Denise Alcaraz. From where I
sat, you could see the band's every move and expression. John was all over the place, so
much energy, you could feel it in your bones. I got a headache from smiling so much. The
first song was "When I See You Smile." John hit it note for note and the band
was right there with him. Next was "Act of Love" which was a total surprise and
contains one of my fave JW lines ("my love's gigantic as the weather"). In my
mind, I was the only one in the room. Next up was "When You Were Mine" which
damn near blew me away. I liked this song but somehow it never registered until I saw John
sing it and the emotion he put into it. Of course there is always a huge part of John in
everything he sings. Again, the band was right on the mark. "Imaginary Girl" was
next, one of my favorites off of WYWM. Dave kept waiting for John to say "How ya
doing tonight, all right?" but it never happened. "Price of Love" never
sounded so good and got everyone's energy level way too big for the place.
John spiced it up a bit with the next song,
"Saturday Night" and he rocked us all. By this time JW was dripping wet and a
wild man! I heard someone say "He sweat on me, all right!" Too funny for words.
Next was "Change," a true classic. This song rings so true, I found myself
daydreaming, a million miles away, not even paying attention to the concert.
"Valentine" followed. What a beautiful tune and John sang with everything he
had. The voice was pure heaven, I'm sure the angels heard it. John kept looking down at
the stage for the lyrics which was so funny, all he had to do was watch the audience, we
knew... we knew them all! After a sip of water, John jumps into "Downtown" which
he ends by saying... "God, I love that song". When JW got to the "now
someone else sounds like me" line, someone in the audience yells "NO THEY
DON'T." "Missing You" was next followed by "Midnight Rendezvous"
and we went wild!
John and the band left the stage for a few moments
before returning for the encore. "This is a song I wrote a very long time ago when I
was just this high." It was "Head First," which led directly into
"I-95." After this, John told us, "I do this because of you." The look
on his face was hard to describe but he recognized every one of us that night and knew how
special to us he has been over the past twenty years. I can't imagine what he felt but
getting that many fans together had to trigger his emotions big time. I don't think any of
us realized what power our feelings have till we got together and shared such a great
moment.
John with Doug
Dave with John
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After the show came the
meet and greet and to my surprise, I was third on the list. John was sitting at a table
with pen in hand. Before I could say anything the people in charge of everything said I
could only get one thing signed. Well, I had two Babys LPs and five CD covers in my hand,
plus a few gifts to give John from my friend Anne. There was no way I was leaving till he
signed everything. (When all was said and done, I only got two signatures, but there's
always next time.)
John stood up and I introduced myself, muttering
something about John's music flowing through my veins. John: "Oh, that's nice,
Doug." John laughed and I turned red. Dave was standing next to John and me and
managed to get several good pictures. I just didn't know what to do next except stare at
John which I'm sure made him a bit uncomfortable until he put his arm around Dave and they
did a little dance around the room. Here I was, the biggest JW fan in the world, my chance
to meet him after twenty years comes along and my friend does all the talking. I couldn't
even get a sentence out. John was bigger than life, very handsome and kind. I'll remember
this day forever and hope to meet again, only this time I'll be prepared. |
On the way back home, Dave asked if he could listen to
Temple Bar. Yes! This statement coming from someone who use to groaned and moaned anytime
I'd play anything JW. I was grinning ear to ear the whole way back to San Francisco and
for the next few weeks. Life is good and John Waite's music makes it all the more
wonderful.
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!
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