Friday, May 11, 2018

Four For Friday - Tickets

Tickets were going on sale on a Friday. That was always a tough day because it meant skipping school, or at least part of it. It also meant convincing the parents that the concert was important enough to not only camp out in a parking lot, but also miss some school. One of the more tricky aspects of skipping school WITH the parents permission is that I had to write and sign the excuse note. Oh sure, my parents would write one, but I would then take their note and tear it up and write my own.

I learned during my Sophomore year of high school that the school office looked at the signature on the enrollment form to see if your excuse note was a forgery. So, beginning my Junior year, I signed the enrollment form in the way I would sign my parents' names. Worked like a charm. Except for when they gave me permission to skip.

Anyway, the people I usually camped out with for tickets all had an exam that day. I had a different teacher and no exam. None of them wanted to camp out either because they knew it would involve drinking and a high probability of missing the first period exam.

One of the calls I made was to someone I sometimes hung out with. She lived nearby but went to a private school and had a different group of friends. We had known each other forever and knew she was always down for a good camping out for tickets kind of night. She said sure and was going to bring TB. I have given her other initials in the past, but I am too lazy to look it up right now. One of my friends had dated TB which is how I spent most of my time with her. At that point in time, I don't think they were still dating, but I can't be sure.

The night came and we trekked it down to a grimy parking lot that had our ticket wonderland on one side and a liquor store on the other. A liquor store that was perfectly willing to sell to hundreds of minors who were waiting in line. I don't ever remember the police doing much caring about it either. I also don't ever remember there being a fight. I think we all kind of knew that we had a good thing going with the liquor store and a bunch of people getting in a drunken fight would jeopardize that.

Usually when I write about TB, it generally involves her doing me a favor or something. In this case though, she was there, but not really a part of the story. Yes, she is famous, but this incident is about another person who is famous and was there that night. At one point he was A+ list. An obnoxious A+ list, but he was. The flashiest of flash in the pans. A one year wonder, but, he has made a lifetime living off that one year of fame. He was there that night and several years from any kind of level of fame, but he acted as if he was already A list. He hit on every female in that parking lot and he used every line from every movie that you could think of. People were crying from laughing so hard but he was deadly serious. He thought his lines were working. Honestly. It got to the point where TB and my friend and others would engage with him just so they could hear more of his lines.

After that night, I didn't see him again until many years later at the peak of his fame. TB says she ran into him a couple of times, but never brought up the night to him. She did say he would always look at her with a strange expression because she would think back to that night and break out laughing all over again.

As for tickets? 10th row for that concert. I don't ever remember getting closer than that by purchasing them. 

53 comments:

Newbomb said...

Vanilla Ice.

sandybrook said...

Puck from Real World is all I got and it's probably wrong. This is very vague about when and how this guy was famous. Possibly William Hung from AI but also doubtful.

sandybrook said...

Interesting guess newbomb

Brayson87 said...

Ice Ice Brimley

https://youtu.be/0i6HkV_jO0o

Sara, Making It Work said...

Ha, Puck was what I thought initially too. Probably not him, but boy was he obnoxious.

Farmgirl said...

Obnoxious flash in the pan A+ screams Kato Kaelin to me.

Newbomb said...

I met Puck when he was on Jon Stewart back in the day. I went from fan to hater in 30 seconds. Such a dick.

Do Tell said...

I remember camping outside Madison Square Garden for Elton John tickets way back when. I was eighth in line. By the time I reached the window, the only seats left were way in the back of the arena. Boy, was I was pissed.

Dahling said...

Could be anybody. I remember many a night camping out in front of Tower Records on Hollywood Blvd. for concert tickets. That, and lining up in front of the Forum's box office. The adventure of simply scoring tickets was a huge part of the entire concert experience in the 70's. Fun times.

totaji said...

What’s the point of this story? Literally.

Sara, Making It Work said...

Somebody from a commercial? One of the Wazzup guys? The Encyclopedia Brittanica guy? How far back in the day we talking?

Thonker said...

Is this a reader blind?
Four for friday blinds are usually really interesting but I don't really see the point here. Someone thinking he's more famous than he is hitting on girls like kay?

sandybrook said...

For Enty he had to be 30 years ago maybe between 1986-89

Dorvannnn said...

Pauly Shore?? Though calling him A+ is a stretch.

just sayin' said...

Enty's been sneaky from the get go!

roque said...

+1 Dorvannnn
Shore immediately came to mind.

Do Tell said...

Corey Hart? lol

AnitaKnapp said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Newbomb said...

Pauly Shore might have been a+ briefly. Did Enty grow up in LA?

Joe said...

My immediate thought was Vanilla Ice as well.

AnitaKnapp said...

I'll guess Andrew Dice Clay and wonder if he really was A+ at some point.

Anonymous said...

+1 Do Tell. Corey Hart was my first thought as well. No clue for TB

Randyman said...

Well I think its interesting. I think its Shore. He is a sad person now complaining about his loss of fame to any talk show that will have him on.

Unknown said...

Andrew Dice Clay was my 1st thought as well

Lurky McLurkster said...

OT: NIN is only going to sell tickets to their shows at the box office and nothing online. For those kiddies who never had a chance to camp out overnight for tickets, here's your chance

Shawny said...

Yahoo Serious

Guesser said...

Could you at least give a hint ,like who the concert was or general location? Since Enty forgot the initials,we can even use our sleuthing skills.

Dave said...

Maybe a long shot, but based on some past stuff Enty's said, seems like he grew up in Texas. I think TB is Edie Brickell of The New Bohemians, who's been on the site before as a friend of Enty's and is from Dallas. Also from Dallas, and about the right age, is Brian Bosworth, who was famous pretty much for a single year of being an obnoxious football player.

Dave said...

But I'd forgotten Vanilla Ice was from Dallas. He actually works better.

Brayson87 said...

I'd have bought a ticket to watch Vanilla Ice's pick up lines lol

Ernie McCracken said...

Where was Mike Damone when you needed him?!?

Newbomb said...

Mike Damone. LOL.

Whether or not he's the answer, can you imagine how pissed EVERYONE who knew Vanila Ice was when he hit it big?

Guesser said...

Vanilla Ice did go to a Dallas area high school, and he did make a life long career out of one song.

Oldsguy65 said...

An obnoxious high schooler though he was cool by reciting movie lines...

Holy crap, is this blind about me?

Anonymous said...

Pauly Shore? LOL. No. His mom was Mitzi Shore, the owner of the biggest and most famous comedy club in LA, he had connections before he was born, he wouldn't need to camp out for tickets. And Dice grew up on Long Island, pretty sure none of the Hmmms did.

"As for tickets? 10th row for that concert. I don't ever remember getting closer than that by purchasing them. "

The sad reality back then was the first ten rows went to industry and guest list first, in big towns. Some bands didn't do it, most did. You could luck out sometimes when they'd release seats in that block the day of the show, when there were available seats. But honestly, front row sucks, unless you want to get the attention of one of the band members. Tenth row sounds better, you can see everything, and you're not completely blocked by people standing on their seats. The best sound is right next to the mixing board, because the sound is mixed to sound good at that spot.

Todd Brink said...

Van Winkle Van Winkle baby

Humor Me said...

what about Screech - Dustin Diamond?

VDOVault said...

+1 to Unknown on how to score good tickets.

Camping out is never nearly as good as having roadie/crew/tech friends so when they turn back in their comps (& call you), you know when to hit up the box office for them.

High schoolers of course don't know this but it's how friends of mine in my very brief legal practice days would get Stones or other big sold out show seats somewhere in the sweet spot (8th-12th row, & yes near the sound board it will sound good).

Muchluv13 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Muchluv13 said...

Totally my first concert ;)

Sara, Making It Work said...

Wow, excellent, I wouldn't have guessed that! Had no idea Enty was friends with Edie. She went to Booker T Washington Fine Arts High School. She performed a fundraiser concert for the school last year.

zerooptions said...

billy idol

Karma said...

Hmmm...I have a plethora of pics of Trent when I was a music journalist in the 90s. He's positively covered in track marks. Wonder if the kiddies want to by them?

Christopher Marlowe said...

The rating system on CDaN is almost worthless.
Everybody is A, or A+.
If it went from A to F with plus and minus it would be helpful: 18 levels

Unknown said...

Rob Van Winkel-Vanilla Ice

AIP said...

I remember back at the height of Vanilla Ice’s “fame” an American relative came to visit me in rural West Coast of Ireland (think where Michael Fassbender grew up, but I’m from a different county). So late tweens/ maybe just turned a teenager.

We were discussing the bands we liked, and it turned to Vanilla Ice. She had never heard of him despite him having two Billboard No 1s at that stage...by God, I envied her! 😂

Do Tell said...

Gerardo, Rico Suave?

Mango said...

The first five paragraphs were superfluous, the last three: snoozefest.

Unknown said...

Kato Kaelin?

Teaching in the trenches said...

Late to the party but WOW camping out for concert tickets! Crazy, fun & sometimes scary experience! Lloyd Noble Arena-Norman, OK.
Yep! We never, ever got closer than 6th (or so) row tickets. No one in line did, we just cared about getting “floor seats” so
we could push our way to the front of the stage.
It was hella hard to get past the Ushers (older gentlemen who always worked the concerts), to the floor without a ticket. They
knew all our tricks! LOL
The Boz! Probably was already a HS football legend in Texas, so I doubt he had much trouble getting girls & tickets.
Vanilla Ice? My money’s on him

AppleThief4Elliot said...

Carrot Top?

Boredtech InDenver said...

Okay, I missed posting yesterday. The friend of Enty from a private school is Lisa Loeb. Edie Brickell could be TB, and the Future A+ lister was Rob Van Winkle.

Teaching in the trenches said...

Thx @Boredtech! Fits perfectly (I actually have only heard of the private Dallas High Schools from Rush @ OU, zero knowledge of Dallas public HS) Hockaday=real money

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