Review of Hammerfest 2010 weekend, Feb. 12-13, 2010

Double Door, Friday Feb. 12, 2010.
This was a really high energy and fun show! I’m surprised they rocked out this hard, given the big show coming up the next night. They didn’t hold back, though, and this is another reason I love this band. They played for an hour and a half, full on. I got some good photos, which I will post. I helped a couple lovely ladies from Puerto Rico get a set list after the show. I took a photo of it, and noticed it had a lot of cross-outs, but Baba O’Riley was written back in. I’m always glad to hear that one! Billy does some excellent solos on it. Billy was on the left side of the stage here again, and Dino and Cousin Bill were on the right. A little different. They did the full version of Velvet, not with the censored lyrics….wow!

Marty’s Silver Elements Trunk Show at the Zebra Lounge, Saturday, Feb. 13.
With the new items, the number of items in the collection seems to have about doubled! There are 2 new scarves, a long thin blue one called the Marilyn scarf, named after his mom (how sweet!), and a silver open weave one that makes me think of a spider web or a trellis--stunningly beautiful. There is now a line of charm bracelets and charms. The charms could also be used as either pendants or earrings. The leather charm bracelets come in 3 colors, black, red, or brown. The charms are: a guitar pick-shaped one with a music staff and guitar on it, an oblong one with the stars theme, a crystal teardrop representing water, and there may have been one more. There are new earrings in the same stars pattern. The earrings go well with the other stars items (ring and bracelet).
There is a new pendant that's a bigger guitar pick, and it has some of the lyrics to

House of Blues soundcheck, Feb. 13.
The sound check at HOB was fun. I think Marty was playing part of "Crime of Fashion" on his acoustic. They were busting on Dino over bodily functions (ewwww!!!!), and they previewed the video that would be shown on a round screen above Bobby during the show. Marty said, "I don't even know what this is all going to be", so he turned around and watched it a while, then started commenting. It was a mix of old-school LH photos, and interesting artwork that tied in to the lyrics of the different songs. They had that crinkly metallic backdrop on the stage again that makes very cool photos.

Showtime at the House of Blues, Feb. 13, 2010!
I took photos in the pit for the first 3 songs. There were several other photographers in the pit, but I didn't know them. I was talking to one guy, who said he used to take photos at LH shows about 10 years ago. He said they used to do some wacky things back then. He said one show was at a roller rink. At another show, Marty came out with an inflatable doll and threw it into the crowd, and Dino came out shirtless, covered in liquid latex. He said as the show progressed and Dino started sweating, the latex started peeling off like he was a snake shedding its skin. Wild!

The whole stage set-up for this show was gorgeous! The backdrop, the video screen, the lighting—it was a first-rate showcase for this fantastic band, and they so deserve that! It was another high-energy show, with lots of special moments, including a confetti cannon filled with shiny gold confetti during Baba O’Riley.

Late in the show, during "Oh My Baby", Marty climbed up and went all the way around the OUTSIDE of the first balcony! I was up in the top balcony at the time, and couldn't see him except very briefly when he came around a corner, and when he got back down to the stage. Just that little glimpse was enough to make me feel very afraid for him! There is video out there on Facebook of him standing up there.
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We didn’t go to the after party at Hard Rock, because we were helping some friends. There are a couple video clips on Facebook of Marty performing Creep and Mr. Brightside with the guys from Simple Simon there, so it sounds like a good time.

And last, a restaurant recommendation:
We finished the weekend with our eagerly awaited Valentine’s Day dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy downtown. So delicious!!! If you go there, be sure to get a side of the potatoes Vesuvio, and have some tiramisu for dessert. Everything there was delicious, including the main course (we split a full order of ziti with Italian sausage) and the salad with vinaigrette dressing.

Thanks for sharing Nancy!

You're welcome, Mary!

Oh, I forgot to post about the radio station appearance on Friday.

Dino and Bobby were interviewed on WLUP, The Loop, that afternoon. A bunch of Hammerheads were there outside the studio to cheer them on. The station wouldn't let us come in, but we stood outside the window and held up signs, made faces, etc.

WLUP and Q101 are located in the Merchandise Mart shopping center. The stations aren't allowed to pipe the sound out into the mall, so we couldn't actually hear the interview. I hope it was a good one. Both of the guys came out and talked with everyone for a while, and got some photos. It was a fun little gathering, and I must say that we were all thankful that the inside of the mall was much warmer than being outside!

The hotel we got on Hotwire turned out to be right across the street from the Merchandise Mart, so when we got to Chicago Friday afternoon, we pulled into the hotel lot, parked our car, and went right over to the radio station before even unloading. Gotta have your priorities straight--LOL!!!

Hey thanks for the information! Nice to have a good review out for the weekend - and Billy is a *GUITAR BADASS* !!!! That work on Baba O'Riley that he does is.........well...........nothing short of astounding when you understand the original song by The WHO.

HH

Trying to remember a few things.

Trip was a hard one this year for me personally. Nothing happen like it was suppose to and due to my age made me really witchy..lol.

Started with Dino asking us to radio station, was great meeting everyone there. Ashley got pic with Bobby. Dino was working on after party plans and the girls made him promise to try to get them in. He promised and was running from to go to hard rock to seal the deal, turned ran back and hugged and kissed Nickki and her aunt Teresa...lol Teresa not as sure she LOVES dino as much as Nickki freaks a little. This is funny.

DD was late getting open and I was cold and really starting to want to beat someone up but Jeff told us some stories and killed time. It turned out ok. Got in and where we wanted to be to be hit in the back by Once Divideds brother who said he had a right to be upfront. He finally left and the show was great. Marty was ON and left happy.

The Zebra Lounge again got to see everyone. That was best part. Love Isa, Rachel Erin Andy eveyone. Girls got a small amount of time with Marty. Some people are kinda rude, but oh well another story. Was very proud of our hammer kids. They sat and waited their turn got a few pics to remember Had a good time .
HOB well the staff there need training in how to deal with a HH. Sound check was late, I was hungry, bad combo. When we got in sound check was great. DK let Ash hold his guitar. There should be pics. It was good , but we were again out and had to kill time. Hurry up and wait. So we ate. Got lunch with Yvon and Chelse. Sinbad was sitting next to us. he was talking and laughing. Chelse and Nick went to ask for pic. He ask them if they would like to be in it. They explained no they didnt know him....oh my showing our age.
Back in line for HOB, everyone there was a bit confused, but worked out HH were ready for the show. there was a great contest between two younger bands LOVE IT. They were really good. LH put on a great show. HOB seems to bring out the best in them. Dino played really great. Didnt know he could move like that. LOL. Marty climbed the wall and the show was fantastic.
Ran forever down the streets to get the girls into the Hard Rock. Without Rachel and Lyn we would have not gotten in. I am forever in you debt. It made Nickki's trip. She got her Dino time. Gave him a bracelet. He has a way of rocking her like , I dont know like he really loves those girls. Marty time was not quite as great, but they had seen him at the Zebra Lounge. Marty sang a few songs with simple simon I think and it was time to go. Was locked out of hotel and little girl would not let us in even though we showed her our room key. It took a while but finally swiped. I was ready to go home. The next day if it could go wrong it did. I lost Nickki's camera, in a cab. Bought a snow globe that security threw away. Broke the coffee cup that I bought for my dad. Made a security person mad. and the plane ride home in show Nickki was planning how people on FB would know we died. It was that bad. Landed in snow with four more hrs to go home....but our luggage decided to take a bigger jet., yes it was smarter than us. It was an hour behind us. So roads were covered took six hours home> glad to be here.
I just want to thank a few people whom without this trip would not have been as good.
Rachel and Ash Chelse and Yvon you made Nicks trip. Isa, Jody, Erin and Andy, Nancy, Lyn, Sharon, Dawn, anyone else I forgot. I love and miss you all already. Thank YOU.
Dino you make Nickki's trip everytime, you are always there, always so giving of your time. I love you for this.
T

Thanks for sharing, t! Glad Nikki got some time with her Best Friend!
Sorry to hear about the rough spots, but it sounds like you had a good time overall!

Telena,

I don't think I got to actually meet you, but I did figure out who you are, and of course who Nickki is, and I think I talked to your sister for a while (she's the daycare owner, right?)

I edited out a few things from your post, and left the things I felt compelled to respond to.

1. I'm sure you're not as witchy due to your age as I am due to mine.
2. I was really cold outside of DD also, and should have paid more attention to Jeff--it might have warmed my feet and improved my mood and disposition. However, as you said, once inside, the show was great. Once Divided's brother seemed to irritate quite a few people, however for whatever reason he and I talked for a while and I thought he was nice and just proud and supportive of his brother. BUT, when they first moved in, I went to the bathroom, so I don't know what happened then. I didn't talk to them until I came back, but I thought they were nice. (and they DID leave after OD finished.)
3. I agree that Dino was ADORABLE when it came to the girls and the rest of the fans for that matter, both at the radio station and also at sound check. First of all, he looks wonderful, and second, he's just so sweet. Him putting that bass on Ashley was just too cute!
4. And on a similar note: The three most civilized, respectful, and role-modeling fans--BY FAR--are Ashley, Chelsea and Nickki!! The so-called adults could all take a lesson from these three!
5. As for the rest of your trip, I'm just glad you made it home safe and sound!! Sounds like it was quite a trip, but look at it this way, this is like my 13th show, and it is the ONLY one that something entirely weird HASN'T happened. I've had my car towed (to the tune of $200). I've wrecked my car. I've sustained a concussion from falling off the stage. All kinds of weird stuff.

Thanks for sharing your trip. Another weekend to remember!! See you next time!

Linda

Linda

How did I miss you? I have done that twice. sorry. Yes my sister is the daycare director. I think she was part of my problem. I was "in charge" so it was my fault she was cold and her feet hurt..lol older sister syndrome.

Glad to hear the brother was nice. I knew he was excited and the other boy did say he was sorry. Very nice boy. I didnt de friend once divided like I said I was going too. I like the lead singer.

Didnt want anyone to get wrong idea I had a blast, just bad things kept happening. Like being stuck in bad movie.

Thanks for the compliments one the girls. I thought they were really good for being as excited as they were. I am really proud of all of them. They were well behaved great to hear from someone else though.

At least nothing happen that was really bad, I wanted the snow globe for my birthday of chicago wanted to cry when I had to throw it away, but I lived.

Glad your trip was uneventful...

Telena,

I'm actually a little bit shy--I should have just spoken up and introduced myself, but I'm SURE you and I were side-by-side a number of times during the weekend, because i was standing next to the three girls, and I asked someone who the blond girl was with Ashley and Chelsea, and they told me it was your daughter. The other thing is, that although I definitely recognized Chelsea, I didn't recognize her mom until the end of the weekend. (Ashley's parents, I've known for a while).

We'll catch up next time, because I'm sure LH will be returning to StL sometime soon! Hey....Maybe Branson!!!

As far as complaining...........I think that's OK too. I was EXHAUSTED by the time I got home Sunday night. Then it took me over an hour to drive home what would normally be a half-hour's drive home--falling and blowing snow. It was treacherous!! I stayed home for two days! (well, tuesday is my regular day off, but still, I was still exhausted!!). I've learned that next time I'll scale back some of the daytime activities to save myself for the show....

You guys take care of yourselves, and maybe I'll see you sometime NOT at a LH show....(am thinking about a spring/summer trip to Eurika Springs/Turpentine Creek--do you know TC?)

Linda

Telena - I'm so glad the girls had a good time at Hard Rock. I probably should have made the reservation for 20!

It was definitely a very crazy weekend, but soooooo much fun!

And I agree - a lot of adults should take lessons from Ash, Nikki and Chelsea on how to act as a fangirl!

One thing I remember clearly - even though I was a bit out of it otherwise. At the Hard Rock, I started cracking up when Marty went on stage (I'm sure he thinks I'm a bit crazy). While the cover band had been playing, there were a bunch of people on the floor just really enjoying the music. Then, when Marty got on stage, there was this mad rush of women for the stage, cameras out, trying (it seemed) to get Marty's attention. And for some reason it just struck me as very funny. I couldn't stop laughing.

Linda, that is a huge compliment to the girls. And, I have to agree that I was super proud of them. They had many opportunities to test us and didn't. Proud might not even be a strong enough word to describe how I felt. The girls were awesome!

DINO!!!! My heart was so warmed by Dino this weekend. Everytime we saw him, he did a little something extra special for the girls. He really made their weekend. Ashley has not stopped talking about him. He has surpassed Bobby as her favorite Lovehammer. I've always told her that he has a special little place in his heart for her. I think she finally believes me.

This was definitely the best Hammerfest to date! You know how someone can talk something up too much and then you are just disappointed? I was a little worried that that would be the case this time. But on the contrary, I don't think the band hyped this weekend enough.

The radio station was fun, even though we couldn't hear the band. Ash had some posters she made at home that were all glittered up. We were the first ones that Dino saw when he walked up, asking if the rest of his band was there. He told me that Marty has another interview scheduled that overlapped that one so he thought it would just be him and Bob. He spent some time gushing over Ashley's posters and then popped into the studio. After the interview, they posed with Erin's banner for some pics, and it was so cute watching them try to re-create the poses from that picture. The promise to try to get the girls into Hard Rock was what kept them going the rest of the weekend. And also what kept the question, "Do you know anything yet?" on the tip of Ashley's tongue.

Double Door was a fun show even though they had a lot of problems with sound equipment. Action Blast and Once Divided were great openers for LH. Commove got a little pouty from the equipment failure and that attitude kind of ruined their set. But since they were sandwiched between the other two bands, the energy was restored by OD and they got the crowd pumped for LH. The lead singer even went back up to sing Trees with Marty. He did a fantastic job. The energy those guys put into that set was amazing. I was on Billy's side for this show and watching him do all of his guitar work just captivates me. Couldn't stop smiling at him. Of course, the girls were too young to get into this show and we didn't want to test our luck. So they had their own little party back at Telena's room.

The trunk show was nice. It was so busy! I'm sure they planted another forest. I was a little claustrophobic. Gave Marty a hug when he came in, bought my stuff and then pretty much went to stand outside for the rest of the time we were there. I came back in just in time to meet nchammer and see the girls cheesing with Marty. He's so good with kids.

From the trunk show, the race was on. So much to do the rest of the day. We rushed back to the hotel and grabbed the hubby's to take them to soundcheck with us.

Soundcheck was cool! I liked having that first glimpse of the lighting. During the actual show, I couldn't focus on anything but the guys so I didn't see much of the video show other than what I saw at soundcheck. Billy wasn't there, but the guitarist for Simple Simon filled in. Their lead singer also did some background vocals while Marty sang. I think they did 5 songs and there was lots of banter, too. Of course, I was on the opposite side of the room from my daughter so I missed the entire bass experience. She said it was almost as big as her though. Dino just walked up nonchalantly and put it on her. She wasn't expecting it at all. She said she thought he was coming over to tell her about Hard Rock. I'm very thankful that other HHs took pics of this.

From soundcheck we went back to the hotel again and did an outfit change. Raced back to HOB for dinner. That was nice. A moment to breathe before dealing with the lines and staff. They were all very confused and different people kept telling different fans different things. The girls stood in the regular line while we were in the VIP line. Ash wasn't pleased with that, but they still managed to get their spot right in front of Dino. While they were waiting for things to start, they decided to write a little message spelled out on their hands to Dino about the after party. Loved watching the first kid band. At first, I thought the one girl was going to throw up. She looked so nervous. But they did really well and won. Of course, there weren't any losers. They decided to split the equipment between the bands. Once Divided was added to the bill and played next. Then there was Gaskill and Simple Simon. Gaskill did a cover of Use Me that blew me away. Johnny said it was a gift to the fans. Simple Simon was good, but their set seemed to drag on to me. I think I was just ready for LH.

LH literally started the show with a bang. The video monitors showed a revolver and we heard some gun shots. LOADED!!! Such energy! A great way to start the set. The crowd was so into it. It felt like the room became one once LH started playing. They pulled up the daugher of the lead singer of Simple Simon during Eyes Can't See. During Trees they pulled up a fan from Manchester who was there with an internet boyfriend. Of course, the boyfriend was pulled up there next. Marty went into the crowd once and of course, there is the infamous balcony walk. I don't know if it was his trip around the room or the kiss he gave Monica, but he was really disshelved when he got back on stage. Told the guys he didn't know where to go from there. At some point the girls held up their hands and tried to get Dino to answer if they could go to the after party. He squinted and tried so hard to read what they wrote, but he just couldn't see it.

So, once the show ended, we raced a few blocks down the street to Hard Rock. Knew we had to get there before 11 pm. So glad that Lyn thought to make reservations. That was our saving grace. The girls were in. Well, not only were they in heaven because they were partying with the adults and got to hang with the guys, but Ashley was beyond the moon because Matty made it to Hard Rock. I had already said hi to him and told her to go up on her own. He was surprised and couldn't believe she was there. When he kissed the top of her head, I swear I thought I saw her melt. Her night was now complete. Or so I thought. It actually was complete once Dino signed her phone. It didn't matter if the boys played another song or not. She got her visits in. For me, Hard Rock was the highlight of the trip. Cousin Bill was AMAZING! He got up there and played with Simple Simon and was having what looked like the time of his life. Priceless! Marty played some great songs, too, but Cousin Bill stole the limelight for me. They tried to get Matt up there for a few songs, too, but he just came from HM's rehearsal and was ready to chill. Ashley had a hard time staying up so late and she really enjoyed watching all of the drunk people. I loved watching her eyes get huge every time she saw something silly. I think we might have actually prevented her from drinking much in the future when she saw how crazy (and stupid) some people act. Before we left, I had to thank Dino for everything. He was the heart of the weekend.

For Valentine's Day, the group I was with treated ourselves to a little shopping and dinner at Wildfire. Such a great time with friends!!! I have the best hammerfriends around!

Rach,

I really wish I could have stay around longer for the festivities at Hard Rock, but I was just worn out, and needed to get back to the hotel. (btw, Jeff told me to go left on Dearborn, and it was really right. However, I passed Dearborn altogether and went all the way to Michigan, where I asked two guys, who told me to go back several blocks back to Dearborn and turn Right (which is the same way Jeff told me to go in the first place, but that was again, the wrong way). Bottom line: I walked about 20 blocks (for about a 3 block walk) before getting back to the hotel!!!

ANYWAY...........!! It sounds like fun, but I was just done by that time. But what I wanted to say was when you say that Dino walked up to Ashley nonchalantly with the bass at soundcheck..........well!! Talk about nonchalant!! Ashley was so calm and nonchalant during this whole thing, nobody could have proven to me that this wasn't PLANNED!! She was one cool cookie!! I mean, I could tell she was a little freaked out, but I'm not sure the average person would have been able to tell that. Same with the other two watching all of this. Which once again illustrates my point--these are very poised young ladies. I know their parents may be shocked, but as I came to realize as my kids were growing up, often it matters more that kids know how to behave and conduct themselves in public--we all act like asses at home!!