Cross purposes and Brotherly love

For four festivals, the charm of Crossroads has been the opportunity to see favorite musicians -- guitarists to be specific. But the best part about it is to have them play with and off each other. So if you're watching a set of someone who is not exactly a favorite (i.e., John Mayer), chances are he'll be joined by someone you do like (i.e., Keith Urban) within a half-hour or so.

It was really one choice matchup after another, starting during Eric Clapton's opening acoustic set with Vince Gill and Andy Fairweather-Low on "Lay Down Sally." Booker T., Steve Cropper, Matt "Guitar" Murphy" and Blake Mills tore it up on "Born Under a Bad Sign." Robert Randolph spent all of Buddy Guy's set with the Chicago bluesman and his teen protege Quinn Sullivan. And it's as much fun to watch them interact as listen to what they conjure up musically.

One-ons: When not on the main stage, the combos kept coming in the front corner enclaves on each side of the stage for "one-offs." The amazing Sonny Landreth with the spot-on Derek Trucks. Doyle Bramhall II and John Mayer paid tribute to Doyle's late dad with "Change It," a song written by his father with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Emcee Dan Aykroyd even got into the act -- with a big assist from Keb' Mo' -- on "Got My Mojo Working" the first night. The second night, Keb' tore it up with a bonafide bluesman, Taj Mahal.

Biggest surprise: Keith Fuckin' Richards! The lights go out. We think they're going to come back up on the final set of the festival -- E.C. and his band. But instead there's Keith, smirking away. Everyone's head explodes. Then he takes the lead on "Key to the Highway" and the Chuck Berry cover "Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller." We tried as hard as we could, but no one was beaming more than Clapton.

Second biggest surprise: After providing the perfect capper Friday night, The Allman Brothers' Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes and Trucks reconvened in the one-off portion of the stage the second night. That was surprising in and of itself, but when they started the cover of Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done," just wow. It really hit home considering the Crossroads drug treatment facility in Antigua is the reason the festival exists at all.

Least welcome surprise: Not really, but Mark and I were having a discussion about when we'd see Keith Urban. He prognosticated that maybe Keith would come out with John Mayer on Friday and I very quickly discounted that. So much laughter ensued when that was exactly what happened and it was a spiffy cover of "Don't Let Me Down" at that. Guess this is the one time you're right for 2013, Mark.

Clearing the decks: Intentional or not, the acoustic set that kicked off this year's Crossroads gave Eric Clapton a chance to get some chestnuts out of the way early. "Tears in Heaven," "Lay Down Sally," "Wonderful Tonight." Check, check, check. And Eric moves on.

Eternal show-stopper: Gary Clark Jr. He's an astonishing talent of staggering proportions which was fully realized during his own set the second night. His brand of music can't be easily classified, referenced or pigeon-holed. Maybe that's why he hasn't been the superstar that he has every right to be, but I'll bet you can sit any and ever aficionado of music down, and they'll come away with wide-eyed appreciation of his talents.

Second thoughts: I've never been the biggest Robert Cray fan in the world. I've seen him several times before and I've always thought he's very talented, vocally and musically, there wasn't that emotional element there for me. Definitely rethinking that after Crossroads. He's got it, he brought it, I'm sold. Robert Cray's a bluesman.

The courteous host: There was no gun slinging from Clapton. He brought tasty licks whenever he came out during a set, whether it was with B.B. King, Cray and Jimmie Vaughan or with jazzy Kurt Rosenwinkel. The best of the bunch was by far with The Allman Brothers on "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad" on Friday. It's so in their wheelhouse for Eric to play with the Allmans and it sounds ever so sweet. I've been lucky enough to experience that a couple times, and I certainly hope that pattern holds in the future.

Hello, old friend: Coming into the festival, I was most excited about Robbie Robertson playing with Eric on the final set of the night. They started with "He Don't Live Here No More," a song Eric guested on from Robbie's latest album. Then the tribute to Levon Helm, strangely accomplished without Robbie saying his name via "I Will Be Released." And he came back for the grand finale, "High Time We Went," which was unfortunately beset by technical difficulties. It was deflating to not be able to hear many of the solos by all the guitarists.

Coping mechanism: It was all planned. Break time during Citizen Cope. Then that guy comes on with Doyle Bramhall II. Unfair business practice! And while that's a drawback (to me), Doyle -- who by the way was rockin' a serious younger Robbie Robertson vibe for me both nights -- did get to burn up the stage once again during that set with Clark Jr. on "She's Alright." II and Jr. should definitely form a band. How about the moniker "Seconds, Anyone?"

Best surprise: Albert Lee, Vince Gill and Keith Urban. They just barreled through a covers set that included Rodney Crowell's "Ain't Living Long Like This," Ray Charles' "Leave My Woman Alone," Dire Straits' "Setting Me Up" and The Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice." It just seemed to end way too soon.

Best non-guitar performance: It's tough, there was some great warbling going on. But for me, it started and ended with Gregg Allman. I always feel so blessed when I have the chance to take in the Allmans. The musicianship is just perfect across the board, and no matter what their nucleus has been through, hearing him sing is like an old friend coming up with a hug and saying (or in this case, singing) just what you need to hear at that very moment.

Living the theme: Everyone should have a theme song. This particular pearl of wisdom came to me via "Ally McBeal," but haters shouldn't hold that against it. It's true: You hear your theme song and it bucks your energy up immeasurably, doesn't matter if you were already "up there" or not. My theme song is "Got to Get Better in a Little While." And you better believe when Clapton and company started cranking that one out, thoughts of lethargy after sitting in the same spot for five hours quickly dissipated.

Ladies, anyone?: If there's anything to be dismayed about the weekend of wonder, it might be the lack of women on the Crossroads front. We got to hear Susan Tedeschi warble with Los Lobos and Beth Hart almost sang the house "down, down, down" during Jeff Beck's set. We know Susan can wield her axe. And lest someone believe that women can't get 'er done, there was Beck's bassist Tal Wilkenfeld scorching her solos as the sole and shining example that sends such a theory crashing out the closest window.

Postgame show: Mere footsteps away from the Garden, I got to tell Clark Jr.'s drummer Johnny Radelat that he has my dream job (and my dream hair with that fro' that was whipping around with every beat). Was brow-beaten into introducing myself to Keb' Mo' (OK, glad I did that.) And got to tell Albert Lee that he was awesome (some wordsmith I turned out to be). You can accomplish a lot in a 20-minute period after a show if you set your mind to it ... and follow the right people.

Final words: Don't know who is going to be tasked with putting the DVD together for this one, but I don't envy them that job for sure. How do you pick? Which one of Clark Jr.'s perfect numbers do you go with? Do you choose "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad" for the Allmans' electric set at the expense of Taj Mahal with the Brothers on "Statesboro Blues?" And what about the one-offs? You gotta take "The Needle and the Damage Done," right? Well, what about the crowd-pleasing "Midnight Rider"? See what I mean, that's just a few of the impossible choices that will have to be made. Well, I'll be watching and waiting and then judging them on their decisions.

Hoarding Rick Springfield

It was a red-letter day (not to mention my favorite actress Sharon Wyatt's birthday) when I got to see Rick Springfield on "Anderson Live" and with the Sound City Players on the same day.

I went to Anderson Cooper with my vintage General Hospital/Chiller bud Carol and coerced her into doing the "Tweet Seats," in which you basically have permission to Tweet throughout the show. Personnel post some of the Tweets on a videoboard as the show is going on and I racked up a bunch of Tweets during this time.

On this day, they were taping a segment on Katherine Heigl, then starting a show with co-host Marilu Henner, a very touching segment on hoarding and how tragedy and even genetics can really factor into someone falling into such habits. And then finally a segment with the secret "special guest," who wasn't actually much of a secret to most of the assembled women there.

The special guest was hidden behind a sign, and we had a pretty good vantage point of watching him while Anderson had five questions to figure out who he was. The second question about Rick's history with Linda Blair elicited laughs, even from Rick, when Anderson asked if he was Satan, and Rick gestured that some people have wondered that very thing.

It took the full five, but Anderson finally delivered the right answer and Rick came out for another segment. Anderson interviewed various Rick diehard fans, none of whom would actually ask him a question when they had the opportunity because they were too nervous. I don't know, if I had a crack at my first love after three decades of fanaticism, I don't think I would beg off so easily, but that's just me. All the non-questions were edited out when the show aired.

After the show, Carol and I had a nice lunch where we toasted Miz Sharon and shared stories over pasta and strong drinky-drinks. We never did make a drunken "Happy Birthday" video of dancing under tables or on top of cabs, though. Maybe that's a good thing.

The next part of the evening for me was the Sound City concert. Mark came in for the show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and as it was general admission, we stood for about two hours before the show even started. With every guest coming out to play four to six songs with Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins and the rest of the Sound City regulars, they warned us it was gonna be a long night.

And it started out that way, with some of the more eclectic punk and alternate guests -- like Lee Ving (best known in my circles as Mr. Boddy in "Clue") -- providing energy and sound, but I think both Mark and I wondered if we would make it through to the likes of Stevie Nicks and John Fogerty.

Prior to each set, some of their clips from the Sound City Studios documentary were shown on a big screen to whet everyone's appetite. So Mark was psyched when Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick was shown. And truth be told, he provided quite a boost to the night. He was joined by Krist Novoselic (hey, I've seen two-thirds of Nirvana live!) Foo drummer Taylor Hawkins stepped out from behind the drums to do his best Robin Zander impression. He was having the time of his life. And it was stupendous to have Dave Grohl show off his formidable talents at the kit in the process.

The good news: It was so LOUD in there that there was no opportunity for people to have their own conversations and rain on the parade. The musicians were jonesing as much as we were too, for they sported some top-of-the-line hardware for the shows. Nielsen was rocking his famous '59 Les Paul and Fogerty trotted out his '56 Gibson gold-top Les Paul AND '57 black Les Paul custom. And Mark was amused by Grohl's pelham blue Gibson Trini Lopez model.

Now I always think of Rick as a musician who really loves his craft, but of course, to most of the world, he's considered a former teen idol. But when he was backed by musicians of the caliber of Dave Grohl and company, it really showed off the former to much advantage. First they did the song they wrote together for the Sound City album, "The Man That Never Was." Then a couple of songs from Rick's days at the legendary Sound City studios -- "I've Done Everything for You" and "Love Is Alright Tonite."

The latter number really got me going, and I was pogoing like I haven't since a Pearl Jam concert, all of the exhaustion disappearing during that time. I think I was amusing the people in my immediate vicinity too, which is a good thing, since you're about as close as you can be at a general admission show. They didn't even mind the occasional bump or flailing arm.

Rick really thrived in the environment, just getting to be part of the band rather than an "idol." Lots of great conversation between Rick and Dave during the set, their banter really showed off the mutual admiration society. They swung into "Love Somebody" and then a prolonged conversation about the most famous three notes in rock and roll before jumping into "Jessie's Girl."

We got John Fogerty after that, and although he didn't actually do tracks from his time at Sound City, it's hard to not be swayed to movement by "Centerfield" and "Bad Moon Rising."

And then the big finish ... Ms. Stevie Nicks, who apparently was battling pneumonia that day. She and Dave started off with a throaty "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" and she touched everyone's heart with the poignant story behind "You Can't Fix This," which she wrote after the tragic death of a young relative. Just as affecting was the most beautiful version of "Landslide" that I think I've ever heard and a striking take on "Gold Dust Woman" that I can't imagine being topped by Fleetwood Mac on their upcoming tour.

Then it was time to "pick up the pieces and go home." And that's when all the activity of the day just wiped us completely out. For at heart, it was easy to get into the spirit of the entire day. But physically, "even children get older ... I'm getting older too."

Some things ain't ever gonna change...

Not too long ago, I was reading this particularly pretentious book about how people love to reminisce about the past ("Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past" by Simon Reynolds). And while I took issue with a lot of the author's points, I freely admit that I love to reflect on past pop culture. It's one of my favorite pastimes. And because our culture IS so willing to do so, it's probably the reason why a lot of my favorite '80s acts have been making the rounds recently.

But I'm finding these chances to revisit earlier favorites brings me new revelations across the board. Last week's John Parr-Tommy Tutone-John Waite show -- strike that, make it Glen Burtnik-Tommy Tutone-John Waite concert -- illustrates the point beautifully. The event took place at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, with a retro burger joint literally next door. (Apparently Don's also likes to live in the past, judging by the decor and stream of '70s songs piped overhead.)

So after downing some great burgers, we walked past a shrill clache of young women in heavy jackets and pantyhose (not sure if they had skirts on or not and wasn't about to check) and found out ... well, John Parr would not be in attendance and Glen Burtnik would appear in his place. Which led to two questions from those coming in after us. 1.) Who is Glen Burtnik? (I have to admit the name sounded really familiar but I could not place a song, even after a Google search) and 2.) Who is John Parr? (Come on, "St. Elmo's Fire" aka "Man in Motion" ... "Naughty Naughty.") Apparently his absence wasn't going to bother a healthy portion of the attending population.)

So Mr. Burtnik comes out to a wary audience and charms the hell out of us. He opens with the acerbic "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye," which if you can't get into the set off that, well, you're probably not going to anyway so head for the lobby now and don't ruin it for the rest of us. And then "The Trouble With Sally," a humorous but wistful autobiographical tale about Glen's daughter ... Sally.

Glen proclaimed himself the fill-in stunt man for John Parr, who missed his flight for the show. John Parr: A Man NOT in Motion! Naughty, Naughty!! OK, got that out of my system. Then he was joined by the ladies -- Emily Grove and Christina Shafer. And oh yeah, they give me a reason to recognize the name ... Glen co-wrote "Sometimes Love Ain't Enough" with Patty Smyth, who had a big hit with Don Henley on the ballad.

They capped their show with a montage (apparently put together in the car on the way to the show, talk about on the fly!) that included Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes," "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House, the VERY well-received Steve Winwood tune "Back in the High Life Again," Mr. Mister's "Kyrie" and capped by, of course, John Parr's "St Elmo's Fire." You wouldn't know it was off the cuff the way it was delivered, which set a very high bar for the evening.

And then came Tommy Tutone (and I really wish I bought the CD he had available 'cause I don't know the titles). Mark gets to Googling to read up on people he doesn't know back story on and points out that his name is actually Tommy Heath and Tommy Tutone was the '80s band's moniker. But he still performs as Tommy Tutone so people know who he is.

Tommy Heath/Tutone also did a striking acoustic set (and I really wish I bought the CD he had available 'cause I don't know the titles and they aren't available on his website as yet.) There was "his version of a country song," which consists of the protagonist singing his tale of love/woe to two different women. And "Tiptoe In," a nod to Archie Bell and the Drells -- complete with little dance of tiptoeing across the room.

As Tommy explained, he likes to mix and match styles that don't sound particularly suited to each other, but wind up complementing each other perfectly. There was Jim Croce's "Operator," which he said was performed like the Clash, but also showed undertones of Elvis Costello and Van Morrison.

And thus bringeth the revelation. It's too bad that these artists were hamstrung by pop singles and the three-minute video format. Because there's a lot more to Tommy Tutone/Heath than a one-hit wonder, no matter how inviting and insinuating that song may be.

So then "867-5309 Jenny," which has the dubious distinction of being one of the catchiest one-hit wonders ever (in a good way, not "Safety Dance/Tubthumping"-catchy.) And out come the people who just went to hear certain songs from the performers, singing the lyrics at the top of their lungs. Dudes and dudettes, we did not pay our money to hear YOU sing, we came to hear the ARTIST perform.

John Waite went the full-band treatment, and he started off with my favorite solo song, "Change." That's a great way to get the crowd into the set, but as his voice got stronger as his show went on, I sort of wish it was later. But no time to fret or complain, because the rarely played "Tears" was on the setlist.

John's got this petulant but self-effacing manner that completely disarms an audience. Kind of reminds me of Rick Springfield, so it makes sense that those two performers are friends. (John appeared on one of Rick's fan cruises and also has sung backup on the new album, "Songs for the End of the World.") Some great interplay between John and his New Jersey-born drummer Rondo made me wonder about how contentious their practice sessions get.

The John Waite back catalog spans several decades, so there was a wide variety of material to choose from. There were Babys tracks such as "Every Time I Think of You," "If You Ever Get Lonely" and "Midnight Rendezvous." Late director Tony Scott got a shoutout and a dedication on "In Dreams" from "True Romance." Tina Turner has covered "Missing You," so it was very fitting that John performed her "Sweet Rhode Island." And his pipes more than withstood that workout too!

The whole set reminded me of the artists who understandably haven't been able to sustain their vocal range in the ensuing years and how absolutely that isn't so in John's case. (The next week, John said on a radio show that when he wasn't able to do that any longer, it would be a sign to call it a career.) Very glad it's not the case yet.

Oh, and revelation No. 2, it really sucks to be older and more mature, 'cause you're trying to be so considerate to the people behind you that it tends to override the impulse to stand up and rock the f out. It wouldn't have even had to be the whole time, as there was a balance between rockers and ballads. One vote cast here for small club shows.

As the '80s "addiction to pop culture" continues to bear fruit, I left the venue pondering the other artists I would like to revisit. Joan Jett definitely, that'a a long-standing wish. John Parr? I ain't missing him at all. Does Joe Jackson count? He's another one. The Go-Go's! I hope for more packaging tours that let us see some favorites who were pegged into MTV corners. That list could be endless. And of course, I hope to see Glen Burtnik, Tommy Tutone and John Waite some more!

Shows for the end of the world

We saw two shows in almost a month's time at the Best Buy Theatre in New York City, separated only by a little massively destructive storm named Sandy. So here's a 2-for-1 Best Buy special -- reviews of both shows in one place at one time.

The first was the same day as Chiller Theatre marking the 30th anniversary of Asia. And the second, Rick Springfield, with material from the new album ("Songs for the End of the World") -- and not the one he has called new for the past three or four years ("Venus in Overdrive").

These shows were like sense memory explorations for me, taking me to another time and place. My sister and I used to rewrite the lyrics to "Heat of the Moment" -- first as an excuse for getting wet on the way home from the mall ("It was the heat of the moment, telling us to go through the sprinklers") and then every year after its release ("And now you find yourself in '82" to '83, '84 and so on so forth).

And Rick, well, Rick's been well documented in my blogs. My first musical love, I credit him for being the gateway to many of the other artists I ended up taking to heart.

Mark didn't think much of going to Asia, but he actually ended up enjoying it. And never a problem getting him to go to Rick, he likes him as a musician and songwriter. As he tells it, he's always more open to my musical taste than I am to his.

Seeing Asia brought back a memory I hadn't really considered in years. In elementary school when everyone picked the instruments they wanted to play, I wanted more than anything to be a drummer. I wound up with the cornet -- and that only lasted a couple weeks or so, since I couldn't play the darned thing.

I do believe that Carl Palmer is heavily responsible for that wish due to his work on the self-titled Asia album. Although I have unflagging adoration for guitarists, I didn't air guitar, I jammed on the air beat on the skins.

At any rate, Carl is the key to the reunited Asia having the power and presence it does. He came into the show at Best Buy seemingly foisting the group on his back with energy and general enjoyment.

That's not to put down John Wetton's vocals, which are another key to Asia, as he provides the signature sound akin to Steve Perry with Journey or David Lee Roth with Van Halen. To paraphrase a commercial of the day, two great tastes that taste great together.

Steve Howe provides another piece to the puzzle. The seminal guitarist really proved his worth at the show when the group divvied up the workload and he played acoustically on his own. Some blues, a lot of feeling and a little humor when he chided that bane of audience existence -- people talking during a song they don't know.

Not much opportunity for what was deemed the "5 percent ruining it for everyone else" during Carl's solo at the end of "Holy War," since he was beating the heck out of his drums. The beat just pulsated through every nerve ending and made the air drummer in me equal parts jealous and appreciative

John and keyboardist Geoff Downes had their moments on a couple of songs as well with "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" and "Cutting It Fine." It was a great way to keep the musicians and the audience happy at the same time. Well, except for the 5 percent.

What that minority came for, of course, were the hits -- "Heat of the Moment," "Only Time Will Tell," "Soul Survivor" and "Don't Cry." Still don't understand why the people who only want to hear those don't stay home and put their CD on repeat, but they were delivered with great gusto.

It's difficult to talk about Rick Springfield without a word like "gusto." He just barrels through his set like there couldn't be any other life choice for him. On this occasion, he also charged through me, but I'll get to that in due time.

His setlist has been reworked with the old new album songs coming out in favor of the two strongest tracks from the new new album, "I Hate Myself" and "Our Ship's Sinking." We got "Living in Oz" instead of album mate "Alyson," which is a plus change in my book. Also returning to the set was the montage of hits, starting with the complete "I Get Excited" before seguing into bits and pieces of "Bop 'Til Ya Drop," "Celebrate Youth," "Calling All Girls," "Don't Walk Away," "State of the Heart" and "What Kind of Fool Am I."

Just a word about "Calling All Girls" inclusion here, mostly so I avoid saying how I could do without the final two songs in the montage (oops). But again, flashback to the past. When I was on junior varsity gymnastics, I was riding the late school bus home and the ROCK station played Rick Springfield. That song, not released as a single was played on an album station and without attaching a bubble-gum label to a great songwriter.

Rick still pays heed to his own influences. Mark wanted to hear "Jet" and not hear "Red House," and that's precisely what happened. Plus, order now and get a special bonus, "Can't Buy Me Love!" We got "Jet" early on and then a few licks of "Red House," which worried Mark until his frown turned upside down when that eventually became "Crossroads." "Can't Buy Me Love" wouldn't have been much of a surprise if I'd read the message boards before the show, so I'm glad I didn't do that.

And now on to when I got the "Human Touch" from Rick. He always makes his way through the crowd during that song. And although he quickly was having problems with the chairs that easily fold up, he kept on truckin' through the crowd. I was just jamming and not reaching for him -- I do feel like I've filled a certain quota on that front -- but he must have slipped on my slick jacket and sorta fell on me.

Mark quickly helped him along, and I was left doubled over ... in laughter. I've tended to get knocked around during concerts, but I certainly minded less when it was Rick! More than the "human touch," more like a quarterback sack. And Rick always says he wasn't any good at sports. I'll agree to disagree on that one.

So these were our last two concert dates before the prophesized end of the world on Dec. 12, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. "Teenage ambitions you'll remember well" indeed.

Paying off a 'Six Million Dollar' debt?

October promised to be very conventional for me, with Comic Con at the beginning of the month and Chiller Theatre at the end. The former turned out to be a bust as I walked around in an ill/semi-conscious state. (I did attend the Christopher Lloyd question-and-answer session to hear him talk about "Clue"; chilled out in Peter Davison's entertaining Q&A even though I'd never seen his "Dr. Who"; and saw one of my favorite '90s bands, Ben Folds Five, live.)

But that meant hopes wound up being that much higher for Chiller Theatre, particularly after having so much fun at the spring edition. I met up again with one of my favorite online friends, Carol, and her amiga, Linda. We were well prepared in terms of who we wanted to see. (Read: Who we wanted to spend our bucks on, since everyone has their own pricing structure for photos, autographs and the combination of both).

The gameplan was to get on the big "living room" line with the upper-echelon celebs first, and then work our way to the others after that. But there's always room for improvisation as Carol informed me after Mark and I arrived that Deborah Foreman was tucked away in a little room and there wasn't a line for her at all. So Linda and I headed down another corridor so I could meet her.

Deborah is probably best known from "Valley Girl," but my personal favorite is "April Fool's Day," a-more-comedy-than-horror flick from the mid-'80s. In it, she plays the main character Muffy, who wants to set up a mystery vacation spot at the home she inherited. She's using her friends as guinea pigs to see if it'll work out, only problem is that someone's offing these people one by one.

As Muffy begins to act more and more suspicious, her remaining friends come to realize that they might be dealing with her murderous sister, Buffy. So when I had my picture taken with Ms. Foreman, I put my glasses on top of my head like she had. The person taking the photo for us said that we looked like twins -- Muffy and Buffy. (We look about as much like twins as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito did, by the way.)

Now Chiller is kind of a B-list movie/TV event (if you're being kind), but they do bring on some marquee names for the event. The big two headliners I wanted to meet were Lee Majors ("The Six Million Dollar Man") and Penny Marshall (comedienne-turned-filmmaker). So they were my "targets" for the living room.

Carol was high on seeing Penny too, so when we finally made our way down the long corridor line and into the room, we were happily surprised to find Ms. Marshall's line wasn't too long. I anted up for both a signed photo and a picture with her. She was decked out in the G-Men sweatshirt that I've wanted to get for myself for a while.

We had some polite chatter and then a rogue photographer came by and snapped a picture of her -- pretty much a no-no at this show. She was irritated by that and I asked her if she wanted me to "take care of him for her," that made her laugh a bit and kept the brief meeting light. I also told her I had recently seen her in some "Battle of the Network Stars" video, I think she did everything short of rolling her eyes at that.

It took me a while to figure out which of the photos to get -- it's like a smorgasbord when you get up to the table and see so many cool professional shots -- but I opted for the "silly" one from "Laverne & Shirley" and happily got that one signed.

Joan Collins was on a break while we were in there, but we got to "check out" Connie Stevens, and let me tell you, she looked better than a lot of the actresses half her age. Then we headed for the Lee Majors line.

Now the trick about Chiller is that you can't tell the pricing structure until after you've stood on the person's line, and by that time, you pretty much want to get something for your time. The former Steve Austin was $40 for a photo, $40 for an autographed photo and $50 if you wanted something of your own signed. I ridiculously thought that the $50 was combined and decided to get my Season 1 DVD cover autographed. Until they asked me for $90. Uh, no, thanks. I guess they have to pay off the six million dollars for that bionic surgery somehow, right?

I did resign myself to at least getting a picture with him. After all, I am a child of the '70s, and during that time, you couldn't get much better than being bionic. But the technology must have rusted, because Mr. Majors said he couldn't get out of his chair because of a bad knee. He didn't say much beyond that and the old axiom of not meeting your favorites for fear of disappointment bounced around my head for a few minutes.

But fresh off that disappointment, we were about to leave the room when we saw Steven Bauer's short line and intriguing sign -- photos $10! Although I haven't seen him on "Breaking Bad," I do remember the likes of his '80s flick "Thief of Hearts" and "Wiseguy."

I thought he was the most genuine person we met that day. Gives good hugs too. That was $10 well spent.

Sitting nearby was the actor I kept making fun of during the afternoon, much to Linda's chagrin. Andrew McCarthy -- who I deemed the least talented actor at the event, even though there was no way that could be true -- was a borderline Brat Packer and my least favorite character in one of the movies from the era I saw dozens of times, "St. Elmo's Fire."

His line was short as well, but like Steven, he seemed to be really conversing with the people who stopped to meet him and not just taking their money and scribbling down a name. But sue me, I still wanted Molly Ringwald to end up with Jon Cryer in "Pretty in Pink."

The person I had been most looking forward to meeting at the event was Pamela Sue Martin, who I loved in "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" and later in "Dynasty." I was super-psyched about getting to meet her, because Nancy Drew was just my hero when I was a pre-teen. I had all the novels and had rewatched the series prior to the last Chiller (at which I met Hardy Boy Parker Stevenson).

Carol seemed to be almost as excited about seeing me meet Pamela Sue. She had a friend who arrived while we were waiting for the actress to return from her lunch break, but she still stuck on the line with me. Poor Eric Shea (PSM's young brother in "The Poseidon Adventure" was at the next table, but he seemed to be spending more time trying to track her down for those of us waiting for her).

She finally did arrive and I got to meet Nancy Drew/the real Fallon! (Both Carol and I will work overtime to maintain that we adore Emma Samms, who later assumed the role of Fallon, but that we preferred PSM in the part.) She was really sweet and surprised to hear that my major reason for attending the event was to meet her. Then Carol upped the ante by saying that she just wanted to watch me meet her because she was such a childhood hero of mine and I tend to race my motor when it's someone that meaningful to me. Pamela Sue got a hearty chuckle out of that one.

And by the way, her deal was MUCH better than Mr. Majors'. I got my photo taken with her and my Nancy Drew DVD cover signed for $25, and she made conversation with me too! I really should let Steven Bauer retain his title as "Deal of the Day," but I was thrilled to have it play out that way.

After we got chided for sneaking a photo of Valerie Harper (I told you the actors/handlers don't take kindly to that), Carol and Linda went their own way. Later in the afternoon when I finally found Mark, I got to meet wonderful Roger Kastel, the very talented artist who created the art for the movie posters for "Jaws," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." He was sweet and appreciative, and he took a lot of care to sign his autograph in places that would stand out and be unobtrusive at the same time.

The day wasn't even over for us as Mark and I were heading to the city to see Asia. A certain superstorm was making its way toward us as well. And while I perused the convention during the ensuing power outage, I resolved to remember not to bust on the Chiller lineup so much when they start announcing the celebrities for April, since it's the non-marquee names who prove to be the most interesting at the actual event and they keep out-of-pocket costs down. That should last for, oh, about five minutes.

An 'Affair' to remember

As providence would have it, the Rick Springfield fan documentary, "An Affair of the Heart," was set to premiere the same week I was on vacation and my sister was in town. And Rick was scheduled to be in attendance for the first shows!

Once upon a time, Koop and I went to see Rick in Orlando during the "Living in Oz" Tour. We both sported signs, Mine was "You'll Always Be No. 1 With Me" and hers was "Rick, You Gorgeous Hunk." Those were the kind of memories I expected to revisit while watching the movie that followed the travails of several diehard fans. The poster sports the tagline -- "Do you remember where you were when you forgot about Rick Springfield? ... They never did."

Kind of hard to forget someone who was plastered on my walls for years and years. And on my t-shirts. And in my scrapbooks for both music and acting. ... Who I followed over various TV shows -- starting with my "General Hospital" obsession to the short-lived "The Human Target" to the syndicated tongue-in-cheek "High Tide," which once cheekily paged Rick's "GH" persona Dr. Noah Drake to liposuction in the background. And all the slick TV movies in between.

However, I knew I didn't really qualify for the kind of rabid fan I expected to see in the film -- there are fans who follow him everywhere. The special shows -- like the Rick Springfield & Friends Cruise and four-day acoustic ones in the Midwest, and the regular ones too -- like his umpteenth visit to Atlantic City. People who don't feel they've had the full experience unless they've also paid for the soundcheck and touch him in the meet-and-greet.

I've seen him maybe 20 times over the years, and figured that number would probably strike derision in the hearts of the people who would be featured in the movie. But I still wanted to see it, and about a year after its initial film festival appearance, it was finally coming to a theater near me.

It took weeks of watching the IFC Center website before tickets went on sale, but I snatched them up as soon as I saw them. And that day, as both sis and myself started showing signs of a flu bug that would knock us silly for the next few days after that, we made our way into the big city.

I snared a copy of the new CD, "Songs for the End of the World" at Best Buy because it had a couple of bonus tracks and we headed for the theater. We picked up the movie tickets and I saw a line for a meet-and-greet. It was shorter than one might expect, and when we got to the front, a security guy asked for our tickets. I presented the ones for the film. "No, not those, do you have tickets?" he asked. "Yes," I said. I showed him the movie tickets again. "No, are you supposed to be here?" "Yes," I said. I could have gone on like that all day. Fortunately, I didn't have to as he ushered us in.

Not much of a line from there either as I quickly got in Rick range. He had started the day in a New York City subway, bellowing his new song "I Hate Myself," and of course, the ol' chestnuts like "Jessie's Girl" and "Don't Talk to Strangers." I asked him how that went and he replied, "Crazy."

Not much time for formalities, so he signed my CD and we took my fourth picture with him. Then it was sis' turn. One of the ushers took the pictures for us and my iPhone chimed with a message just as she was finishing the task. "Mark's messaging you," she told Lorrie. "WHO????" Rick asked with mock outrage.

We waited until we were outside to laugh about pulling a fast one. ... And another fast one was about to come too. There was not really a line for the showing of the film, everyone was kind of just clustered in one place. Until someone from the theater decided to rope off the area starting at a motor scooter about 200 feet away. Guess who wound up first on the line?

Yep, it was me -- the 1,326th biggest Rick fan of all time!! Well, it was me for a little while because a little elderly couple pulled an even faster one. They sort of loitered to the right of the sign and then when we started to be let in, they just skipped out in front of us. I appreciated the craftiness, so I let it slide.

The theater chairs might have been a little too comfy, they were angled back so you could look up at the screen from the second row without craning your neck too badly.

Not much of a chance to fall asleep though, as the stories ranged from touching -- Rick's music helped a scared girl who had heart surgery make it through 18 months of being confined to her bed -- to funny as Rick had to (and did) win over a heavy metal crowd at an outdoor concert in Sweden -- to slightly contrived as two best friends alienate their husbands with their attachment to Rick. (All's well that ends well, though, as the two spouses get their own private audience with Rick and come away from the meeting smiling almost as much as their wives.)

The film definitely reminded me of my own concert memories -- from the first one back in 1981 in which my friend Linda and I stood on the chairs the whole time and I sang/screamed myself hoarse the night before I was supposed to give a speech in school. The second one I already mentioned; the third one, my mom drove me, sis and best friend Cheryl to Hollywood (what Rick deemed the "Hollywood Sweatatorium.") I left thinking that all Rick fans would probably have a tale or two or three to tell, even if it was something as small yet meaningful as listening to "Kristina" on the Walkman through two headphone jacks while participating in a March of Dimes' Walk-a-thon with Koop.

Rick seemed genuinely touched, both in the film and during question-and-answer afterward, by the effect he's had on people's lives. He's actually the person who probably has been transformed the most. Which was the surprise of the film and of the night.

Sis and I wound up bedridden for most of the next few days, and then Rick had to cancel some dates due to his own illness. I guess I shoulda asked if he wanted to hang and watch movies with us during the Q&A period. But it's just as well I didn't, they might have shoved us in some sequel to the film. I've since decided that the low end of the diehard Rick totem pole has its rewards.

Sister, can you spare?

Vacation started off promisingly enough with my sister, Lorrie (aka Koop), coming in for nine days of fun, frivolity and shopping. She probably never would have dreamed that modern-day pop culture would ace out '80s revelry in my world, but it did when Shark Week clearly tanked MTV in t-shirt wars.

One of our first endeavors was Daytime Stars and Strikes -- an event at the Bowlmor Lanes in New York City that raises money for the American Cancer Society and features actors from the now-defunct East Coast soap operas. The plan: I bowl and Koop watches.

Each group of fans bowls with a couple of daytimers. I definitely had a makeshift want list, most of whom hailed from host Jerry ver Dorn's days as Ross Marler on "Guiding Light." Michael O'Leary (Rick), Elvera Roussel (Hope), co-host Liz Keifer (Blake), Maeve Kinkead (Vanessa), Kurt McKinney (Matt), Beth Chamberlin (Beth), Ron Raines (Alan), Ellen Dolan (Maureen, later Margo on "As the World Turns") and Denise Pence (Katie) were all people that I would have liked to have bowled with.

Instead, I wound up on a lane with Andrew Trischitta (Jack, One Life to Live) and Austin Williams (Shane, OLTL), who I really didn't know because I stopped watching when Trevor St. John left the show in the double Todd Manning debacle. They were really nice guys, though, and there still was a great affinity between them and more of the show's younger actors who came out for the cause.

But all was not lost, because late-arriving Sean Ringgold (Shawn, OLTL) got added to our lane and the big teddy bear was a barrel of laughs. Had a lot of fun with him, especially when he wound up bowling in the "Lisa" spot on our roster. I must have called him "Lisa" one time too many when he chided, "The name is Shawn-a."

Andrew set up our game with bumpers, which I just rolled my eyes about at the start but benefited from later on. I had my competitive juices flowing (of course!), so I was determined to at least win on our lane.

Since no one else was bowling particularly well, even with bumpers, it started looking good when I picked up spares here and there -- although I never did bowl particularly well on the first ball of the next frame.

Sis was my biggest supporter -- I got pep talks and one massage before I went each time. Except for the time early on when I turned around, only to see her chatting Tina Sloan (Lillian, GL) up! An in-depth discussion on napkins, I believe it was. But a nice surreal moment all the same. And then there was the time Koop walked away, and I finally got a strike!

Jerry also came by the lane at one point and I showed him a picture of when I interviewed him and Kristi Ferrell (Roxie) a couple of decades earlier. His jaw seemed to drop when he looked at it, and we decided to recreate the shot at that moment.

I also "sparred" with Sean -- he looked very humored by belligerence -- and discussed the intricacies of the sport of bowling with another late arrival on the neighboring lane -- Nathaniel Marston (Michael, OLTL and Eddie, ATWT). OK, me and the incredibly well dressed Mr. Marston were just clowning around.

As the game wound down, and bowlers -- both actors and fans continued to disappear at an increasing rate -- it looked like I was going to win. But I didn't take anything for granted. Got a spare on my last ball, giving me a third in the 10th frame -- and Lordy, a non-bumper-assisted strike that Sis saw! And Sean/Shawna too!! My final score was 122, a lot better than when I had feared I might not crack three digits.

Before the "competition" got under way, there also were raffles and prize events, the latter of which you put your own tickets into a bowl only for the items you'd like to win. When I looked at the overall list, there were two main things I wanted -- Debrah Farentino's autographed photo from the prizes and Elvera Roussel's photo from the raffle. I ended up with both!

I got to meet Elvera in the process of bidding and winning her lovely photo. I really liked her as Hope Bauer back when I first started seeing "Guiding Light" many, many moons ago. She seemed really honored that someone would come to the event this much later to see her, so it was all worth it before the bowling even commenced. She also primped me for our picture like a doting mother hen.

I didn't see half of the "GL" actors that I had been hoping to at the event, but I did squeak out a minute with Maeve Kinkeand and Kurt McKinney. I told Maeve how I loved Vanessa for years and years, but then added to Kurt that I primarily know him as the first Ned on "General Hospital" because I do the Sean-Tiffany YouTube channel and he's all over that for a couple years. He got a laugh out of that.

Enjoyed some quality time with Tonja Walker, who has been on several different shows, but again I seem to know best from "GH" as wacko Olivia. She couldn't believe that so many people still love to hate the character this much time later and we commiserated about shows reusing the same names again -- like Olivia and, say, Sean ... Katherine ... etc.

And had another minute with former Emmy winner Gina Tognoni (Dinah, GL and Kelly, OLTL), who just looks so gorgeous and is so sincere that's embarrassing to be in her presence. Just kinda makes you want to go home, crawl into bed and stay there for two days. But that's later in the vacation, stay tuned!