Linda's Air Supply Wabash show review

November 30, 2006

It was really a treat to see two Air Supply shows in
the same month. Still on an Air Supply "high" from the
show November 4 in Aurora, Illinois, we set out for
Wabash, Indiana the morning of November 18. This time
I was joined by my son Brian, my 16 year old daughter
and Ryan. Ryan is the nephew of a good friend and we
recently discovered we both love Air Supply music.
This was his first show and he was really looking
forward to it.

After a four hour drive we arrived at the Holiday Inn
Express in Wabash. I made my way through a bunch of
guys standing in the lobby and registered at the desk.
After registering I realized the bunch of guys was
Jonni and some of the crew. Some of their boxes had
been lost by the airline and they were trying to
figure out what happened. I didn't realize at the
time that they had just gotten in from the airport and
it was already after 4 pm. We had some supper and
headed for the Honeywell Center only to be told that
the band hadn't arrived yet. I told them we had seen
the band at the hotel and the staff seemed quite
relieved that at least they were in town.

The doors didn't open until after 7:30, the time the
show was originally scheduled to start. An
Indianapolis band opened the show at 8 pm and
performed 5 songs. They were ok, but I was glad when
they were finished and the stage was cleared of their
equipment. Brian and I had seats in the second row and
my daughter and Ryan were just a few rows behind us. I
decided ahead of time that I would sit back and enjoy
the first two songs without worrying about taking
pictures. From where we were sitting, there would be
plenty of opportunities to get some good shots.

The first thing I noticed about Russell's voice as he
sang Power of Love was how youthful he sounds. It was
great to be close enough to actually hear his voice
without the amplification of the sound system. All of
the guys were in great spirits and joked and laughed
between songs. Graham sang This Time after telling the
story of how he wrote if for a Russian man who spoke
no English. Graham's Russian accent had the crowd
laughing. There was very little security in the
theater, I saw only a few guards, none were near the
front of the stage. The usual announcement had been
made about no pictures or recording, but, as usual,
the audience was going crazy with the cameras. When
Russell and Graham went into the audience the crowd
was very well behaved. One gal kept trying to catch up
to Russell. When she did, she handed her camera to a
near by security guard and he snapped a picture of the
two of them. Ryan told me that he saw the same guard
singing along with the rest of the audience.

When it came time to go to the foot of the stage,
Brian and I were front and center. The music carried
us away and we were singing at the top of our voices.
Both Russell and Graham stopped to squeeze Brian's
hand and Jonni tossed him a guitar pick. When Russell
sang Good Night the crowd got very quiet. I love it
when that happens, I think it shows respect for the
music and his beautiful voice.

The crowd for the meet and greet was smaller than I
expected. It was not very organized, there seemed to
be two lines, one for Russell and Graham and the other
for Jed, Mike and Jonni. Brian hung out behind the
table with the band and I got pictures of him with the
guys. My daughter's favorite is Jonnie and she was
thrilled when he remembered her from the Aurora show.
I guess he doesn't autograph a lot of cell phones! He
posed with her, making the same goofy face she always
makes. She had me make an extra print and I will be
taking it to the shows in Minneapolis to give to
Jonni.

Russell and Graham were laughing and joking as the
line of people moved past them and at last it was my
turn. They signed a poster I have from their 1995 tour
and I asked if I could get a picture with them.
Russell invited me behind the table and I stood
between them as my daughter snapped the picture.

Back at the hotel, the night manager hastened to tell
us that the band wasn't staying at our hotel (which
appeared to be the only hotel in town). The next
morning, at breakfast, I had the chance to chat with
Moe...yes, they were staying at our hotel. They still
had not located the lost boxes and were hoping to find
them when they got to Laughlin.

Once again, it was great to see the guys, hear the
music and visit with other Airheads. I have to say,
every show it just gets better and better. My only
complaint would be that it's hard to get good pictures
of Mike and Jed on stage. Oh well, just have to take
extras at the meet and greet!

Site Map







© 2003-2007 Webdesign & content - S.Ogle. All rights reserved.