One concert ticket: €27
Two hot dogs for the road crew: €5,50
Shaking hands/talking/taking photographs with your favourite artist (who also happens to be THE ultimate guitar GOD): PRICELESS!

Dear diary,
Last Wednesday -December the 8th- I went to see Paul Gilbert, probably the most versatile guitarist in the world and certainly #1 in my preferences.
Despite the fact it was the second time of seeing him live, I still had that overwhelming feeling of anticipation and was literally counting the days off.
Upon my arrival at the venue, my mind was set solely on one thing:
I needed to find the perfect spot to watch and shoot a few pictures, undistracted if possible.
So, I rushed down the steps paying no attention to what was going on around, a decision I would regret at the end of the night…
Half an hour later the band appeared on stage, the waiting was finally over.
As expected, Paul drew most of the audience’s attention.
Most fans (myself included) had their eyes locked on the Ibanez fretboard or more precisely his frantically moving fingers 😉
You’d thought a second guitarist would be unnecessary for the case but Tony Spinner, whose name I must admit hadn’t heard before, proved to be quite a player and arguably added a special touch.
A worthy sidekick indeed.
The show lasted for approximately two hours -two hours of sheer joy- during which we heard songs from Gilbert’s entire career (solo albums, Racer X, Mr. Big, a couple tracks off of the “United States” album with Freddy Nelson) as well as some classic covers.
Forgive me, the exact order escapes me at the moment.
I’ll suffice to say it was an excellent blend although I would have liked to see more of his own material in the setlist…

So, the gig comes to an end, the band takes a bow, the crowd is cheering and I’m thinking “Great show, now if I could just get an autograph and some pictures with them…”
Alas, it was never meant to be.
My friend notices the band leaving in a hurry (normally they would go backstage), an indication they won’t be staying to meet & greet the fans.
We decide to stick around nevertheless.
But things don’t look very optimistic, half an hour has passed and the road crew has already started loading the equipment in the vans outside the club.
Then a member of the staff informs us that the band went straight to the hotel and won’t be coming back after all.
Bummer! Nothing more to do here, let’s call it a night.
Yes, but can we go home without first discussing every detail about the show we’ve just seen?
Definitely NOT. We decide to take our time and walk back rather than call a cab.
We had only been walking for 10 minutes or less, when we came across a rather big bus at a (other than that empty) parking lot.
My friend Chris turns to me and says: “I bet THIS is Paul Gilbert’s Tour Bus! Just wait and see…”
It made sense being in close proximity to both the club and the 2 major hotels most Rock/Metal bands are usually staying.
But still, how can we be sure? The windows are tinted, we can’t see through…

Well, we didn’t need to. Minutes later those vans we’ve seen earlier arrive and park next to the bus.
“It’s Paul Gilbert’s Tour Bus alright, what’s next?”
We’re in a few feet distance and the light is dim. There’s no sign of the musicians, just the crew transferring the gear.
“Oh, just go and ask them. What have you got to lose?”
“Be that as it may, isn’t it kind of rude? They may be resting and don’t wish to be disturbed.”
At that point some other fan appears, asking if we saw Paul Gilbert while we were waiting.
Unlike me he has no reservations, so in the end we merely ask one of the road crew about their schedule.
The guy is totally cool and seems to understand how strong we feel about meeting the band.
Permission granted. It shouldn’t take long before the members check out of the hotel and return to the bus.

Now, while chatting about the gig with our new acquaintance, he mentions something about T-shirts.
“T-shirts, what T-shirts? I didn’t see any merchandise at all at the venue”
“Well, I don’t about you but I got one for myself” says and shows it to me.
“WTF? How did I miss it?” Shit! I remember now. I remember that as soon as I found the ideal spot to watch, I didn’t move an inch. Not until the show was over”
“The bench must have been on the other side. Do you think I can get one NOW? How much it cost?”
“€15”
“OK, let me check my wallet. Let’s see. €10 in notes and about 3 more in coins. Shit! I only took enough for the taxi. Did it have to be TODAY?”
“Hey Chris, can you lend me…”
Before I finished my sentence I saw the same guy who answered our questions earlier was coming towards me.
“Great, just great. What do I do now, ask for a discount? I must look like a real jerk.”
Fortunately, he had different plans:
He offered us the T-shirt (I’m telling you, it doesn’t get any cooler than this) AND a copy of the “Get out of my yard” CD in exchange for 2 hot dogs!
Apparently, they were hungry 😛
Needless to say the food cost a lot less. I kept the T-shirt, the other guy kept the CD (I own the Japanese pressing so I wasn’t interested; had it been something rare say that limited edition EP “Tough Eskimo” which I can’t seem to find no matter where I look, I would have fought tooth and nail :P)

The next 20 minutes flew by as we discussed various topics, all music related of course.
Finally, at 2am the band arrived evidently tired – you could tell from their faces all they wanted was to get some rest.
We shook hands with Craig Martini then kindly asked Paul if it would be OK to take a few shots with him and sign the tickets/posters/CD booklets/record sleeves (hey, at least there were no instruments involved!) we had.
And so he did, without the slightest complaint. Very polite and down to earth person.
Before saying goodnight, I asked for one last favour:
I realize the vast majority of fans would go crazy for a Mr. Big concert (they made it clear throughout the show) but I happen to prefer Racer X.
“Next time you visit Athens, I hope Scott Travis, Juan Alderete and Jeff Martin are with you”

Paul Gilbert at Wikipedia
“Acoustic Samurai” at RateYourMusic
“Acoustic Samurai” at Discogs

Record Label: Bat Girl Records/Universal Music Japan
Catalogue Number: UICE-9009
UPC: 4988005343444
Rights Society: JASRAC [Japan]
Mastering SID Code: IFPI L235
Matrix/Runout: UICE-9009 1R V
Mould SID Code: IFPI 4011

Tracklist:
01. Potato head [2:07]
02. Dancing Queen [3:31]
03. I like Rock [2:19]
04. Down to Mexico [4:58]
05. Suicide lover [3:40]
06. I am Satan [3:02]
07. Individually twisted [4:11]
08. Bliss [5:34]
09. Time to let you go [3:14]
10. I’m not afraid of the police [3:48]
11. Three times Rana [4:43]
12. The second loudest guitar in the world [2:05]
13. Scarified [3:42]
14. Heaven in ’74 [3:52]
15. Maybe I’ll die tomorrow [4:00]
16. Always for Alison [3:21]
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
*Legal Disclaimer*

FLAC CD-rip nfo
Mirrors:
FLAC level 8 | v1.2.1 [Filefactory.com]
FLAC level 8 | v1.2.1 [Fileserve.com]
FLAC level 8 | v1.2.1 [iFile.it]
FLAC level 8 | v1.2.1 [Mega.co.nz]
FLAC level 8 | v1.2.1 [Megaupload.com]
FLAC level 8 | v1.2.1 [Rapidshare.com]
FLAC level 8 | v1.2.1 [Solidfiles.com] ✔ [02/07/2015]
FLAC level 8 | v1.2.1 [Uptobox.com] ✔ [02/07/2015]

Show Checksums »

 
mp3 CD-rip nfo
Mirrors:
mp3 VBR V0 | LAME v3.98.4 [Filefactory.com]
mp3 VBR V0 | LAME v3.98.4 [iFile.it]
mp3 VBR V0 | LAME v3.98.4 [Mega.co.nz]
mp3 VBR V0 | LAME v3.98.4 [Megaupload.com]
mp3 VBR V0 | LAME v3.98.4 [Rapidshare.com]
mp3 VBR V0 | LAME v3.98.4 [Solidfiles.com] ✔ [05/02/2013]

Show Checksums »

 
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
 
Photos from the gig by yours truly 😉

Have you ever heard the expression “Good things happen to those who wait”?
Well, now we’ve got proof.