The Incorrigible Night Owl

A few footnotes from the trip:
1) I am a freak. No, really. If you haven’t figured it out already from all the entries filed under this category this will do it for you. Read on.
2) I bought a bootleg CD of unreleased material and I cried….yes, CRIED…over the stereo version of “I Should’ve Known Better” the first time I listened to it. In my defense, it really sounds so much better than the mono version, which is the only version I’d heard up till now. John’s voice is so vibrant on this version I almost feel like I could reach out and touch it. And I can hear his little intake of breath before he sings each line which, for some reason, rips my heart out. With it being in stereo the vocal track is dead center when I listen to it on the headphones and it’s like his voice is inside my head instead of just going in my ears from the sides. (I know that sounds weird but anyone who has listened to a really good stereo mix of a song on headphones will know what I’m talking about.)
3) 50 bands/artists performed at Abbey Road on the River this year. I did not see all of them but I saw/heard a good many of them. And, after all of that, my absolute favorite is STILL 1964: the Tribute — whom I had seen three times already before seeing them at AROTR. They are just superior to anyone else I’ve seen so far. I look forward to seeing them again when they come back to OU (as they do every year).
4) On the subject of 1964: I am fascinated by the “John” in the group. It’s not so much that he looks like John as he acts like John. He has John’s mannerisms and speech patterns down pat. The other guys in the other tribute bands that I’ve seen come across as trying too hard. It’s them doing a John Lennon impression. The 1964 guy seems natural when he’s doing it. I usually end up spending 3/4 of the concert just staring at him because he seems like he’s channeling John.
5) When one is traveling and is tempted into buying two new (enormous and hard-bound) atlases from Borders’ markdown shelves, one should also take into consideration the considerable weight of said atlases and whether or not this will put one’s luggage over the checked-baggage weight limit when returning home. Because, you know, it would totally nullify any savings one had secured if one had to pay an extra $25 to get the frigging bag on the plane. I’m just saying.
6) Ooh, just checked 1964′s website and they’ll be playing in Tulsa at the end of July and Ft. Worth at the beginning of August. Also they already have their dates for Norman scheduled for January ’06 — three nights in a row! Robert had better be prepared to come up with quite a bit of ticket money.