Queen: Detailed

A few weeks back I saw Bohemian Rhapsody, the chronicle of the band Queen leading up to their 1985 Live Aid appearance. 

And, yes, it was rather the mess. Timeline issues, missing information, fabricated biographical moments, more.

Still, it was enjoyable and entertaining. And, as a life-long Queen fan, that's all I was looking for. I went into it with the mindset of it being nothing more than a popcorn flick; I wasn't going to get bogged down with details. And guess what? It worked out for me just fine. 

Now, I've had the good fortune of seeing Queen live, 38 years ago to be exact on July 12th, 1980 at The Forum in Inglewood, California during their "The Game" tour. 

One of the most memorable moments of that concert was when Freddie Mercury took the stage atop Darth Vader's shoulders. Yes ... Queen's frontman atop one of the most evil dark lords of The Sith ever. And in a Flash Gordon T-shirt, no less. (1980 was the same year they recorded the titular soundtrack.) It was a cheer-worthy instant during the show, one of the many highlights of my long, long concert-going career. 

I've spoken of it many times with many people wondering if it ever really happened at all. 

It did. I know it did because I was there.

And now? I have proof:

Yep, someone posted a photo of that long-ago moment just as I remembered it. In this day and age of the internet and the prevalence of photoshopped images up the wazoo, one might doubt the validity of such an image. And I can completely understand that ...

But, again, I was there and I witnessed it first-hand.

It's nice to put a picture alongside the memory ...

And, hey! Bonus! Here's the setlist for that night!

Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley cover)
We Will Rock You (Fast)
Let Me Entertain You
Need Your Loving Tonight
Play the Game
Mustapha
Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to…)
Killer Queen
I'm in Love With My Car
Somebody to Love
Get Down, Make Love
You're My Best Friend
Save Me
Now I'm Here
Fat Bottomed Girls
Love of My Life
Keep Yourself Alive
Drum Solo
Guitar Solo
Brighton Rock (Outro)
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Bohemian Rhapsody
Tie Your Mother Down

Encore:

Sheer Heart Attack
We Will Rock You
We Are the Champions
God Save the Queen (Thomas Augustine Arne cover)

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Yes, I Had A Moment With Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher

October 21, 1956 - December 27, 2016

Years and years and years ago at San Diego Comic-Con I was walking about the main floor and, lo and behold, there is Carrie Fisher at a booth cheerfully greeting and autographing items for fans.

I dropped any plans I had and immediately got in line to meet her.

As a life long Star Wars fan having seen the original film in Hollywood its opening day, Fisher has always been a crush of mine. Through all the Star Wars films, her cameo in The Blues Brothers, co-starring in When Harry Met Sally and more. This was one of the first opportunities I'd ever had to meet her face to face. So I marched to the back of a lengthy line of people to chat her up. I discovered the wait time was in excess of an hour but that didn't matter to me: This was Carrie Fisher! Princess Leia Organa herself! I was every bit the excited fanboy as I anxiously did my time in line.

As the line snaked along, she looked up on occasion at the crowds around her. During one such peek, I caught her eye. Or at least it appeared I had. She did a double take when she saw me and I knew in that instant there was no doubt we had made eye contact! I felt my stomach do a flip and I steeled myself to appear aloof yet interested as she looked my way. And then it was back to the business of the fans before her.

But for the next 45 minutes, she continuously gazed at me, sometimes craning her neck to see where I was. The across-the-room confidence I figured I'd better start showing might have done the trick, I thought. But with her obvious stares towards me every few minutes, I began to get nervous. And soon it got a little uncomfortable.

Why was she looking at me so intently I wondered? Was there someone behind me she noticed and I simply misread her interest? I checked at one point and turned when she looked once again but, when I swung back around, there was no doubt she was looking directly at me.

I had to get to the bottom of this. The next time we made eye contact I pointed at myself and mouthed "Me?" to her. I saw her smile and nod imperceptibly. I remember I began perspiring right then and there.

Minute by minute I moved nearer and nearer to where she was sitting, shaking folks hands and smiling and talking. As I got even closer I noticed the looks she was giving me became less and less frequent. Something was up, something unknown to me. This silent awareness was going to my head and I was mere minutes from finding out what it was all about.

She looked over at me one final time - I was a dozen or so people from her - and she concentrated on everyone before me. No more looks came my way. But you could see it in her demeanor; there was some kind of electricity in the air between the two of us and I was caught up in it, trying to control my excitement. For all I knew she was focusing on doing the same.

I gave the guy in front of me space to make his acquaintance with her before it was my turn. I was patient, unassuming and pressuring myself with an overall calm, hoping my elation wasn't showing.

Then, the guy moved away and I sauntered up to Carrie.

She kept her head down as I approached, waiting until I was directly in front of her. I saw her snap the cover of a Sharpie back onto the pen she had in her lap then slowly look up at me, a huge grin on her face, her eyes wide.

She looked at me for a moment, smiling ear to ear. Then she spoke: "Bruce! What are you doing here ... ??!?"

Naturally, I stumbled at her question. I smiled back at her and confessed: "Uhm ... I'm sorry, I'm not Bruce ..."

"You're not?!?" she blurted, somewhat taken aback.

I recognized the opportunity and jumped on it. "Would you like me to be?" I offered.

She was obviously embarrassed. She blushed, laughed and apologized. "All this time, seeing you standing in line, I thought you were an old acquaintance of mine I haven't seen in years. You look exactly like him. I'm sorry I was staring at you all this time ..."

"Not a problem ... and no apology necessary," I said. "Your looks were somewhat disarming but in a rather agreeable and exciting way."

I told her my name and talked to her a few minutes. Not long afterward she pulled out a color glossy of herself as Princess Leia in slave garb. "Well, I have to sign this 'with love' to you for my embarrassing behavior," she told me.

I didn't argue.

Thank you for the wonderful memory, Carrie. Rest in peace.

Star Wars Memory

With the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens teasing us at the end of the week, naturally lots of Star Wars memories crop up.

As the dutiful father (and yes, for self-serving reasons as well), I made certain my son was caught up on the original Star Wars trilogy (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi) prior to hitting the theaters for the new film in the series, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace,  in the spring of 1999.

11 years old at the time, his favorite character in the film was the villain Darth Maul, better known as "the pokey guy."

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Mars' Status Has Not Changed

Channel surfing one morning, the daughter asked a question of her father.

"Dad ... which Star Wars is this?"

The Dad came out of the kitchen and gave the program a quick glance. Dark, grimy Jawas were lining up droids in the middle of a glaring desert on the planet Tatooine.

"It's Episode 4," The Dad replied to the daughter.

The Mom overheard, came in, saw what was on television and recognized it. "No! It's #1! Star Wars is #1!"

"Well," The Dad explained, "It would be in the original layout when the films first came out. But, with the prequels in the mix, the very first Star Wars film from 1977 is considered Episode 4".

"No! No, it is not! In my world - where Mars is still a planet - the original Star Wars is still the first one ..."

The Dad gave The Mom a bit of a look: "Uh .... Dear ... in my world, as well, Mars is still a planet ..."

The Mom corrected herself. "You know what I meant. Pluto, not Mars!"

The Dad asked: "Coumadin, right?"

They both laughed .....


(With the exception of Interplanet Janet, the names, conversations - if they do indeed exist - and verbiage above may or may not have taken place.)

..................... Ruprecht ( STOP )