Meeting..Simple..Minds/
Vancouver..in..the..80's
We are going back in time;
I was fresh out of school and was
working as a front desk clerk in a hotel, that was
close to a main concert hall in Vancouver. When I went to work that
day (on a 16:00 to midnight shift) I was told that the Simple Minds
were there, being the hotel's guests. Of course, I was glad, because
I was going to the concert, the following evening.
At some point, they came around the reception and I welcomed them, saying of course a compliment or two about their music,
adding that I was going to their show the next day and that was that.
But later on, as one of the band members was in the lobby, making an extenderd overseas phonecall, it was obvious to me, that it was hard for them to be on tour, missing and being missed by their loved ones. It felt strange all of a sudden, that the next day, we would all go with our friends to their concert to have fun and in the meantime the band was "caged" and lonely in a hotel, in a city they had never been before.
So, as two of the musicians walked by the front desk, I said:
"Excuse me, do you know anybody in the city"? They replied "no",
so I added: " After I finish work, I am going to a club, would you
like to come with me?" They looked at each other and dicided that yes,
they would like to. So, after midnight, I collected them, their manager
and a roadie including, and took them to "Luv A' fair", a cool club of
the times and the evening begun.
My friends in the club were more exited to see me than usual, but of
course that was because of my special guests. We had a great evening
in the club and I lost completely track of the band, as my friends
were all around me, buying me drinks and dancing and the Simple Minds
gang were "kiddnaped" by my trendy, smilling friends (...:-)girls of course).
Apparently, the girls took them into their cars and drove them around town and up to Whisler, for a great mountain view.
The next day, at the hotel, they thanked me enough times and their
manager got my name for the guest list and offered entrance
stickers for me and friends to go to the soundcheck. The concert was
great, because a good part of the audience was partying with them the
night before and that had created a bonding atmosphere between the
crowd and the stage. They were excited all through performing and
thanked Vancouver for the wonderful time they had, promising to come
back - and so they did, within a year....
