Later I hear the story about the show at the Arena the previous night. At the same point - before playing 17 Again, Annie says, "You may not know who we are, well... this is David Allen Stewart," looking at Dave, then, "Dave, you tell them who I am." Dave grabs the mic and goes, "Yeah, I've been trying to figure that out for 20 years." As the show finishes, Annie and Dave wave to some people in the audience. Clearly, there are a lot of friends there that night.
I have a look at my backstage "Aftershow" ticket and don't at all know what to expect. I never tried a thing like that before. I tell myself it's probably nothing special, I certainly don't expect to walk into a room with Annie and Dave playing a private acoustic set to the guests or something like that, but I´m hoping that maybe I´ll get to talk to some people, some other fans like me perhaps.
Instead I walk into this basement room that's supposed to be a bar, crammed full of people. I don't fit in at all. Either everyone is part of some circle of friends or they are wannabes hoping to make contacts. At least that's how it seems to me. It's like a waiting room for some other more important area closer to the stars. All the "access all areas" people walk by heading for that closed area. Some fans seem to succeed in asking for passes and are lead out the door. I am too shy and I feel very uncomfortable, when later I try to do the same. No luck. I have a drink and decide to go home. I wonder a bit about what goes on in the head of a fan like me. Why would I want to beg for a pass? Why would I like to meet Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart anyway? To brag about it to friends? To tell D & A that I love their music? How could I ever tell them something they haven't heard hundreds of times before? I admit to myself that I just want them to know I exist, and that thousands of people feel the same way about their idols and that it's OK as long as I don't humiliate myself by begging for anything.
