Bad Company

Hit the ground running this morning. I have a lot of work to do, wrapping up the last tour leg. Ran a couple of errands for groceries and such, but the day was mostly spent chained to my dining room table, of which I've now made a gigantic mess! It will only get worse for the next week or so, until I'm caught up to date and the last FedEx packages have been sent to LA and London.

Met one of my childhood guitar heroes tonight – Mick Ralphs, who played in Mott the Hoople until he quit the band to join forces with Paul Rodgers and form Bad Company. Bad Co. played Walnut Creek tonight and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Three original members (Mick, Paul, drummer Simon Kirke), some bass player I didn't know (replacing the late Boz Burrell), and the band was supplemented by Howard Leese (orig. guitarist for Heart) on guitar.

The show was awesome. You would never know that Paul Rodgers was 59 years old – his voice was strong and dead on. Paige went with me and I think she liked it as much as I did. Here's the setlist from the show tonight (courtesy of my buddy Foxy, the band's Tour Manager):

Fuckin' crowd pissed me off. They didn't make enough noise for the band to come back for a second encore, which would have started with "Deal With The Preacher" which is my favorite Bad Co. song.

So, anyway, when we first got to the venue, I parked backstage (thanks Wilson and Shaw) and went to see my friend Cindy, who was doing catering for the gig. We sat and had a bite with her, and Mick Ralphs was sitting a couple of tables away from us with a couple of folks. About 20 minutes later, just before he was gonna leave the room, I walked over and said hello. He was a complete gentleman, and when I told him I planned to attend all five of the Mott the Hoople shows in London during October, he laughed. Not being one to be a pest in situations like this, I thanked him for his time and split. Those five minutes went by way too quickly, but I treasured them.

For sure, that was the highlight of my year so far…