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| STA and A Lucky Friday 13th... By Mary Snyder
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I'm going to attempt to summarize the events of my lucky Friday, August 13, at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA... Philip and I arrived at the Variety Playhouse early (around 4:30 pm), and just sat in the car plotting how we were going to talk to Pat. As we sat talking, Philip said, "Hey, there's Pat right there!" (they were just pulling into the parking lot). I grabbed the door handle and bolted! Philip got to him first and explained who we were and that I was a huge fan and that we came from Charlotte, NC to see them play. He smiled so warmly at me, I was just thrilled. I handed him the gift I brought with me (an 8x10 frame with pictures of Pat and me from previous shows). I told him he was the reason I was learning to play bass, and he said that was very cool. He said he really appreciated it and asked if we wanted to come in on their soundcheck. We said we'd love that (of course), and he said he'd come out and get us as soon as it was time for the soundcheck. |
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He came back out a little later to get us to come in for the soundcheck, but the owner wouldn't let Philip and me in. Pat got a little ticked off and said, "Just for the soundcheck?!", but the guy was adamant and wouldn't do it. We told Pat that was fine and that we didn't want to cause any problems, so we just waited for the front doors to open, so we could get in. We got in around 7:00 and went straight to the front of the stage (Pat's side), and they began playing at 7:10. They were great! We got some really great shots of them playing. Because this was a showcase event for new bands (and there were seven playing this night), they were only allotted enough time for six or seven songs...it went way too fast. But they sounded good, they were fun to watch...they ROCKED!  After the show, they had to pack up all the equipment themselves
(Pat said, "like the old days"). As they went back on stage to get their
equipment, I went up to each one and told them how awesome they were and that we really
enjoyed the show. They were all super nice and said they'd be around after they
packed up their stuff. When they came back in, I gave Pat a big hug and told him I
had so much fun and that they were just wonderful. We both agreed their time on
stage was too short. We all went to the bar, and Pat gave me a pic and signed
it. We took pictures there with everyone. They seemed to really appreciate the
fact that we drove so far to see them. They were very accommodating and friendly
with us. I showed them l your messages and got them all to sign some things for
me. When Pete was signing some things for me, he asked me to hold his beer and I
said "sure". After he was finished signing, I said "thanks" and
started to walk away (accidentally still holding his beer), and he said,
"Uh-huh! I see how you are!" And he reached over my head (I'm short)
and grabbed the beer out of my hand! It was very funny.
Philip explained that it was getting late, and we had a
long drive ahead of us, so they thanked us again for driving 5 hours to see them play for
30 minutes. Jason even tapped someone on the shoulder and said, "They came all
the way from Charlotte to see us." I hugged Pat goodbye and thanked him for
EVERYTHING, and that was that.
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We went back to our car to wait (and have a little wine...I had a
bad case of the shakes!). We saw Pat come back out with the gift I gave him and put
it in his car, then he came over to us again and said, "What's that...a nice bottle
of wine?" and Philip said, "I thought Mary needed to calm down just a
bit." Pat laughed. We told him we'd brought some things for him to sign
and some messages from other fans. Philip got out of the car and said Pat could get
in the air conditioning and sit with me to sign the items if he had the time to do
it. Pat said that was fine and got in the car with me! I kept looking at him
thinking, "I cannot believe I'm sitting in the car with Pat!" He signed
both of my scrapbooks (in one he wrote, "Thanks for the bass lessons!" ).
Then we took a few pics outside, and he had to go back in the club. 
