CHAPTER 3
CAMBRIDGE
It was a sunny
day as we arrived in Cambridge. Kat and I were early so we wandered into a
Burger King near Numanboy's party. After challenging each other to wear the
cardboard hats for the duration of our lunch, I wandered out to the car for the
maps and directions to find The Middle East club so I would know how to get
there later. As I was fishing through the back seat, Kat shouted out to me from
across the street. "IT'S RIGHT THERE." And I looked up at her, then 2
doors left and there it was. And to think I find street addresses for a living.
We were early,
but not fashionably, for Numanboy's party. In fact, the start time had arrived
and we were the only ones there. Soon, others like us started to pour into this
quaint Irish pub.
Hopey77 was
there, as well as several other familiar faces. Things really picked up when
NAGNFC member Jack Tolman showed up with some Numan items of every kind for any
interested Numanoids. Jack was taking much less than he should have for the
incredible items he made available, but he seemed to be having fun. He's a
great guy! He even set Kat and I up for tickets to the show. Tix were fairly
hard to come by for the Cambridge show as they weren't available over the
Internet, and only available over the phone in rare cases. If it weren't for
Jack, we likely would have missed this one. Thank goodness he had 2 extra tix
he didn't need after all.
The Middle East
is a very tiny basement bar, and yes they served wine. As we waited in line
with our tickets, passersby were exclaiming about the size of the 2 lines. Our
line was full of lucky ticket holders, whilst the other line was for unlucky
wannabe ticket purchasers. At least 100 of them were turned away that night.
Jack, a Boston-area native, was also surprised at the size of the lines. He saw
Julian Cope there recently and just walked in the door, it was nothing like
this.
We walked in
and made our way toward the front as best we could. One could touch the ceiling
and the stage was barely big enough for the instruments. Gary wasn't going to
do much moving around during songs as he is want to do.
Back in school,
they told me that heat rose, but it was hard to believe that night. It must had
been at least 95 degrees down there. Nonetheless, Gary and the audience were as
enthusiastic as ever. And the intimate setting seemed to give the impression it
was a special night indeed. When we left, however, some of us were so hot we
were singing WE ARE GASSED.
Again, Gary
stayed until everyone had a chance to speak to him and get a picture and/or
autograph. While Jack waited in line to speak to Gary, Numanboy, Kat and I went
over to chat with Gemma and take some pics. Numanboy and Gemma were cheek to
cheek when I took a shot of them with his camera. The pic was never taken
however as he was out of film. DOH! Poor Numanboy!
We got another
chance to speak to Gary. Kat hugged him which seemed to make Gary very happy as
per his expression, and when Numanboy and I said hi, Gary said "This is
getting to be a habit" and laughed. On that note, we thanked Jack
profusely for everything and parted ways.
That night, Kat
and I made our way to the first rest stop on the Massachusetts Pike. I played
pinball and waited for her to, well you know. We were the only ones there. Just
us and the all night Burger King employees, or so I thought.
I heard a noise
and turned around, to see Gary! I smiled at him. The next time I looked it was
just Beryl and me in the room. She was desperately seeking her son and I
pointed her in the right direction. Shortly thereafter, I got the chance to
talk to Beryl and Tony as they waited in line for Burger King there at the rest
stop. I told them about the NAGNFC but they already knew of it. I was brief as
it was very late, but it was a thrill that charged me for the 9-hour jaunt to
Washington, DC…