Sandstone Amphitheatre

The Red Voodoo Tour

Just got back from KC this evening, & what an unforgettable Sammy weekend
it’s been!… and I’m so tired, but still pumped from last night’s concert!

We live in Oregon, but had won tix to RockFest via the radio station on the
internet. Eric’s parents live in Kansas, so it was a good excuse to go out
there, visit the in-laws, and have a Mas Tequila Weekend!
We had no problems flying out of Portland to Kansas City. After
spending 2 days with the in-laws… I was SO ready for a night of
Rock-n-Roll & partying Sammy style! Mike Russell posted an excellent review
of the show already, but I’ll elaborate on it some more. 🙂

Mike Russell & his date from Kansas, Deb & Chris Moore from Minnesota, and
Eric & I from Oregon all met up at a nearby pub, where we reminisced about
Cabo, told stories about our great Sammy adventures, shared pictures. Deb
made a “Minnesota” Red Head banner, and I made a “REDHEADS ARE HERE” banner.
Around 7:30, we decide to head to the venue. Mike got hooked up with a VIP
parking pass, so the 6 of us crammed into Eric’s “mom car” (Ford Taurus)
and cruised right into the VIP parking area, just steps away from the back
entrance to the ampitheatre… SWEET! I decided to try & sneak my Kodak
disposable camera in, but wasn’t sure if I could get away with it. I put it
in my bra… hoping no one would notice the square lump in between my
boobs.. lol! They had a male security checking males & a female checking
the girls. The security lady first made me shake out my banner & shirt,
then checked my purse, and made me stretch my arms out while she patted me
down. Luckily, I had my hands full all my stuff, and she didn’t notice the
camera obviously ( I thought) sticking out of from my chest..I was able to
get in with it!

The venue was HUGE! I’d guess about 18,000 people… most of whom were
already drunk, baked, & sunburned.. Rockfest was an all-day event with 13
bands. It had been a warm beautiful day so far. There were bikinis, beer
bellies, tattoos, and everything in between… Quite an ecclectic crowd!
We made our way to the front section, where Mike had only 4 seats in Row 4,
but graciously let Eric & I hang with them. Aren’t REDheads the best!! 🙂

The stage had the outside of the CaboWabo Cantina up as the backdrop for the
stage, and Collective Soul, and I’m assuming the rest of the bands that day,
were playing in front of it. Collective Soul was great. I had seen them
open up for Van Halen on the Balance tour, and they have really come a long
way. They were tight musically, but I couldn’t help being anxious for Sammy
to take the stage.

Finally… Sammy takes the stage, and suddenly a rush of people trying to
get up front. He’s wearing a white Cabo Wabo tank top and shorts. Looking
refreshed & happy.. and Aaaahhh.. that smile!! It just makes ya melt! The
stage setup was so cool! It really does make you wish you were in Cabo.
I’m speculating that his birthday bash this year will have a LOT of first
timers this year. I was wishing I was one of those “smiling happy people”
on stage for awhile… but then again… we were probably just as close to
him as they were, and we got to see the front of him the whole time, and
they were looking at his back most of the time (Not that that’s a *bad*
thing.. haha!)

Sammy noticed my banner a couple of times, and said “RedHeads Rule!” each
time. I held my RedHead shirt up too.. and he pointed at it & smiled at me.
Mona recognized us also, and smiled, pointed & waved a few times. It feels
great knowing you are noticed in a crowd of 18,000!

Anyway, you all know the banner stories by now… it sucked! First off,
Deb, Chris, and I were screaming at the jerkoffs that it’s her banner… she
made it. It has their names on it, for Pete’s sake! What the hell would
someone else want with a banner that has some stranger’s name on it?
Then…. with my banner, we were holding it up on & off during the show.. I
had it in my possession the entire show, and everyone around me knew it was
mine. At the end of the show, we successfully got it on stage. I was
psyched! He held it up, & pointed to us, & blew a kiss. I thought it was
obvious that Sammy was trying to throw it back right to me… but man.. did
we have a tug-o-war on our hands with 2 drunk bastards. They would NOT let
go.. even though there were 6 of screaming “It’s MY banner”. The guy
didn’t even know what a REDHEAD was……. wtf! Eric’s Marine instinct took
over, and he grabbed the guy by the neck.. needless to say, the guy let go
of it REAL quick. But that pissed off his buddy, who jumped the chair and
was getting in Eric’s face after it was all over. I got between the two..
and tried to calm things down, but this guy *really* wanted to fight. Eric
even apologized to get the guy to calm down, and said to just drop it, it’s
over, but to no avail. The guy was reaching over my shoulders to try to
get to Eric. Little did he know that my knee was inches away from his
crotch.. ready to take action if necessary. lol! I was able to pull Eric
away, and try to leave asap.. but again.. they guy caught up to us, and told
us that if Eric ever grabbed his neck again…there would be trouble…
Yeah, right.. like we’re ever gonna see this fart knocker again… So once
again, I detoured Eric away from the drunk, and we faded into the departing
crowd. Thanks to the other REDheads for sticking up for us! Luckily no
one got hurt.. and other than that.. it was a fantastic evening. 🙂

One other thing.. on the way home, we ran into a spectacular Mid West
thunder & lightning storm. It seemed to come out of nowhere! It was so
bad, I couldn’t see the lines in the road & had to slow down to 20 mph on a
70 mph freeway. Ah, the joys of living in the Mid-West! Thank goodness it
waited until AFTER the concert to storm! lol

Thanks to Mike Russell, Deb & Chis Moore for letting us sneak up to 4th row
with them! We owe ya one! And to Sammy & the Waboritas, thank YOU for an
excellent show! We’ll see you again in VEGAS baby!!!

Thanks to Lisa Chandler for the review and Andrew and Amy Boothe
for the set list!