Operation: Scotty The Air-Drummer & Mr. 501

Today is the 30th Annual Great American Smoke-Out. I better remember to get a new pack of smokes.

Last night, Uncle Grizzly Adams and I traveled to downtown Nash-vegas to the Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium, to watch a heavy metal concert. I am sure that Capt. Ryman was rolling in his grave last night. Queensryche was performing an almost theatrical rendition of their classic Operation: Mindcrime album and its follow-up.



The evening was gloomy as it had rained almost the entire day but it was clearing & cool and it seemed like the weather would hold up. The Grizz and I had a few brews at Bailey’s Pub since it was only half a block from the venue. We were supposed to have Pops & Michael The Dork (or is it Turd Sandwich) with us but things didn’t work out for them, so we had two extra tickets to pawn off. Once we made it to the courtyard of the former Union Gospel Tabernacle Church, there were several people hanging about; however, it did not seem that anyone was selling or looking to buy tickets. Luckily, as we were about to give up, some guy asked if we knew anyone selling tickets and we were able to get rid of them. He was Scott The Air Drummer. Scott wanted us to “smoke a bowl” (his actual words) with him during the show, but as responsible citizens we declined.



First thing when we got into the building was a mandatory trip to the bathroom. As with any concert, there was a line out the door for the men’s room. Here we encountered “the concert drunk guy”. This guy was already tipsy and having a hard time buttoning up his Levi’s 501 jeans. Mr. 501 would be an interesting side note for the remainder of the evening.



We found our seats and man were they great! We had fourth row balcony and could see the entire stage without obstructions. I am pretty sure that there were only a couple thousand people in the crowd but it sounded like many more.





The band was loud and crystal clear and sounded spectacular. We had a great time rocking out and singing along. The funny part about the first half of the show was that Scott The Air-Drummer, the guy who bought the extra tickets, was doing his thing. He kept talking to Uncle Grizz about how well he knew how to drum on the songs and then demonstrated. He even at one point told him that if he is talking too much to let him know. Of course, he didn’t tell him that he was annoying but that is okay because he didn’t come back from intermission.







These photos didn’t come out very well since I only had The School Girl’s camera phone but you can at least get the idea.

Mr. 501 reared his drunken head throughout the show. Apparently, he was one of the biggest (and drunkest) Queensryche fan in the world. He kept jumping around, standing at the railing and singing out loud. Security had to tell him to get out of the aisle at least 5 times. It amazes me that he got so many chances and stayed through the entire show.



Here security is talking to Mr. 501 for the umpteenth time hoping that he will finally calm down.

After the band played Operation: Mindcrime II all the way through, they left the stage and the whole crowd gave a standing ovation. After about five minutes of clapping and chanting their name, the band came out to a raucous ovation. The band played two more songs while the crowd sang them back to the stage. The entire building was shaking!



Overall, the night was great even though we got caught in the rain as soon as we left the building. I finally got home after midnight and have written this three times through a sleepy haze. I can’t wait to go rocking again really soon. Maybe next time Pops can trek all the way up from Bama for it.