On Saturday July 11 1998, my friend Tracy and I went to the heart of Central Park to see a free concert show that featured David Poe, Mark Eitzel (formerly from the Kinks), and of course, Miss Lisa Loeb, most famous for her song "Stay" that was featured in the movie "Reality Bites". Loeb has a new album out called "Firecracker" and her new singles "I do" and "Let's forget about it" have had plenty of airplay on the radio. The show was part of a series of free concerts in Central Park known Summerstage; it runs through most of the summer.
We arrived at 1:30 p.m. for the 3:00 o' clock program and managed to get front row, near-center in this mostly seated arena. It was a beautiful day with no humidity, sunny with the occasional breeze gusting through.
At 3:00 p.m. David Poe took the stage with his bassist and drummer. I had seen Poe previously when he opened for Shawn Colvin in Irving Plaza this past March 19th. He was great that day, and he seemed like a really cool guy. Unfortunately his first Central park Performance didn't go as planned. He had two broken strings during his performance and lost much momentum. He kept his cool and even joked and laughed at himself, stating this was one of the great nightmares of any performer. Despite this tragedy Poe's performance during the songs "Star", "California", and the first single from his self titled album, "Broken Glass Fall" were top notch and very enjoyable.
After the set Poe had an autograph session at the HMV music booth, and he was very nice and outgoing to each person who stepped up for an autograph. I spoke to him and told him that I had previously seen him at Irving Plaza and that Poe had actually given my friend the set list to hold out for him to see. I then asked a very weird request which he did with joy: I asked him to sign my yearbook in the music section. He drew a sketch of a guitar and amp and signed "David Poe- July 11 1998: Prof. Of Broken Strings". Poe's humor and good nature is definetly an admirable trait that will help Poe succeed in the music business in the future. And it doesn't help that his album is great as well.
At 4:00 p.m., Mark Eitzel, formerly a member of the band The Kinks performed. He was accompanied by a percussionist and a man who performed with what seemed like an electic guitar that was placed horizontal and remained in some sort of guitar case. While I am not at all familiar with Eitzel's music, I found his performance very passionate and his songs diverse. The music and lyrics were not my type of music, though they were interesting to hear.
Finally the main event at 5:00 p.m. as Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories took the stage. The set list is as follows, as brought to you by a sweet heart of a gal, Tracy Reilly, who managed to snag a set list at the end of the performance! (hehehe…):
1. Furious Rose
2. Taffy
3. Truthfully
4. Its Over
5. Lets Forget About It
6. Do You Sleep
7. Snow Day
8. Sandalwood
9. This
10. Stay
11. Jake
12. Falling In Love
13. Wishing Heart
14. I Do
END OF SET
1. Hurricane
2. Guessing Game (which must be a new song because it's not on either of her albums, but she did play it at Tramps)
A violin/string section accompanied Lisa and Nine Stories with the songs "Furious Rose", "Truthfully", "Snow Day" "Its Over", "Jake", "Falling In Love", "Wishing Heart", and "Hurricane". Lisa's performance was a mix of her first album "Tails", "Firecracker", and her b-sides. In between the songs, Lisa conversed with the audience about some Cotton Candy she had purchased before the show; she later ate some and threw another package to a fan who correctly guessed the next song she was going to play in the set. She talked about her appearance on Regis and Kathie Lee this Monday (July 13th, more about that later)and when she saw a bunch of fans who were sitting in the rear of the arena waving to her she told us about her own concert experiences, going to concerts in darkly lit venues and waving to bands who wouldn't be able to see her [but dammit she waved anyway!]. It was an awesome performance overall, Lisa and Nine Stories were incredible at a show that they weren't even getting paid for! "Taffy", "Truthfully", and "Let's Forget About it" were breakout performances and a delight to hear. Mainstays like "Stay" and "Do you Sleep" were incredible as always. Truly a great performance.
After the show, Lisa held an autograpgh session just like Poe and Eitzel previously had done. The lines were massive and after a while it was announced that Lisa had an interview to do and the session would end at 7. It was 6:52. Just as we were approaching within 5 feet of Lisa, Her manager cut us off and told us no more autographs! Tracy and I were angry , mad as hell and bent on revenge! We'd show them! We'd go to the Regis and Kathie Lee show on Monday morning and meet her there!
…and that's exactly what we did! Tracy and I met up on Monday morning hopped a train to Manhattan and the ABC studios and waited for Lisa to finish her performance. Tracy got everything she wanted signed, which included a sticker, the back pictures of the "I DO" and"Let's forget About it" CD singles and a flat (promotional square sized picture of the album cover). Tracy gave her a letter and a stuffed dog as a gift, and took a picture with her. Lisa was completely nice about it. Lisa signed a sticker for me… and my yearbook!!! HAHAHA!!! I NOW HAVE THE MOST COOLEST HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK OF ALL THE SENIORS FROM MIDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL!
HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Now that's a good ending!!!