I became slightly, um, fixated on the shiny shoes. Not because they were shiny, so much, but because they were a particular shade of tan. An unusual tan. Rarely seen in nature, let alone fashion. And yet somehow, the tan of his shoes matched the tan of his belt perfectly. And both were shiny. Impressive, to say the least. I mean, most of us would avoid buying the shoes, knowing we'd never find a belt to match. But he forged ahead. And for it, we were all rewarded handsomely.

Glug, glug, glug. Thank you, sir. May I have another?

Later, I turned my attention to John D's hand. He was playing guitar, and his hand was moving all fast. Like, cheetah-fast. It was the fastest guitar-playing I'd ever seen. I watched, not blinking, and eventually, I believe I said to Tim, "Look at his hand! It's all... blurry."

Lesson learned: A night that starts backstage, ends with the bottle.

end