5:20 am, August 19, 1996
Here's the situation -- we just saw The Cure tonight in Phoenix and Jon persuaded us to head to the newly-added Albuquerque show. Jon also persuaded us to take him to the hotel where the band was staying and he wrote a note to Roger asking to be included on the guestlist [Note: Loren and I contend to this day that if I had written the note instead -- being a female -- this would have proven more successful]. I'm my usual doubtful self regarding the likelihood of success but it could happen.
So here we are -- Loren, Jon, Gibby (who really should be starting school today) [Note: High school, Gibby dropped out and was allowed to go back and try his senior year again with some restrictions, such as he actually show up on the first day. He told us about this when we were well on the road, by the way.], me and Mr. Chicken -- on the road to Albuquerque. This time we chose to avoid Route 66, the path we took when we went to Denver last month.
6:00 am
Outside of Payson, a building continues to prominently display a "Buchanan for President" placard despite the Republican convention's decision only days ago.
1:00 pm. -- Albuquerque
Well, we're finally here and I'm in a bad mood. I can't sleep, Jon starts driving like a maniac behind a police car and Gibby keeps puttin in CDs, fliping through every song, before listening all the way through to only one track and then changing the CD! I'm writing this in a weird position as Jon drives over what must be the crappiest streets ever.
Now we're looking for the arena or something... but, see, Gibby is supposed to pawn some stuff of his [Note: He didn't bring any money, but he did have a crossbow on him] and we see this pawn shop, but Gibby doesn't want to go in there yet, he just wants to "hang." Judging from my notes on Albuquerque from our last time here, there's not many places to hang.
2:30 pm
No pawn shops we've visited want the stupid crossbow and our only map of the city is a fucking cartoon map where the only "landmarks" listed are those paid for by the sponsors! My head hurts. I just know this wasn't a good idea.
What really annoys me is how Gibby really invited himself along. Jon pointed out that you can't really say "No," but of course you can. Especially when he's ditching his first day of school.
3:45 pm, still in goddamned Albuquerque
Gibby finally sold the crossbow for like $35... we stopped at a Walgreens so Jon could get some eyeliner. Loren and I got in an argument and he wound up throwing a bag of Combos at me but they flew past me through the window and hit a guy in the car next to us.
Anyhow, we're here.
[What happened next: The arena where the Cure was playing had us stand in long lines, divided by sex, and patted us all down before letting us in. Even sharpened pencils were forbidden. I was unaware that, unlike our previous shows, there weren't any seats here. As I pretty much guessed, Jon wasn't on the guestlist. The three of us bought our tickets (while Gibby decided to go off and do something else), walked across the empty floor to the very front, near the stage.
When the show started, I realized I had picked a bad place to stand! Within seconds, I was shoved to the very front by the audience. I had two giant, stinky crystal meth users rubbing up on either side of me. After a few songs, I felt like I was going to pass out and had myself lifted over the fence by security. Unfortunately, my shoes didn't go with me.
The show seemed to go for a really long time, as all Cure shows do. During that time, as I sat on the floor by the stage and watched others get airlifted from the big sweaty crowd, I began to think about my relationship and got really mad at Loren. It entailed more than this trip, but I won't go into all of the gorey details. This anger flared up when somebody in the stands above me spilled a beer all over me. When Loren finally approached me after the show, completely drenched from head to toe in sweat, I told him I couldn't be with someone who loved The Cure more than me.
Gibby was waiting for us on the hood of the car, with a New Mexico souvenir t-shirt he'd bought. What followed was a long, quiet drive home that night, I talked to Jon a lot and Loren not at all. We made up a day later.]
