March 10 (1995) was a bitterly cold night in Charlotte, NC. My mom and dad drove me, my sis Robyn, her friend Ashley, and my friend Justin the two hours there, and dropped us off at the Ritz club.

We went to the side of the building where the bus was, while Justin disappeared into the hot and steamy pit inside the club. A group called Catherine opened for Hole, but I didn't care. I brought an early birthday present (some jewelry) to Melissa and a Lion King coulourform set for little Frances. I set them by the door and waited. Eric walked by (you could see in 'cos it was a glass wall/doors) and grabbed some stuff to eat. A little later, he came outside. We exchanged a few words, but he was wisked off into a minivan before any autographs could be gotten. I spent the next 3 hours in the freezing cold waiting for that minivan. Hoping. Praying. It never came.

Us three girls ran across the street to the Holiday Inn they were staying at-no luck there. We met a little girl whose father had been serving room service up to Courtney. Did you know that Courtney likes hamburgers? She also had a lot of coffee and Cokes brought up to her. She had cheese sticks and butter brought up to Frances. Undoubtedly Frances likes to dip her cheese sticks in butter. Well, the little girl had been well taught-not to tell anyone anything. But, after my sis and Ashley ran back to the Ritz she let me "know" where Courtney was.

After another 10-15 minutes of waiting in the freezing cold back at the Ritz, Patty came out. I called her name. She didn't hear!!! She got on the bus. We ran to the bus and the guard said we could wait there till she came out. I turned just in time to see Courtney and Eric walk into the building we had just been waiting in front of!!!!!!!!

We waited, upset that we just missed them. Then, Courtney came out! She looked like she had been crying, so I told Ashley to leave her alone, but Courtney had to prove me wrong. She was really nice and signed some stuff, commented on how cold it was and said "Yeah" when we thanked her. (She's really pretty in real-life)

Eric came out next. He's sooo much better looking in real life than in his pix! He's THE nicest male musician I've ever met. We asked him what was wrong with Courtney, and he said he didn't know there was something wrong. He signed some stuff and sort of apologized for our earlier encounter, then he got back on the bus.

Patty came off the bus and signed some stuff. She's really nice and incredibly cute. She's short, too, (5' 3", maybe)-only an inch taller than myself. She was surprised that I have the Sybil 7" (her last band).

Melissa came out and signed some stuff. She's great. I asked her if she had gotten her early birthday present I sent to her earlier in the night. She said yes and showed me her arm, she had on the bracelet I gave her. But, she was surprised that I knew her birthday. I had read it in Rolling Stone a while back. We FINALLY remembered that we had a camera (duhhhh) and got our pic taken w/ her. We also saw Frances earlier that night. She's sooooo cute. She's a beautiful little girl.

Courtney came back outside and we asked for a pic. She apologized that she had to go in now, but "maybe after the show, ok, kids?".

They were incredible live! Everyone sang along to "Violet", "Miss World", and "Doll Parts". They played some older songs like "Teenage Whore" and "Drown Soda", and a lot of others. On "I Think That I Would Die", Courtney sang "I want some, There is none, I want him, He's all gone". I suppose she meant Kurt. She called Melissa a virgin and Melissa shot back that Courtney was the whore. The crowd "oh"ed. They shot some insults at each other, then Courtney said "Oh Melissa, you remind me so much of myself when I was your age". Sure Courtney was shrewd, but no worse than the other concerts I've been to. She mentioned how she needed to get laid by a Brad Pitt/Ethan Hawke type guy. She had the lights put on the audience, then said she was checking out the gene pool. She did a lot of talking. She did a bit of swigging from a wine bottle on stage, too. At one point she sang out "Freeeeeee birrrrrrdd, yeeaaaahhhhh," but then stopped and answered "There, are you happy now you fucking bitch?". Again the crowd "oh"ed. Patty kicked ass as always. Courtney was great. Eric is MUCH better than he's given credit for. He even held a note for a pretty long time, but no one noticed 'cos they were getting water poured on them by Courtney--she takes care of the pit people. She must have poured over 20 bottles of water on them during the show. Melissa was great too. She sort of blended in like she'd always been there.

We went out when we thought they were done, but I don't think they were. I tapped on the bus window and asked the guy if Frances got her colourforms and did she like them. He answered yeah to both. I leaned in and yelled hi to her. A tiny voice from inside yelled "hiee" back. She's so cute. I went to the side of the bus and looked in. Frances was sitting near the window with headphones on and talking to Stacey (the nanny) and the man that had answered the door. She was precious.

We left after that, as it was we got home at 3:30 AM.

I hate people who go to shows, say they love the band, and know absolutely nothing about them. These two guys were there when we met Patty at the hotel earlier. They told us that all they had left to meet was Courtney, then they glanced at their hands and read, Eric and... Kristen!!! I was horrified!!! I explained what had happened, and they were like "oops". The nerve!!

Call me stupid, but I made me, Robyn and Ashley thank Kristen. I had knelt down in front of two of her pix and prayed the day before that she would help me meet them. That sounds so corny, but what are the odds of meeting all four band members w/ NO ONE else around, seeing Frances, and getting a killer show in one night?! Anyway, thanks again Kristen.
 
 
 

Lynda Davis