Sorry, I know this was promised last week, but I goofed, and forgot that was the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona trip - the trip which I never make any posts.
So, here it finally is......
Ozzy at the Aragon – Part 2 (or “Arrival of the Corrals”).
So, after a few hours passed, the rain and the snow stopped, even the wind started to die down. Fortunately, that wall we were standing against worked in our favor in that regard. Suddenly, like they just appeared from thin air, where a bunch of big dudes with shirts and jackets that said “Detante” (someone later told me that was like French for Security, or something like that. Not sure if that’s true or not, but hey I believed it then, so I’m going to continue to believe it.) Anyhow, then, just like they magically arrived, so did a whole ton of blue barricades. We were then told to form groups of just about 20 people. We were told “now the line is official – I don’t know who was where, work it out and group up”. So we did. And they put a barricade to our left, and a barricade behind us. Suddenly, I literally felt like cattle. After a few minutes they came back and gave everybody in our corral a cardboard square, which I still have and it’s on display in Cabin 7 Studios, and it had the number 1 on it. I was number one – and 19 other people. Although, corralled off in an alley against a wall behind barricades with “Chicago PD” written on them, I wasn’t sure if I was going into a concert – or reliving an episode of Hill Street Blues. I kept looking for Lt. Hunter.
So, hey, I was number 1.
That obviously meant I was in the right place – and was going to get
some good seats. Now, that was a cool
thought and all – then reality set in, when I realized it was only 12:00 noon –
and the earliest those doors were going to open was 6 hours from now. I’m not sure if the excitement, the sunlight,
the camaraderie, or the layers of clothing were the reason, but by this point,
I don’t really recall being cold any longer.
And this is when we all met “D-MAN”.
Can’t remember his real name any longer, but he actually was featured in
an issue of Chicago Rocker Magazine – which we happened to have on us as
reading material while in line!!! But, I
jumped ahead, didn’t really realize that just yet.
D-MAN then explained the rules – and the rules were quite simple
– and quite absolute. In my mind, I
think I remember his rules word-for-word, but I’m sure these aren’t
exact......or maybe they are.
“This is your corral – you are corral # 1. Everybody in this corral is in corral #
1. I don’t care which one of you is
first or last in the corral, you know each other by now – work it out. I hope you’ll be honest. YOU POLICE THIS CORRAL.” At this point
somebody raised their hand or just spoke up and asked “what if we have to go to
the bathroom”. Reply “That is why we
have corrals, you may come and go as you please – but your friends here are in
charge, you better be nice to them, because they don’t have to let you back
in. So don’t be a dick! If you want to get coffee, get some for
others, if you want to go warm up, don’t spend the next 6 hours in your car and
expect to be let back into this corral.
Get to know each other – they hold your fate.” (Sometimes I think he just said “this is
corral one” and the rest was embellished in my mind over time.
So, for about an hour nobody wanted to leave the
corral. At some point, I remember seeing
people back in corral 5 or 6 passing a gallon jug of something around –
everybody doing a shot out of it. It
eventually made it to corral one. None
of know where it started from or really what was in it. I remember someone saying “it’s anti-freeze”
before taking a gulp. It was brown. And you know what, it was also strong and
definitely warmed up the old tummy for a while!!! That’s the last I remember about the
jug. Now, the exact chronology of events simply
does not exist in my memory, never really did.
I remember that nature eventually won, and I left the corral to use the
washroom, as I’m sure many others did over the next 6 hours. Always got back into pretty much the same
exact spot in the corral. I remember a
group of 4 or 6 leaving from our corral saying they were going to Dunkin Donuts
to warm up – they asked if anybody wanted anything. After some time they each came back with 4
coffees each and passed them out. I
remember my friend and I, finally deciding, and trusting the corral system
enough, to go back to the car and turn on the heat and warm up for a
while. (As odd as this sounds, we played
a game of chess during that time) We
came back and were welcomed right back into the corral no questions asked, and
pretty much in the same exact spot. I
remember people asking us where we went – and we said we went to the car. They asked if they could go warm up in the
car (I believe they were dropped off earlier).
Now after 6-8-10 hours of bonding in rain, wind, snow, and cold – it
seemed like I knew them my whole life.
So, I gave them the keys. I
figured if they stole the car, I’d see it leaving the lot at least. They were gone for who knows how long, came back,
thanked us, brought back some cans of pop from the car for us – and all was
good. I remember the Dio looking guy
still playing lots of Sabbath (not much Ozzy solo) and still “holding court” as
they say, sitting up on that very first barricade. To be honest, I don’t think he ever left the
line. At some point, I remember security
putting out the fire and telling us we couldn’t have that – it was illegal.
Oh, shoot, back to D-MAN.
So, while standing there trying to kill the remaining 6 hours, we opened
the Chicago Rocker Magazine, a pretty popular local music magazine at the
time. And they had a Featured person of
the month – and it was our security guy – D-MAN. So, naturally, we called him over and showed
him the picture (and everybody else) – and asked him to sign the picture. So, yes, down in Cabin 7 Studios is an
autograph of a security guard. Over the
next 5 years, I recall seeing D-MAN at many shows, and he actually remembered
that moment. At some point, that night
he was no longer our security guard, another guard said he was moved indoors to
be the “runner” for the band. So, that’s
cool.
It was about 5:00 and the next lecture came. “You may not take pot, drugs, alcohol,
knives, guns, sharp objects, blah blah blah into the Aragon Ballroom. You WILL BE searched at the entrance. Save time, get rid of it all now. You have 15 minutes, we will then walk this
line, and confiscate anything not returned to your vehicle. If you have beer – drink it up or throw it
out!” And sure enough, 20 minutes
passed, someone in Corral 2 still had a 6 pack, and when 21 minutes passed, the
security guards now had a six pack. To
which they explained they will put in their vehicle and drink after the show. They thanked the offenders.
During all of this, people were still playing cards,
talking, reading, singing, listening to music, drinking, some sleeping
(somehow), eating, etc. 11 hours had no
passed – 5 of which we were in a corral.
But nobody was complaining – nobody at all!!!
Honestly, if the day ended right there, it would still have
been one of my favorite events.
5:30 – and the front barricade comes down and we hear
“SINGLE FILE TO THE DOOR” and we began the half block march to the door. One corral at a time. Probably the most orderly concert or sporting
event entrance I have ever encountered.......until after the security
checkpoint. Oh, and it was a security checkpoint, they weren’t kidding when
they said we would be searched – I think I was violated during that search!!! And then – all sense of calm ended – as
people took off running towards the seating area like they were shot out of a
security cannon! And I remember hearing
– several times – WALK!!!!
Okay – way long for a blog – violating the informal blog
rules on length of an article..........
Next week – Part 3 “OZZY – Live and in person!”
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