My Evening with the Bouncing Lemonheads

It's the Spring of 1997. I'm a sophomore in college. My roommates are all gone for the weekend and I'm totally bored out of my mind.

Kristy calls me in the early afternoon on Saturday, asking what I'm doing that night. I had not yet decided, because no one was home. She told me that her friend who worked for the college newspaper had extra tickets to a concert that night in Detroit, and had I ever heard of the Lemonheads? Of course! I had loved them all through high school and one of my roommates was borderline obsessed with Evan Dando. I agree to go and a few hours later, four of us are on our way to Detroit, singing our hearts out.

The show was being held up at St. Andrew's Hall. While we were waiting for the show to begin upstairs, our world was being shaken by the rap battles going on downstairs. (To this day, I still wonder if Eminem was down there!) We're waiting and waiting for the show to begin. I decide that I'm going to check out the tour merchandise and possibly buy something for my roommate. I knew she was going to kill me when she found out I had gone to a Lemonheads show. I'm trying to make up my mind when this guy comes bounding over next to me. He starts harassing the guy working the merchandise stand, asking to peruse every single item, then complaining about the prices. I look over and do a double-take. Evan Dando, himself, is standing right next to me.

He finishes manhandling a cap, winks at me, and bounces away. I'm so flabbergasted that I run over to Kristy and her friends. "You'll never guess who I just saw! It was Evan...." and suddenly someone literally bounces into us. It was Evan Dando.

The four of us are trying to maintain our composure and keep talking. But Evan and one of the guys from his band just keep bouncing around and into us. Finally, their security guard rounds them up, because it is time for the show to start.

I remember enjoying the show immensely. When it was over, I picked out a couple of t-shirts. Kristy's friend finally made his way upstairs with his press pass. It seemed like we waited forever for him to come back down. Finally, he returned, looking quite starstruck. "How was it? What's he like?" we demanded to know.