Post #106889 by Luckydesigns on Sat, Aug 7, 2004 2:27 PM

I just saw the Surfaris, the Torques, and Dick Dale at this surf festival at the American Legion Hall in Newport Beach a couple of weeks ago.

Get this, the whole thing is sold out and I'm bummed because I waited too late to get tickets. They were thirty five bucks each anyway so I was kinda hestitent about the situation. At the same time, I thought, I've gotta see Dick Dale play in my own backyard, especially when he used to live here in Balboa. So I cruise on over there thinking that maybe I can seak in or something. At the very least, hear the music from outside of the place. So I scan the perimeter and the place is locked down with security guards everywhere. My last ditch effort is to go right to the gate and see if they can sell just one more ticket to me. As the ladies at the gate are telling me that the thing is sold out and I can't come in, this guy behind them starts saying, 'Hey beer guy!' to me. I'm kinda confused but playing in to it and he's like, 'You're the guy serving beer at the bar all day, right?' Of course I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm trying to get back in to finally have some beer myself and see the show.' He says, 'Well, come on back in!' Turns out that the yellow shirt that I was wearing at the time was the same color as the voulenteer's shirts for the event. He gives me a wrist band and I go in just as Dick Dale is getting ready to play (I listened to the Surfaris as I was trying to find a way in). So I get in, for free, just as one of my all time guitar heroes is starting up. Dick was there, just he and his son just going off. His son, who is like 14, was actually playing most of the leads (really well) while Dick played rhythm. On the more compicated stuff, Dick would take the lead. After the show, I got to meet Dick and he gave me a signed picture and a guitar pic. Pretty rad situation after I thought that I wasn't even going to get in.

After that whole deal, I watched the Torques do their big surf hit, 'Mr Moto' and a bunch of other surf standards. That day will go down as one of my all-time greatest.