Prologue Before we begin the actual story, a little background on our involvement with this seemingly strange event known as the PG Hommage in Toronto may be helpful. On a whim one Saturday afternoon in July, several weeks after the evening was originally announced, I decided to call and investigate the possibility of getting tickets to this mysterious event. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that it wasn't sold out at the time, but Mr. Canadian Hommage Ticket Seller made a point of asking me immediately, before processing my request for tickets, "Now you understand that Mr. Gabriel WILL NOT be performing at the Hommage, do you not?" "Yes, of course," I answered in my most serious tone, striving to contain the hopefulness in my voice that he would, indeed, be performing! (You know darn well that you would be hoping so, too...)
Several times more this cautionary question was directed at me, and each time I answered a bit more seriously, clearly feeling the pressure to conform completely now, "Yes, I understand." The eighth and final time I was asked I had gotten a little perturbed by Mr. Canadian Hommage Ticket Seller, and tired of answering with just a "yes, I understand", I replied, "Yes, that's what you've indicated several times now, but really, just to be in the same ROOM with the God will be sufficient!" This was met with unbridled laughter from our new friend, Mr. Canadian Hommage Ticket Seller, who clearly appreciated having the monotony of his job broken up by a feeble attempt at humor.
As I hung up that day, I couldn't believe what I had just done, this was so unlike me! I had no guarantee of time off work, no one lined up to take care of our three children (and in the middle of the week, no less!), no airline arrangements, no hotel booked, and even more strange, no confirmation on the Harbourfront Center website that Gabriel would even be there (let alone perform, of course). Stranger still was the fact that I had just shelled out several hundred dollars (with lots more to come---although that Canadian/US currency exchange "thing" definitely worked in our favor) and there was virtually no description whatsoever on the site of the event itself. We knew we'd have some sort of dinner, (I was secretly fearing the Gabriel favorite: prawns.) and then some sort of "tribute", but what the hell constitutes an "hommage" anyway? My developing fear, as I hung up the phone, was that Horror of Horrors! The evening might consist of Phil Collins singing Gabriel songs, perhaps accompanied by an endless parade of Gabriel's ex-girlfriends?..sigh
Several weeks later, we received a wonderful looking envelope in the mail that contained our tickets, (Row N! Oh My Gosh! Row N!)
and a small bit of information on the hotel that was partnering with the organizers, the wonderful Harbourfront Westin Castle Hotel. Their insert said, "Stay Where The World Leaders Are Staying---Book Now!" and deciding that that sounded exactly like something I ought to do, I booked a room there. This turned out to be a real blessing, as we'll see later...oh, and make sure to see the picture of my first (and hopefully not only) PG ticket stub!
Next came airline arrangements, and asking for time off work, as well as arranging childcare. As if by some miraculous planetary alignment, everything fell into place, and we were truly going to this oddly "kept under wraps" ceremony, or whatever it was supposed to be! A post was made on the alt.music.peter-gabriel newsgroup, and arrangements were then made to make contact with several fellow PG fans from around the world (who shall be named later), notes were compared on appropriate attire for this "event" (Formal? Casual? A funky multi-colored vest like PG and Youssou wore in POV? Who knew?!) and we all mused over the fact that we really didn't know anything at all about the event we were attending, except that we'd be eatingsomething! Ah, such is the dedication of a Gabriel fan. Anyway, Off We Go!
PART ONE: "And The Plane Flies Through The Air"
(Or The Harbourfront Westin Castle Hotel Sure Don't Tell No Lies!)
The Friday before this great day, I had missed a step going into the garage and severely sprained my ankle. Now I was very bruised, very swollen, in an aircast, not able to bear weight on that foot, and encumbered with a big set of crutches. Planetary alignment, indeed. However, with the mantra "I WILL bear weight by Wednesday, Gabriel is waiting" echoing in my head, we made it to a Milwaukee hotel close by the airport about 9 o'clock Tuesday night, with a flight to Toronto scheduled for early the next morning. By the way, this has nothing to do with anything, but I thought you might like to see a picture of what I look at daily while I'm driving (besides the road, that is). Ok, maybe not, but make sure anyway that you see picture of the visor on the driver's side of my van. And I just have to preface that by saying that typically it has a great square button of the SO cover on it, but I had taken it off to wear during the trip!
Anyway, because I had walked so much that day even using the crutches, the foot had to be iced, and as I held my one in a million copy (not an exaggeration-I actually have a million copies--wayward eBay purchase--don't ask) of a SO promotional flat (especially good for autographing...hmmm...) I thought about the next day's flight. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate the thought of even seeing a plane, let alone getting on one, so this was a very big deal. I was somewhat comforted (irrational and silly, isn't it?) by the thought that Gabriel does a very good job of dodging the "Falling Guy" in the ACSS "When You're Falling" video, and chances were good that if he wasn't distracted by a person flying by, then my pilot would be ok too! Right? Anyway, the ice was good, the excitement of the next day's event was good, and looking at the SO flat wasn't bad, either. See picture of me and the flat in its unembellished state!
Cold feet, warm heart.
Arrival at the airport the next morning was fairly uneventful, although by this time my mantra was wearing thin, and so we finally broke down and procured a wheelchair. This had unexpected advantages, none of which we had asked for, certainly! We were taken right to the head of the line at the security checkpoint, and basically whisked out of there as if we were very special, and taken immediately to the gate to wait for our plane. I noticed also, that everyone was extremely polite and seemed to really care that I was unable to walk easily! They must have known that I was on a special assignment from The Hill. Yes. That must have been it. (See picture of me holding airline tickets, increasingly strained and anxious look on my face, but notice I was wearing my Adam Swatch, and one Doc Marten boot-HA!).
Kari with Tickets, Swatch, One Doc and One Sock
The flight to Toronto was bumpy, I cried at one point waiting for the "ding", (remember that part in the movie 'Say Anything'---during which 'In Your Eyes' gets a featured position on the soundtrack, by the way---where Diane and Lloyd fly to England, and hold hands waiting for the ding of the "wear your seatbelt" sign to go off?) but finally we made it to the ground, our rental car, and made the half hour drive to the Harbourfront Westin Castle Hotel. It was truly a beautiful place and we were genuinely impressed, thinking, "Well, if the World Leaders aren't staying here, then they certainly should be!" We made our way up to the room, with a little over an hour to get dressed in our finery for the event (we had decided to go somewhat formal, figuring that "over-dressed" beat "under-dressed" any day), and to be back down in the lobby to meet up with Rene-Phillipe Durand from Montreal and his fianceé, Celine, from France.
We decided that we would carry a small disposable camera, even though we had been forewarned that cameras and recording devices were not allowed at the event. We had attempted to find a disposable camera without a flash, so as not to appear obvious and risk confiscation of the goods. No luck in finding the no-flash disposable camera, just a flash-type one. But, I was also carrying a tape recorder, (potentially hidden in my cast, as I had it on Intruder's good authority that they would never search a woman with a cast!) my Solsburian-On-Assignment Journal that Mac Cat had given me, along with the perfect pen for writing in the dark---a light up, electric blue "Gabesabre", which had also been a generous gift from our Mac. Turns out that it was a very good thing we had the camera with us (and later the pen.)!
Joe and Kari Pacer, who shall be hereforth be known as "lucky bastards".
We were waiting down in the lobby for Celine and Rene-Phillipe, sitting all spread out in very comfortable leather armchairs, when we began to see many limousines pull up in succession to the valet parking man right outside the revolving door in front of us. There was some basketball team in Toronto at the time (that Michael Jordan guy plays for one of them, I think) so we really didn't think much of it. We were casually discussing how intriguing the whole event was going to be, and whether or not PG would put in an appearance there, and GASP! maybe even a performance, when all of a sudden a limo pulled up, and Joe said matter-of-factly, "There he is." I replied, "Oh, yeah, sure" as my view was partially blocked by a marble support between me and the revolving door, as well as the many men who stood at least 6 foot 9 inches tall. "No, really, there he is. Right there," Joe said calmly. Well, you've never seen a woman with a cast under a formal gown sans crutches move so quickly in all your life. And such begins Golden Gabriel Moment #1 for the evening I sat calmly on the arm of the leather chair and waited for him to walk in, about 15 feet away, and, as he was surrounded by a camera crew (Canadian TV, perhaps?) and some security people, we of course, were not going to approach him. I was able to snap a few very terrible pictures which I will not even share here because they are so bad (but, hey, at least I know Gabriel is in there somewhere) and as he stopped for a moment to talk with the people accompanying him, I was thinking to myself, "Wearing a black jacket...wonder if it's the one with the zipper? Egad! Must-get-closer, crucial Hill question..."
By that time it became clear that he was going to the front desk to check in, and as he was turning to say goodbye to the people with whom he had come in, he looked up, noticed me sitting on the edge of the chair, (I have to say that I was completely composed) AND..drum roll, please!.SMILED at me. I casually smiled back while holding the camera (and now attempting to conceal it, as here came the I'm-Just-Doing-My-Job-But-I'm-A-PG-Fan-At-Heart-Security Lady, with a half-hearted glare on her face) in the folds of my long and full skirt. Didn't want to appear to be one of those over-the-top types of fans, you know. Hurriedly scrawled journal entry using the blue light-up Gabesabre at that moment: "4:11 p.m. Wednesday: THUD. Within 20 feet of PG.and he smiled--eeeeee!"
We sat in complete and silent awe as he crossed the lobby and checked in at the front desk, and as we were actively trying to avoid eye contact with the plainclothes Security-Lady, it must've worked as she turned and went back to her post by the marble support. We then heard PG ask where the gift shop was, and he was given directions and went downstairs. Sadly, I have to admit that for one terminally pathetic split second, (and I know I can admit this to you all, as you will understand, no doubt) I thought perhaps he was going there to buy a gift for moi, the nice smiling woman from the lobby. Hey! Maybe it will come in the mail this week?! Canadian mail does take a long time. No? Sigh Yeah, probably not..
OK, then, (shaking off the thought of the package!) after he had disappeared downstairs, we knew we needed a picture to commemorate what was probably going to be the closest we'd get to Gabriel that night (little did we knowmore foreshadowing there) and this is the result of that one photo op. Guess who took it? We walked over to "I'm Just Doing My Job But I'm A PG Fan At Heart" Security Lady, and asked her if she would snap one for us. This is how it turned out, along with one of me experiencing a moment of bliss after he left. Ahh. Take a deep, deep breath! Well, next thing we knew, who should arrive (10 minutes late-truly inspired by Gabriel, those two.) but Rene-Phillipe and Celine! When we told them that we had just had a Gabriel-Sighting, and that he was, indeed, "Staying Where The World Leaders Stay" they, of course, vowed never to be late for anything else, ever, in their entire lives. Never again. Never. Punctuality is a highly prized commodity, as every Gabriel fan knows.
From the chat room: Rene-Phillipe and Celine at the Harbourfront Hotel
The closest we could get to helping them experience Golden Gabriel Moment #1 of the evening was to have them stand in the exact spot that Peter was standing when he turned and smiled at me. They were only too willing to do just that. Really sad, isn't it? Me: "Celine and RP, stand right in front of that black pot. Yes, right there! That's it!" Yes, sad, but you know you would have done the exact same thing. I can just hear you: "My shoes are touching the same spot where PG stood ten minutes ago--eeeee!" We really can't blame Rene-Phillipe and Celine, now can we? Nope. Here is the picture that resulted, using the disposable camera. After snapping this picture, Joe and I had a moment of clear intellectual brilliance--better take that flash camera up to the room because perhaps it had the only and BEST pictures of PG that we would have that night. And we didn't want to risk confiscation. Nice try. Disposable cameras suck, and in hindsight it wouldn't have mattered much that it got confiscated. Just remember that when pictures are mentioned in the subsequent installments of this report, OK?
Well, all that documentation business aside, the mission was to actually get to the Hommage itself. Now, this presented some logistical problems, since we had tickets, and RP and Celine were not able to purchase them because the event had been sold out. Being the die-hard Gabriel fans that they are, they said that they would catch a cab with us to the Liberty Grand Exhibition Place, and stand in the parking lot, (in the COLD!) hoping against hope to come by some tickets for sale. What is to follow in part two of this report: an account of that parking lot experience, and a description of the cocktail party/dinner/hommage performance itself. Hmmm. I was actually there and I still have no idea how to describe it! Better get working on that...Mac Cat is cracking the whip...