Not name-dropping

So anyway there are those occasional nights, aren't there, you know, when something extraordinary happens and you go out and stay out and stay out and find yourself letting yourself back into your flat sometime in the morning not having slept and needing to go to work pretty soon after.

Monday night to Tuesday was one of those sleepless extraordinaries, like May 97 and Portillo, but without the politics, or the time in Western Australia with the garage party and the chicken sacrifice, when you have to go with it because to not go with it would leave a feeling of wistful regret (If only I'd done that when I had the chance...).

The setup was something like this: new colleague says we've got to see this MASSIVE STAR when HE comes to Lisbon, cos HE's fantastic and what's more I can probably get a free ticket cos last time HE was in England I pulled the tour manager and got backstage passes and met HIM and ohmigod it would be great if that could happen again.

So I say OK, let's do it, it's a schoolnight but there's always the 0020 last bus home which should be late enough, except when we're in the concert and HE's singing and the band are tearing the place up and the girls around are dancing so sweetly and the vibe begins to build and build, I think I'm going with this, stuff the bus, I'll find a hotel and get home in the morning.

Finally the show ends way past twelve and we queue at the stage door till the bassist comes out to fetch us personally and we're in the inner sanctum and it's exciting because there are cool people around, and the band and the dancers are shaking my hand and asking how I am and I'm saying great show and they're grabbing me a beer and then a birthday cake comes out for the keyboardist and I get a free slice.

HE shakes my hand eventually and I'm stoked cos HE IS cool, we joke we're all following HIM like the pied piper and the bassist cracks up and the beers get sunk and the cake left behind cos we're off to a bar now in the Bairro Alto, me and colleague in the band minivan, and I'm leading the band somehow cos I know the streets at least for the first few.

The bar is tiny and jammed and jamming, more music, more girls, more smoke, more beer and we squeeze in, HE's not coming, too cool, another solo gig tomorrow but the band are partying hard because it's their last night, flying home in the morning, they're not sleeping, why should we, and we dance and we sweat and we drink all the beer in the place and it doesn't stop until 5.

Colleague's gone off with the bassist and I think, ought to start making a move, and say ta-ra to the dancers and the girls and put my coat on and start walking cos the tube'll start soon won't it, maybe not, oh well, too cold to sleep I'll just walk all the way to the bus station to keep the blood flowing and my head is full of sounds and images as I shiver along.

Bus home at sunrise that's a classic eh, I'm not a party animal, how did I end up backstage with HIM, can I get enough sleep before work, maybe manage three hours that'll have to do, coffee here's proper so that's on my side, just want to drop off, must change Facebook status later, love these random evenings, love 'em.