Caesar’s Palace – Las
Vegas, May 24th, 1997
I’m still in a daze from this
weekend. As you may recall, I went to see EWF in Las Vegas last Saturday night.
The show was excellent!
The band is still made up of the same members (as far as I can recall, (see line-up
below), with the exception of the trombone and trumpet player (Scott Mayo is the
only member of the EWF horns on this tour, more on this later…) Even the dancers,
Kyausha and Dee Dee, are the same. Of course, Maurice is lacking (and sorely missed).
As I said above, the show is basically the same, but they did perform "Revolution,
Just Evolution" from the new album. I laughed, cried, sang and screamed until I
couldn’t speak. I had a total blast!
Anyway, ’nuff said about the show. When it ended, most of the crowd left the small arena,
but my fiancée and I decided to stick around. You see, I had been waving my automobile
license plates to the band during the show, and had definitely gotten several member’s
attention (I have two plates: "SHNING*" and "EWF FAN").
So, we’re standing on the outside of the door that leads backstage with about a
dozen-or-so other people. Of course, the guard was refusing to let anyone backstage unless
their name was "on the list." A few members actually came through the door,
whereupon I quickly grabbed them (figuratively) for autographs. Mike McKnight came out
first to assist his friends backstage. He commented that he had actually seen one of my
plates on my car while he was driving around LA a couple of years ago!! I got Slick’s
autograph as he left and a few minutes later Scott Mayo came out and I got his also. Scott
had seen the plate during the last number (he pointed at me to acknowledge seeing it) and
told me so. He also told me that the other EWF horn members were now touring with Whitney
Houston.
Anyway, while I was talking to Scott, the remaining crowd was allowed into the backstage
area. Here’s where things get cloudy. The first person I spotted was David Romero so I
grabbed a quick autograph. Next was Sonny E. After that, I got Sheldon’s autograph. I
wanted to ask him something, but I think I was in shock or something — I just couldn’t
speak.
Shortly after that, I went to get Dino to sign my plates. I had never before meet Verdine
and I was completely in awe. In my early years as a fan, I idolized Verdine more than any
other band member. It is difficult to describe the feeling of seeing in human form what
you believe is a God. Speaking for all EWF fans, I asked Verdine to send Maurice our love.
The only person I hadn’t seen was Philip, and several other people were still hanging
around to meet him. I couldn’t believe that I was standing around waiting, doing nothing,
while Verdine White was 10 feet away from me having a casual conversation with a couple of
friends!
Anyway, some time passed, and Philip finally emerged from his dressing room. He said
"Do I look as tired as I feel?" and I think all of us waiting fans understood
him. We quickly got our autographs and let him go on his way.
At that point, it was late and my fiancée and I has missed our dinner reservations in
order to meet the band. We decided to eat in the Caesar’s Palace cafe, which is adjacent
to the concert venue. We were halfway though our meals when I turned my head to see David
Romero entering the cafe. As I turned further, I realized that the entire time we had been
seated at our table, Mike McKnight had been at the table next to us and two tables away
were Scott Mayo and David Whitworth.
Anyway, that’s it for now. I’m thinking of trying to scan my plates (as proof, ’cause I
know you don’t believe me 🙂 but I’m not sure it’ll work, because of the reflective paint
on them. I’ll see.
Caesar’s Palace – Las
Vegas, May 24th, 1997