Last night was an event nearly 20 years in the making.  Nearly everyone on my friends' list here knows what HUGE Monkees fan I am.  I don't know if everyone knows exactly why I am and what they mean to me, but that's another story for a later time.  Now, back in 1989, that summer, my cousin Janet (Hi JJ!!) and I found the old shows on reruns and just fell into a life-long love of the Monkees.  I was 15, she was 14 and they were going to be at Six Flags in Georgia in July.  We wanted to go sooooooo bad, but both sets of parents told us no.  We pouted, but accepted it.  Anyway, I will always remember the day they were to be there, my dad came home from work and said "I thought you and Janet were going to see the Monkees at Six Flags today.  Why aren't you there?"  Insert a blank look from me.  Janet said her parents said the same thing to her!!  I swear, it was a conspiracy!  

Anyway, last night more than made up for that nearly 20 year wait.  Janet called me about a month ago, I think, and told me that Davy Jones was going to be in concert in Cedartown, Georgia, and if I wanted to, we could go.  With my new job, it's always up in the air if I have to work weekends or not so it was a really wait until the last minute to decide if we were actually going or not.  WE DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I go down to her place in Munford and we decide to get the tickets online instead of waiting until we get there.  I had read the night before on the Monkeeland messageboard that there were still plenty of tickets available and you could get either $25 or $35 tickets.  We pulled up the seating chart and decided if there were any $35 seats left, we'd go with them.  We were able to snag two in row J, seats 3 and 4.  *happy happy dance*  We head out and go the longest way possible to get there.  (Google directions SUCK, btw).  We make it with about 15 minutes to spare and get to our seats.  I couldn't find my digital camera, she forgot hers, but I stopped and got a cheapo disposable camera when I left my house.  I was afraid we couldn't get pictures, but there were people saying that someone had said Davy didn't mind if there were pictures taken, if people video'ed or recorded the show.  He was cool with it all.  So we were set.  

ZOMG!!  Don't ask me what the show set was, because I can't remember.  I just remember singing along to the songs, laughing at the cheesy jokes, absolutely loving the interaction with the audience.  I have always been a Micky girl, a huge admirer of Mike's wit and song-writing, the way he weaves dry humor and stories into his songs.  But last night, holy moly moses!!  When Davy did that little growly, screamy sound in the songs?  *SQUEEEEEE!!!*  I FINALLY GOT IT!!  He did Monkees songs, Broadway songs, the one song that always makes me cry  (Let them be little--and I didn't cry, go figure!!), some old blues songs.  I had never actually heard the whole song of "Is you is or is you ain't my baby."  But he sang it and I was just dancing and carrying on with it.  

High-lights for me from the show, besides the songs and the talking to everyone and the wonderful slide-show he shared:  I think the thing that warmed my heart the most was when he talked about all of the song-writers the Monkees had writing for them back in the day....Neil Diamond, Carole King, Boyce & Hart...he said something about even how wonderful they were, his favorite one was Mike Nesmith and sang some of his favorite Mike-written Monkee songs.  *sappy sigh*  That made me so happy to hear him say that.  I loved him taking his guitar and singing "I'll Love You Forever"  If you've never heard that song, youtube it.  It has always been one of my favorite ones of just him singing.  Ever.  He talked about doing all the tv-shows, how he was a "wife beating glue sniffer" on Ben Casey.  Ah, let's see, he did the song "Girl" from the Brady Bunch.  He did the Davy dance that everyone knows Axl Rose stole from him.  LOL  Oh!  At one point, he was joking and said "But seriously..." and crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out and shook his head, making a funny sound.  

If nothing else, I thought the fact that he was telling a joke about dating a big girl and she was into some rough stuff and told him to spank her made the show for me.  He shrugged and said he told her okay and she bent over.  Then, he mimicked smacking an ass cheek.  But to make it even better, he ran to the other side of the stage to smack the OTHER ass cheek!!!  Then, he said "Next thing I knew, she was on top of me" and he mimics that, moving his hand like he's smacking someone's face "saying 'Who's your daddy?!  Who's your daddy?!'" HAHAHAHAHAHA   He was slightly naughty but never to the point where people had to cover their kids ears.  I liked the joke about how some younger woman he was seeing said "Let's run upstairs and make love."  He said he looked at her and said "Baby, it's got to be one or the other.  It can't be both anymore."  Then a few minutes later, after a little ramble about getting older and poking fun at it, he said "I used to be a heart-throb, now I'm a coronary!"

Oh oh oh!  Another thing he was joking about getting older, the fact that no one told him about getting boobs.  Now, at first, when he was saying no one told him he'd get these, he unbuttoned his shirt half-way and pulled it to the side.  I thought he was showing off his nipple!  I'm such a dork!  When he pushed the shirt aside completely and smooshed his moobs together to make cleavage, I finally got it. LOL  I just wanted to take him home, it was so awesome.  He went on and on about the man-boobs and said "Now I understand why you women have back problems, carrying these things around!"  

His band was awesome as well.  Incredibly talented musicians and they'd get the audience to clap and dance along.  Not that we needed a lot of encouragement, though.  He came back for an encore and did like 5 songs.  The whole show lasted about 2 hours and it went by entirely too fast. Everyone stood through the encore songs and I'm not sure why the show was being video-taped, but it was either during "No Time", "Stepping Stone", or "Daydream Believer", but my goofy big butt was up dancing in front of my seat, clapping, waving my arms, singing along like a goober and I happened to look at the stage where the camera-guy was and it looked like the camera was pointed right in our direction.  I had fun and that is ALL THAT MATTERS!!!  I know there was more and I can't remember it, so JJ, if you remember anything, add it.

So the show finally ended :( and Janet and I were trying to figure out if any of the whisperings of him going to autographs were true and where it would happen.  We waited a bit and finally went out into the lobby.  We got caught up in a loong line and at this point, we were just like.."I gotta pee.  What's the hold up."  So we're peeking around the corner, trying to figure out what's going on.  That's when we started talking to this lady there in the same situation we were.  Hi, btw, Valerie, if you're reading this!!  It's so wild to meet up and just make friends with someone like that.  We chatted while waiting and then...and then....Davy came out to the lobby to sign autographs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me just say, I've always known he was around 5'3".  My mother's about 5'3", I think Janet's around that same height so I never gave it any thought. (I'm abt. 5'5")  He is a very tiny person!  I didn't realize exactly how tiny that was until he was just a few feet away from us!  Holy cow!  Davy Jones was just...a;lkjg;letye!!!!  We bought a picture for him to sign.  A very very very nice 8X10 picture.  We were wanting a t-shirt too, but unfortunately, there were no "big girl" sizes.  Pfftt.  Anyway, we get the pictures, Janet's up there first and I love my cousin, she's just all "Hi there!  How are you doing?"  to him.  To this man she's had a huuuuuuuuuuge crush on forever!!!  She was talking and exchanging pleasantries with him, so calmly.  It was priceless.  She takes all of my junk (program, ticket) to hold for my turn.  This is a moment that will...it's...yes, it was.

He reaches out to take the picture and I hand it to him.  He's getting ready to autograph the conversation went as follows:

Me:  Could you sign it to April, please?
Davy:  April?
Me:  Yes, please.
Davy:  April.  *starts singing* April...

There are other words in the song after my name, but I will be damned if I actually heard them.  It suddenly hit me that Davy freaking Jones was singing to me while signing my picture.  I just zoned out.

Davy:  *looks up at me* Have you ever heard at song called "April?"

Now, my Aunt Mary (Janet's mother) and my mil have always sang the old Pat Boone song "April Love" to me and when I worked at Sylvan, one of the teachers, this incredibly sweet old man who was a rocket scientist with NASA back in the day would sing "April in Paris" to me.  So I just thought of those two songs.

Me:  I've heard of something...
Davy:  I bet you never heard the one I just sang before, have you?
Me:  No, not really.
Davy:  Do you know why?  Because I just made it up, composed it as I was singing it.
Me:  *grinning from ear to ear like a big dork*  An original?  Just for me?!
Davy:  Sure, why not?
Me:  *taking the picture from him* Oh!  How awesome!!  Thank you!!

So I'm all giddy and just beside myself from that!!!  We finally get back to the truck after stopping to take pictures in front of the poster advertising the concert--we are funny--I'm trying to call my husband to let him know what happened.  I had to tell someone.  He was in a dead zone and I couldn't get through.  So I called my friend Kim (Hi Kim!!!) and she answers the phone and I'm all "HIIIIIII!!!"  hahaha.  Convo as follows:

Kim:  Where are you?
Me:  Leaving the parking lot from seeing Davy Jones.
Kim:  How cool...
Me: *interrupting* HEFUCKINGSANGTOME!!!!
Kim: What?
Me: HEFUCKINGSANGTOME!!!
Kim: What?
Me: HEFUCKINGSANGTOME!!!!
Kim: April, calm down and tell me again.  You know I can't understand your Alabama accent when you talk that fast.
Me:  *deep breath, forcing myself to be calm* Kim...Davy. Jones.  He.  Fucking. Sang. To. Me.  He. Made. Up. A. Song. And. Sang. It. To. Me.
Kim: OHMYGODAPRILTHAT'SSOAWESOME!!!

I love Kim!  LOL

So that was one of the most incredible nights of my life.  And like my Aunt Mary said when we got back to their place "Life's too short and I'm glad you kids got out and had a good time.  If you die tomorrow, you'll be able to say 'At least I had a great time the night before'"

And yeah, any of you who I write with, you sooooooo know Island April is going to be having this experience as well.  

Much Monkee and Aprilly love to everyone!