Last night was the most fabulous night of my life, and yes….waiting almost 2 decades to finally see Nina was SOOOO well worth it! She was playing at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, CA (after 3 other acts), and what was great was that it was such a small venue, we got to stand right NEXT TO the stage! OMG….it was like 5 feet separating us from the goddess (although she did get up-close a few times). I had heard that she sometimes comes out and signs stuff and yaks with the people, so I thought this was the grand chance to finally say “HI” to her (although of course, how you walk when your knees are like jell-o are another story).
It was raining that night….scratch that….REALLY raining, and they said that if we wanted to catch her, we’d best try out back by the fence….so out we went – IN the rain, just to see if we could see her. The security guys there are a bit TOO strict for my taste, but eventually, Barbara – her US manager, came out and said “you should come inside and wait”…so we did.
There she was…sitting on a couch, signing stuff and chatting with people. It was cool until the brutal security bunch said “OK, everyone who’s not with the band or the theatre needs to leave….NOW.” We were forced out of the building and out the gate….so we were in the gateway (in the rain) hoping that perhaps fate would smile on us and Nina would come out to see us. It took quite a while, but the perserverence paid off…she came out, talked with us, and I got my 12″ single record sleeve signed, and she even gave me a big hug.
Great…raining out and I’m busy melting. hee hee hee. It was SO worth the time standing outside. She was SO sweet and friendly…just as people have always said. She’s among a rare breed of performer, and I so look forward to the next time!