Oh yes, a fine time was had by myself and friends Ace, DickieSpice (she was nice enough to take the photos), and Rocky at the Bad Religion / Strung Out / Loudmouth / Belvidere show in Winnipeg on May 16, 1999 at the Winnipeg Convention centre.  However, I had a rather difficult time locating any of the show's organizers who had the backstage list with my name on it (special thanks to Treva and Michelle with BR's management group for the passes)!  If not for my chance encounter with Greg Hetson by the merchandise booth, where I was buying the awesome BR hockey jersey I'm wearing in the photos, I may not have had the chance to meet my favourite band.  Thankfully, Greg heard my story and whipped out two passes for myself, and with Ace's schmoozing, we managed two more passes from Greg for our friends DickieSpice and Rocky.

The show was, as Ace always says, PHENOMENAL!  BR covered a great cross-section of kick-ass punk tunes from almost all of their albums.  Highlights included a neat a-capella style intro to "Generator", stomping versions of "Yesterday" and "Along The Way", and a great selection of songs from "Against The Grain".  Oh, and some new stuff too.  It was a show to remember, and Greg Graffin promised Winnipeggers that we won't have to wait another 13 years for a repeat show.

After the show, I had the photos taken with the band and got them to autograph my jersey.  Unfortunately, Greg G. was fatigued, and I never got to meet him.  Dang.  But I did have some great conversations with the rest of the group, and they seemed quite pleased with my work with the Lexicon.  Bobby Schayer is probably the most easy-going of the band, and we were talking punk talk between mouthfuls of pizza and Chinese food in the party room backstage.

Enjoy the photos!

Goombah Eric

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