My close encounter with Alvin Lee (guitarist for 10 Years After) was when I was in high school. The concert was in the Milwaukee arena (Rip), tickets were about $5.00. The speaker stacks at the edge of the stage were laid down on 72 inch long tables that had a black table cloth hanging down in front, all the way to the stage and in back. I was standing stage left next to the speaker and looked at the table cloth, and lifted it. Under the table was nothing.
So, being a 16 year old, I crawled under the table. The girl I was with was aghast. But I crawled along the table to the end of the stage where I flipped up the table cloth, crawled out, sat on the floor back stage. During a solo, Alvin broke his e string and tripped on me coming off stage to change the string. Of course, he wasn't looking for some kid sitting on stage, and it was dark right off stage. No one knew where I had come from, they thought I belonged there. Thankfully he just stumbled. If he fell and broke something that could have changed the course of rock history! (Alvin Lee died after hitting his head back stage, broke his arm, etc.) After he got back on stage and the show started up again, I got up, clapped, danced and made my way around the side of the stage so I could watch the show and see my friends in the front row. I think the last song was I’m going home and my friends noticed me clapping and bouncing around back stage and their mouths hit the floor. When the show was over I walked over to the exit and my friends who knew I played harmonic really well were convinced that Alvin and I were somehow buddies!
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