=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= B E T W E E N T H E L I N E S Volume 3, Issue 12 - September 28, 1991 DDDDD D D D D GGGG D D G DDDDD G GGG G G GGG A Debbie Gibson Discussion Forum =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CONTENTS * ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES * DEB TO BE ON PBS TV - Felix Ng * DEB ON MDA TELETHON - John Shew * DG MUSICARD #45 - Alan Chim * GIBSONITE GIFS AND VOCS - Jonathan Bradshaw * CABOODLE WINNER - Myra Wong * SEATTLE CONCERT REVIEW - Matthew Jung * AGAINST THE WIND - Peter Blomgren * CLOSING REMARKS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES Please send submissions to ez000018@pollux.ucdavis.edu and use 'SUBMISSION' as the subject. If you do not get a note indicating that we have received your submission within a few days, please remail it. Feel free to send suggestions to that address as well. If you have information that can't wait for release in a BtL issue, please send it to both ez003229@pollux.ucdavis.edu and ez000018@pollux.ucdavis.edu. We will forward the information to other members if we believe that it will be of interest to them. We reserve the right to edit such information. DISCLAIMER : **************************************************************************** This forum does not necessarily reflect the views of Deborah Ann Gibson, Gibson Management Inc. (GMI), the Atlantic Recording Corporation, or any organizations to which members belong or represent. All songs by Debbie Gibson are copyrighted by Deborah Ann's Music (ASCAP) or Possibilities Publishing (ASCAP). This forum is a non-profit organization. **************************************************************************** BtL moderators - * Matthew Jung : ez000018@pollux.ucdavis.edu or myjung@ucdavis.bitnet * Sandy Chen : ez003229@pollux.ucdavis.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= DEB TO BE ON PBS TV Felix Ng (fng@arkham.wimsey.bc.ca) September 9, 1991 The following is from the local T.V. Guide: "Kids should love this. Based on the computer puzzler, it's a game show cum geography lesson with 8- to 13-year-old contestants tracking down the wily Carmen Sandiego and her outlaw gang. Helping to provide clues are celebs like Walter Cronkite, DEBBIE GIBSON and Kool Moe-Dee (weekdays, Sept. 30, PBS)." - Felix [Editor's Note: The show is called "Where is Carmen Santiago?" and each episode is 30 minutes long. Check your local PBS listings for afternoon broadcasts on weekdays (in the L.A. area, its on Channel 28 at 5:00 PM). Primetime specials (1 hour long) are also scheduled for every Monday night (8:00 PM Pacific/9:00 PM Eastern). It is not known when Deb will show up.] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= DEB ON MDA TELETHON John Shew (johns@point.uucp) September 7, 1991 Deb first appeared on the Jerry Lewis telethon with "One Step Ahead" (OSA) at about 8:25pm CDT (Sunday, September 1st). She appeared again around 1:53am CDT (Monday, September 2nd) with "Lost in Your Eyes" (LIYE). For OSA Deb wore what I'll call her Elvis outfit. That's the hat w/ flower and shirt w/ Elvis on the back that she wore on tour. There were 4 male dancers. As usual Deb started the song off stage, but this time it seemed a longer wait than normal before she made her entrance. I think she wants to spotlight the dancers by doing this, but in my opinion it does the opposite as the audience is looking for her instead of the dancers. For LIYE Deb wore the red sequined dress. She sang to a recorded background. I think she should drop the canned music and just accompany herself on the piano. For one thing the voice on the tape doesn't match Deb's voice today and she was off on her timing for the last bar. [Editor's Note: According to Lewis, Deb first met him on an airplane when she was 9. Deb sat behind Jerry and she asked him for his autograph.] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= DG MUSICARD #45 Alan Chim (alan@arkham.wimsey.bc.ca) September 12, 1991 The Pro Set Super Stars Musicard #45 closes out the four card set with a picture of Deb on the Harley (Same shot as on the back cover of the AIP CD). This is also the same picture used on the promo card. The back has a small close up picture of Deb kneeling on the ground, next to railroad tracks. She's wearing a hat, a white shirt, a brown/grey overcoat, blue jeans, and black shoes. The text on the back reads: ALBUMS: Out of the Blue (1987, triple platinum), Electric Youth (1989, #1, double platinum) and Anything Possible (sic) (1990). TOP SONGS: "Only In My Dreams" (1987), "Shake Your Love" (1987), "Out of the Blue" (1987), "Foolish Beat" (1987), "Staying Together" (1987), "Electric Youth" 1989, "No More Rhyme" 1989, "We Could Be Together" (1989) and "Lost In Your Eyes" (1989). I have put together two sets, and need one card for my third set. I would be interested in selling or trading my extra sets. Contact me if you're interested. I'm also collecting any VGA Gif's of Deb. Also, contact me if you have them. Thanks. Alan Chim Internet --> alan@arkham.wimsey.bc.ca Alternate --> alan_chim@tanstaafl.uchicago.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= GIBSONITE GIFS AND VOCS Jonathan Bradshaw (BRADSHAW@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU) September 14, 1991 I have been collecting all the electronic media related to Deb that I can, and thanks to people like David Stoeckl and others, my collection has grown. So far, I have collected all the BtL issues (34 total), along with all the messages from the DEB&TIF echo on Fidonet (512 msgs). I have also collected many GIF files. I have 64 GIFs totalling 4,655,104 bytes (GifLite'd). This includes the DEB* collection, the DGIBSON* collection and some other B&W pictures. Along with GIF files I have found the wonderful world of SOUND and have some digitized samples of Deb. I have three reasons for posting this information. Firstly, anyone who would like them is more than welcome to contact me and I would be happy to EMAIL or FTP any to them. Secondly, I'd like to find anyone with any files that I don't. Thirdly, and most importantly, anyone who has, or knows someone with a server with about 10mb of free space who would be willing to donate that space for DG material should get in touch with me! I'd like to upload all of these to a central location so that anyone can Anonymously FTP them. I am also looking for more complete descriptions of the GIF pictures. Many have simply been classified as "close-up" etc. I'd like to find out WHERE and WHEN they originated. For those who want to compare electronic gibsonite collections, here's my list: (*Note: All GIF files 640x480 or less have been GifLite compressed) aippromo.gif 46750 7-23-91 12:16 369x480x256 AIP Promo Pictures blazer.gif 38710 7-23-91 11:50 365x480x256 Pose w/ flying hair&blazer calhoun.gif 83771 4-16-91 21:43 640x480x256 Calhoun High School (Debs) deb1.gif 119225 10-17-90 23:22 639x480x256 Foolish Beat cover deb2.gif 132971 4-10-90 19:37 637x399x256 No More Rhyme cover deb3.gif 156044 9-28-90 1:46 640x480x256 Facial Closeup (w/long hair) deb4.gif 123568 4-10-90 19:40 637x399x256 Debbie Gibson WCBT singing deb5.gif 189262 10-17-90 23:03 640x480x256 EY album closup deb5a.gif 133910 4-10-90 19:33 638x399x256 EY album closeup deb6.gif 47386 12-27-90 4:14 320x200x256 Debbie Gibson OIMD closeup deb6a.gif 46692 2-15-91 22:52 640x352x16 Entry ticket for concert deb6b.gif 43073 11-03-90 18:28 320x200x256 Facial closeup deb7.gif 40285 11-02-90 23:21 320x200x256 Debbie Gibson closeup deb8.gif 31495 11-02-90 23:25 320x200x256 Debbie Gibson "white shirt" deb10.gif 43217 11-03-90 18:33 320x200x256 Facial closeup deb11.gif 114317 4-10-90 19:29 639x400x256 Hi-Res Facial closeup deb12.gif 7248 11-02-90 23:10 320x200x16 Debbie Gibson w/hat (B/W) deb14.gif 110571 4-10-90 19:42 639x400x256 Facial closeup w/ Hat deb15.gif 122428 4-10-90 19:44 640x480x256 Facial closeup (hair up) deb16.gif 94242 3-09-91 21:14 640x480x256 Facial closeup (colorful) deb17.gif 95957 5-12-91 23:09 640x480x256 Debbie Gibson UK cover shot deb17a.gif 144860 5-12-91 23:10 640x480x256 Alternate version of DEB17 deb18.gif 85630 5-12-91 23:10 640x480x256 Debbie Gibson performing deb19.gif 109690 5-12-91 23:02 640x480x256 Debbie Gibson performing deb20.gif 79015 5-12-91 23:11 640x480x256 "Details" picture deb21.gif 95628 5-12-91 23:12 640x480x256 Out of the Blue performing deb22.gif 139197 5-12-91 23:01 640x480x256 Picture signing deb23.gif 122584 5-12-91 23:08 640x480x256 Pre-concert shot deb24.gif 32375 5-16-91 23:39 244x322x256 Facial Shot deb25.gif 11063 5-16-91 23:40 125x192x256 Very young facial shot deb26.gif 17400 5-16-91 23:44 159x217x256 Very young shot deb27.gif 36575 5-16-91 23:51 207x327x256 Facial shot deb28.gif 32731 5-16-91 23:54 356x239x256 Young group shot deb29.gif 10920 5-16-91 23:55 172x215x256 Young shot deb30.gif 61788 5-17-91 0:02 294x394x256 Bad performance shot deb31.gif 27423 5-16-91 23:43 210x307x256 Young shot deb32.gif 36081 5-16-91 23:47 238x381x256 Young shot deb33.gif 177664 5-22-91 21:37 523x565x256 Out of the Blue cover deb34.gif 14154 2-17-91 14:40 226x232x256 Debbie Gibson "Prom2" deb35.gif 73848 8-04-91 17:28 640x480x256 Debbie Gibson AIP on bike deb36.gif 143521 8-03-91 11:47 640x480x256 Hanging w/Hollywood shot deb37.gif 119011 8-03-91 11:47 640x480x256 Hanging closeup shot deb38.gif 131508 8-03-91 11:48 640x480x256 Hanging front shot deb39.gif 130987 8-03-91 11:48 640x480x256 Hanging front shot deb40.gif 18825 12-07-89 2:52 320x200x16 Lost in your eyes cover debntif.gif 137368 5-12-91 23:12 640x480x256 Debbie Gibson & Tiffany debshous.gif 85624 4-16-91 21:43 639x400x256 Deb's Old House dgibson1.gif 26841 7-23-91 10:22 257x217x256 Electric Youth Shot dgibson2.gif 18432 7-23-91 10:23 258x218x256 Electric Youth Shot dgibson3.gif 19347 7-23-91 10:24 258x216x256 Facial Shot (Older) dgibson4.gif 21162 7-23-91 10:26 258x216x256 "Electric Youth" Song Shot dgibson5.gif 27505 7-23-91 10:28 257x217x256 "Electric Youth" Song Shot dgibson6.gif 16858 7-23-91 10:29 257x217x256 "No More Rhyme" Song Shot dgibson7.gif 26588 7-23-91 10:31 258x218x256 "No More Rhyme" Song Shot dgibson8.gif 26188 7-23-91 10:33 257x218x256 EY Band-Group Shot dgibson9.gif 25329 7-23-91 10:35 257x217x256 Small close-up facial dgpool.gif 15057 4-16-91 21:44 320x200x256 Debbie at the pool foolish.gif 53544 7-23-91 12:17 370x480x256 "Foolish Beat" shot (Grey) hatdance.gif 57022 7-23-91 12:17 370x480x256 Hat-Dance Routine (Grey) keyboard.gif 70173 6-03-91 13:02 372x480x256 Old Promo-Shot (Grey) ohoh.gif 84996 6-03-91 13:13 372x480x256 OH OH Promo (Grey) ohohpro.gif 61049 6-03-91 13:21 372x480x256 Another OHOH Promo (Grey) profiled.gif 89235 6-03-91 13:39 372x480x256 Deb in Car Shot (Grey) stairs.gif 59038 7-23-91 11:49 372x480x256 Deb walking up stairs (Grey) dgbio.zip 82219 4-20-91 18:29 Debbie Gibson Biography dgmags.zip 31654 3-16-91 22:55 Magazine Listing deb_mor.voc 941084 9-10-91 18:31 deb_wy.voc 884024 6-03-91 21:27 debsl1.voc 33024 9-10-91 18:30 debsl2.voc 33657 9-10-91 18:30 debsl3.voc 53143 9-10-91 18:30 debsl4.voc 61077 9-10-91 18:30 debsl5.voc 36358 9-10-91 18:30 debsl6.voc 36760 9-10-91 18:30 debsl7.voc 49551 9-10-91 18:30 deb_ohp.voc 377239 9-13-91 12:43 btl.zip 511021 9-01-91 0:33 Between the Lines back issues deb&tiff.zip 419528 9-14-91 11:17 FidoNet "DEB&TIFF" echo .MSGs Jonathan Bradshaw | | Internet: pbradsha@darwin.cc.nd.edu PURDUE UNIVERSITY | Whovian | -or- bradshaw@vm.cc.purdue.edu U93 WNDU-FM (92.9FM) | Trekkie | Bitnet: bradshaw@purccvm Forsythe Computers |DGIF#9588| Prodigy: XMSN02B =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CABOODLE WINNER Myra Wong (mkwong@sdcc13.ucsd.edu) September 24, 1991 Hi fellow DG fans! This is just a pre-intro message. My name is Myra Wong and I'm just starting at UC San Diego. I'm so excited about becoming part of BtL (I've already written 2 articles in BtL 3.10). I do have one important announcement though. I received a call from Premiere Radio Network and apparently, I'm a WINNER in the Caboodles contest. The only information that I have now is that it is the weekend of October 11th to the 14th. More details later! "Girl, you've got it together - Caboodles!" Myra D.G.I.F. #6914 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= SEATTLE CONCERT REVIEW Matthew Jung (mjung@bloom.ucdavis.edu) September 24, 1991 To tell you the truth, I wasn't expecting much after I heard about the kickoff concert in New York and the following show in Massachusetts. I was beginning to wonder if it was worth it to see all the west coast shows since that would involve over 2300 miles of travel. My fears were put to rest on August 21st at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington; among the eight Debbie Gibson shows that I've been to from all tours, this one was absolutely the best. BtL members Felix Ng and William Lee joined me at the concert. Due to a computer glitch in Vancouver, Felix was not able to purchase tickets on the day they went on sale. When Felix got his friend to buy them the next day, we ended up with 10th row tickets. It did not matter at all because as soon as the music started, almost everyone got up and out of their seats to get close to the stage. This was not wise since the area in between the stage and the front row was several feet deeper so people standing there would have to look up and thus had a poor angle all night. The Paramount theater's main floor is divided into half by an aisle so there is no seat for front-row-center. While people were trying to get as close to the stage as possible, I stood where front-row-center would've been so I had the best spot for the concert. The opening of the show was interesting. In the two previous tours, an announcer would announce Deb before the show began. For this tour, there was an announcer for the opening act, Chris Cuevas, but none for Deb. Nevertheless, you can still tell when the show was about to begin. As in previous tours, Deb would start the show after a certain song on her pre-recorded music before the show. I tried to remember which song it was since it could be useful for other shows, but I never did. After this song, the lights would go out and the dancers and band would run out on stage. The dancers would all sit right in front of each other and move their hands (sort of reminded me of the Hindu god with multiple arms) while a synthesized flute would play the notes to _One Step Ahead_'s "don't calm down, bring the energy up." Then all of a sudden, the dancers all drop to the floor and Deb pops out from behind the dancers where she was hidden the entire time. After finishing _One Step Ahead_, Deb goes straight to the piano to perform "Another Brick Falls." I immediately noticed that she played with a lot of confidence by smiling and looking out to the audience frequently. This is in contrast to her performance on Rock in Rio II where she was concentrating more on her piano playing. The other thing I noticed was how the speaker set up was wrong. The piano was on the left and yet the vocals and piano were coming out of the right speaker. Since Deb is such a perfectionist, I hope she did not find out about it or her sound man probably would never hear the end of it. Deb keeps the energy up by immediately doing _Shake Your Love_. I liked the way Deborah would come out with Jade Crouch, one of her dancers, on the left side of the stage and they would both do this "footsies" thing which looked neat. This was definitely a different _Shake Your Love_ and I was very pleased. The music didn't stop at all with an immediate transition into _Out of the Blue_. This was why the east coast BtL members referred to this as a medley in their reviews. I was expecting shortened versions of both songs to make up the medley, but this wasn't the case since they were both full length. _Out of the Blue_ was essentially the same as in previous tours, including the trademark body roll in the beginning which I was glad to see her keep. Deborah finally spoke to us. "Alright Seattle, how are you feeling? Are you feeling just good or are you feeling incredible? Cause we up here have been feeling incredible lately." To lead into _Only in My Dreams_, she introduced her two backup singers, Michelle Cobbs and Terry Bradford. Deb then explained she wanted to do a stripdown doo-wop version. Before she began to sing, she talked to a member in the audience. A girl gave her a green watch outside (Deborah met with some fans outside the venue by the tourbus for a few minutes) and she wanted Deb to wear it on stage. Deb had her crew look for it, but unfortunately it was already packed on the bus so she apologized for not wearing it. This was an example of how personal this concert was. The doo-wop version of _Only in My Dreams_ was only different in the beginning of the song compared to the version done in past tours. I didn't like the doo-wop intro in the beginning because I miss the teaser she used to do by holding the "my" note for about nine seconds. After Deb asked the audience to sing it (twice), the song began to resemble the versions of previous concerts. The bass guitar was more prominent in this version and this is what I liked, but I would still trade it for the teaser. In between songs, people in the audience were yelling "happy birthday." Deb reacted this time by saying "Thank you, whoever just said happy birthday, thank you; I got the big two one coming up. The ironic thing is that I will be in Vegas the day after my birthday." Not many of us knew it at the time, but she was referring to the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon which aired on the Labor Day weekend. Deb then started talking about the meaning of _Electric Youth_ and how she wanted to be 80 years old doing it still. Then Deb heard a girl say it was her birthday so Deb asked her for her name. It took three times for Deb to get her name right (Rita? Maria? Rhea?) and Deb joked "First day with the new ears, sorry Rhea." Deb then invited Rhea to come on stage to sing happy birthday to her. Deborah did it in a style similar to how she sang happy birthday at the Atlantic 40th special. This was another example of how personal this concert was. The beginning of _Electric Youth_ was definitely much different from the previous tours. The "take it boys" ("take it Fred") part was a little different with the keyboardist using a sample of something. The choreography was also a little different too. Right after _Electric Youth_ some guy decided to climb on stage, but he was caught in a split second by the stage hand on the left. Deb thought it was kind of funny and so did some of the audience. She then asked "How many of your out there are in love? That's not the loudest scream I have heard so far today. But I am in the group of you who are not so I'm just gonna pretend when I sing this next song." Deb then joked "But let's not look for sympathy, don't worry" which I thought was cute. She then proceeded with _One Hand, One Heart_ which was identical to what she's done on Into the Night with Rick Dees and the various telethons she has been on. Debbie, remaining at the piano, performed _Sure_ which I honestly don't remember much of. I don't even remember if she had the left-right speaker problem as she did with _Another Brick Falls_. Deb then told us that she was dripping wet in sweat and that she would be back in four minutes while her dancers entertained us. After the dance break, Chris Cuevas returned to the stage to sing the duet _Someday_. Deb then came out to sing her portion of the duet in a red-sequined short dress which Deb looked sexy in. The duet was pretty weak and paled in comparison with _Love Under My Pillow_ performed with Keeth Stewart on the previous tour. These two duets clearly demonstrate the superiority of Deb's songwriting over Cuevas; he still has a lot to learn from her. Cuevas then left the stage so Deb could perform _No More Rhyme_. In the Electric Youth tour, she would sing this song with jeans and a black leather jacket. I always thought this was a little tacky and was glad to see Deb perform this song in her red sexy dress. After the song was over, a little girl gave Deb some gummy bears and Deb thanked her and added it would be great for the next bus ride. Deb also said it was an original gift and that she had never gotten gummy bears before. Now why didn't any of us in BtL ever think of this?! Deborah then proceeded to do her new Motown medley which was different from the one performed in the Electric Youth tour. Before she began, she praised the audience for being on their feet since she normally has to tell her audiences to get up at this time. There was one section of the audience that was seated though. What I thought was funny was that during _I'll Be There_, Deb said she wouldn't end the song until they got up; she won and got them to stand up. The medley was pretty much identical to what she did for the Rock in Rio II show. I admit, I didn't like it when I first saw it on Rock in Rio II, but I learned to like it quite a bit after hearing it several times live. Visually, the Electric Youth Motown medley was more interesting to watch because she had her three backup singers (Linda Moran, Christine Clarke, Iris Eplan), as well as Buddy and Keeth, join her. This time only her backup singers, Terry and Michelle, joined her and they weren't very coordinated. Now came the part which probably many of the guys hated, _It Must Have Been My Boy_. A lot of guys probably were dreading the _Someday_ duet because Deb actually used to date Chris Cuevas. That was nothing because Herby Sanchez had his hands all over Deb for this song. Sanchez did a suggestive thrusting move (didn't Bobby Brown get arrested for doing this at one of his shows in the past?) with Michelle Cobbs who was playing the role of Genevieve when Deb sang "she's only good for just one thing." I am glad he didn't do it when he was all over Deb though. If he did, I am sure Sanchez would have never made it to Salem (the next show) alive. Can you believe he got paid to touch Deb like that?! This was definitely a high point of the concert for the girls in the audience and the worst point for a lot of guys. Deb and Herby then ran off stage together so Deb could change into her next outfit. The band entertained us in the meantime. It was an excellent jazz jam session in which each band member was able to show off his stuff. It certainly passed time faster than Keeth Stewart's _Team Spirit_ of the Electric Youth tour. Deborah then returned in her "Elvis on the back of her blouse" outfit which was normally what she wore at this time for her concerts of this tour. She performed _Stand Your Ground_ which happened to be the last time she performed it on tour. After Deb finished the song, many flowers were thrown on stage right at her feet which she thought was amusing. _Lead Them Home My Dreams_ was next and Deb explained that she hadn't done it much on tour. Since this is her live sounding song on her album, I thought it would sound pretty much the same live and it did. I was hoping that there would be more emphasis of the bass guitar in the beginning of the song, as in _Only in My Dreams_, but there wasn't. Slowing down the pace after the band rocked out, Deb performed _Foolish Beat_. Unlike previous tours, Deb sat on a stool to sing the song. There was no saxophone intro by Adam Tese and Deb didn't sing the bridge first. It was essentially the album version; the only thing different was how she sang "never meant to hurt you." The performance was sort of a disappointment since I loved the way it was done on the previous two tours. Before going any further, Deb introduced the band. The only remaining original band member was Adam Tese. From the introductions of the band on Deb's first home video tape and from what she said on the TV show Cover Story, I thought her original Long Island band was going to be with her for quite some time. Debbie said in Cover Story how she didn't want to hire touring musicians because she wanted a band she could grow with. So what happened to them? Anyway, the new band has earned my respect because they were pretty competent. The last song before the encore was _Anything is Possible_. I'm glad Deb did not do what she did at Rock in Rio II where she had one of her dancers drag her off stage at the end because I thought it was dumb. She probably did not do it since this was the last song before the encore. _Heart and Soul_ was the first song of the encore which Deb performed unaccompanied on Piano: Baby you've got to believe in me like I believe in you; turn around, look what you've got When I've got you, I see in you, I know how deep you run, and I love every piece of your ---- heart. Friends turn when the wind blows, the wrong way, but I am here for you always. You've got me heart and soul, we will grow old together, don't care how the world turns, I promised you forever. To have and to hold, you've got me heart and soul. Never met anyone who was perfect, and I never will. Disillusion, promises, I've had my fill, but much greater is the power to rise above any obstacles we're given because we have ---- ---- love You've got me heart and soul, we will grow old together, don't care how the world turns, I promised you forever. To have and to hold, you've got me heart and soul. As in the Electric Youth tour with _One Hand, One Heart_, Deb left out the bridge and final verse of the song. Musically, it is something Deb could have written back in the Electric Youth era. Still, among all the new songs performed on this tour, this one was my favorite. I totally love this song and I am crossing my fingers that it will be on the next album. Before the next song, the crowd sang part of happy birthday to her. Deborah loved us and said we were a fun bunch. She rewarded us by throwing in another song that she normally doesn't do. To lead into this song, Deb said that she is singing all these love songs and she doesn't have anyone to sing them to. Debbie then wanted to bring someone up on stage to sing to. A bunch of guys, including me of course, raised their hands. She found one guy and said "ok, come on up here." The guys who didn't get picked were groaning "oh, no" which Deb thought was funny. She then asked him for his name and she got it right the first time and it was Jordan. The girls in the audience were screaming so Deb said "not Jordan Knight, chill out." She invited Jordan to sit up on her piano and she sang Carole King's _Will You Love Me Tomorrow_ to him. It was beautiful (Jordan is so lucky!!!). This is the best example of how personal this concert was. Les Miserables is currently Deb's favorite musical. When I first heard that Deb performed _On My Own_ for the press in her backyard, I was hoping she would do it on tour too. I wasn't sure if this was going to happen in Seattle since Deb just did one new song for us and one that she normally doesn't do. So I was thrilled when she decided to do it. It was done beautifully and made me wonder how it would be like to see her on Broadway. The end of the concert was near when Deb decided to do _Lost in Your Eyes_ and she encouraged everyone to sing along. One guy from the back yelled _Staying Together_ four times in an attempt to request it, but Deb misunderstood him. Deb was a little irked and said "who's yelling Out of the Blue? I did Out of the Blue like the fourth song into the set, where were you?" She then went ahead and sang _Lost in Your Eyes_, which was identical to what she did in her two previous tours (the trademark climbing on top of the piano). _We Could Be Together_ was the last song. Unlike the previous tours, she didn't give us a little lecture before the song. This version was also more true to the album version which is the repeat of the chorus at the end instead of singing "we could be, we could be, we could be together" rapidly. As usual, she brought people on stage. What was funny was how this guy tried to get on stage. A stagehand tried to pull him up, but he couldn't because the guy was just too heavy. Buddy then tried, but he couldn't either. What was really hilarious was when a Madonna and a Boy George impersonator in the audience got on stage. Boy George was a big girl (yes, he was female) who picked Deb up and swung her around a few times. Near the end, right before Adam does his sax solo for _We Could Be Together_, Deb threw her towel in the general direction of Felix, William, and me. Unfortunately, a jerk knocked William down and yanked the towel away from Felix's grip. I lunged for it to my right, but I think I missed. That was the very last towel that Deb threw in concert for the tour so we were upset. Still, Felix and I managed to get a towel before the tour was over despite that (this is a story for another time). This was the best Debbie Gibson concert that I've been to because it was so personal. I don't recall Deb ever interacting with the audience as much at the other seven shows I've been to. Seattle was also the longest Debbie Gibson concert that I've seen and that's another reason why I loved it so much. With all the extras she gave us, the show clocked in at two hours long. I am really glad I went 761 miles to see this show because it was a concert that I will never forget. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= AGAINST THE WIND Peter Blomgren (dgkf-217@nada.kth.se) September 28, 1991 On August 25th 1991 I attended my first ever Debbie Gibson concert. But this is not going to be a concert review. There are many reasons for my not writing a review; firstly, many other BtL members have written very good reviews and it does not feel like I have anything to add. Secondly, this concert constitutes a very important milestone in my life and I really *need* to write about that. However, it is not easy. Since it is important to me, I want to use "the best of my words" to tell my story (I just erased 609 of them that I was not entirely satisfied with.) So, what was so special about this concert? Well... maybe it was not the concert itself. Oh yes, it was an awesome concert no doubt about that. Still, it has more to do with the circumstances surrounding the event. It has something to do with my travelling over nine time zones in order to attend this concert, but that is just the beginning or rather the end. The beginning is not as easily found so it is very hard to follow the advice of Lewis Carroll; that is, to "begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop." I could begin at the point back in 1987 when I first, literally, turned my head in Debbie Gibson's direction; that is, toward the TV set. But an epic story of how Deborah's music affected my life over a period of four years would be quite long. A better starting point may be the summer of '89 when I desperately was trying to get her appearance at the Wembley Arena in the UK confirmed. The desperation led to my joining DGIF... Having hinted at these events I quickly jump to day one of this story -- January 10th, 1991. January 10th??! January 10th was just another ordinary day, I was at home studying for an upcoming exam in Numerical Methods and listening to music; since I always listen to music I know I did, and the exam is in my diary -- I'm not making this up, OK? Then seemingly out of nowhere, my world was turned upside down. There was a black letter in the mail with a message on the outside of the envelope saying "Military matter. Not to be forwarded to an address outside Sweden." I could not bring myself to open it, I put it somewhere and took a *LONG* walk... When I finally got around to open the letter -- not until after the exam if memory serves -- it said what I more or less already knew; I had been called up for 444 days duty in the Swedish Army, beginning on June 10th. Perfect timing, just days before the transition from Desert Shield to Desert Storm! After some consideration I came up with the utterly stupid idea of applying for postponement due to my college studies; no government is so stupid that it f*cks up college for its citizens in times of peace, right? (Historical note: Sweden has not been at war for something like 180 years.) However, some governments are extremely stupid... (Some even go to war, but lets leave politics aside.) You cannot get your service postponed unless you can prove that your degree will be put off more than 3 semesters or you have less than one year until graduation. None of this applied to me. So after two rounds through the bureaucracy -- application and appeal -- I had gotten nowhere. By now I was getting really depressed and my performance in school dropped considerably. I relied on one thing to keep my spirits up, the music of Debbie Gibson. However, we have not reached the bottom yet... At some time during this process I started living in what can be described as two realities. Not willing to accept the army as my future I got a summer job and started making plans for a trip to the USA; the purpose of the trip was to, finally, get to see Debbie Gibson live in concert. Since I had applied for non-military service (trying to be recognized as a conscientious objector) there was still a chance that I would get out of the army. But for the time being I was planning for two different futures; the "bifurcation" point was June 10th. (This sounds really out of touch with reality, but what do you expect from a person that has taken an introductory course in Quantum Physics?) By June 10th my "case" was still stuck somewhere in the bureaucracy so I had to report for duty. Curtain. Finito. Do you believe in Heaven and Hell? For three weeks I was in the latter place, the only thing that kept me sane was the voice of an angel and a beacon of hope. If you cannot figure out who the angel was/is you better un-subscribe to this mailing-list, but "the beacon of hope" needs explanation; although things were looking very dark indeed I had not given up the idea of going to the US and seeing Deborah in concert. Lets just say that I still had one or two tricks up my sleeve and leave it at that... Finally, on June 14th I got the decision on my application for non-military service; the application was *surprise!* rejected. Now things started to look really dark, I had expected the application to go through. I was quickly running out of legal ways of getting out in time for my summer job; in desperation I sent in my appeal just hours after receiving the rejection. All this stuff was really getting to me and since I had a feeling that my appeal would not go through I was feeling very depressed. I made an appointment with the army psychologist in order to discuss my emotional distress. The appointment, which took place on June 24th, really surprised me; before it I thought it might be a good idea to shed a tear or two in order to support my story, but I did not think I would be able to cry on "command". However, when I got there crying was no problem; the stress caused by waiting for the decision(s), the emotional roller-coaster ride between hope and despair and the general confusion and disappointment caused by this whole business was clearly affecting me more than I could admit to anyone, myself included. After the event I told my friends that I had "acted" in there, but now when I can look back at these events from a less uncomfortable point in my life I am quite sure that what I said and did that day was a reflection how I *really* felt. I am not proud of crying in there, but I am not ashamed either; and besides, it sure helped me in the end... The army psychologist promised me to make an effort to speed up my "case" and she sure did; on the 27th I got a "new" decision, my appeal had been rejected! When I first got it over the phone I could not feel anything, I felt hollow. I think it took at least a quarter of an hour until I realized what it meant, everything was crushed; all my plans were f*cked (pardon my French); I was to crawl in mud for the following 15 months... The tears I shed were of acid hatred for Sweden and the system which refused to allow even one little bit of individualism; just how can a country force a person to do something that's clearly a violation against everything that person believes in and still call itself "democratic"? The captain saw my distress and told me to calm down and try to "write a letter to someone you care for" in order to focus my thoughts. No, I did not write to Deborah. Actually I did not write to anyone, I just lay down on the bed that had been assigned to me (NOTE: the construction "my bed" avoided on purpose) and stared at the ceiling. Half an hour (or so) later the captain came to talk to me; he had arranged another meeting with the army psychologist the following morning, until then I was "free". I arrived at the regiment quite early on the morning of the 28th and sat down outside the building in which I was to meet with the psychologist and an expert on the law concerning cases like this. As I sat there and enjoyed the morning, a high rank military person came up to me and asked me why I was sitting there. Then he gave me hell for not wearing my cap - "It's part of the uniform, you know!" and not standing up while he was talking to me. Finally he said "It's almost eight o'clock and time to hoist the flag and you'd better SALUTE it, son!" And yes I did! And I cried! And it was there and then I made the decision that had been pending for quite some time; to, as soon as practically and legally possible, get the f*ck (again, pardon my French) out of this country! But first I had to get out of the army. That proved to be very easy, all I had to do was to sign a form stating that I had voluntarily been sent home due to "acute stress". (I will be called up again next year, though -- that is, if I'm still in this country by then; I'm working on that...) FREE!!! Digression: You may wonder what all this is doing in BtL, and actually I wonder myself. Maybe it is because I need to tell my story to someone. Also it gives you an idea of just how important attending these two Debbie Gibson concerts became to me; for some moments it was the only thing that kept me going. I am certain that if it had not been for the strength I drew from Deborah's music I would now be eating mud in the Swedish Army and hating every second of it. After this long and dark side of the story it is about time to move on to the brighter side of it. On the evening of August 22nd I first set my feet on American soil (not counting the stops in Seattle and Sacramento, that is) at the Ontario airport outside Los Angeles. Little did I know about the impact this trip would have on my life as I walked right past Shaun Stuart, who was to pick me up... As I stated from the start I am not going to write any reviews of the concerts, but I must say that they were awesome! They more than fulfilled all my dreams and expectations which I had built up since becoming a fan back in '87, and that is a whole lot I can assure you! Debbie Gibson live is Debbie Gibson at her very best, she is really a stage person! As if the exhilaration of the concerts was not enough, I also got the opportunity to "meet" her before the show at the Anaheim Celebrity Theatre; I got a personalized autograph on my D.G.I.F. t- shirt and had a picture taken with her. And no, I didn't say that I travelled halfway around the world in order to see her... I *honestly* cannot say what made my vacation such a roaring success, the concerts or meeting pen- and netfriends; the best description would probably be to say that the sum was greater than the parts. It was **SO** incredible to meet people I have written to for, like, two years or so. My only regret is that I could not stay longer and meet everyone (sorry, Archie) but there WILL be a next time. A big thank you to everyone who made the trip possible; I love and miss you all. See you again next tour... And thank you Deborah, for being such a magical person! ****************************************************** * Peter Blomgren * Internet: * * Stenbockens Gata 103 * dgkf-217@nada.kth.se * * S-13662 Haninge * Voicenet: * * Sweden * +46-8745-0518 * ****************************************************** =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CLOSING REMARKS We'd like to point out for new members that Debbie's acting debut in _Beverly Hills 90210_ will be repeated on October 3rd (it has already been shown twice this year, so this is rare for a primetime show). Catch the last 5 minutes of the show for Debbie's stint. The "One Hand, One Heart" video was released recently according to Billboard. Let's hope the next Much Music Debbie Gibson spotlight in Canada will show this video because it is unlikely that MTV or VH1 will show it. Even though it is futile, please do your best to request it. Congratulations to Myra Wong for winning the Caboodles contest. We would like to take a survey of how many other BtL members entered the contest. Please send email to ez000018@pollux.ucdavis.edu and tell us how many times you have entered by phone and by mail, your age, your gender, and if you won or not. It would be ideal if we could have this information before October 10th so if it's possible, send us the info right after you read this.