Sparks were doing two nights at the Santa Monica Civic, and I had to get decent seats, as my friend Dan and I got thrown out on our asses for lighting sparklers and running down the aisle with them as the band came out in May of that year. I got back in but he didn't. Our older friend, Brent Williams, offered to drive Mary, Trudie and me down to the Civic in the wee hours, and arranged for us to crash beforehand at Patrick Warren's place. Patrick was a professional musician who had also graduated the year before and I didn't know him that well but, as an aspiring keyboardist, I was in awe of him. I don't believe I saw him again in person until the mid 00s when he turned up playing keyboards for my friend Jim White.
Of course my parents would never have allowed this, so I had to pretend that I was staying at Mary's house, and she at mine, and Brent wrote my absent note to the school as my father. (From this point on my new dad took on this role a LOT.)
I have no idea who this Graham person was or what happened to him, though I seem to remember last seeing him at a Roxy Music gig where he told me he was a Gemini.
9 November
I couldn't believe it when Mom let me stay overnight at Mary's. Mary told her mom she was staying at mine. We went over to Kristi's to get her [ticket] $$, then Brent and Trudie picked us up and we went to Jade's. She had got her hair cut into a Bowie. When we left hers, Brent drove around her lawn twice - it was so funny!
We went to Patrick's. Never thought I'd be spending the night at his house! Trudie and I slept on the couch and Mary the floor. In the middle of the nite Trudie goes, "Don't! Please stop!!" I go, "What?!" and she goes,"Leave my hair alone! Leave it alone!!" So then I ask, "Are you asleep?" and she goes, "No!" But she was.
10 November
I saw Patrick get up and eat but I didn't say anything to him. Later I looked at the music on his piano and he had transcribed the music for "Firth of Forth." Brent was supposed to pick us up before 5:00 but he didn't come till 7:00! I was almost sure we were gonna have to go to school!
So we got to the Civic and who do we see but Bill Fucile! [He went to our school and in later years hung out at the Masque; sadly died in the 80s.] Mary and I went to Sambo's. I got in a fight with Trudie about taking cuts. [But at least I wasn't cutting her hair!] Dawn and Sharon came [two friends who went to the "alternative" high school] and I'd saved them a place. I fell in love three times and #3 was Graham. We were talking to his friends and they told him I wanted to take his pic but I didn't. I thought Graham looked so neat though with that scarf and everything. He was going to Sparks both nites and to 10CC too. I didn't see anyone I knew in line. That was weird - no one asked for the orchestra pit! [That was the Holy Grail and what we got!]
After we got the tickets we had to take Warren and that girl to court and it took so long and was so boring. I got really pissed. [Annoyed, not drunk!] Then we had to watch that Bill Cosby/Raquel Welch movie. [I think we went to Brent's house; he still lived at home so that's why we couldn't have stayed there last night.] I thought it was so boring! [Funny, if you had asked me yesterday had I ever seen Mother, Jugs and Speed, I would have told you no...] But I got to school in time for swimming. [My last class; my mom might have been picking me up from school that day.] Kristin [my sister] was suspicious for a while but Mom never found out; they goofed on my report card. I'm so glad.
Later Brent came over with Ronda (who was sick) to write my sick note. He said he wasn't gonna go to the taping of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert with Alex Harvey, but later I found out he did - without US! Grr...