I've got a couple of extra pics to share from this show, too; not ones that someone else took this time, but a few I got of Jimi while he was still hanging around backstage, waiting for his cue, so to speak. I didn't think they were going to come out at all when I took them--he was pretty far away, it was getting dark out, and I only had my 75mm lens at that point (which isn't much of a zoom range, only enough for things within maybe 4 or 5 meters). And they're certainly not up to the level of all the pics I got of him on stage later that same night, but I'm glad I went ahead and gave it a shot anyway, because they really turned out pretty decent, considering. (Though I did joke afterward about needing to sign up for a paparazzi card, what with taking pictures of him on the sly and all. 
)
Also, when I was talking to him afterward... well, I've detailed some of what was said in my original Concert Tale, but by no means everything. I had brought my Extra Moments CD to this show to get autographed, for one thing, and while he was signing it, I mentioned that I had bought it pretty much for one particular song. He naturally asked which one, and I was thus forced to admit that it was the track called "Touch You There." (Honestly, though, I freakin' LOVE that song... 
) Anyway, I was more than a little embarrassed to say that to him face-to-face, and of course he got all enthusiastic and said something like, "Oh, that's a GREAT song!" in return. I blushed and mumbled something about getting entirely too much enjoyment out of it, and he got that gleam of mischief in his eye, grinned at me (Gods, he was SO adorable whenever he did that! 
) and replied, "Well, I meant every word."
I have to say, though, I actually got him back in kind, and almost at once. 2011 was the year he turned 60, and where the show was in early August, his birthday was only a couple of weeks away at the time. I think Kelly wished him a happy one in advance first, but naturally I chimed in with my own well-wishes right afterward, and he was kind of joking around with both of us about it--I don't remember now exactly what he said, but probably something about not wanting to be reminded or getting old or somesuch. And I just couldn't let THAT pass; I said, "Jimi, I'm going to break a personal rule here, and tell you out loud, to your face, that every man should look as good at sixty as you do." He was very sweet about it, and thanked me for the compliment, but I really think that was the closest I EVER came to an honest payback for all the times that he made ME blush over something!
And I do have to concede that even that one victory was rather short-lived; if you thought I was flabbergasted by him telling me that I ought to be running a photography business if I wasn't already, then just wait till you you hear the REST of the story! This was a few months before he rejoined Survivor the second time--the show was in early August, as I said above, and the other happened in November, if memory serves. Anyway, at the time he was still a solo artist, and he had a bunch of shows already in the works for 2012 which were supposed to be big benefit concerts for a charity he was involved with called the Magic Life Foundation. We got to talking about those shows because there were a couple I thought I might be able to go to, at least in a geographic sense--one in Salt Lake City, and one in Las Vegas. I said something about how I'd kind of given up on the Vegas gig, though, partly because it was in February (which is a bad time of year to be travelling to or from Colorado; too many snowstorms) and partly because it was supposed to be held at Planet Hollywood, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't be allowed to bring a pro-level camera in to take any pictures.
Well, he said something like, "Sure you can bring your camera" in response, and I kind of gave him a look from under a lifted brow and said, "At Planet Hollywood? You're kidding, right?" Whereupon he made this sort of sweeping gesture with one hand and said, with great authority, "Press goes ANYWHERE." And when I started to protest that I wasn't "press" or anything like it, he interrupted me and said, "I'll get you a pass, don't worry." I don't mind telling you that all I could do then was gape at him in astonishment for a second or two--I mean, good Gods. Little old me, offered a press pass like I was a real professional, rather than just a fan with the bucks to afford a decent camera! 
Even after all this time, I STILL just have to shake my head in amazement--never in a million years would I have expected him to do anything like that.
And nothing ever actually came of that promise, alas; all those charity shows got cancelled when he rejoined Survivor, probably because they conflicted with the band's own tour schedule. And all but one of the rest of the shows I made it to afterward were in venues where I didn't need special permission to get pics anyway, the lone exception being the St. Paul benefit. That was a solo show rather than a band show, so I was able to just ask Sally directly if it was okay if I brought my camera, and she took care of the rest. Even if it never materialized in practice, though, the fact that he'd offered to do it at all was just... good golly. I mean, I've always liked to think that all my affection for him added a little something to the photos I took at concerts, some subtle enhancement that a strictly for-hire photographer wouldn't have been able to replicate. But to have HIM think that highly of my work (and before he ever saw what I could do with a dSLR, even!) was VERY unexpected, and definitely gave me a huge warm fuzzy bundled up with the shock. 
