I've been so busy lately...

How busy? Well, my internet connection got turned off because I forgot to pay the bill for about a month. Horrible. I had to read a book last night until they turned it back on. I almost lost mymind .

I'm so busy I never blogged about Mr. Big in Singapore.

So I better start there.

Sunday, Oct. 18

I left the hotel early, carrying the Less Paul. I walked to Fort Canning Park, which is a pretty dumb thing to do that close to the equator.

By the time I got where I needed to be, I was sweating like a prostitute on "2-for" Tuesday.

But as I was approaching the venue, I could hear Mr. Big soundchecking. It was reallyloud.

It was also f@#$ing great.

Say what you want about their hair or their acoustic ballad, but they were always a ferocious live band, and I knew right then that I had made the right choice in coming to see them. I could tell that the time and $ were worth it just from the soundcheck.

I actually watched them soundcheck, since there was no security there yet.

In fact, after soundcheck, Paul Gilbert walked by me on his way back to the dressing room. I didn't want to bother him, as I knew I'd get to meet him later.

I collected my VIP pass and then waited very unceremoniously outside. Apparently VIP don't get air-conditioning or water.

I met lots of the other VIPs, and in many ways, this was the best part of the experience. We were all standing around in the heat, most of us holding guitars to be signed. I felt better when locals said it was hot, because that obviously meant it was really hot.

The security guards, two Dutch or German guys (who were both smaller than me) took an inordinate interest in the Less Paul, and after I showed it to them it got everyone else's attention too.

I ended up posing for pictures with it. It was weird. I tried to get people to hold it, but no one wanted to. Strange...

But as I said, I met a lot of great people and we all talked about guitars to pass the time before the meet and greet.

Which, it turns out, was not really a meet and greet but more like a shoot and scoot.

The road manager informed the promoter, who informed us, that there would be no autographs, no meeting the band and chatting with them. You walked in, met them, took a photo, and got out.

I will say that the band were all very nice, and they seemed genuinely grateful at the fan support. I didn't mind that part, and I've worked in that setting enough to know that sometimes you just don't have it to give, so to speak.

But I'd spent SG$350 for what turned out to be something I could easily have done for free if I'd shown a little initiative at soundcheck. I'm sure there was some sort of excuse clause buried in the fine print, but it was still a rather suckfulepisode.

Especially when I realized that I didn't even ask Paul to hold the Less Paul in the picture! You can see me holding it:Just like Christmas, I'm bigger than Big.So no water, no a/c, no Paul Gilbert signature on the Less Paul.

Although the VIPs did have a nice elevated platform off to the side of the stage, right in front of Paul Gilbert.

The show itself was fantastic. No opening band, and a simple stage set. Loud, but not painful. The crowd was about 2,500 strong, which is a lot smaller than the Budokan, so in reality I ended up with a much better seat.

The other thing I liked about the crowd was how diverse it was. I saw quite a few Muslim women in the crowd, dressed like the Indonesian domestics here. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, and I was really glad.

Granted, I didn't see them singing along when Paul Gilbert broke into AC/DC's "Highway to Hell," but the rest of us were singing along.

The band played a lot of their old songs, some great covers, and during the encore rotated instruments: guitarist Paul Gilbert played drums, drummer Pat Torpey played bass, singer Eric Martin played guitar and bassist Billy Sheehan sang on a great cover of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water."

Until the song's guitar solo. For that, Billy played guitar, Eric played bass, and Pat sang. It was hilarious as well as impressive.

They played for more than two hours, and the weather had to be wearing them out. I know I was getting tired! They made their way backstage, and most of the VIPs followed them. Singer Eric Martin came out and shook our hands, saying we ought to be glad it was him since the rest of the band had DNA on their hands...

Whether the band relented or the promoter said something, the band agreed to sign some things, but we had to pass them backstage via the security. Luckily for me, the security guards had me go first, since they liked the Less Paul. I wanted Paul Gilbert to sign it, but it turns out all four members didI went back to my hotel, took a shower and went to sleep.

The next day, I visited a friend before going to the airport. She's an air hostess for Singapore Airlines and had invited me to her place before I left.

If this was 1975, I'd have cued up the porno music.

But it's 2009, she's a friend's niece, and is a devoutly Christian woman. It was purely social. Which is fine with me.

I still get to say that an air hostess asked me back to her place. Close enough for me.

I had bought a Mr. Big shirt the night before, and as usual it was the last clean shirt I had for the trip, so I wore it.

"That shirt suits you so well," said a Singapore Airlines employee at the check-in counter with a flirtatious smile.

The coquettish nature of the statement was sadly alleviated by the fact that it was an obviously gay man saying it.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.Besides, it's just the way my life goes.