Anthony’s Book Signing and Gig - 2/21 NYC
I went to the signing with some BWWers, one of which, (bless her soul), got there at 3:30 and saved us seats. When we got there, I was shocked at the size of the space. It was a teeny area right in front of the window of the music section of Barnes and Noble. All the seats were already filled when we got there, and it took a lot of effort to not step on anyone. We got there at around 4:45 and waited around until 7. There were some CRAZY people there. People were singing in practically eight different pitches – they had to be told by security to shut up. They actually had to call the police. Not Barnes and Noble security, but the NYPD. Someone made finger sandwiches with popsicle sticks coming out that had pictures of Anthony’s head. They were….creepy, to say the least.
It started filling up closer to 6. They had to have people constantly moving because I’m sure it was very close to being a fire hazard. All the seats were filled, the aisles were filled, the area behind the seats was filled, and the line continued to sneak around many corners. Lots of people. The main area was right in front of a big window, and at around 6:45, you could see Anthony standing outside peeking in. It was cute.
So, he came in, and my ears were in a lot of pain. He seemed a little shocked that so many people were there. It was a pretty rowdy crowd – there was a lot of random, unnecessary applauding and more or less shrieking. He began by saying something about the reason he wrote the book; while he sat with writer’s block, banging his head against the wall, staring at a blank computer screen, what he envisioned as the light at the end of the tunnel was something like tonight. Being able to share his story and being able to meet and communicate with his fans. He read the chapter “We Begin” – which was great, and especially emotional, at least I found it to be, because Jonathan’s good friend Victoria Leacock was there (who was kind enough to pass around Godiva chocolate).
Anthony then opened it up for questions. I suppose it could have been a lot worse based on the crowd – but it wasn’t that bad. I don’t really remember much from this part of the evening. Someone asked about any bloopers from the show or the movie and Anthony told the story that once during ICY Jesse’s microphone got tangled with Wilson’s wig and his wig got pulled off. There were a lot of questions about the book – what his family’s reaction was, if there was any jealousy between him and his brother, if his feelings had changed about the concept of truth after the James Frey debacle, what members of the OBC who are mentioned in the book thought. Someone asked why Fredi and Daphne weren’t in the movie and he answered that Daphne was pregnant and Fredi and Chris agreed she was too old for the part. He then went on to say that Fredi has publicly supported the movie and that she had even planned a trip to go see it with members of BWW. Boo for that never actually happening. There was a question about what Anthony remembered most about Jonathan – to which he answered something along the lines of his energy and passion. Someone asked if he thought he would be looked down on because of how truthful he was in terms of his past relationships – Anthony responded by saying that he was just being truthful and hopefully people wouldn’t see it like that. Someone asked if Anthony was unhappy about anything that had been removed from the book during the editing process. He said that there was more detail about his friend whose memorial service he attended the day of his first Rent audition – but that it had been a mutual decision that it wasn’t really necessary. He then said that he was very adamant about the Spin the Bottle stuff – and that he would have beat someone if they tried to remove it. I think most of the other questions we’ve heard before – what was your favorite scene to shoot, do you like film or stage better, what are you doing next, do you plan to continue writing, etc. Somewhere in there people started requesting things for him to sing and he ended up singing a short snippet of La Vie Boheme in his “jazzy” voice and a bigger snippet of Losing My Religion. Ok, so I apparently remember a lot more than I thought I would.
So, the signing was slightly more organized than I thought. There was enough time to have a DVD, book, and one other thing signed. Those awkward bending in pictures were allowed – but it was really fast paced. They put our names on a post-it, and you basically had as much time in front of him as it took for him to sign whatever you had. So, then it was my turn. I got up there and told him I was Fantabulous from BWW – he was very nice about it. He seemed glad that people were “declaring” themselves to him. I got one of those awkward pictures and was on my way.
We got to the outside of the Cutting Room at around 9:45 – doors were supposed to open at 10:30. We assumed after such a large crowd at the signing to expect a big group at the gig. When we got there we went in and were told that the first show was running late and the show would start at 11:30, not 11. We returned outside for another 25 minutes until some guy who had been handing out Albinokid flyers at the signing came out and told us if we were here for Albinokid we could go inside. We were right towards the front of the line, and at around 10:40 Anthony showed up looking very confused – I think he might not have known that he was starting a half hour later and he still needed to do some form of a sound check. No one except for the people in the front even knew he was there. He kind of just appeared out of nowhere and continued to walk back and forth between sides of the Cutting Room for about 20 minutes.
It was a really nice, intimate space. There were mostly round tables lit by candles – I would say there were around 45 people there. Anthony’s set list was:
Living Alive
Then Again
Goodbye
A Radiohead cover called "Creep"
The Stalker Song
Human Tornado
Visits to You
The Breakup Song
Out Out Damn Spot
Seasons of Love
When he first came out, we were all so dead that no one even applauded or anything. It was the complete opposite from the signing. Anthony said something like, “Well, everyone sounds real excited tonight.” He kept using these funny voices, what he called his “radio” voice. When he introduced his band he would say this is David on the gee-tar. Heh. He’s got a real quirky sense of humor. I also have to say that his stuff from Look Around sounded great live and with a band behind him. Some nice backup vocals were added to most of the songs too. Anthony has also got some great dance moves. Lots of spinning around, jumping up and down, and just some samba-esque hip moves. And of course many, many spaz hands. He mentioned that hopefully Albinokid will be recording an album soon and that they're hoping to play some more gigs. After the show Anthony stayed up on stage and people didn’t really know what to do. Someone ran over and attacked him and he ended up being in this really dark corner. So we headed over there and they eventually brought over a tiny desk lamp. We sat down and chatted for a few minutes, thanked Anthony, and we were on our way. It was great night with surprisingly a lot of emotional ups and downs. But in the end, if this was the night that wrapped up this chapter, I suppose it was a good night with many fun, interesting, and creepy memories. Thanks Anthony!
Ok, so I didn’t even know it was possible for me to type that much, but apparently it was. Hope anyone who actually got through it enjoyed it.
I recognize the addiction to being alive.
Updated On: 2/22/06 at 03:05 AM
