“Meriwether Post Pavilion, Maryland, June 17th, 2000. My girlfriend and I had been together for about 14 months. Before I met her, I didn’t really know anyone that was into the Cure like I was. We went to 4 shows during The Dream Tour, starting with Holmdel NJ and ending with the last show in the states at Jones Beach, NY. On the day of the Meriwether show, we drove down to the venue early to secure tickets. The entirety of our Cure experience that night rested on my ability to get us in. We arrived, and it was pouring rain. Not showering, nor drizzling, but full out thunder lightening, downpour rain. We parked the car and I didn’t let on that I was anxious. My girlfriend, amused, knew better. We sat in the truck for a while hoping the rain would let up. Not a chance. She looked at me with a quizzical smile asking what my plan was.
I told her I was going to exit the vehicle, and comb the parking lot for tickets. She laughed and asked if I had an umbrella or a raincoat. If I went out in the pouring rain, I was going to get soaked and wouldn’t be too comfortable with wet clothing later that night. Well then, I explained, I’ll just have to look for tickets NAKED. She laughed. Naked – good one. Time was running out. I was going to have to do something drastic. So I did what any boyfriend would do: I stripped down naked right there in the car. She looked at me like I was crazy and said if I went out there I would get arrested for indecent exposure, even though I did look good. Lucky for me, I had a towel in the truck for some unknown reason. I grabbed the towel, wrapped it around my waist and headed out in search of tickets.Most people were in their cars or hiding from the rain. As I approached the venue, one person mentioned to me that the box office was releasing some tickets. I made my way there, encountered more people, and more stares. Me: 30 years old, wet, and naked aside from a small towel around my waist.
The lady at the window looked on with reservation, but sold me two seats within the first 15 rows. SUCCESS! I got my tickets and turned away to head back to the car. I could feel judgment and mockery – but I didn’t care. I knew that it was one more show I was going to get to see. I looked over at a group of young Cure fans that were obviously goofing on me, and thought they were the crazy ones. After all, they were soaked, wearing long black velvet dresses, in the heat and pouring rain. It was then that it really occurred to me that it doesn’t matter what you look like, or how you wear your hair, because anyone can be a Cure fan.When I got back to the truck, the rain started to let up and I put my warm, dry clothes back on. My girlfriend was over the moon: not only did I get us tickets, but really good seats. That girl became my wife. It was nights like this that I think she really understood that I was always going to take care of us, no matter what it was I had to do.”