Touched by the hand of...

Random fact: I have only met three rock stars (if you don't include David Yow crowd surfing over the top of me) and it happened in three consecutive years.

2000: At the Big Day Out, I was hanging out with a friend when Joe Strummer wandered by. I astutely observed out loud, "Hey, you're Joe Strummer!" Joe turned and smiled, "Hello mate" and grabbed my hand. Even though he was about my height, I remember he had huge, warm hands.

2001: I went to see You Am I who were supported by the Strokes(!?) in Newtown. I thought the Strokes kind of sucked and wasn't backward in my opinion at the pub afterwards. A buddy of mine invited me to a party which turned out to be the after show party held at the You Am I bass player's house in Glebe. An hour after trashing them, I was shaking hands with Nikolai Fraiture telling him what a great show it was. He seemed kind of shy and awkward.

2002: All my fanboy dreams came true when I shook Bob Mould's hand after a show and had a brief chat with him. I saw him two nights in a row but it was only on the second night I plucked up the courage to say hello after the show. He was incredibly gracious and kind in the light of such a tongue tied display by a star struck fan.

Of the three, the most random and awesome was Joe Strummer. He just seemed like an incredibly nice guy...

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