Sam Weller

It's two in the afternoon on Sunday. A small crowd has gathered on the second floor of the Uptown Borders bookstore. They are waiting on John Waite. The former frontman of the underappreciated seventies Brit-pop band, The Babys; the solo artist who landed a number one hit in 1984 with "Missing You"; the frontman of the power-schmaltz supergroup Bad English, is nowhere to be seen. He's late for a scheduled in-store concert in support of his new disk, "Hard Way." Apparently Waite is being driven in from Detroit after performing a sold-out club gig the night before. Apparently even aging pop stars have to contend with the morass that is the Indiana Skyway.

An hour behind schedule, the 49-year-old singer-songwriter finally arrives, guitar in hand, long hair tousled. He strolls in with a self-assured swagger--the unmistakable gait of the rock star. "Sorry I'm late," the rail-thin singer announces in his British accent. "Can't be helped, really."

A few chairs are set up for Waite and his accompanying guitarist. The makeshift stage for this afternoon's performance is in the children's section (a regular bookstore setup given the romping room). But the close proximity to stuffed Elmo dolls seems to not bother the eternal rocker. There is even an apparent groupie standing stage right, next to the Dr. Suess books. Waite and the guitar player rip through six or seven soulful pop ditties, with Waite's voice in fine form. He shoots the woman a few smiles. Or was he smiling at "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish"?

(2005-02-22)

Also by Sam Weller

KID ROCK
Any Gen-Xer worth their sugary breakfast cereal knows his voice--even above the din of that silly rabbit. Throughout the seventies, Bob Dorough's leisurely Southern drawl meant Saturday morning.
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There are others from the "Star Wars" Universe who made it in for the annual Wizard World Comic Book/Multi-media/pop culture/porn (more on this later) all-out, explosive, hyper, titillating, hard-on-inducing (hell, I even got one) convention.
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DEAR JOHN
It's not as if I was downloading porn, I rationalized. I just wanted to see John. Bad. It was a viral celebrity infection. Days passed. Weeks.
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CHEESE WHIZ
Part archetypal cheese chalet, part rock music venue (you read that right), all this place needs is Rod Serling standing in the inner lobby welcoming you to the Twilight Zone.
(2001-06-21)

ALEX ROSS' FAVES
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MAN OF STEEL
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THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY
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(2001-03-01)

AN OLD PEANUT
(2000-12-28)

AUTHOR VISIT
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YOGI'S UTOPIA
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CALL WAITING
(2000-07-13)

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