So this was my first ever Q&A show, although Rob had seen Mick Foley's with his dad, but certainly will not be my last!
Back in December, Eros announced a tour with Diamond Dallas Page in March. I checked with the promoter about age restrictions then called the venue to make sure there would be no problem as the ticket agent said 18+ and once I knew there would be no problem with Rob attending, I booked VIP Tickets for the Glasgow show for Rob's birthday. Now anyone who knows me well will know that when I buy a gift for someone, I can't wait to give it but this time I managed it...and just as well because a week before Rob's birthday I got an email saying that due to poor ticket sales, the show was being cancelled - I was gutted - I had even had a special card made up by Moonpig with the event poster and it was dispatched that very day - begin "operation post interception" - and I booked SWA tickets instead!!
When Eros announced their next big tour was Rowdy Roddy Piper, I knew I wanted to go but with dates in Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh, was concerned that I might once again be disappointed and asked what guarantees I would have that the event would not be cancelled again. Eros contacted me directly and assured me that what had happened in January was not a regular occurrence and they promised me I would be happy...and they kept that promise!
So with the VIP meet and greet advertised to start at 5.30pm, we arrived at the venue about 5.20pm and ended up waiting outside until 6pm when the doors opened. I thought Studio 24 was a great choice of venue for this, big enough to be filled and small enough to feel part of something and not just another face in a giant crowd. We got our merchandise (Rob got the Hot Rod shirt and I got the Villain one with an 8x10 thrown in for free) and we waited to meet the man himself. The photo ops at these shows are usually done by their own photographer then pics are uploaded to flickr for you to download, but with the Edinburgh show being smaller, we were able to have the pics taken on our own devices....and I am so glad because one pic of me with Piper will never see light of day but the people waiting to meet him got a really good laugh! Roddy was lovely and took time to chat for a few minutes to everyone. When we mentioned Rob had started training, he was really interested, asked how old Rob was, where he trained and then, after getting my photos taken with him, turned back to Rob and started to give him tips and advice on wrestling and what to work on. Rob was so happy I thought he would burst!
Being one of the first at the meet and greet meant a bit of a wait until the show began at 8pm, however there were big screens either side of the stage and as we sat in our front row seats, classic matches featuring Piper were played as we waited and the time just flew by. First there was an introduction and bit of banter from Billy Kirkwood and Chris Brooker - these guys are hysterical. They were really funny and did a great job of setting the tone for the night!
Then out came the man himself, Rowdy Roddy Piper. The first half of the show had Hot Rod battling with a rogue mike stand which he ended up sending flying, checking there were no kids in the audience (the venue had a 14+ age restriction for this event), then telling stories about growing up living in youth hostels, how he started out in wrestling, how he ended up being billed as Scottish and some wonderfully scary, funny and emotional tales of his time with guys such as Mad Dog Vachon and Adrian Adonis. I don't want to say too much as I don't want to spoil anyone else's experience, but his tale about his first ever road trip with Mad Dog Vachon and the diner stop had me in fits....and I am having a wee giggle remembering it now!
The second half of the show was Q&A time and after a quick story to warm up, there were some good questions from the audience - and all about Roddy this time (if you haven't read Billy Strachan's review of the show in Inverness, people there were asking about John Cena - you can read it for yourself here) , well almost! As Roddy was in the middle of answering a question, this guy in the front row who I actually thought was a decent guy until this point, interrupts and asks Roddy to comment on Owen Hart's death. Actually the guy accused Vince Russo of being responsible and demanded that Roddy confirm this to be true. I guess there is a down side to having a bar at events like this and this guy proved to be that downside. Roddy dealt with the situation really well, defusing things with some well chosen words, then continued to answer the question asked previously. 
He ended the show by playing a wee tune on the harmonica (I broke the no recording rule for this but the video is purely for my own enjoyment and shall not be shared - unless expressly requested by Eros & Roddy) and that was it! I did wonder if the Q&A had been cut short after the drunk started up, but then again it could just have been that with the smaller crowd there were not as many hands up to ask questions. I really wish I had put up my hand earlier but I waited to see what other people were asking first and lost my opportunity. In case anyone is interested, I would have asked who was the person Roddy LEAST liked to wrestle!So all things said, I had a blast - I met a wrestling legend, my son got some advice and I really enjoyed hearing things about Hot Rod straight from the man himself. The whole setup from the meet and greet to the end of the show was well planned and executed by the promoter and I would have no hesitation in booking a show with Eros again.
For information on the rest of Piper's tour, or to find out about future tours, check out Eros Comedy on Facebook or Twitter.
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Great venue.a was behind the drunk that was there and he was pretty drunk and annoying. Great venue as u said and the man himself was sooo nice and down to earth like I expected of him.great nite.wasnt impressed with the comedy duo but they tried hard. Good blog u wrote and I remember seen use guys there
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