When famous people come to town, they phone their agents and ask, "Where is that guy Art? I MUST meet him before I leave Atlanta!"

I was happy to oblige Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction with my presence when his band came to town. It's only been in recent years that I've become a fan of Jane's Addiction's early `90's albums, and also bought one of their more recent efforts, Strays. On Twitter Farrell had said they were planning a theater tour, and when I heard they were going to be at The Tabernacle, with general admission seating, and for only $50, I practically snapped my neck getting a ticket. This was unusual, because I only had to sit in a recliner with my laptop and poke a couple of keys to buy one.

The show was far beyond my expectation, as I recently stated on my podcast. Most bands out there today are charging $150 for even a mid-priced ticket, and when you get to the arena, there's nothing there but a bare stage, some amps, and maybe a cloth backdrop. Jane's Addiction's show had the kitchen sink treatment: two dancing girls, a guy dressed as a bird who swung from the light rig, video screens everywhere showing short films that communicated the themes of the songs, and even some Alice Cooper-ish skits.

After the show I was hoping to catch up with my pal Don at the side of The Tabernacle where the buses park and the performers sometimes give autographs. I didn't see Don, but Dave Navarro, JA's guitarist, came out and signed guitars and took pictures. Then Perry Farrell came out. I had decided that I really wanted to thank these guys for putting on such a massive production at such a low cost, because most bands these days are visibly pinching pennies, and Jane's Addiction's reputation is such that they could've done a lot less and still left their fans totally happy.

There was this guy in line, probably late 40's, who looked like he must have done 10 tabs of LSD. His eyes looked ready to launch out of their sockets and into the parking lot across the street. His girlfriend, probably nearly half his age, was staggering around, drunk as a skunk. The guy had a loud personality, and had nearly gotten in a fist fight with one of the panhandlers that was drifting around, which is another story. These were the first fans Farrell had to deal with. He gave them full eye contact and actually bantered with them a couple of minutes and smoothed them right out, and sent them away happy. At that moment, I realized how Farrell has earned his status as an entertainer. I don't think many people would've had the patience to deal with those two.

This being downtown Atlanta, yes, there were three panhandlers drifting around annoying the crap out of, and scaring, everybody. You looked and saw a panhandler, then turned your gaze three feet to the right, and saw an internationally famous rock star. Most unusual.

One of these panhandlers got in line and wanted Farrell to sign a dollar bill. Apparently he had already gotten one signed, because Farrell had already told everyone he was doing one autograph and one picture per person, and when this guy got in line, he said, "Didn't I already sign one for you? Well...I'll do one more." I'm confident this guy had no idea who Jane's Addiction was, he probably hoped he could pay off the debt to his crack dealer with that autographed dollar, but I was once again impressed how Farrell had people skills with a guy most were desperate to avoid, and with the eyes of hardcore fans upon him, also. Play a big rock show with full energy for two hours, then go deal with LSD nuts and panhandlers with grace. Wow.

My turn in the line came up. I don't like to think I have any special reverence for the famous, because I regard myself as a talented, worthwhile person, also, but I admit I did get just a little dry-mouthed. You don't want to look like a tool box the one time you get to meet someone who's music you've enjoyed.

So I got to shake Mr. Farrell's hand, and told him I appreciated him bringing out such a lavish production, and doing it at a price that people could afford in "this economy," as everyone says. Right away I thought what a dork I must have sounded like next to the pink-haired alternative rock groupies who were squealing at his slightest touch, but anyhow, he said, "Thanks, man. It means a lot," although maybe he was thinking, "Oh, my God! Get this dork away from me and bring back the homeless guy!"

Another thing that should be pointed out: these days a lot of bands will charge up to $900 for you to meet them for 10 seconds and shake their hand and tell them they're great. I'm further impressed Jane's Addiction offered this opportunity free of charge.

Jane's Addiction makes every other band out there look cheap. Go see them when they're in your area.