Michael Nesmith Largo set

Forgot about the dating of the autograph - he has done that with all of mine also. Personally I think it's kind of cool.

 

He appeared as a special guest at the Watkins Family concert, who were the headliners. Read skallywag's review on this thread about the concert.

 

I've changed my tune about this since my early 20s. I will buy an artist's music and go to shows if I can, but I don't feel they owe me anything after that. If they don't want to be bothered, I won't bother them. I will wait around for an autograph if they are specifically doing that, like when I met Nick Lowe at a Borders in-store, and I had him sign my Cruel To Be Kind single.

 

Depends on what you define as "casual". For me, that means somebody who has a Monkees GHs CD, and has never heard of his 1stNB, or any of his solo albums. My wife, who enjoys the TV series on DVD and reissue CDs, would be my definition of a casual fan ++. She has no desire to listen to any of his solo stuff, and would be fairly disappointed to attend one of his solo shows where he didn't play most of his monkee hits.

 

I think autographs are awesome. I have a few real cool items that I could never have attained when I was a kid/student. Each has a cool story and I have no plans to liquidate any of them in my lifetime.

 

That clip of Nesmith blowing off his fans just really turns my stomach. It would have taken him all of 10 minutes of his time to accommodate those people wanting to meet him.The fact is that there were people coming from thousands of miles away just to see him perform and yet he blows them off. If I was that fan, I may have just thrown the albums at the car and walked off in disgust....

 

I could not care less that he won't sign autographs. I do feel sad that he still has his chops but didn't want to go out on the recent Monkees tour. That is his right of course, but still sad.

 

I attended the concert and Nesmith was wonderful. As for autographs, he was signing inside the venue and it was a pleasure to meet him. He was a joy to speak with about his involvement with Repo Man. Due to the restriction on cameras, I didn't sneak any photos but I am still overjoyed at the chance that I had to meet him.

 

I watched the video and thought that Nez was very reasonable about the situation. He was leaving and he apologized for not signing and thanked his fans. I think that's totally fine. The only thing that turned my stomach was the fan from St Louis groveling for an autograph even after Nez politely declined.

 

He's put up with that crap for over 40 years. Can't the guy just get to his car without being hassled? Seriously, put yourself in his shoes. It must be annoying to have this nonsense happening everywhere you go for decades.

 

What a weird video.

Anyways, I don't blame Mike for not signing. It's called get out and get in the car. I can see where it's disappointing for a guy to travel that far, but hey... that guy has seen more than I have or probably ever will of Nesmith.

 

As someone else already said, he appeared a bit frail, may not have been feeling particularly well and he most certainly does NOT owe a damned thing to anyone. The money paid over the years was for a service rendered, entertainment, and you paid what it was worth to you. People don't "own" celebrities and that is why they get so tired of pushy people who act as if they do. Especially the professional autograph hunters and paparazzi types. Vultures.

Would I like an autograph from him? Hell yeah. But if he was not signing I would not be whining.

 

I think we can thank eBay for the policy some artists have adopted of refusing to sign autographs. The artist isn't sure if the person asking really is a fan or just someone looking to make a buck off his signature. It's the reason Ringo now refuses to sign autographs. I worked at the Beacon Theater last year when Elton John did a show there and there was a fan with a stack of albums pleading for Elton to sign them (He didn't).

Sometimes a artist may sign if he feel likes it, other times they're just very tired and just want some personal peace and quiet. I once approached John Lennon for an autograph in front of the Dakota in 1979 and he politely refused, and I wasn't going to push it because I knew he wouldn't say 'no' nice the second time. I'm sorry that fan didn't get an autograph, but I read the blog attached to the video and he did attend the concert, so it's not like he traveled all that distance and got nothing. He got to see a rare concert appearance by Nesmith and that should have been enough.

 

Have we heard what pushed Nesmith to do this appearance? Is he friendly with the Watkins siblings? Or did he ask them to play at their theatre?

 

"Get out and get in the car," that sums it up, you hit it right on the nose.

I was at a Monkees convention once and Peter Tork was doing a Q&A with the audience. Some young woman asked him -- very nicely -- if she could come up on the stage and give him a hug. This was obviously a big deal to her and she was practically in tears. Tork declined and went on to explain, "if I do it for you, then I have to do it for everyone." He declined, but he did his best to let her down easy. This was in an auditorium filled with a boatload of Monkee fans. Same thing for Nesmith as he was leaving the theatre in the video -- no, it's not gonna kill him to sign one autograph, but there were probably a dozen people lined up there and before you know it he's stuck there for a half-hour. And who knows -- maybe he wasn't feeling well, he was going somewhere with his family, maybe they had a reservation waiting for them or whatever. If it had been me wanting to meet him and get an autograph, I would have been a little disappointed but I would have completely understood. I mean, wow, I'm sure it would have been awesome just to have been at that show.

I would not want to be "famous" or "a celebrity." I'm sure it would be a real kick in the beginning but it would get old very fast. There are people out there who take things way too personally (well, see "John Lennon" for an extreme example) and I have actually witnessed situations where a "chronological adult" will, for example, get really ticked at a performer for not posing with them for a picture, or not "high-five-ing" them at the end of a show -- and will respond by declaring they no longer like the performer in question and no longer consider themselves a fan. I can't relate to that mindset, but I know it's out there, because I have seen it happen -- I would have no desire whatsoever to deal with the kinds of crazy stuff "celebrities" have to face on a daily basis. And these people don't see or hear their own part in things. Some guy is in line to meet Peter Tork and he's smoking a cigarette, Peter asks him to put it out, the guy refuses and blows smoke into Tork's face, Tork has had enough and says he's not signing any more autographs for anyone. But guess who becomes the "bad guy." And since he doesn't perform live that often, I'll betcha Nesmith isn't nearly as thick-skinned as the rest of the Monkees and I'm sure he has no time for that stuff.

Sounds like it was a great show. If this inspires him to get out there a little more, I'd love to get a chance to see him. I promise to respect his personal space. But yeah, if i could meet him and/or get an autogrqph, that would be cool too.

 

As he is largely out of the spotlight, and has been for the past 30 or so years, I challenge the statement that "he's put up with that crap for over 40 years". I'd say he's pretty much able to go anywhere, anytime over the past decade in particular without anyone even noticing him. And probably 95% of the time during the '80s and '90s (exception:1986-1989).

 

Exactly. It's not like Nez said he would be signing after the show and did so in the lobby. He went outside to leave the venue, and gave his fans two waves. He looked really shy and I felt bad for him. Give the guy a break...

 

I feel sorry for the ST Louis guy, but he had no business following him. Nesmith thanked the crowd and politely declined, that should have been it. Following him with the album was disrespectful to Nesmith and to the other people on line, who were all ahead of him.

If he had chosen to deal with the line, Nesmith would probably have spent more time signing than he had spent onstage.

 

I agree, that guy from St. Louis was pretty pathetic.

Nez did not look well...he sorta stumbled out of the place. Remember, he's kind of an old man now.

I met Nez twice back in '92 at some gigs, and he was totally cool; I enjoyed chatting with him a bit. Yes, he signed some records for me.

 

Anyone who thinks it would only be 10 minutes of his time is likely mistaken. Fans typically wanna chat and ask questions, sign this and sign that. If Nez had his family to attend to, then he was completely justified in taking off. Family comes before autograph seekers regardless of whether someone came from St. Louis or not. If the dude wants an autograph so bad, buy something from Mike's site and ask him to sign it. I did, and he kindly signed it. Don't see what the problem is.

 

Sorry to be lazy but can someone refresh my memory as the nature of this gig and why Nez appeared in the first place? Seems like it was done as a favor or something, where he became the draw but maybe that wasn't the original design of the event?

 

Since it's still the topic here, I'm sure before Nesmith walked out out the door it was advised and decided no autographs. I especially wouldn't give an autograph to someone so demanding (carrying 3? albums) and following you. That's just kind of scary. Plus if you watch the video all the way through... what's up with the guy taking the video? The guy who's watching the door looks at him like he might be a threat at the very end. It just seemed like a shady scene in a dark back alley. Yeah, I can totally see the venue and Nesmith making the decision to walk directly to the car and keep your head down.

 

I am glad I can say, I agree with most everyone here.. Nez came to Largo, we paid our $25. he delivered an outstanding and very well recieved performance, dropped into the lobby and spent sometime chatting with fans.. He didn't owe anyone lurking outside the back of Largo, in a dark, small allyway, a damn thing!! He was very gracious, and asked in a polite way to be excused from autographs, as he was on his way to meet with his family.. He delivered what he was paid to deliver, plain and simple. Just the fact of finally being able see him perform in such a wonderful and intiment venue as Largo, was a pure joy to me.. He owes us NOTHING more..
And yes, the St Louis guy was a JOKE and very pathetic.. That one really needs to get a Life!!!!
Come on people...

 

Mike speaking recently via transatlantic phone call on UK radio expressed his feelings for wanting to get out and perform again. This was just that..simple and a way to test the performing waters again. Nothing more.

Nesmith doesn't owe any creepy fans waiting by stage doors anything...get a freaking life!

 

Imagine that you're a 68 year old man who just got off work and just wanted to get home to see your kids or grandchildren or whatever the case may be -- and you're being hounded by a few dozen crazy people who want you to sign your name 40 or 50 times on photos from when you were young, thin, had a head full of thick hair, and were on your first marriage.

I'm sure when he signed his Monkees contract 45 years ago, he had no idea he'd be a senior citizen having to put up with scores of people in 2011 hounding him for an autograph and asking him why he doesn't hang out with Davy Jones anymore.