I can't remember if it was 1977 or 1979 (although I'm leaning towards believing it was 79) when I saw Cheap Trick play on New Years Eve in Long Beach, CA. They opened for Kansas, and I went to the show with my sister and we left right after Cheap Trick finished playing. It took forever to get back home to the Sunset Strip, but once we were there, we were headed for a Rainbow Bar & Grill pizza. We saw Tom Waits crossing the street and he came over to our car, stuck in traffic, and knocked on the window and wished us a Happy New Year. THEE Tom Waits you wonder? Yes. Back in the late 70s punk rock days, Tom lived in a bungalow at the Tropicana and was friendly with all of us punk rockers, 'tis true. He came to parties at the Mumps bungalow across the way, and also to parties hosted by power poppers from NYC, Milk n Cookies. Three of the band members shared an apartment on nearby Larrabee Street. It was one big happy indie music community. New Years Eve in 1978 ...