Before "Tough Guys" Kevin talked about
the inspiration for the song being a sophomore year dance he went to. He said he
had started taking guitar lessons when he was 11 years old, and at first it was
considered a wimpy thing to do, then when the Beatles hit, suddenly it was cool
to play the guitar, and here he was, the only kid in the neighborhood who had
been playing guitar for years! So he was at this dance, and the cutest girl in
school walked into the back of the gym. At this point in the story, a spotlight
lit up and put a bright white light on a section of the audience in the back.
Kevin continued with the story as the girl walked through the gym, passing the
captain of the football team and all the "cool" guys, and the
spotlight moved up through the audience. Then he said the girl walked right up
to him and asked him "to do a little more than dance." And that, he
said, was the inspiration for "Tough Guys."
I took a couple of disposable cameras to the
show, and I had taken a few pictures during Eddie Money's set, and I took most
of the rest of the roll from the first camera during REO's set. The security guy
did see me, and he didn't look too happy, but he didn't say anything. I did see
someone taking flash pictures from the middle section and one of the security
people said something to them. But I guess this guy could see that I just had a
dinky little disposable, not a nice camera, and I was not using a flash, so I
really wasn't bothering anyone or drawing any attention to myself with the
camera. I saved a few pictures from the first camera because I knew what would
happen during the Styx show - I would get carried away taking pictures, then
finish the roll and wish I had just one or two more left! So I stopped taking
pictures fairly early during REO's set, when there were three frames left on the
roll of film, and put the camera away.