The Peter Frampton fan who grabbed video screen time during his guitar solo at Treasure Island casino said Tuesday she feels terrible for triggering the classic rocker's meltdown by waving one of his album covers and was only hoping to catch his eye and possibly get an autograph.
"I was merely holding my album cover at my chest using it as a fan, when I noticed my face on the big screen. I then held up my cover and the crowd cheered," Sherry Tupa said, explaining how the spontaneous act led to the 67-year-old Frampton briefly halting his outdoor concert Sunday in Red Wing for several minutes.
"My only wish was that Mr. Frampton might catch a glimpse and be impressed that his fans have held on to his albums for so long," said the 50-year-old resident of Champlin, who had a seat five rows from the stage.
She said that the "Frampton Comes Alive" cover she waved was her first album and was given to her when she was 11 years old as a Christmas gift from her mother.
"An autograph would have been fantastic, but I knew going in that was probably not realistic," she said. "I'm sorry that it caused Mr. Frampton distress."
After Tupa's moment of fame on the big screens, the camera operator caught another album cover being waved, this one Frampton's "I'm in You."
Again, some among the crowd of 8,000 hooted their approval. That's when Frampton leaned toward the camera during his guitar solo and enunciated a two-word expletive.
Song complete, Frampton left the stage and got in a momentary tussle over the camera with the operator during the unscheduled break. Once his demand that the video screens go dark was accepted, Frampton returned to the stage and played three more songs before fellow classic rocker Steve Miller performed as the headliner.
Later that night, Frampton went on Twitter and posted in a reply to a fan, "I apologise. I had 2 give you all the show you deserved and things beyond my control changed my MO."
Tupa sympathized with her guitar hero, saying, "We all have our less than stellar moments."
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
