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Last night, I saw Shonen Knife in concert in Cleveland, Ohio. I love seeing bands in small venues like that, where you can get up close, feed off the band, and share the energy. This morning, I had the same experience...but not with a Japanese punk/pop band. It was in a store, in a "lifestyle center," with a group of salesmen and geniuses.

This morning, Apple opened it's first Northeast Ohio store in Lyndhurst, Ohio, near Cleveland. They were kind of enough to allow Applelinks in early so I could speak to the staff before the hordes stormed the castle. When I arrived an hour and fifteen minutes before the store was set to open, there were already dozens of customers outside, a number that would eventually swell to maybe a couple hundred. One gentleman was being interviewed by a local TV station, and I overheard him say that he'd been there since 8 p.m. the night before.

It nearly hit freezing last night.

Although that sort of enthusiasm frightens me, I do understand it. Today was not only the opening of the Apple Store, but of the entire Legacy Village Lifestyle Center (when you have heated sidewalks and a heated fountain, I guess you're allowed to call it a "lifestyle center." Compounded with that, of course, is the launch of Panther tonight at 8 p.m. In effect, the staff of the Apple Store will have two openings today. I asked if this was all a coincidence or if Steve Jobs really has this much power, to which Paul Benoit, the manager of the Apple Store in Memphis, Tennessee, and Manager Mentor for the Lyndhurst store, joked, "I will neither confirm nor deny..." He was then quick to point out that it is, in fact, a coincidence.

So, how do they prepare? No worries about that, Apple has it covered. Dan Norman, the store manager underwent a seven week training course that involved a visit to Cupertino. And he's not a management newbie, having served as manager of an area Gateway store before this. Yes, he's a "switcher." He told me his main reason for switching is the ease of use, but he also appreciates the stability. Using his Mac for four weeks, he never experienced an error. "It gets no better than this," he claimed.

All of the employees, including the salespeople and Mac Geniuses, also underwent a stringent selection process and extensive training period. The Geniuses, especially, have it tough. Not only must they have a certain level of Apple hardware and software expertise, but they're also chosen for their ability to "interface with customers." Laura Wynne, senior director of retail stores, said that, "It's easier to get into Stamford..." than to be selected as a Mac Genius. And yes, they have spent a few weeks working with Panther, so they're ready to start fielding questions come 8 p.m. tonight.

Along with answering customer questions, the employees are there to fix any hardware problems. Desktop systems can be serviced in house (even if they weren't purchased at the Apple Store), and Apple will soon be servicing laptops in the same way. Once they approve this, Dan assured me his staff is, "...ready to go."

The staff seemed eager to back up that claim, as they were certainly ready for the pumped-up crowd waiting outside. They entered the store floor about fifteen minutes before opening, and I can't help but compare their nervous energy to that of a play cast on opening night. They were joking around, running over their duties, and generally pumping each other up. Laura was serving as director, of course. She's done this many times before, after all, and will soon have the opportunity to do so in Japan when Apple opens their first overseas store later this year.

At this point, though, the show belonged to the staff. Seeing them inside, the crowd of customers started clapping, as if trying to get a band onstage. And why not? All young, dressed in blue jeans and black t-shirts, they looked the part. In fact, as they entered from the back room, one of the girls said, "I feel like a rock band."

As they were posing for the obligatory staff photo, the crowd outside chanted something to the effect of, "Who's house? Steve's house!" The staff applauded them, laughing. Me? I stood in a back corner, taking it all in, trying to create a way to illustrate this phenomenon in my article. How can I write about such an event without sounding like a fanboy? How can I separate the Mac web journalist from the Apple computer user? Thankfully, a staff member answered that question for me. As they were about to let everyone in, the crowd outside applauding on beat, one girl in the G5 t-shirt uniform claimed, "I love these people. I'm one of these people."

Know what? So am I.