I was staying in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay hotel where the concert with Fastball, Sugar Ray, and the Goo Goo Dolls would be performing at the Event Center. I wandered around the hotel and went swimming before the concert started in hopes to maybe meet the Goo Goo Dolls or to find someone my age to give my extra ticket to to hang out with at the concert. The concert would start at 7 o’clock and they allowed early seating at 6pm.
As I walked past the casino, I saw a large man in a bright yellow shirt
and a man with spiky hair that caught my eye. I looked closely to
realize it was a security guard with Mark McGrath, the lead singer of Sugar
Ray. He looked at me smiled, waved hello and then I shook his hand
and spoke to him briefly, but he was very busy and had to go. That
got me very excited in hopes that I would get to meet the goo goo
dolls. As I left my brief moment with Mark, I found a swarm of about
20 girls following him, it was very funny. As I walked further into
the casino, I then met every band member of Sugar Ray, but I felt bad that
I didn't know their names, but that's ok.
At 5:30
pm I went to the front of the event center hoping I would maybe get to
meet someone or go in early. Well at 6pm they let everyone in, I
was second in one of the many lines, and went straight in all excited.
As I rushed over to the T-shirt stand, the usher escorted all us early
birds outtelling us we had to go back outside because they weren't ready
or
something. If it had
not been for that, I would have never met my new friend Tracy. When
we were finally allowed in, we were the first in line to get the T-shirts.
I got a T-shirt and hat, and of course Tracy got everything they had. LoL
Trace. Well I had tickets for Section 3, Row X. All my other
4 goo concerts, I had at least been in row 4, but I was just grateful for
the seats I had in this 12,000 seat venue!
So Tracy
and I sat together and during Fastball there was a woman who repeatedly
kept asking us how old she thought she looked, we were being very nice
and said 35, and got very tired of her and her husband, so we decided
to
try to get better seats.
We decided that when Fastball was over we would see if there were
any empty seats, so we escorted our selves to about row 5, and then sadly
when the seat owners came, I just insisted we were keeping
their seats warm for them,
and then Tracy and I headed towards the bathroom.
On our
way, we noticed these seats on the side of the stage, they were all empty,
and they had a view of the WHOLE stage and backstage a little bit,
and a chance for us to talk to the roadies. So the usher didn't seem
to mind with us taking the vacant seats. Tracy and I then started
talking to the roadies, and then we finally came across a nice man who
when we asked if he could get us a guitar pick, he did! He got us
both the blue guitar pick from Johns guitar that read “GOO” . We
were so excited and thought that was the best that could happen all
night...
Well when Sugar Ray came on, I decided to pull out one of my posters that
I used in the Sunfest show in Florida, it read “Ill kiss your ass 4 a backstage
pass!” We were not sure if Mark saw it, but I really didn't care.
Then behind us we noticed there was someone with a backstage pass and he
told us he was Rodney’s brother, the guitar player in Sugar Ray, he said
he would come for is after the show to get our poster signed, but never
came back, like I expected but that's ok too. Also behind us there
was this great guy who was a real big goo fan. He kept telling us
how great we were and
everything. Then we
saw this woman go backstage, and we were real upset cause we had seen her
before and she just got in because of basically how she was dressed.
So the guy was like “That's ok, you don't need them, you will start your
own band with YOUR guitar pick, you can be the GOO” But then I insisted
we don't need silicon, and we can be the GOO GOO DOLLETTES, unlike her.
We started dissing her like the goos diss the Backstreet Boys, hehe.
When they were finally done and the Goos opened with Dizzy, that's when
Tracy and I became EXTREMELY excited. We were holding the poster
and taking tons of photos. A funny part of the show was when he was
introducing
everyone from the and and
he came to Mike. He said “I love you Mike, the way a man loves
his car!” Everyone was laughing. Then this really drunk man
came up to us in leopard skin tight pants and said “HEY OVER THERE IS
MARK MCGWIRE!” Tracy
and I were hysterical, but we had to focus on GOO! So then the big
goo fan behind us was so cool, he took Tracy and I down to the floor level
and went down by the usher, he begged and begged him and told him
how big of fans we were,
and finally convinced him to let us go where the professional photographers
were to take ONE photo. Tracy went, came back, and was so excited.
Then I went, and there was a hippy next to me, and kept
telling me to just take pictures
over and over, and then I got about 10 until the usher told me to leave.
So then Tracy and I just stayed down in the corner until we were told to
go back to our seats. But while we were in the corner, a professional
photographer with a video camera kept taping us for about 3 minutes, we
thought the might work for MTV and he might be getting footage for that
MTV all access show? Around 3 songs later, a man came up to
us and said “You are a much bigger fan then I am” and he gave us his 3rd
row center tickets!
We then moved up to 3rd row, and of course us being short, couldn't see,
so the nice men behind us allowed us to stand on our seats, but the ushers
didn't. So then a lady in the 2nd row said “COME UP HERE” so
we were now in second row, and then the ushers noticed how big of
fans we were, and just sort of “pushed” us up to the front row!!!!
Then a lady in the
front row said “Come in front
of me” Tracy and I were now up against the gate in front of front
row!!!! We were about 4 feet away from stage!!! That is
when I met Cjay from the mailinglist who I was looking for, and she was
lucky enough to get the set list! :) So then I took out my other
poster, during Iris, where I was sure John and Robby could see it.
It said “Hold Me Up cause I'm short” During the song John laughed
smiled and showed Robby and said into the microphone “HA CAUSE YOUR SHORT”.
Then I showed my other poster “I'll Kiss your ass 4 a backstage pass”
and everyone laughed.
Then I got the most
excited during “Just the way you are” and whenever the lyrics “and i guess
that's just the way you are” came on, I pointed to John and then
he smiled, and then pointed, I can't wait to see my picture of that!
Well
after the show, he threw
his guitar through the big projection screen, and Robby followed with his
bass. It was such an unbelievable night, and I did not expect it
to turn out the way it did at all! I can't wait to see how my FRONT
ROW pics came out with a zoom camera I just got! I will scan them
soon for everyone to see! :)