I just got back from going
to the shows @ GM Place in Vancouver, BC and the Gorge Amphitheater and
although I didn't get EVERYTHING my way (LOL), I left plenty satisfied
;-) The experience started off in Vancouver, British Colombia in which
I met up with Jen and Maria from the mailinglist in the 'G' section of
the Virgin Megastore...it was cool
cuss not only did I get an
'Iris' acoustic import single that I was searching for (thx Maria aka Cjay)
but we all went out to eat @ Planet Hollywood and had a great time!
Afterwards, we decided to go 'Goo' hunting and walked around downtown for
about 3 hrs. trying to find which hotel they might be stayin in (just in
case we wouldn't get our chance at the venue) Well, even after some good
bribery and a lot of begging, we for the most part got the run-around...but
I did see a movie being filmed and saw that guy who plays Drew Barrymore's
b/f in 'Homefries'
The next day, when I went
to meet back up w/ Maria and Jen @ the venue (also met Heather and a girl
named Sarah...but I don't know if Rakel ever showed), I went past their
bus which was parked across the street from this really nice hotel (it
never occurred for us to go there...but my sis made mention of the fact
that one of the concierge had given us clues the night b/f but we just
didn't put 2 and 2 together) This was around noon and there was no one
around, so I decided to go on to the venue and tell the girls. Upon
arriving, we talked to a girl that worked for the venue and she said they
would probably not arrive until about 4...so the girls went with us to
check out the bus and when we looked inside, we saw Johnny's cowboy hat
hanging up along w/ a half-empty glass of wine, a burned out candle...it
was pretty cool getting to see the inside of the bus...but still, no one
was around, so my sis and I decided to do some shopping and come back around
2...After we got back to the venue, a few of us had to use the restroom,
but there were no bathrooms available where we were, and the closest thing
I could think of was the place I saw the Goo's bus...so after we came back
out, we saw 2 girls w/ their mom...and they said they had just saw
Johnny not 2 minutes b/f!!! We also noticed that the bus was running and
we met and talked with their bus driver (Wild Bill) for some time...he
gave me a secret on how to get backstage if I wanted (but unf. I don't
have the credentials...lol) and I asked him if Johnny had got a new car
yet...he said 'no' and that he was still looking he was looking for a GTO...I
forgot what year though-next time I'm make sure to write all this stuff
down...lol. So, obviously,
we waited and low and behold walking from the hotel towards the tour bus
one by one came Nathan, then Robby, Dave, Mike and late (as usual according
to their bus driver...lol)...Johnny. They signed autographs and took (some)
pics, and were super accommodating despite the fact that they were in a
bit of a hurry to do their sound check...Johnny was even nice enough to
let Jen lift up his shirt to see his tattoo and even take a pic...What
a sweetheart!!!...Since I already had met and got my pic taken w/ them
before, I decided to give Jen and her friend a better chance at getting
their pics taken w/ them and didn't bother to ask...I spoke w/ Nathan for
a bit and told him he would like the Gorge cuss it was so beautiful there
and he told me he had played their b/f w/ REM which I didn't know and thought
was pretty cool...I also told Robby I was glad to see he was feeling much
better and he was like, "I AM feeling much better...Thank You" (such a
sweetie) and then he asked me 'since when' and I told him since he hurt
his knee back in May (he was prolly trying to remember where I had seen
him last cuss he was sick a while back) Mike was eating a Power Bar and
looked like he had just got done jogging (lol..always on the go Mike) I
asked them if they had already ate lunch and if it was good and he said
"yeah"...While Johnny was signing autographs, (there was only about 4 or
5 other ppl there luckily) he
looked right up at me and his eyes were so beautiful...such a light blue...I
hadn't got to see them up close last time cuss he was wearing glasses so
that was a real thrill. I didn't get to kiss him on the cheek as
I had planned, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask. So
they took off and we of course followed behind since we were going the
same way and blared "Long Way Down" the entire way...lol. Then when
we got there we pointed everyone who was waiting outside the venue to where
they could meet them as they were coming off the bus and saw Maria there...she
was so bummed that she had missed meeting them but luckily got her chance
as they were coming off
the bus...and it was so funny
to see her nervously and anxiously fiddling w/ her camera to get some pics
of her and them...lol. John and Robby were esp. gracious to stay
as long as they did and takes pics and what-not w/ the fans. I was
disappointed when I found out Mike walked right off the bus and into he
venue w/out anyone noticing. So afterwards, we waited in line and
my sis and I got third row back...but when Fastball started to play, everyone
rushed past us and we got
pushed back to the fifth
row...we were dead center and were getting pushed from all directions and
I was getting pissed because it was so ridiculous...this guy beside my
sis was literally shoving her so I shoved him back a cpl times and told
him to knock his sh#@ off but he didn't...so I finally took his hat off
and flung it across the crowd...LOL, it was so funny cuss he almost started
crying...but it finally got his attention and he finally stopped.
About in the middle of
Sugar Ray (whom I really
detested @ one time) Mark pointed towards where I was and kept saying "is
she ok?"...'bring that girl up here!"...Well, my sis was standing directly
in back of me and I had already asked if she was gonna be ok w/ the crowd
pushing as bad as they were and she said yeah, so I had NO idea it could've
been her (at one point it was
so bad that the middle of
the crowd-including my sis-lost their footing and collapsed) Then someone
or something made me turn around (perhaps an Angel) and I saw my sis literally
passed out...but because the crowd was so tight, she was still standing...because
it was so loud and I was so short, I couldn't get the security guards attention
for the life of
me...so I had to count on
Mark...when I finally got his attention, he pointed at my sis and got the
security to pull her out...then *I* had to get out, which seemed impossible
cuss the crowd was so tight nobody could move an inch...then this guy behind
me came out of nowhere and helped me up and over...So there she was laying
there as white as a ghost and her eyes rolled up in the back of her head
and I was petrified because she had been in a bad accident about a yr and
a half ago and one of her lungs didn't have full capacity...so her body
was still recuperating...and she didn't have hardly anything to eat that
day. When the paramedics couldn't revive her, they took her backstage on
a stretcher and gave her oxygen...About fifteen minutes later she came
too but we realized she had lost her shoes and misplaced my keys in the
crowd...Plus, I couldn't
get a hold of anyone back home. Then one of the security brought me my
keys and one of the paramedics let me use his calling card (Canadians are
so nice) and we decided to look for her shoes after the concert had ended.
She told me she remembered Mark trying to get her attention but she couldn't
respond and she all of a
sudden got extremely hot
and blacked out. I was just glad she was ok and after I knew she
would be, I just had to laugh at the fact that we got backstage but in
an odd sort of way (I had tried REALLY hard to win backstage passes) It
was cool getting to be back there...I saw Nathan, Dave, and a few guys
from Sugar Ray walk by, but I didn't bother to go
searching for their dressing
rooms although I had the perfect opportunity being there was no security
back there...lol. I wanted the chance to thank Mark for coming to
the rescue cuss he was the only one that noticed she was starting to lose
it...but I never got too. My sis wanted to go ahead and watch the
show, so we went back out and found
some really good seats, and
where, believe it or not, the view was much better. Luckily John spent
most of his time on that side of the stage too and kept smiling in our
direction...and the security kept pointing in our direction when they realized
she was ok. Another cpl approached us concerned if she was gonna be allright
and I thought that was really
kind ;-) The concert
went on w/out a hitch and the guys had SO much energy...it was such a thrill
ride and John's voice sounded SO much better than the last time I had seen
them (soon after John had hurt his throat) After it ended, we went to use
the phone and I started to hear screaming and went around the corner to
find John walking out to get on
the bus...he threw like 10
towels out to the crowd which was really awesome...just wish I had got
one...hehe. So were leaving town and 'Black Balloon' comes on the
radio which was really appropriate and since the Goos were going the same
way as me, I figured I might run into them at some point on the highway...I
was ORIGINALLY gonna follow them out
of town since I didn't know
the way but we got directions from Maria's husband. So it was about
midnight when we left and I had a 5 and a half hr drive home (ugh) It's
about 4:30 am and I had to use the restroom but had
missed the rest stop (which actually would turn out for the best).
So I stopped off in the first
town I could and had I been there 10 seconds
BEFORE or AFTER that, I would've had missed them...cuss smack
dab in front of me, no other
traffic in sight, there they were waiting for
me to turn so they could get onto the same on -ramp...they must've
had 'to go' at the same time
as me (lol) but they went to the truck stop
and I, the gas station (which
were on opposite sides)...So I'm turning, honking
my horn and waiving...and my sis wakes up in the passenger seat
and grabs the wheel cuss I'm
running off the road (LOL) ...it was so surreal.
I didn't think that would happen cuss a mile down the road, I
had to take my exit where they
would go straight. Pure luck? ...or divine
intervention? You decide ;-)
I had got home about 6 am
and knew I wasn't gonna get much sleep...I let
myself sleep till about 11 am,
got ready, picked up and met up w/ some ppl
that were going w/ us... but we didn't get out of town until like 2
pm and it was a hr and a half
drive and I WANTED to get there no later than
1, so I was a lil' miffed...When we got there, there was already
about 2,000 or so ppl already
waiting in line...so I figured there was
no way I was gonna get front row like I had planned...then, like a
miracle, our line was the first
to start moving...turns out, if you picked
up a free 'all-access' pass, you would be the first to be let
in...I had forgot all about that
and didn't have one...but the guy let us
in anyways...and guess what...I GOT FRONT ROW!!! That SO made up for
all that waiting we did to only
to be miserable down in the pit the night
b/f...There I met Abby, Heather, Brielle and Kaitlen from the
list...and Maria was there once
again too =-) w/ a friend of hers (she was
so funny...when we were peeking through the knotholes in the fence,
we saw Johnny and she screamed
at the top of her lungs, "Johnny! Your a ____ing
stud!!!" I was cracking up. I also got Wild Bill to come up
to the fence and start talking
to us and I had planned on taking this big
banner that said 'Fuse Tour 99' ...but someone else got to it b/f
me =-(
The concert started fairly early (6pm) which I didn't like cuss
that meant
we wouldn't be able to see the sun go down as the Goos were
coming on
like most headliners plan it and they didn't use the films or the
background as they do elsewhere...and
the lighting was hardly noticeable for
sometime...so the flair wasn't there like I had expected...but at
the same time, it was cool
cuss I got to see it in a different way than
the night before...and it seemed
more personable in an acoustic way of sorts...and
I could also make out the band clearly...and Mike wasn't so
far back...So all in all I had
a fantastic time and felt like I had seen 2
totally different concerts!!! I also met some really cool ppl from
the list and I'm really glad
they got the opportunity to meet the Goos ;-)
HIGHLIGHTS
--------------------
-I made three posters...one
that said 'WE LOVE GOO', one that said 'ANGELS
OF THE INDUSTRY' (with a halo over the 'A") and another that
said "JOHNNY...WILL YOU SHOW
US YOU PLUNGER"...Well, needless to say, he
laughed at that one...LOL...right in the middle of the song. And
Abby brought a
cool posterboard w/ the pics of the guys as kids blown up to
8 X 10 and underneath, it said
"Have you seen me?" Johnny took the poster from
her and commented on how much of an ugly kid he was...lol...then
handed it back...Yeah Abby!
-Jen had bought KISS beanie
babies which we all split money wise and we told
them to be expecting them onstage...so when they threw them,
Johnny picked
them up and held them up high w/ a big grin on his face! I also
gave the bus driver to give Johnny
a few lil' things I had brought...like
a travel candle that had the same Chinese lettering around and it smelled
like lemons (mmn ;-), a book for songwriters that had
quotes from famous other famous songwriters, a book called 'the Zen
guitar that helps you get in
touch with your spirit (which may help if he
ever gets writers block again), a beanie baby Elmo w/ wings sewed
onto the back (that was an idea
from someone on the list), a sticker that
said 'NO WHINERS', a funny Farside card, the Ace Freely beanie
baby for Robby, and a necklace
w/ a charm that said in Chinese
lettering 'Harmony'...all
which I hope they'll enjoy ;-)
-Robby came our way and I teasingly stuck my tongue out at him and he made a funny face back to me...that was cool :-)
-I loved it when Nathan came forward and did a PERFECT spin chilling solo of 'Iris" right in front of me...it was beautiful!
-Someone threw a bra up onstage and Johnny showed us the correct way to put it on...bending over and doing a lil' shake...lol!
-A fight broke out and Johnny stopped the song to stop them from fighting saying whoever fights is a faggot...lol. Wooohooo...he was pissed!
-Johnny mimed what it would look like if the Backstreet Boys were kicking his ass....doing half-ass spin kicks and throwing his head back w/ every blow...it was a riot!!!
-Johnny also did a cute lil' dance and caught bubbles with his mouth right as he was singing.
-During "Iris", the whole crowd was singing along and it was breathtaking and you could tell he enjoyed it.
-Johnny commented how he had fallin in love with this girl that day (she was beautiful) who had come onstage and played a bit part in Sugar Ray's set...but that she was smitten for Dave and his tight leather pants...and that he must've had teeth at the end of his penis...LOL (wish I had been THAT girl for a day ;-)
-Sugar Ray dedicated the song "Fly" to the late John Kennedy...say that the Country had lost a great citizen and human being.
-John broke his guitar...throwing it down several times and I got a pic of him doing it (just hope it turns out) ...and then teased the crowd like he was gonna give it to someone...but just laid it onstage.
-John threw the towel that was on his head out to the crowd and I was laughing cuss a whole bunch of girls were fighting over it...lol...and he was laughing too.
-I got a guitar pic from Jen
from the day b/f (an extra one she got from
a roadie) which was really sweet of her to give me...but he only threw
ONE out to the crowd @ the Gorge...unlike
the night b/f in which he threw
several... which dropped where the security was standing and I
had asked
one of the security guards to give one to me if one happened to
drop there because I wanted
one that he had actually used, but another security
guy grabbed it and went to hand it in our direction, but one
of my
so called 'friends' grabbed it before I could (arg) I was mad at
that cuss
she not nearly as big a fan as I am...oh well, she's not that good
of a friend anyway!
-Abby also got the setlist...I had asked for one of them ahead of time too...but the security guard I had talked to was told by his boss that he had to go to the other end of the stage and the ppl down in front in the middle got them (I was on the left side of the stage...boohoo) ='-(
Oh well, I consider myself
very fortunate for getting to meet and talk to
them A SECOND TIME...Oh, I almost forgot...when we stopped in
Seattle on
our way to Vancouver, we got to hear the private concert they had
put on
for KISS 106.1...they only sung three songs and sounded awfully
tired so I wasn't too bummed
that I had missed out on winning an invitation
(I dunno when they held or are holding the one for the End
107.7 though. I assume it was
either the same day or the day b/f, but I heard
nothing about it on the radio) They also kept saying it was in a
'secret location' so there was
no chance of finding them and seeing them
then...but I fugured I'd get
my chance somehow ;-)
Well, I guess I should wrap
this up now...lol...thx for all of you who took
the time to read it and I hope ya'll get the same opportunity as
me someday...enjoy
your concerts and what's left of the last summer of the millineum!...Oh
yes, to all of those that I met from the list, I was thoroughly
impressed with your dedication and love of the band...you
all
are wonderful ppl as well...keep
in touch! ;-)