I know this blog is supposed to be about Thomas and his life, but every once in awhile the parents must kick up their heels cowboy style and blow out of dodge! That's just what John and I did! We ran out of town, but unfortunately this time we didn't have our steady concert partners in crime Erica and Brad with us, though. We had long moments of discomfort sitting in the car trying to make our way into Vancouver, and with a conversation from my co-worker Greg ringing in my ear about how Canada is better, I tried to figure out how five lanes of traffic merging into one to flow through a tunnel during rush hour makes sense! The beginnings of craziness! Since staying at the Ho-Jo downtown for John's 1st marathon this spring, he's a pro at finding his way around downtown and parking was a breeze. People seemed to be taking both the lineup outside and the rain in stride and the entertainment while we waited was interesting. We watched panhandlers roving in and out of the crowd, some sort of alternative bicycle parade roll by in costumes of some sort, a street musician camped out right by us who was happy to take requests, and the occasional hoots and hollers from the street. We even had a Bat Man in the city bus doing a pole dance for us all as the bus passed. I remarked to John that the big city scares me after seeing this particular bus scene! The best entertainment in the line, though, was when suddenly, out of nowhere, a man comes sauntering down the line. Yep, it was Dierks! Just walking along the sidewalk, nothing fancy about it, but as he walked and people figured out it was really him, you could hear the gasps and squeals begin to greet him as he went down the sidewalk and around the building. It was shocking to be standing there in line in the rain, chatting with those around us, only to the see the man himself taking it all in as he walked around.
Once inside, things took a stressful tone, as I missed the Will Call booth where I was to get my backstage pass, and then from there it was misinformation after misinformation. Knowing what the tour manager looks like, I caught his attention as he passed by me, and asked him where I should get my tickets. He was less than impressive, and I gathered by his attitude that he thought I was a scammer and he obviously didn't have time. When I mentioned that I was had been granted the pass through the fan club, his tune changed and he became nicer to me, but then repeated to me several times that if I'd only read the instructions through the fan club I would know what to do. Well, I wanted to tell him that any idiot could read the rules and such, but staff at the Commodore were less than educated and had given me some very bad info. I wanted to tell him that I thought he was a complete schmuck, but I held my tongue, passed up the opportunity to set him straight on my intelligence level, and raced off to find my elusive pass. At this point I figured the chances of tracking down this pass in the 2 minutes I had to fly downstairs through the crowd and outside the building, then make it back through security and the crowd again were very slim. I managed to run into John on his way in, and I think when he asked me what was going on I might have uttered a swear word...hmmmmm.....I'm not sure, but maybe! I did make it back in time, only to find that once inside this small backstage room with a kitchenette and the Simpsons playing on the lounge tv, I had entered in with the wrong people. I was with industry people, NOT fans. Another official guy that reminded me of a homeless bum approached me at this point and again looked at my pass sticker. At this point, Dierks has walkded into this tiny room and is making conversation. Someone asks him how he's feeling after 25 shows in 25 days, and he remarks that a certain beverage has been helping him deal with his lack of sleep. Anyway, back to this guy looking at my sticker. Blah, blah, blah, and I had officially been told I was in the wrong line. Imagine that! At this point, I thought they were either going to pull me out of line and throw me out, or I should just quietly tuck tail and leave then and there, and concede this just wasn't my night. I didn't like feeling like I was in the wrong here, and I was just a little frustrated, a bit scared that security was coming to get me, and more than a little embarrassed. It just wasn't worth it for the little picture I had in my hand. I quietly told the guy that I'd step out of line and room, and I made a move stepping back out of line, but he told me no, that it was fine, JUST as Dierks looked at me and beckoned me towards him. NOT the best moment for me to have to deal with pretending this was just a normal conversation with Dierks..after having to deal with something pretty anxiety-provoking.
After all that, I can barely remember what Dierks and I talked about. I remember showing him the picture (I just wanted to shake his hand and run at this point) and he remembered that it was in Seattle and so did Kai the tour manager, and although I was still harboring less that nice feeling about our earlier discussion, I pretended to be kind. After all, he was holding my camera in his hand and was about to take our picture. I asked him if he was going to stay after the show and hang out like he sometimes does, and he and I briefly chatted about the border and we mentioned having to get over it tonight. Apparently it's hard for them and their gear to get over without a lot of hassle. He signed my picture and in record time he'd pulled me in for a tight shot. Okay, let me say how weird this is! Suddenly you're being pulled into this hold by someone you barely know, and although I know there are a lot of women out there who've pawed and basically climbed all over him for their shot, this girl is not one of them. I know I'm supposed to put my arm around him too, but in the split seconds I have to ponder this, I'm also thinking how crazy this is. I did put my arm around him and he held on while my camera played tricks. Similar to what happened the last time I was this nervous (my previous meet up with him) my face muscles froze up and to smile took extreme effort. I could literally feel my cheeks quivering and prayed it wasn't visible. Then, just like that, it was over and I was walking out the door. I think he said it was great meeting me again. I think I said thank you. At least I hope I did. I don't remember, as I was practically running out of the room, well, not really because my legs were shaking, but that's what my mind was doing. Some dude stopped me outside the door to write on my sticker, which I'd stuck low on my shirt so it was weird having this guy write on me like that, but then I scrambled to my seat, shaking my head all the way. Oh, no. I may get entered again by this fan club if we ever see him again, but I may have to forgo this experience. Although it's a story to tell, it's a hard one to get through. Maybe if I was like a lot of crazy fans who go in there wanting him to sign their bodies, their clothing, their scrapbooks and gifts they've brought him, it might be an easier thing to do. But I don't want to kiss him, I don't want to tell him that I love him and want to have his children, and I don't have some fantasy that he'll change his mind about his girlfriend and move me to Nashville. So......I may pass the next time I have this unique opportunity. Later I talked to a great woman who I met earlier in the evening who told me she met Keith Urban and when she smiled she had this nervous twitch in her eye. So, maybe a nervous twitch in my cheeks isn't that crazy after all! Made me feel a little better, too!
We really enjoyed the concert. I thought that maybe John wouldn't like it as much, as he doesn't like his music all that much, but he really seemed to like the whole concert. The crowd was great, our table was great, and everything ended up working out. We met some people from Langley, B.C. that we may stay in contact with, too, which should be interesting. I'm sad to see the last of my concert schedule come and go, but look forward to figuring out which ones will be on my spring list. We talked to Matt today about the evening and he told me that one more and I'll offically be a groupie. Hmmmm....maybe this will just be my new hobbie in life. Maybe it will be my mid-life crisis early. After all I'm thirty, right?!! I can do what I want!!!
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