Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Peace & clarity
I feel I overreacted following the NKOTB concert. I was very upset, and felt I had been snubbed, which really hurt my feelings. Now that the weekend is over and I have had some time to reflect, I don't think that was the case. I was on emotional overload after experiencing practically every emotion possible in less than 24 hours. I started the day anxious, excited, nervous, and by the end of the day had also experienced joy, sadness, & disappointment. Not having time to process all of those feelings, and not having much to eat that day either, left me feeling bummed out and confused. I cried the whole way home the next day and I think now that was the result of how overwhelmed I was over the previous day, and not really over sadness. I still love Donnie & NKOTB and don't blame him or the other guys in any way for doing anything wrong. They didn't. I just shouldn't have taken it so personally when I didn't get a chance to talk to Donnie at the after party. Maybe it just wasn't my time. I wish I had stayed longer & enjoyed the atmosphere instead of pouting about it and leaving. Maybe by leaving early I gave up my chance to talk to Donnie. Maybe it would've eventually been my turn. Now I will never know. Hopefully I get another chance in the future to say Hi, introduce myself, and thank him for everything he has meant to me throughout the years. And I not, I was closer to him for 30 seconds than some people may ever have a chance to be, and I am thankful for the little time I did have. My shirt still holds the remnants of whatever cologne or body wash Donnie used that day, and I haven't been able to wash it yet...I might not wash that shirt for a long time. So Donnie, if you read my pissed off tweets after Detroit, or you ever read my blog, I am sorry. I believe you do love your fans, and it must be hard to show each individual fan of the millions you have. #loveeternal
Sunday, June 9, 2013
$450 and a pair of tube socks later..
Two years ago when NKOTB toured with BSB, I never imagined that I would have another opportunity to see NKOTB in concert. My seat in 2011 was great--two rows away from the main stage, just 13 seats away from all of the action. I was teary-eyed, watching them sing and dance, closer to me than I had ever dreamed they would be. Cruises have passed since then, and I literally missed the boat every time, jealously watching other girls' pics & videos from their vacations with the guys and all of the fun that I have been missing. Why couldn't I ever have an opportunity to be near the band that I have loved for over 20 years?? Then came the announcement: NKOTB would be touring again this summer with 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men. My friend, and fellow Blockhead, Jessica, asked me if I wanted 5* tickets (meaning meet & greet/VIP) and I didn't hesitate before saying YES!! She got our tickets, and though our seats were front row, they were only on the runway between stages where the guys wouldn't be spending much time. That was ok with me, because we would still be close enough to see them sweat, and would have already had our 2 minutes of VIP time (with 8 other people), getting to introduce ourselves and thank them or whatever we managed to utter while totally in shock from actually being in their presence. As the big day drew nearer, I became more and more nervous. What do you say to someone who you have had a huge celebrity crush on for most of your life? What do you wear? Will you cry? Laugh? Be completely speechless??
The day arrived and 4:00 came way too quickly. I picked up Jessica, drove the 2 1/2 hours to Detroit, and we had just enough time for lunch and minimal makeup & clothing changes before getting back into the car and going to our VIP check-in. Jessica had helped prearrange a photo group for our meet & greet so we wouldn't get lumped together with 4 other Donnie girls, and 4 Joe girls, and we met up with the 5 other girls outside the Palace. We were all anxious and excited. A few of us had never had a chance to meet the guys before. After waiting outside for an hour, we were escorted to the VIP lounge. We were given two drink tickets, a free pair of ear plugs, and an LED lighter flashlight. As we sipped our drinks, my nerves were out of control. The big moment was almost here and I still had no clue what I wanted to say, or how I would react. When they called our group, we got in line behind all the other anxious fans, and waited. At long last, we were guided inside the curtained area, and there they stood. All five members of New Kids on the Block. I went straight for Donnie. But, there was one other Donnie girl in our group who brought him a hat, and spent most of our 15 seconds of time talking with him about it (while he proceeded to hurt her feelings by not being grateful for it). So, all I got was enough time to smile, and turn to face the camera before being shooed out for the next group to come in. He didn't even put his arm around me because he was holding the hat. (And this girl had met him before, and got kissed on the lips by him before leaving.) I did manage to hug Jon & Jordan on the way out.
We continued to chill out in the lounge, and watched as the guys were escorted back out to get ready for the concert. I was pretty disappointed that $450 got me nothing more than 15 seconds of not even being able to introduce myself to Donnie, a tote bag, a mini mp3 speaker, and a pair of tube socks. Jessica and I headed downstairs to go to the show, and she realized her ticket was missing!! We panicked. Would we not even be able to see the show after all this waiting?? Luckily, the box office was able to reprint a ticket for her, so we hurried to the arena, where Boyz II Men had already taken the stage. The ushers guided us to our seats, and instead of being near the runway, we were front row, right by the main stage...in between two of the mini-stages where individual band members would walk out to sing to the crowd. How lucky!!! It wasn't quite that easy...the box office reprinted the wrong ticket number for Jessica, so there were two people with the same ticket! We explained the situation to the security guard, and he took our tickets, but told us to stay where we were. He came back a few minutes later, and instead of kicking us out, told us not to worry about it, and gave us front row wrist bands. Awesome!!! The two opening bands were great. I had never seen either one live before and they didn't disappoint. Boyz II Men and 97 Degrees are both as good in person as they are on their albums. I wanted to take pics & video of them, but I had to save my battery since we still had 3 hours of concert to go through, plus the after party, and I didn't want to be caught with a dead camera!
Finally, at 9:00, with no break time in-between acts for me to use the bathroom, NKOTB took the stage. I don't remember every song they performed, but I do remember seeing them do Remix (my new "jam"), Survive You, and of course my man Donnie singing Cover Girl, during which my camera quit working so I had to delete my video of him singing it, and missed getting a pic of him ripping his shirt off!! Two hours went by way too fast, and without even realizing we had been there for so long, it was time to rush off to the after party (following a 10 minute wait for the bathroom).
We purchased VIP after party tickets so we got another photo opportunity with the guys, this time in groups of 4 or more. We met 3 new girls who were waiting in line next to us, and added them to our group. We were certain that we would finally get our chance to say SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to the guys. Not so. Once again we were hurried in and ushered out. I did get Donnie's arm around me this time though, along with the warm feeling of sweat left on my back from it afterward. The good thing about the after party is that the guys mingle around on the dance floor for the evening, talking with fans, taking photos etc. I was close enough to Donnie to touch him at least 5 times, but still didn't get a chance to say a word. Everyone else dressed like skanky hookers got time to hug him, whisper to him, dance with him..and at one point he actually squeezed right past me to go talk to some sleazy ho with long gorgeous hair and a tight shirt on. We left the party not too long after that. Maybe I would've gotten my chance if I had just stayed longer, but I doubt it. The same girls who go to most of the shows, spend $1000 every time to see them, go on the cruises, and are followed by the guys on twitter are probably the same ones they spent their time talking with that night. I don't understand how a band who claims to be all about their fans is only really all about them as a collective group, and not about the average individuals who are just as devoted even if they don't have tons of money to spend on repeated meet & greets and crap. I would think that they should be more interested in treating the new faces special, to show them that they really do care about everyone like they say they do.
We left the Palace, and went back to our hotel, where we stayed up til 3am, reliving the evening's events, looking at pictures, eating candy, and trying to figure out how the heck to adjust the freezing air coming from our vents. The next day, I took Jessica home, and then cried most of the way back to my house. This moment I had been imaging since I was 10 years old was over, and it definitely wasn't as amazing as I had thought it would be. It felt like they had taken my dreams and stomped up and down on them over and over. I think never meeting them and imagining what it could be like would've been better than the real thing. Dreams are always better than reality, aren't they?
The day arrived and 4:00 came way too quickly. I picked up Jessica, drove the 2 1/2 hours to Detroit, and we had just enough time for lunch and minimal makeup & clothing changes before getting back into the car and going to our VIP check-in. Jessica had helped prearrange a photo group for our meet & greet so we wouldn't get lumped together with 4 other Donnie girls, and 4 Joe girls, and we met up with the 5 other girls outside the Palace. We were all anxious and excited. A few of us had never had a chance to meet the guys before. After waiting outside for an hour, we were escorted to the VIP lounge. We were given two drink tickets, a free pair of ear plugs, and an LED lighter flashlight. As we sipped our drinks, my nerves were out of control. The big moment was almost here and I still had no clue what I wanted to say, or how I would react. When they called our group, we got in line behind all the other anxious fans, and waited. At long last, we were guided inside the curtained area, and there they stood. All five members of New Kids on the Block. I went straight for Donnie. But, there was one other Donnie girl in our group who brought him a hat, and spent most of our 15 seconds of time talking with him about it (while he proceeded to hurt her feelings by not being grateful for it). So, all I got was enough time to smile, and turn to face the camera before being shooed out for the next group to come in. He didn't even put his arm around me because he was holding the hat. (And this girl had met him before, and got kissed on the lips by him before leaving.) I did manage to hug Jon & Jordan on the way out.
We continued to chill out in the lounge, and watched as the guys were escorted back out to get ready for the concert. I was pretty disappointed that $450 got me nothing more than 15 seconds of not even being able to introduce myself to Donnie, a tote bag, a mini mp3 speaker, and a pair of tube socks. Jessica and I headed downstairs to go to the show, and she realized her ticket was missing!! We panicked. Would we not even be able to see the show after all this waiting?? Luckily, the box office was able to reprint a ticket for her, so we hurried to the arena, where Boyz II Men had already taken the stage. The ushers guided us to our seats, and instead of being near the runway, we were front row, right by the main stage...in between two of the mini-stages where individual band members would walk out to sing to the crowd. How lucky!!! It wasn't quite that easy...the box office reprinted the wrong ticket number for Jessica, so there were two people with the same ticket! We explained the situation to the security guard, and he took our tickets, but told us to stay where we were. He came back a few minutes later, and instead of kicking us out, told us not to worry about it, and gave us front row wrist bands. Awesome!!! The two opening bands were great. I had never seen either one live before and they didn't disappoint. Boyz II Men and 97 Degrees are both as good in person as they are on their albums. I wanted to take pics & video of them, but I had to save my battery since we still had 3 hours of concert to go through, plus the after party, and I didn't want to be caught with a dead camera!
Finally, at 9:00, with no break time in-between acts for me to use the bathroom, NKOTB took the stage. I don't remember every song they performed, but I do remember seeing them do Remix (my new "jam"), Survive You, and of course my man Donnie singing Cover Girl, during which my camera quit working so I had to delete my video of him singing it, and missed getting a pic of him ripping his shirt off!! Two hours went by way too fast, and without even realizing we had been there for so long, it was time to rush off to the after party (following a 10 minute wait for the bathroom).
We purchased VIP after party tickets so we got another photo opportunity with the guys, this time in groups of 4 or more. We met 3 new girls who were waiting in line next to us, and added them to our group. We were certain that we would finally get our chance to say SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to the guys. Not so. Once again we were hurried in and ushered out. I did get Donnie's arm around me this time though, along with the warm feeling of sweat left on my back from it afterward. The good thing about the after party is that the guys mingle around on the dance floor for the evening, talking with fans, taking photos etc. I was close enough to Donnie to touch him at least 5 times, but still didn't get a chance to say a word. Everyone else dressed like skanky hookers got time to hug him, whisper to him, dance with him..and at one point he actually squeezed right past me to go talk to some sleazy ho with long gorgeous hair and a tight shirt on. We left the party not too long after that. Maybe I would've gotten my chance if I had just stayed longer, but I doubt it. The same girls who go to most of the shows, spend $1000 every time to see them, go on the cruises, and are followed by the guys on twitter are probably the same ones they spent their time talking with that night. I don't understand how a band who claims to be all about their fans is only really all about them as a collective group, and not about the average individuals who are just as devoted even if they don't have tons of money to spend on repeated meet & greets and crap. I would think that they should be more interested in treating the new faces special, to show them that they really do care about everyone like they say they do.
We left the Palace, and went back to our hotel, where we stayed up til 3am, reliving the evening's events, looking at pictures, eating candy, and trying to figure out how the heck to adjust the freezing air coming from our vents. The next day, I took Jessica home, and then cried most of the way back to my house. This moment I had been imaging since I was 10 years old was over, and it definitely wasn't as amazing as I had thought it would be. It felt like they had taken my dreams and stomped up and down on them over and over. I think never meeting them and imagining what it could be like would've been better than the real thing. Dreams are always better than reality, aren't they?
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