BEST BUY OPENING TINLEY PARK, ILL. 4/29/2006

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Posted by lovingmxc
OMG! The concert was sooo much fun! Q101 was there and if you spun a roulette, you could win prizes! I spun and won a backstage pass, not knowing what it was at the time! Marty was so nice! Im working on making a scrapbook for them and I brought what i had so far. Marty looked through it and was completely blown away with amazement! Bobby and Billy came over and looked at a page or two but had to get back to signing autographs. Dino was there too! his poor hand! i felt so bad.. asked him how it was and he said "its getting there". When I was waiting for the rest of my group to meet Marty, he waved at my friend then waved at me! WE DIDNT EVEN WAVE AT HIM FIRST!! He was so nice and when we went to left i screamed "Bye Marty!" he looked up, waved and said "Bye Girls!" along with Bobby! i had the time of my life last night! it was so much fun!! (PS: Im going to try to post pictures! I NEED TO KNOW HOW FIRST THO! PLEASE PM ME TELLING ME HOW!)

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Posted by luvinthedrummers15
OMG!!! The concert was sOOOO much fun lst nite! They sang Summertime in the City, This Town, Trees, Tunnel, The Riddle, and more but i cant think of them all right now. My best friend and i went together, and she had won a VIP pass! We had no clue what it was, but this one guy went on stage and announced that whoever got 1 will go into this room and tlk with the band. I went 2 spin the roulette, but i of course lost. I met this 1 guy there who knew everything that was going 2 happen last nite like where they were gunna cum out from and where they would be after the performance. When he saw that i didnt have a VIP pass and that i couldnt go in with my friend he did something so amazing. During The Tunnel someone tapped me on the shoulder and was like "Hi, I'm one of the Lovehammer's tour managers," and he took his VIP off and gave it 2 me. He told me 2 have fun. I had no clue who he was, but i gave him the biggest hug and could not stop saying thank you. That was the nicest thing ne 1 could have done 4 me. After the show we went into the VIP room and met the band. We got their autographs and pics w/ them. I hugged ALL of them along with by friend. Dino's poor hand was all taped up. But it was the BEST NITE EVER!!!! The band really is AMAZING and they are the sweetest guys i have ever met. Im really sorry that some of you couldnt go. Ill post pics wen i can. ROCK ON GUYS!

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Posted by needalife

I'm gonna start some of my review.

I'm sure most of you remember that back in February I tried to go to the Avery Fisher Hall concert and drove 5 hours to get there only to show up at the front door and find out that the show was cancelled.

Well that prompted me to really start posting here and the more I posted the more I wanted to go see them. I came back everyday to look for tour news. Meanwhile I started getting to know some of the other posters. Well after seeing the Best Buy pictures, I just had to seize the momment and go. My hubby said yes and we decided this was going to be how we will celebrate our anniversary. My friends got a kick out of the fact that we were going to travel all the way to Chicago to go to the opening of Best Buy.

So we had an early flight and I decided to go check out the store early. I saw some girls I recognized and introduced myself. So we went back to the hotel checked in and came right back. I hung out for hours with a bunch a very sweet and friendly fangirls while hubby went to hotel to nap. I felt totally at home with this great group.

Slowly the crowd picked up. Being there that early insured me a good spot. As we got closer and it got noisier you could feel the excitement. It then occurred to me that I'm really going to see them and not only that, I was close enough that I could probably reach over and touch him if I wanted to. Some of the other girls who have seen him before ended up being behind me and I asked them if they were ok with me that I was in front. They said it was fine, which was so sweet of them.

So they annouce them and I see Marty down one of the iles. He was wearing sunglasses and a black shirt with his black leather jacket. His hair looked great. I accidentally blurted out loud "Oh sh*t". I felt bad 'cause little ones were standing below us now. Everyone pushed the little ones forward and then the crowd kind of moved in.
It was like standing on a crowded subway during a holiday rush hour. You couldn't help but become friends with your neighbors. I guess you could say "we were a tight group".

So first out is Billy. Well I always thought he was a nice guy and a great artist, but what I wasn't prepared for was his magnetic smile.
It just sucks you in. You could just feel his happiness to be there. So when Marty came out I was no longer nervous. I was actually very confortable. Seeing him that close was like seeing him on TV. It was so natural. Then Bobby came out and he is everything everyone says. Drop dead handsome.

They started off with the tunnel. They sounded so great and then did riddle. The growd sang along and everyone there was so into the music (except for some kid on the side who had a stern face and his arm folded ).

I started watching Rockstar at a time when I was going through some bad chronic pain from an injury I had. I was so low and in so much pain by the end of the day that all I could do was lay on the couch on my side. So when Rockstar started that season, I had something new to watch and began looking forward to it. It was a little escape for me.

So while I'm standing there and getting into the music. The thought occurred to me how unreal it all felt. I was so amazed by the whole thing. The energy and love in the room was phenominal. I thought to myself, "girl just go with it and enjoy every momment". I have not felt so care-free and in the momment for a very long time. If I could take that feeling and bottle it up, I'd hand it out to everyone.

Marty asked where his brother Chris was 'cause he had requested Summertime In the City which he wasn't sure if it would work acoutically. Well, they pulled it off. During the line "Lying on the beach sippin booze", Marty paused and looked down at the little kiddies and replaced booze with juice. So considerate!

I think after that they did Hold On and I think eyes can't see. They also did Wish You Were Here. Then Velvet which was unfamiliar to me but was changed to be more appropiate for the kiddies. At some point he pointed out Dino in the crowd. He said something like "That Dino, he's always in the back". Being so close to them, I had the vantage point of seeing them work together. It was so cool to see them tune instrumants between songs, which you had to be real close to notice. They are so in tune with each other. These boys are such talented musicians. Unfortunately I couldn't see Bobby because Marty was in the way. (yeah poor me)

At some point someone yelled out to Marty take off your sunglasses and he abliged. ***Thud*** Those blue eyes can knock you off your feet. Billy also has some killer blues himself.

Then they did This Town. It was so much fun and when the line was suppose to go something like "in this bar tonight" Marty changed it to "In Best Buy tonight" and he couldn't help himself but blurted out "Hey there's a sale going on in Isle 4". He lost it along with the whole crowd. It was like one big inside joke 'cause the funny thing is it no longer felt like the middle of Best Buy and the joke was on anyone who made fun of me or anyone else for going to a concert at Best Buy. It was also cool to see how they go from laughing to picking it right up again. Billy just played the next chord and Marty and Bobby fell right back into place.

I don't know if I left out any songs but Marty said at the end they were going to play Trees and it was going to be the last song. He also shared a cute story that at the last BB he asked his nieces to come on stage before the show started and sing Trees with him.
They told him "Yeah Uncle Marty we're ready" so when they got on stage, they took one look at the crowd and walked right off the stage and right out the door. The silly guy then added, they walked across the street but before they did, they looked both ways and don't forget to drop and roll kiddies and all those other safety things. His nieces yelled out "Uncle Marty - your so mean".

When he was on RS, one of the reasons he was my favorite was not only that he was so talented but because he was such a nice guy. We live an a world where nice guys don't get enough recognition and it was so refreshing and appealing to see that. That's exactly how I felt at the show. I'll admit that after not seeing his personality for quite some time and seeing all those yummy pictures of him, I was starting to forget him as a person. At least for me, my experience of seeing him in the flesh made me want to show him respect. A friend back home asked if I was now all gaagaa over him, I told her that it makes me want him for an Uncle for my own kids. Coolest Uncle I ever saw!

Oh Jeepers. This is soooo long. I'll finish up later with my meet & greet experience

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Posted by needalife
Oh no! Now that I took a break and came back and read replys. I feel so much pressure. But it's making me get all excited again.

Before the show there was a radio station there that had a "spin the wheel" contest whee you can win a prize and one of the prizes was a back stage meet & greet. Once I noticed it, I went and tried it. The lady in front of me landed on "win" and turned down the pass for a T-shirt. Can you imagine? I got a plastic cup and some lip balm.

Anyway, we got on line and waited while the boys went backstage and had those meet & greets. While on line a man walked over to some fangirls. It was Marty's big bro John. He was recognizable right away 'cause he looks a lot like Marty. One of the girls said to him, "we should ask you for your autograph" and he replied "no I should ask all of you for your autographs for all that your doing for the guys and something to the effect that we all appreciate it". What a gem. He noticed me and we started speaking. He introduced himself and when it was my turn to introduce myself I stumbled over my own tongue. Oh the horror of admitting to a Casey that my name is Needalife. I would have left that out but darling Rachel said "tell him your name". Ugh!! We spoke about his family and it was like talking to a neighbor. He so made me at ease.

So at least I was relaxed. I had a 10year career in the business world, so I talked myself into that corporate like mode. Breath deep, hold you head high and whatever you do, don't let them see you sweat. Just take whatever emotion and supress it!!!!

So I walk over to Dino with my hand out. Hello Dino, My name is Eleanor and I'm from NY. I once caught him on-line and sent him a pm and sign it Eleanor from NY. (besides spending so many hours with Kelly - I just had to steal her line ) Mr. Wiseguy responded with "Hi I'm Dino and I'm from Chicago." I regret the suppressing the emotion part here 'cause a girl from NY shouldn't let him get away with that. Oh if I only thought to say "Dude I just told you I came from NY to see your band at Best Buy - take a little more notice". But no, I probably turned red and I told him how I sent him a pm when I caught him on-line. He asked was I crabby. I said well yeah. When I said I hope your feeling great. You just wrote back I'm not great - I just had surgery. He appologized for bing in a mood then.

I do have to say, seeing him bandaged up like that is so sad. I really feel for the poor guy. I can't even imagine what he's going through. He has every right to be in whatever mood he needs to be in.

So I move on to Billy. We chat briefly. I did say to him "hey don't knock Best Buy -it's the best concert I've ever been to". He said I didn't knock it. So I point to MArty well then maybe he did. At this point I feel like I'm talking to my hubby's friends back home that are alway's wise guys. Bobby might have been listening. So I move on to him. I don't know his personality and I had nothing to say except introduce myself. I don't think I could even look at him. I felt so middle aged and dorky standing there.

He reminds me of a line in the movie "About Last Night" with Rob Lowe, Demi Moore and Jim Belushi where Jim's character tells Rob Lowe that he's too good looking for women.

So I'm standing there being dorky and Marty reaches for my CD cover and I'm not ready. I didn't get a chance for a deep breath. So I flip in the suppress emotion, act brave! I think I told him my name. I mention that I tried to see him in NY but the show got cancelled ( I think **big blur** Bobby said "awe" so I'm thinking why is this man even listening to me. When I'm near him I just want to dissappear. It's a little unsettling having a Greek God talk to you.) At the same time Marty and I shake hands and I try to let go and pull back and he kept holding my hand. Which actually relaxed me. So I add to MArty "and now we came here to see you for our anniversary. " Bobby tells my hubby happy anniversary. (good look at him not me) So Marty hugs me and over my shoulder tells my hubby happy anniversary. So I turn to Hubby to snap a picture and the camera needed a moment to focus but Marty was gracious enough to hold his arm around me until the camera could work. I said Thanks and I then seized the momment to point to my L'Strange Cd and quickly blurt out to him that I had heard "Sleeper" on the radio a few years ago and I didn't know what station it was but I thought I would remember the name and I tried to find it but I never could. Then I saw him on rockstar liked him and found the band and ordered the CD and when I got it. There it was. So he said "See, it was meant to be". Aww! So we shook hands on that again and hubby snapped another picture.

Then when I walked away, Penny was there to give me a hug. That is what is so great about everyone. They enjoy it when everyone has "there momment".

So afterwards we all met at a cool Rock Club and hung out untill the place closed. So we found another bar. We stayed until we couldn't stay awake or at least some of us couldn't. We had a great time. I was on such an adrenaline high that I didn't even feel tired.

Marty is so right. It was meant to be. If I saw them in NYC as planned then this may never have happened. It was such a great experience. I had fun with all the great people we met.

Speaking of giving great guys recognition. My Hubby was so dear to just let me have my momments. It really paid off for him 'cause even though I met the nicest and hottest Rockstar I went home thinking I was the luckiest girl ever.