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". ;D
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.
I gotta run. I'll finish up a little later.
.
But it's making me get all excited again.
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. 
couldn't. We had a great time. I was on such an adrenaline high that I didn't even feel tired. 