Post by mamasoxfanMSVP on Jul 29, 2010 2:10:02 GMT -5
All I can say is after standing for over 9 straight hours, it was worth every ounce of pain. I arrived at 9:41am sharp and I knew I was in for a rough day. After about an hour, I was joined by the Hood family from Southern Virginia. We were banned to the street until a major downpour led the security guard to allow us to wait inside the garage, this will stand as the only good thing that security did for us. There were five of us at first, waiting patiently for a couple of hours for the buses to arrive, and I was getting concerned because we were receiving conflicting information from security. They were saying that there was no meet and greet then that morphed into a meet and greet at 5pm but only to those with passes. I must have covered 100 miles with the wild goose chases that security had us on. Our group grew to about 15 people (not exactly a mob scene) by the time the buses arrived around 1:20 or so and everyone was slow to appear but most seemed happy to see our group.
Tim exited the bus first then Aaron, Didi (she kinda snubbed the fans with a half-hearted wave) weird since this is her hometown but maybe the small contingent was a wee bit smaller than she was expecting, who knows. Anyhoo, Lee, Andrew, Sioban and Mike exited and waved at us with Lee saying he would be right out which never happened. Aaron came out and was actually very nice and gracious with the fans which at this time included chicagotweethrt VI106. Tim followed close behind and a few minutes in, security said we were being banned across the street. Tim seemed surprised with this new development but he finished with is autograph/photo requests and promised to tell the others where we'd be, I told him to let Crystal know there were some idiots out here wanting to see her. He laughed and said he'd pass it on and we left without a peep from Crystal, Casey and Katie. The group began to grow steadily as we withstood the elements from what seemed like 100 miles away.
We waited and waited and finally Big Mike braved the afternoon traffic to come over to talk with everyone, he was really nice with everyone but had to run on back after about 10 minutes or so. It was around 3pm and we were told they were speaking with the media so I took this time to make sure my car hadn't been impounded, instead I paid 10.00 for a parking pass only to find a nice, shiny 32.00 citation for illegal parking. When I returned to the group I found out that the Knoxville News Sentinel (local newspaper) had stopped by to interviewed the fans. Several people said they wished that my banner could've made the paper but it wasn't meant to be. The Hoods ordered pizza and I realized that I hadn't eaten since 9:00pm Tuesday night so I snuck a slice and had a coke. Now that my blood sugar was back to normal, my friend Karen arrived and we waited a few minutes because apparently Lee had tweeted that he and Crystal were coming out after rehearsals.
We waited awhile for Crystal and Lee but the closer it got to the 5:00pm meet and greet we figured that it wasn't going to happen. Some of the group went around the arena and Crystal and Lee waved to them from the upper level but again I missed it, this time due to the need for sustinence so I didn't beat myself up too bad. After Karen and I ate, it was closing in on 6:30pm and the doors were opening. We went inside and the ticket checker asked me if my VI shirt was some kind of softball team lol. After a few minutes of trying to explain it, I figured it was a lost cause so we ventured to our seats. Our tickets were in the semi-nosebleed section and when we got to the seats, I remembered that I have a slight fear of heights. The usher gave us some hope when he said that after 15 minutes of the show starting, we were free to venture down if there were any unfilled seats. Fortunately, the arena was peppered with empty seats but we stayed put through the first half of the show.
After the intermission, we made our way to the opposite side of the arena to the lower balcony about 15 rows back from the right of the stage. I'll try to keep the performance review to Crystal but I have to say they were all really good but Sioban was the other standout, Paint It Black and Stockholm Syndrome was...damn! Again, the others were so much better than on AI. Now we are at Mamasox, I expected to be impressed but I was truly blown away at how much more incredible her voice was live. For the fashion-ites, she was wearing a black dress, the one that's shorter in the front and a bit longer in the back so she was showing some leg tonight. She looked great, sounded incredible and just flowed through her set effortlessly. Before performing "Up To The Mountain" she warned everyone she was missing Little Tony like crazy and she'd try not to cry. She gave an emotional performance but didn't have a "People Get Ready" moment.
I couldn't take my eyes off Crystal and the only distraction was the intense burning sensation in my arms from holding my banner. I desperately tried to get her to notice it, waving and yelling like a man possessed and she still didn't see me but apparently I made the big screen. I was too busy to see it but I was told after by several people. I spent her whole set trying creep closer and closer but a certain security guy kept sending me back so I just kept waving the banner to no avail. I was really down during Lee's set, he was good but I was focused on my failure. I finally had enough with Mr. Security so I went down during the final group number and started asking other guys if they could get the banner to Crystal. All of a sudden, one of the roadies snatched it from me and I thought he was confiscating it. I said I need it back and he said he would take it to Crystal and have her sign it. He said he had seen me waving it for the last 20 minutes and he would take care of it.
After the group number, the roadie went straight to Crystal and pointed me out and she signed it about 15 ft from me. Crystal waved and smiled and they rushed her out. We then made the mad dash out to the buses but once again we were thwarted by security. This time they were saying that no one was coming out and we had to stay back from the garage entrance. Then all of a sudden another security guard said they were signing at the West ramp so we ran like hades to only find other fans going in circles. We finally figured out that security sent us to the other side of the building to sneak everybody on the buses. I gave up around 11pm but a few fans were still loitering around the side of the garage but it was a no show. After I got home, I saw Crystal's tweet thanking "Knocksville" lol and all was well in the world. All in all, well worth the pain, the $42.00 parking fee and the wonderful Thompson Boling Arena security because of them I think I lost 20 lbs today
Tim exited the bus first then Aaron, Didi (she kinda snubbed the fans with a half-hearted wave) weird since this is her hometown but maybe the small contingent was a wee bit smaller than she was expecting, who knows. Anyhoo, Lee, Andrew, Sioban and Mike exited and waved at us with Lee saying he would be right out which never happened. Aaron came out and was actually very nice and gracious with the fans which at this time included chicagotweethrt VI106. Tim followed close behind and a few minutes in, security said we were being banned across the street. Tim seemed surprised with this new development but he finished with is autograph/photo requests and promised to tell the others where we'd be, I told him to let Crystal know there were some idiots out here wanting to see her. He laughed and said he'd pass it on and we left without a peep from Crystal, Casey and Katie. The group began to grow steadily as we withstood the elements from what seemed like 100 miles away.
We waited and waited and finally Big Mike braved the afternoon traffic to come over to talk with everyone, he was really nice with everyone but had to run on back after about 10 minutes or so. It was around 3pm and we were told they were speaking with the media so I took this time to make sure my car hadn't been impounded, instead I paid 10.00 for a parking pass only to find a nice, shiny 32.00 citation for illegal parking. When I returned to the group I found out that the Knoxville News Sentinel (local newspaper) had stopped by to interviewed the fans. Several people said they wished that my banner could've made the paper but it wasn't meant to be. The Hoods ordered pizza and I realized that I hadn't eaten since 9:00pm Tuesday night so I snuck a slice and had a coke. Now that my blood sugar was back to normal, my friend Karen arrived and we waited a few minutes because apparently Lee had tweeted that he and Crystal were coming out after rehearsals.
We waited awhile for Crystal and Lee but the closer it got to the 5:00pm meet and greet we figured that it wasn't going to happen. Some of the group went around the arena and Crystal and Lee waved to them from the upper level but again I missed it, this time due to the need for sustinence so I didn't beat myself up too bad. After Karen and I ate, it was closing in on 6:30pm and the doors were opening. We went inside and the ticket checker asked me if my VI shirt was some kind of softball team lol. After a few minutes of trying to explain it, I figured it was a lost cause so we ventured to our seats. Our tickets were in the semi-nosebleed section and when we got to the seats, I remembered that I have a slight fear of heights. The usher gave us some hope when he said that after 15 minutes of the show starting, we were free to venture down if there were any unfilled seats. Fortunately, the arena was peppered with empty seats but we stayed put through the first half of the show.
After the intermission, we made our way to the opposite side of the arena to the lower balcony about 15 rows back from the right of the stage. I'll try to keep the performance review to Crystal but I have to say they were all really good but Sioban was the other standout, Paint It Black and Stockholm Syndrome was...damn! Again, the others were so much better than on AI. Now we are at Mamasox, I expected to be impressed but I was truly blown away at how much more incredible her voice was live. For the fashion-ites, she was wearing a black dress, the one that's shorter in the front and a bit longer in the back so she was showing some leg tonight. She looked great, sounded incredible and just flowed through her set effortlessly. Before performing "Up To The Mountain" she warned everyone she was missing Little Tony like crazy and she'd try not to cry. She gave an emotional performance but didn't have a "People Get Ready" moment.
I couldn't take my eyes off Crystal and the only distraction was the intense burning sensation in my arms from holding my banner. I desperately tried to get her to notice it, waving and yelling like a man possessed and she still didn't see me but apparently I made the big screen. I was too busy to see it but I was told after by several people. I spent her whole set trying creep closer and closer but a certain security guy kept sending me back so I just kept waving the banner to no avail. I was really down during Lee's set, he was good but I was focused on my failure. I finally had enough with Mr. Security so I went down during the final group number and started asking other guys if they could get the banner to Crystal. All of a sudden, one of the roadies snatched it from me and I thought he was confiscating it. I said I need it back and he said he would take it to Crystal and have her sign it. He said he had seen me waving it for the last 20 minutes and he would take care of it.
After the group number, the roadie went straight to Crystal and pointed me out and she signed it about 15 ft from me. Crystal waved and smiled and they rushed her out. We then made the mad dash out to the buses but once again we were thwarted by security. This time they were saying that no one was coming out and we had to stay back from the garage entrance. Then all of a sudden another security guard said they were signing at the West ramp so we ran like hades to only find other fans going in circles. We finally figured out that security sent us to the other side of the building to sneak everybody on the buses. I gave up around 11pm but a few fans were still loitering around the side of the garage but it was a no show. After I got home, I saw Crystal's tweet thanking "Knocksville" lol and all was well in the world. All in all, well worth the pain, the $42.00 parking fee and the wonderful Thompson Boling Arena security because of them I think I lost 20 lbs today