Here is the tale of my crazy NKOTB weekend extravaganza!
Before I can tell the story I'm going to have to give a little bit of background info.
Anyone who has ever read my blog is already aware of the fact that I am a HUGE Blockhead. (If you have never read my blog you can go back to the October archives to find the blogs about the 2 concerts I went to last fall if you're interested.)
Last fall after attending the concerts I began visiting the fan forums on nkotb.com. At first it was just for kicks to see what was going on, but I ended up meeting some really cool women there and before long I realized that I had become addicted to the site! The forums were a wealth of information about the guys, their concerts, their projects, etc. They were also just REALLY fun! I was having a blast chatting to these amazingly witty women! We quickly became great friends, chatting with each other til the wee hours almost nightly.
Then the boys announced the Spring leg of their tour. This time they were going to be hitting the smaller markets. I quickly discovered that several of the shows were within reasonable driving distance for me and I spent a few days trying to decide which show I should buy tickets for since I could only afford to do one. I spoke with the friend who had gone to the previous concerts with me, and we decided that the best choice for us was the show in Grand Rapids, MI. It's roughly 3 hours away, and the show was on a Saturday so we would not need to take any time off work.
THAT was the plan. Simple right? 1 concert with my friend. Nothing big.
That was the plan until I was chatting with my friends on yahoo and discovered that a few of them were planning to attend a show in Des Moines and had just upgraded their tickets to 12th row center...and that there were still seats available in the very same row! Oh my! Dream seats AND a chance to meet some of the women I had been chatting with for months? This was just not an opportunity I could pass up! Did I care that it meant driving 5 1/2 hours by myself? Did it matter that I was going to have to request time off work AFTER purchasing the tickets and hope for the best? NOPE! Didn't matter one bit! I was going to sit 12th row center if it killed me. So I spoke to my husband and he reluctantly agreed that I could buy the ticket.
Ok...so now I'm going to 2 shows. Oh, did I mention that they were 2 days apart and in totally opposite directions? Crazy? Perhaps...but ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?
Fast forward to the Thursday before the first of my 2 shows. I'm driving to work and one of my friends sends me a text that she's at O'hare waiting for her connecting flight to take her to Moline for that night's concert. I texted her back and said it was cool that she was so close, and that I wished that I could go with her to the show. Then she asked me if I thought I could make it to Moline by showtime, because one of our friends still had an extra ticket and if I could get there she would buy it for me. (Blockheads freakin' ROCK!)
WHAT?! A free ticket to see my boys and all I gotta do is drive for 2 1/2 hours by myself, and then drive home again right after so that I can be at work the next morning? Ok, so I MIGHT be a little tired, but COME ON! How could I pass up such a sweet deal? Oh, and going to Moline also meant meeting some of the friends I'd be seeing in Des Moines a few days later.
Lucky for me I was scheduled to be off work at 1pm that day and getting to Moline by showtime would not be a problem! I dropped my daughter off at home with my husband, changed my clothes, and hopped in the car without a second thought.
The show was amazing! We had really good seats, just to the side of the stage. I don't have any pictures because I left my camera in the car when I was meeting my friends for dinner. When we left the restaurant my car was on the opposite side and I decided that it might be cool to watch a show without looking through a lens for a change! I was right...it was cool. Meeting the girls I had been talking to for months...even more cool!
Immediately after the show I got back in my car for the drive home. I was completely exhausted, the entire drive was nothing but fields, and it was raining that night. Thank goodness I had one of my friends in California to talk to while I drove or none of you would be reading this blog right now. The things I do for those boys! I am proud to say that I did manage to make it to work without incident the next morning. GO ME!
Saturday morning I woke up and was on the road to pick up my friend to drive to Grand Rapids by 9:30 am. My friend isn't really a very big fan, but I convinced her that we should drive over to the arena to see what was going on. We quickly found where the buses were parked and went over to see what was up. As we arrived at the parking lot Danny was just walking out of the arena and getting onto his bus. He gave a quick wave to the crowd, and my friend was hooked! (He's her favorite). Convincing her to stick around for more was a piece o' cake!
After a little while Jordan got off his bus to go into the arena for the M&G's. He did a cute little dance for us and waved to everyone, but didn't stop to say hello.
Next Jon came off his bus, pulled his hood up over his head and ducked between the buses for a smoke. Apparently he wasn't in the mood to play. He rarely is. He's really funny, but pretty private.A few minutes later I was rewarded for my persistence as Joe and his family got off his bus to head into the arena.
We were able to witness a very sweet moment between Joe and his wife before they came out of the bus. Again, there was limited interaction, but he was friendly and seemed to be in a good mood as he waved to us. Even his son Griffin got in on the action!
We waited around for a few more minutes to see if Danny would come back out, or if Donnie would make an appearance, but we needed to go to the hotel before the show and it was getting late so we left without seeing them.The Grand Rapids show was on the Anniversary of the NK reunion and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. The energy was amazing!
Donnie got all choked up about the reunion and what it has meant to them and us. It was a great moment. I'm so happy that I was there for it!
We met up with some of my friends from the forum again after the show and decided to go back over by the buses again. This time there was a huge crowd. After a few minutes Joe came out and quickly waved to the crowd before getting back on his bus. A few seconds later Donnie came out and started saying hello to people. I was able to get close to him, but the crowd was huge and I wasn't about to push people around to get closer. I tried to take pictures, but they didn't really come out because it was dark and I had trouble getting around the crowd. My friend wasn't feeling the crowd at all, so we headed back to our hotel for the night.The next morning we drove back to Illinois. I dropped my friend off at her house, went home for 2 hours, and then got back in the car for my 5 hour drive to Des Moines. I was staying at the home of one of my friends from the forum. Another one of our friends was flying in from Seattle that night. Her flight wasn't due in until after 11pm and then she had to drive for a few hours to get to Des Moines. While we were waiting for her to arrive, Mel and I chatted like old friends and made signs for the concert and just acted like 2 teenage girls at a slumber party. We had so much fun! Then Sarah arrived and the party just kept right on going. We ended up staying up all night!
The next morning Mel's 2 friends arrived and we all watched some old school NK videos while we got ready for the concert. We dressed Mel's 12 year old daughter up and even put some make up on her. She looked adorable!
Once everyone was ready we headed off to the venue. We took 2 cars. Sarah drove her rental car with Mel, Mel's daughter and me as the passengers, and Mel's other 2 friends drove together. When we arrived at the arena Mel suggested that we drive around the building to see where the buses were. When we pulled up to the corner next to the parking lot I looked over and saw a small crowd, and a man wearing a sweatshirt and baseball cap was standing on the corner near the barricades. I did a quick double take and then managed to spit out "Um, guys...That's Donnie". Then all hell broke loose!
I sat there for a few seconds trying to figure out what I should do while my friends tried in vain to get out of the car. After what was probably 20 seconds of listening to them rattle the door handles I said "I'm sorry guys, but I'm out!" and got out of the car, crossed the street, and joined the crowd as Donnie walked down the line giving hugs and taking pictures.
Mel and her daughter were right behind me. Poor Sarah who was in an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar city was abandoned! She floored it around the corner and drove up the block where she ran a light as it changed to red and whipped into a parking lot on the other side of the street. Then she ran as fast as she could back to the corner to join us. While all that had been going on, I had been walking the line with Donnie trying to get his attention and failing miserably. My friends got their hugs, Mel's daughter got an extra long snuggle and a kiss on her head, and I was there to take Sarah's picture for her while Donnie hugged her.
(Didn't feel so bad about abandoning her after that!). My friends were on cloud 9, but Donnie went back into the arena without giving me a hug. I was a little bummed, but let's face it...he was not the one I was there to see!
I'm a little fuzzy on the order of the rest of the events of the afternoon, but we were lucky enough to be able to see all 5 guys that afternoon. Donnie was the only one to come around and give hugs, but the rest of the guys (with the exception of Jon) interacted with us from a distance.
Joe was easily the most playful of the guys. The first time we saw him he was coming out of the arena to get on his bus. As he walked out he shushed all of us acting like we needed to be quiet for his son...and then laughed and told us that he was just joking and that Griffin was awake. He didn't come near the barricade, but he told us that he would be back out later.
Quite a while later the head of security went onto Joe's bus. Then he came back out and told us that Joe would be coming out with his family and asked us to please not take any pictures of the baby. As Joe walked off the bus he yelled "Shaaaaaaaaadup!" at us and then started laughing. He helped his wife with their son, and then walked his dog. We all started shouting things to him while he was walking Duncan. In a fit of insanity (ok, not really- it was totally planned) I shouted "Joe, you know those jeans are killing us, right?!" (For those not in the know- he has a particular pair of jeans that we all LOVE, and he wears them constantly. He happened to be wearing them at the time) He was looking down at the time and I couldn't see his face, but my friends told me that he smirked after I said it. Mel asked him about a stuffed animal that is in the window of the bus and he answered her, and some girls asked him to sing particular songs during the show...he told them to go listen to the cd. (Sarcastic SOB!)
Then he and his family went into the arena and my moment was over.
No hug :(
A short time later the security guy came back and told us that Donnie was going to come back around again. He asked that anyone who was there earlier and got a hug please step back and allow the rest of the crowd to have their turn. Sarah gave Mel's daughter her hat to wear, and she got another great hug from Donnie, then Donnie spotted Sarah and asked if he'd seen her earlier (she was over the moon!), Donnie accidently kicked a can of Mtn Dew on one of my friends and apologized to her while giving her a hug...and then it was my turn. I said, "I was here earlier, but I never got my hug!" He looked at me for a second then said "Yeah, ok" and opened up his arms. Mel's daughter was able to take a picture of the moment.
After my hug he moved on and Mel asked if she could get a kiss. He said that he couldn't kiss her on the mouth because he didn't want to make her sick, but then gave her a smooch on the corner of her mouth. I swear I've never seen a happier woman in my life.
The show was AMAZING! 12th row center turned out to be 8th row DEAD center because of the part of the stage that juts out into the audience. I was mesmerized the entire show. I've honestly never had so much fun in my life.
The best part of the whole experience was that I got to share it with some really great friends. It took me a week to recover, but it was truly a magical weekend and one that I won't soon forget.
Stay tuned, because THIS weekend they're coming back! My friends from all around the country are flying in and we get to be together to see our boys! I'm so excited!!!!! I promise I won't wait quite so long to tell the story this time.
