I count myself very blessed indeed to have both!
Wednesday morning dawned and for once I was actually excited to get out of bed and get moving. (Those that know me well know that NEVER happens!) I was a little frustrated that I had to go to work for 3 hours because I knew that some of my friends were already in town and I couldn't wait to go and catch up with them. I was in a great mood though, and had a lot of fun playing with the kids in my class. My favorite moment was when we were eating breakfast and I looked at those smiling faces and sang "I got a feeling..." and they looked right back at me and immediately hit me back with "that tonight's gonna be a good night!". I love my job!
At 11 o'clock I was free! I found my daughter and gave her a big hug and kiss and told her I'd see her soon...and then I jumped in my car and drove into the city to meet up with my friends at our hotel. I saw tweets that Joe was going to be singing live on the WGN news and I was a little sad that I was going to miss it. Then as I was driving I saw a sign for the WGN studios and I was so tempted to go see if I could say hello. I was in the process of passing the exit when I saw the sign though, and I really wanted to go find my friends so I just kept on going. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in the front door of the hotel to find that not only was Heidi there waiting for me as expected, but she was joined by Michele, and Jen & her husband Bob! Hugs were exchanged all around and we went back to our room and had a lovely chat. Bob was hilarious and sweet, and such a good sport about our antics! I was having so much fun catching up with everyone that I lost track of time a bit and made myself late for the BH gathering that I had initiated. My apologies for that! I hope that people had fun regardless.
I left Heidi and Michele at the hotel and headed over to the venue on my own to meet up with some of my other friends and to stop by at Lincoln Station to meet new ones. When I arrived I discovered that everyone was gathered around Joe's bus, so I stayed there to chat for a while. Not long after I got there Alex Kramer (guitarist) came out and went to grab a bite at a restaurant a few doors down from the bus. He said hello to everyone and gave us a big smile that showed off his adorable dimples. Sweet guy! Shortly after that, Rob Lewis showed up. I was very excited to see him. We had been chatting a bit over the last few weeks and I've been waiting for the chance to give him a big hug for months. I waited patiently while Rob greeted some other fans and took pictures with them, and then I went over and introduced myself. Rob was very sweet and it was definitely a pleasure to finally meet face to face.
After that I stood around chatting with friends until my toes got so cold that I could no longer feel them, and then I wandered over to Lincoln Station to see who was still around. I met up with several of the girls coming to my pre-party and we chatted for a few minutes. By then it was closing in on 5 o'clock. The venue was telling people that they weren't going to let us in for our party until 5:30 and everyone was getting confused. A few minutes after 5:00 I walked over to the door at Lincoln Hall and a man came out and told us that they weren't quite ready for us yet, but that it would just be a minute or two. They asked us to line up against the wall and they'd be right with us. Finally they opened up the door for us and everyone stepped aside to let me go first. I walked up to the podium where they were checking id's and giving us stamps, bracelets and food/drink tickets and the girl there asked my name. It turned out to be Terri who had worked with me to set the party up. She was very friendly and helpful as one of my friends had VIP and still needed to get a few things taken care of.
We got all checked in and my NECP posse girls and I found a booth and ordered our meals. It was so much fun watching everyone wander in. All the faces were just so happy and excited. Several people came over to thank me for setting up the party for everyone. I just have to say that it truly was my pleasure. Having the opportunity to make so many people so happy for a few hours is such a blessing. I wouldn't have had it any other way. It was really very cool to meet so many people face to face after talking with them online for so long as well. I can never express enough what an amazing group of women BH's are! No one on the outside will ever understand us...but we understand and support each other in ways that I've never seen before!
I love my sistas!
After we finished our dinner we went to the restroom to freshen up before going to wait for them to open the doors. Again- everyone insisted that I be the first in line. Around 6:30 the owner of Lincoln Hall came over and told us that he would be opening the doors for us in a few minutes. He asked that we enter in an orderly fashion, and let us know that they would be opening both sets of doors simultaneously. They opened the doors and of course everyone rushed the stage. A group of girls from the other side got to the stage ahead of us, but as soon as they saw me they pulled me in and made sure that I was set up right against the stage...dead center. I was a little sad that I didn't get to stand with my girls, but they were all right up against the stage too, so I let it go.
I was really excited to find that my videomates managed to get in right behind me so we were all together! Weeks of plotting and it actually worked out! Unbelievable.
We still had quite a wait before the show would start, so I took a few minutes to soak it all in. Was I REALLY there? All my weeks of planning had actually worked out perfectly? I just couldn't even believe it. It was the best feeling. I was in the moment and I was having the time of my life...dancing to the music and chatting with the girls and just feeling so very, very happy.Then Rob, Alex, Ethan and Donald came out and started setting up and the excitement just continued to build.
The next thing I knew, they came and set up the mic about a foot away from my face and I think I forgot to breathe for a minute. I knew he was going to be close, but I didn't realize he was going to be THAT close. It was funny because people who had already seen the show knew that I had been avoiding spoilers and they kept grabbing me and telling me that I was going to DIE. They had no idea.
Finally...the boys started playing and the funky sounds of Here We Go Again were filling the air with pure energy and joy. That song gets me pumped up on a normal day...this was almost too much. And THEN...Joe Mac hit the stage and I found nirvana.
I honestly don't have a clue what order the songs went in. I was having too much fun to notice. Having Heather right behind me was just perfect! We just get each other and there were a few precious moments of bonding with her that I will never, ever forget. Love you Heather!I was shocked at how early in the show I'm Waiting was. I had been avoiding spoilers- but the buzz on that baby was unavoidable! I hadn't watched any videos, but I knew that I was in for quite the experience. Holy LAWD Joseph. You certainly didn't hold anything back. That song is such a work of art, and the performance couldn't have been more perfect (or HAWT!).
I have ALWAYS had a thing for men who can play the piano. I don't know what it is, it just gets to me...so when they came out and set up the keyboard right in front of me, I thought I was going to pee my pants with excitement. Then Joe came out looking all adorable in his red shirt (AWESOME! Did you listen to our advice Joe? Hmmmm....) and my brain slowly oozed out my ears. Then I hear from behind me "Shannon, Shannon...give this to Joe to put on the keyboard!" and Traveling Jon was passed up to me to give to Joe. So we were all there going "Joe! Hey Joe!" and he wasn't really paying attention. Well...he was right there in front of me and my brain was oozing down my neck at that point- so I reached out and tapped him on his leg...right as the strings for The Difference started up. D'oh! He started singing and I pretty much forgot my name, that there was anyone else in the room, or that I even had fingers to touch him with to begin with. (look at this and tell me you wouldn't do it too!)
Forgot, right up until the moment that he finished singing...looked me dead in the eyes and said "You ok?" with this sexy smirk on his face. THIS is what happened next...
(Heather also managed to catch a picture of Joe smiling at me
and Liz got a shot of the shirt I gave him! (Thanks girls! You ROCK!!!!)
After that, the show continued on and I just soaked it all in as much as I possibly could. Joe sang Cover Girl just inches away from my face and I managed to survive it against all odds. When he was singing his tribute to Michael Jackson (Music and Me) he looked me right in the eye and we shared one more little moment together. It was just all so MUCH! How on earth did I get this lucky? (Besides the fact that I'm totally willing to make an ass of myself repeatedly for that man)I can't remember when it happened in the show, but Joe was chatting up the audience and one of my friends held up one of the towels that Andrea had made for all of us. It said "Chicago has Ballssssss!" and Joe took it from her and held it up for the audience to see. Then he took Heather's towel that said "Let's Joe Show This" and made a joke about needing a clothesline for all the towels in the audience. Well I have been calling Joe the Evil Genius for about a year now, and it caught on. I shortened it to EG quite some time ago for convenience sake. It's sort of a thing. Anyway- Andrea had made a towel especially for me.
so I held it up for Joe to see. He saw me and read it and said "EG, What's that?!" and I told him that it stood for Evil Genius. Liz caught his reaction...
He said something like "Really? ME?! Is that like universal or can I brand that?" We were all shouting at him that it was all about him. It was absolutely hilarious. Finally he said to the whole audience "This young girl in the front row is calling me the Evil Genius...My friends call me the asshole with a heart of gold". It was ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS...totally made my night (as if it weren't already perfect).Sadly, as all things must- the show came to an end. Joe sang 5 Brothers and a Million Sisters
and shook hands with as many people as he could before leaving the stage. The band finished the last note, and Alex pitched his guitar pick into the audience...and hit me right in the head.Could the night get any better?!
My friends and I had to wait around for a little bit because Michele had to go upstairs for her M&G with Joe and we weren't sure how that was all going to happen. The guys from the band were breaking down and I thanked Alex for the souvenir. Then Heidi and I went and caught a cab to head over to the after party.
The after party was a lot of fun! It was crazy crowded and a bit chaotic, but Joe was charming and funny and made it worth sticking around. Toward the end of the night he came through the crowd and started hugging as many people as he possibly could. When he got close to me there was a surge of people and some of them were pushing and shoving to get to him, so I kind of backed away from it all. I figured that I have had plenty of attention and opportunities and it wasn't worth it to me to get into all of that. Then this crazy lady started attacking Joe. I'm not sure what it was that she was after, but Joe and Johnny were both telling her that she was done and she needed to leave. I kept getting shoved back even further, but I kept my eye on Joe still hoping for the best. They managed to get the psycho to back off, and Joe looked up and saw me standing pushed up against the post and he looked at me and said "Come here!" and waved me closer. This other girl next to me pushed me again and he gave her a hug first, but then he gave me a quick one armed hug as he was getting pushed forward. I said thank you, but I'm not sure if he heard me through all of the chaos. Still, it was a nice hug and I will never forget how soft his sweater was! I need to get me some cashmere!
After he finished his rounds Joe went back to the VIP area for a bit. Michele, Heidi and I got up close to the VIP area as the crowd thinned..just in time for Joe to get up and dance to Twisted and then he gave a little thank you speech and said good night.
We were all exhausted, so we made the decision to leave at that point. As we were leaving we ran into Alex again. We thanked him and said good night. I told him to look out for me on twitter and he smiled and said he would. When we got outside we decided to just circle the block to see if Joe was still out there, and we found a small crowd of girls waiting by his limo. We decided to stick around to say thanks. A few minutes later Joe came out and a bunch of the girls surrounded him asking for hugs and pics. We saw that his body language was saying that he was just done and exhausted and decided to hang back. Sweetheart that he is- he still gave a few hugs and took a couple of pictures even though he obviously just wanted to get in the limo and go. We said good night to Johnny and thanked him for everything...and then we grabbed a cab and headed back to the hotel to unwind.
& That my friends is the story of one of the best nights of my life. I am so happy that so many of you were there to share it with me. It wouldn't have been the same without you!
Special thanks to the Evil Genius himself. You rock Joe! I promise I'll work on my timing for next time.
