I. Met. Bryan. Adams.

This is a post from my very first blog on LiveJournal (remember that?). I updated the formatting a little bit. Enjoy this blast from the past, originally posted on January 13th, 2009 at 01:54 am.

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For those of you who didn't see the constant AIM away messages and Facebook statuses, I saw Bryan Adams at the Bijou Theater Monday night. And I am shaking as I type this, but it's not because I'm cold! I'm soooooo glad that I prepared for the totally impossible in case it actually happened--I put business cards in my purse in case I met people I wanted to keep in touch with and/or exchange pictures with, and I actually took time to carefully put on makeup (this never happens) in case I actually met and/or took a picture with Bryan (like that would EVER happen). Here are highlights from tonight. It's a lot to read, so feel free to skip around, but I warn you--it's ALL AWESOME*! :-D

*If you want to go straight to the part where I met Bryan, scroll down to (or locate using "Find") "THIS IS IT!" You can also check out the pictures I took here: [Broken link; will try to find the pictures]

First of all, the concert was AMAZING. Two hours of Bryan on his acoustic, singing songs from his 11 albums, soundtrack work, and also a Willie Nelson song and a song he wrote for Taylor Hicks (yup, the American Idol). He had a set list but also took requests, and for a number of songs he was joined by a great pianist named Gary Breit. Bryan talked a lot in between songs, telling us what inspired some songs ("Summer of '69" totally got its title from what you're thinking of right now) and also just joking and interacting with the audience. The Bijou was the perfect venue for this intimate setup.

Notes on a few songs:

• "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?" - Gary managed to play the intricately beautiful Spanish guitar part (on the piano, people!) and Bryan explained that the band and crew now call him Gary "South of the Border" Breit because of it. What's funny is that Gary looked sooooo much like Bryan! They even dressed the same (black button up shirt tucked into dark blue jeans).

• "It's Only Love" - Bryan told the story of how they introduced the duet idea to Tina Turner, and then proceeded to sing both his parts and hers. On the first verse that Tina would've been singing, Bryan changed his voice to imitate Tina's. HIL-arious.

• "All For Love" - (Haha, you like the totally unintentional "Love" theme?) This was a trio between Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting. Bryan sang all parts, and when he got to the first of Rod Stewart's lines he imitated Rod's slightly higher rasp. Fun times.

• "Seven Spanish Angels" - Bryan told the story of how a guy came to him and asked Bryan to sign his guitar for his son who was overseas with the military. The father said something like "Yup, my son's favorite Willie Nelson song is 'Seven Spanish Angels'." Bryan then sang the song, with his best country twang (he does it well--pretty awesome for a Canadian, haha).

• "Walk on By" - This is the final track on his newest release, and my favorite on the album. It's short and simple, and has some great viola solos. It was the first song during which the audience was quiet the entire time (and Bryan remarked on it afterward--he thanked us then and again later for being such a great audience), and that quiet helped me enjoy it even more. I remember just closing my eyes and swaying to the guitar.

After the concert I walked out with a couple of girls who'd been sitting to my right. One of them asked a security guard where the tour bus was and he actually told us! We headed toward the back of the Bijou. Once we got there I saw the couple who'd been sitting in front of me. We all waited together and speculated as to whether Bryan had already left or not. We found out from a roadie that he hadn't. I searched for something for Bryan to sign and the husband of a couple waiting with us said "I'll give you one of our CDs. They gave us two [at the meet and greet] but we didn't get them signed." Oh my gosh, they were so nice!!! I said thank you as many times as I could without appearing crazy. I just hope they heard me, because I was so excited/in shock from everything that had happened so far that I was nearly whispering.

A security guy came out and had us line up on the other side of the street, and later on he came out and counted us. Soon after, the pianist came out. I cheered "Whooooo, piano!" since I'd forgotten his name, lol. Then the roadies loaded a bunch of equipment, trunk by trunk. About 45 minutes and several frozen extremities later, the security guy had us line up single file on the side of the street where we started out earlier. I had befriended a woman named Suzanne and I got behind her when we lined up the second time. She had a camera and we made a deal that we'd each take a picture of the other with Bryan. Bryan came out a minute or so later. He stood in the street, took in the crowd for a minute (there were about 25 of us), then smiled and said "Wow, are you guys waiting for me?" We all yelled "yes!" excitedly and Suzanne added "You're worth waiting for!" He said "Let me get a picture for my blog!" He took a few pics, then said "I'll be right back." He put his things on the bus, came out and took a few more pics (during one I ran to the front and opened up my jacket so my "FAN SINCE '91" could show), then motioned for us to follow him to the bus and said "Come on and I'll sign some stuff."

The security guy had us line up in front of the bus but out of oncoming traffic's way. When it was her turn, Suzanne went up and got an autograph (I think) and spoke with Bryan. She told him that she was on speakerphone with a friend. She handed me her camera and I took their picture--I felt SO stupid 'cause I didn't know how to work the blasted thing (especially since Bryan is an acclaimed photographer)!! I couldn't see a thing in the preview screen and Bryan's manager had to tell me to press the button half way. I took the pic and all was well.Then it was my turn.

THIS IS IT! I walked up the dark, slightly spiraling and strangely-shaped steps and tried not to trip. Bryan was sitting on a seat right at the top of the stairs. He smiled at me, and I smiled back and actually managed to speak:

ME: This is the first time I've seen you in concert!
I either handed him the CD or he took it from me--I don't even remember.
BRYAN: That's cool! What's your name?
ME: Robyn.
BRYAN: R-O-B-I-N?
ME: R-O-B-Y-N.
I'm so glad he asked, 'cause it didn't even occur to me to spell it out! He signed the CD and handed it to me. Then I suddenly remembered my shirt. I opened my leather jacket so he could see it better--
ME: Oh, I made this shirt--it says "FAN SINCE '91."
BRYAN: Really? Wow, that's sweet. I gotta get a picture.
He disappeared into the bus and got his camera. I looked over at the bus driver, who was obviously not affected by this stuff anymore. Bryan came back and took a picture. I tried my best to smile and not look like a total dork (I probably failed miserably). I'm not even sure he got my face though, 'cause it was pretty tight in there.
BRYAN: That's really sweet.
THEN I suddenly remembered the deal I'd made with Suzanne.
ROBYN: Oh, I was going to get a picture! I looked for Suzanne and saw her across the street. Is that okay?
BRYAN: Uh--

At this point Bryan's manager said that my time was up. This cloud of disappointment/embarassment/anger immediately started to build but I pushed it away, turned to Bryan, smiled my best smile possible and said "Thank you!" He gave me a sympathetic smile.

I went back down the steps, which were suddenly better lit and not as confusing. This is when Suzanne, who was still on the phone and had apparently forgotten our deal, realized that she was supposed to be taking my picture with him. She walked toward me but the manager motioned for her to go back. As I approached her I shook my head and said (well, less said and more like almost snapped/yelled but didn't) "It's too late." I don't even think she said she was sorry, though her facial expression said that she was. She said that the security had told her to cross the street or something. I tried my best to put on a good face and not to show her how disappointed I was. I don't know how successful I was.**

I hovered around for a bit on the sidewalk and attempted to talk to her, but she was still on the phone with whoever (WTH, seriously?!). I looked around for the couple who'd given me their CD but they'd already left. I finally admitted to myself that it was time to go home so I began my 2-block-or-so walk to the State St. garage. I remembered that one of my best friends told me to call her when it was over (no matter what time it was!) so I called her and got to gush about it (for almost an HOUR!). I believe I started the conversation with something along the lines of "HOLYCRAPIJUSTMETBRYANADAMS!"

There's sooooooo much more. I had a lot of fun chatting with two married couples--the ones I mentioned earlier who were sitting in front of me and another couple who sat to my left. The latter couple saw Bryan in Nashville last night and in Memphis sometime last year. The wife showed me some pics from Memphis and I asked if she could email me some of those pics, if it wasn't too much trouble. She was really nice and said "Sure" so I gave her one of my business cards. Then after the concert as we were all gathering our things, I saw the girls who sat to my right giving another woman who'd been sitting in front of us their emails. She showed me one of the great shots she'd gotten and I asked if I could give her my email as well. She said yes so I gave her a card, and I also gave one to Suzanne when we made our picture deal. So that's three times over that my take-cards-with-you idea paid off--or two if you keep in mind that Suzanne has nothing to send me. *sigh*

Oh man, I just remembered--I wanted to tell Bryan that I LOVED the fact that he had solo viola in a couple of his songs. Crud!!!

All in all though, it was a VERY positive experience. I still cannot believe it all happened (though the soreness in my tired cheekbones from hours of smiling lets me know that it did). I needed this, I really did. And this was totally a gift from God--I'm serious. This all happened by accident, y'all--I only found out about this concert 4 days ago, but managed to get a seat on the second row, meet some really great people who enjoy the same music I do, and then meet the very first musician I ever had a crush on who also happens to be one of the sweetest guys on the planet. I'm going to try to hold onto this excitement as long as possible, though right now I must try to go to sleep!
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**SUZANNE: If by some off chance you see this, I'm not mad! I got to watch one of my biggest musical idols perform, then I got to meet him and talk with him, he liked my shirt, and I made new friends (including you)!!! So it's all good.

Recap: Whose Live Anyway

Okay, give me a minute.

*screams*

Y'all. I splurged and bought myself a front row ticket to Whose Live Anyway (a live version of Whose Line Is It Anyway) a couple weeks ago. I'd known about the event for a month or two but decided I shouldn't spend the money. Two of my favorite cast members (Chip Esten and Jeff B. Davis) were in the lineup. I'd seen it once before years ago with some girlfriends, in Raleigh (I think), in the nosebleed seats. I checked the website several more times over the course of a few weeks and there were these two, non-adjacent front row seats staring back at me. I figured "Why not?" I bought a ticket for myself. [DISCLAIMER: Most of the quoted dialogue is probably not 100% accurate, as my memory isn't that good. But the last quote in the 11th paragraph is exact. You'll see...]

Next, I impatiently counted down the days until February 9 at 8:00 pm. Earlier in the evening I asked my Instagram followers to help me choose an outfit that would make me stand out so that I could get called on (see photo). I decided to throw in a bold red lip as well.

I took an Uber because I can't stand driving or parking downtown. But I didn't allow enough time for downtown traffic (I forgot that post-game in Knoxville means PEOPLE EVERYWHERE) and we sat on Gay street, two blocks away from the Tennessee Theatre, for what seemed like forever. I finally got out of the car at 7:53 pm. 

After they checked my bag, ran the metal detecting wand over me, and scanned my ticket, I finally got in. The first two ushers I encountered were helping other people but it worked out perfectly because the third one was a friend of mine (Hi, Zach!). He showed me to my seat--they had created three sections of seats in the Pit and I was on the left end of the middle section. I sat down and the woman next to me pointed out that a stage monitor was directly in front of me. I thought she was concerned about sound, so I explained that the sound would be going toward the performers because it was a monitor and not a speaker. Turns out she was worried about my not being able to see! There was an open seat next to her husband and she said that, if no one showed up, they'd move down so I could move one over. How sweet! No one showed up, so she moved to the empty seat and I sat next to her hubby. I always meet such kind people when I go to the Tennessee and the Bijou.

The show started a little late, then Greg Proops came out and warmed up the crowd. He then introduced the rest of the gang (Joel Murray, Charles [Chip] Esten, and Dave Foley [standing in for Jeff B. Davis]) and the bandleader (who was celebrating his birthday). Then they jumped into their first game and Greg asked people in the audience for an action for Chip to perform. And guess who he came to first? The woman with the crazy shirt, of course!

I. Totally. Froze. Suddenly I couldn't think of anything. What's an action? What are words? OMG THEY'RE ALL LOOKING AT ME. I wanted them to call on me and when they did, AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE SHOW, I froze like T'Challa in the jungle. I even went through random words in my head on the ride there in case they called on me... I turned to the couple next to me and asked for their help but they were coming up empty as well. So I said "Teaching!" Greg was like Are you serious? (not in a mean way!) Then he went to the other side of the stage to get an action for Dave. That person's suggestion was sitting. So they needed two actions and they got teaching and sitting. Welcome to Knoxville, boys! They did the best they could with our lame suggestions and were hilarious, of course.

Several other games were played, but that's not why I'm departing from this blog's regular material and telling you about this non-introduction to music related topic. I am here to tell you that I GOT A CHANCE AT REDEMPTION. They'd asked for volunteers multiple times and I chickened out. But later in the show, Dave Foley asked for some and I said to myself "Do it. This is why you're here on the front row." So I raised my hand and hollered. Dave smiled at me and welcomed me on stage. I didn't even know what the game was but I didn't care.

I got up on stage and Chip (my fave, in case you missed that earlier) told me to turn sideways. I didn't know which way sideways was so he lightly maneuvered me so I was facing the audience and proceeded to air play the keys on the left side of my shirt. Somehow I didn't die right then and there... I think at that point Chip got a mic from Dave then shook my hand, asked me my name, and gave me the mic. The game was Sound Effects. For those unfamiliar with Whose Line, two cast members act out a story; they do all the dialogue but the volunteers have to provide all the sound effects. I was dying inside, especially when they did a practice run and I was laughing so hard that I couldn't follow along. Chip kept smiling at me and saying "You can't laugh now!" I didn't know if he was serious or not so I tried my best to contain myself. It was so difficult because the other woman was as bad at this as I was! At the end there was supposed to be gun shot. I was so busy laughing that Chip just kept making the shooting motion over and over and I'm stage right, doubled over, dying laughing!

After the practice run, Chip gave me a hug for encouragement (or the hug might've been earlier; it's all a blur) and we did the real thing. Chip and Greg were construction workers, so we had to make noises like a work whistle (I stink at whistling so Chip said "the whistle must be broken"), jackhammer, saw, etc. It. Was. Hilarious. Then Chip said "I'm gonna pull up my Spotify.” Oh boy, I thought. This is perfect. “You know who I really like?” Oh no, please pick someone I know, Chip. “Whitney Houston." YAS. This was my moment, you guys. I steeled myself, dramatically threw one arm out, and belted "AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-EE-IIIIIIIII..." The guys were totally taken aback and the audience erupted with applause. *aaaaaand scene* Chip gave me a huge smile as he walked over, took the mic, and said to me "And I will always love you." He hugged me again, I turned and shook Dave Foley's hand (I'm sure I looked like a deer caught in headlights), and walked off stage.

Several people congratulated me as I walked back to my seat, and I got a couple of high fives. There were a few moments during the sketch where I wanted to motion to my new friends (the couple I was seated next to) and ask them to take pictures. I'm glad I didn't, because I mentioned it to them afterward and they said they probably would've gotten in trouble, otherwise they would've taken a ton of pics. The wife said they asked twice to make sure and were told no photography or recording of any kind, and that it was the casts' policy. I'm sure glad I didn't get in trouble cuz I totally took a few pictures--I read all the info that the Theatre sent and it said no flash photography or video recording. Then they said that again as an announcement before the show began. To me, that means you can take photos with no flash. Oh, well. I’ll always have the memories!

Anyway, the rest of the show was great (duh). The second best part--I did mention that I got TWO hugs from Chip, right?--was how many people came up to me afterward and said how great I was. Like, a LOT of people. Some complimented my overall performance while others specifically complimented my singing chops. One guy asked me if I was giving autographs! Then when my Uber showed up I was chatting with two other women and I didn't wanna cut them off even though I knew I shouldn't keep my driver waiting. An older gentleman went to the car and the driver told him my name. The man then called out "Robyn?" I said that was me and he went "Ah, she was the star of the show!" I was on cloud 9,999.

I joked with my Uber driver that I wish I could've said my last name while I was on stage with the mic. "I should've handed out business cards to everyone who complimented me!" I might change all my social media pictures to a shot of me in this crazy shirt so people can find me...

So there you have it: that was my amazing evening. All because I bought a front row ticket on a whim, as a treat to myself. I thought about walking around downtown afterward (I bought new walking shoes today) and maybe getting a bite to eat. But my head was buzzing and, although I was super excited at the moment, I knew that I'd crash soon. I'd rather do that in the comfort of my home. Plus I didn't need to spend any more money!!! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing (and living) it. Now back to concerts! Thanks for reading!