"I'm with the Band"

Ok, this is quite an amazing story, so sit back and get comfy! It's a study in roller coasters and the magic of opals. It all started one morning around 10am at work. It was my Mama's birthday, January 12th. Maria came flying down to my office with a manic look on her face. It was OK because I mirrored her expression. The James Blunt tickets just went on sale! Yay!

We bought two tickets right there... instantly, I was launched onto Cloud Nine. I just knew it was going to be a great concert and maybe, just maybe, I might meet the man himself. Yay! And so it went for nearly a month until March 3rd rolled around. The date of the concert and the fact I was going to attend it on a Monday nights underscores the point of how excited I was. I also had Anthropology class, which I skipped (I told my instructor beforehand, thank you very much!). If you know me, you know that I do not go out cavorting on a week night. This night was special!

The night arrives and I am about to pop out of my skin. I first heard James Blunt on SNL in 2005. It was kind of crazy that he chose Asheville as a venue (out of places like LA, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, etc.). We arrived and I bought an outrageously expensive program in hopes that I'd get it signed. (Ed. Note: I've only ever been this crazy about one other performer: Elton John.) We get settled in and are pleasantly surprised by Erick Baker, a folk rocker from Knoxville, TN. (We were so entertained that we went back two weeks later to see him perform at the Orange Peel.) Maria immediately declared that he was her future husband! :-D

The concert was rapturous... ok, no... that's ridiculous! The concert was thrilling. JB gives good concert! Sometimes you never know how the live performance will stack up against studio recording. We made our way to the front of the hall (Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) by the end of the concert. We almost immediately noticed that people were getting backstage! This was my moment! Rather, it was my moment until an event staffer came around and stated that we had to have passes to get backstage. Aw! A teenager standing near me saw how deflated I was and offered to take my program backstage and get it signed. Yay! We'll call her Tiffany.

Maria and I made our way outside of the hall and waited for Tiffany to deliver on her promise. 30 minutes passed, no sign of Tiffany. 45 minutes passed, still no sign of Tiffany. I was becoming despondent. I belatedly realized that I had just given away my $20 program! After an hour, I just wanted to get my program back and go home. With the saddest eyes you've ever seen, I approached an auditorium staffer (not a yellow-jacket event staffer) who was making sure the doors were locked tight. He was extremely nice and listened to my sad tale. I just wanted to find Tiffany and get my program back. He let us in and said, "You can try. Go ahead." Now I had a mission!

Awkwardly, we made our way back into the hall. We looked around hoping someone would help me get my program back. No one came to our rescue. We walked all the way to the backstage door. The door was unlocked so we peeked inside. No one was guarding the door... in fact no one was even to be found in the proceeding hallway. Sneaking backstage felt so wrong! We stood around that door for about 10 minutes arguing teh pros and cons of going backstage. Finally, I said, "What's the worst they can do? Throw us out??" Armed with my argument, Maria flew into action. She flung open the door and marched down the hallway. It was a beautiful moment.

We first encountered a crew member packing up equipment. He said tersely, "What are you doing back here?" Immediately the sad, sad eyes returned and I launched into my story. Grudgingly, he pointed to the stairs and said, "Follow those stairs." Okay... so far, so good! At the bottom of the stairs, we met with the yellow witch of the East. When she first saw us, her eyes lit up with welcome. Then her face clouded over and she said, "You can't come down here! Go back!" I quickly explained myself and stated quite plainly that I was not trying to sneak in but trying to retrieve my program from Tiffany. I spotted Tiffany across the room and said, "There! There she is! Please, please I just want my program back and I will leave quickly and quietly!"

Apparently, Maria moved in some way she did not like and the event staffer made the mistake of grabbing Maria's arm. Big mistake! Immediately, Maria commanded her (that's the only verb for it) to remove her hand and to not touch her again. I guess it was Maria's tone because she cracked somewhat and shuffled us out the back door nearby and told us to wait on the stairs outside. A few minutes later, Tiffany appeared and handed me my program. Yay! We had broken in backstage of Thomas Wolfe, achieved our objective and didn't get arrested! Relief seems like such a pithy word compared to what I felt at that moment.

We walked down the back stairs, ostensibly to go home. We noticed people standing around in groups. A lot of people. Maria and I looked at each other... we knew they were waiting for the band to hop on the tour buses. Aha! I had a questioning look on my face, to which Maria replied, "What could it hurt to hang out for a minute?" Not a thing! Neither one of us knew what to expect. With eagle eyes, we studied all the people coming and going.

Within 10 minutes, Maria spotted some suspicious movement on one of the upper balconies that had a bus nearby. Maria said, "There they are! They are coming out right there!" At the same time, I noticed my own suspicious movement and I just KNEW that it was James Blunt coming toward us. Maybe it was the group we were standing nearby moving forward... I don't really know... but I said under my breath, "No he's right there!" She said, "No, no the band is up there." I had to grab her arm and said almost too loudly, "No! He's RIGHT THERE!" We moved forward with the rest and sure enough, there he was. It looked like I was going to get my program signed after all. Yay!

I waited my turn patiently and finally got to say hello. I told him that I first saw him perform in 2005 on SNL and that I've been a big fan ever since. I wished him a belated birthday and he looked at me with faint surprise. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Thank you!" I backed away and let Maria get in there. She reached over and shook his hand. Maria commented on how calm and collected I was in that moment. Happily, we made our way toward the parking deck - laughing and giggling as we walked away.

As it always happens when I'm out with Maria, we ran into someone she knows. (This chick knows how to network people resources!) I don't recall his name (we'll call him Scott) but we got to chatting with him and Scott told us his story. The day before he and his buddies were asked to play soccer with some guys coming into town. Happy to oblige, they beat the pants off the new guys. Only later did he find out that the new guys were JB's band members. Ha ha! In exchange for the hospitality, they got tickets, backstage passes and an itinerary. He asked us if we wanted to hang out with the band. With looks of incredulity, we said, "Hell Yeah!" in unison. He said they were going over to the Asheville Bier Garden - right around the corner.

We walk over with Scott and saddled up to the bar. Sure enough, a few minutes later JB and his band members strolled up to the bar. Surreal describes the rest of the evening. Mainly, we chatted up Ben Castle, bass guitarist, with some chicks from Tennessee. We talked about everything from the Democratic candidates, to favorite places to travel, to favorite accents (he loves Southern accents - we love British accents), to the differences between cigarette pack warnings in the USA and the UK. Again, surreal.

It was so much more than I ever anticipated! I went from utter despair to elation in the span of an hour. That night I was wearing my Grandmother's opal ring. I really do believe that it helped me out... you know the whole theory of a stone transmitting special vibrations to its wearers? Yeah, opal is my birthstone and this opal ring had seen much in its' lifetime. :-)

Weary with the ups and downs, we decided to make our way home. It was about 1:30am at this point. We did get a snapshot with our buddy, Ben, before we left. That's us in the upper left corner... hanging out with the band.

Cheers,
J.

P.S.~ I planned ahead for this concert... not only did I take leave early on Monday, but I also took leave for Tuesday morning! How's that for optimism?? :-)