Everyone who has ever had a favourite band and gone to see them live has probably indulged in a little fantasy of 'what-if-i-get-to-meet-them-and-end-up-talking-to-them-and-maybe-hanging-out-with-them', right?
Well that's what I spent some of the last 2 weeks doing. Sorry if this journal entry is stupid and gushy and 12-year-old-girl at a backstreet boys concert-esque, I'm not the kind to be sycophantic in anyway, nor am I 'star-struck' or simpering...infact, it takes a hell of a lot to impress me or make me break my stride. But I can honestly say I'm slightly shell shocked by the events.
So...to cut a long story short, I went to see a band a few times on tour. I say a few times, it was actually 6 times in less than 2 weeks. Me, with the shortest attention span of anyone I know. There are VERY few situations I could put myself in repeatedly without getting bored beyond belief, and seeing this band perform live is one of them. Seriously. Even if I'd never had the chance to meet them and hang out, I still would have gone to every show I could have. I wish I'd gone to more. I don't think I could ever get bored of seeing them.
But onto the good stuff. Through casual acquaintances, past events, ba(n)d tattoos, and the internet, I ended up falling into a conversation with one of them. A conversation turned into a smoking session, which turned into backstage, which turned into drunken dancing and kebab eating. At the next show, I expected a casual 'oh hai, aren't you that girl from the last show?', but no, I found myself invited into the circle once again. I ended up staying at the house they were staying at that night, and the hotel next. Within a few days, I was acting like they were my actual friends. Oh, of course I was going to act like that, I'm a sad desperate little girl trying so hard to get 'in' with the band huh? But they were showing me the same degree of respect, treating me far more like a friend than a 'fan'. When people (jealous girls, snotty boys) showed me disrespect, they stood up for me. They defended my honour. A common courtesy perhaps, but unexpected nonetheless.
Oh, and at the last show I went to, my hometown show, they played my favourite song for me. Not only did they play it, but they had to teach it to the new guitarist during sound checks. Can you imagine having yr favourite band take the time and effort to actually do that for you? I'm still struggling to comprehend it. I have no idea if they have any idea how much that meant to me (even though I'm sure I drunkenly told them enough times), but if there was any doubt in my mind that these guys were possibly the only people deserving of being on the closest thing to a pedestal I know, it's gone.
It's funny because they're not even a super-famous band, and I'm not 'showing off' about it because there are very few people who will actually care, let alone be impressed, but to me, it meant the world. These are people I hold in the highest possible regard, and for good reasons, their talents and abilities have created the soundtrack to some of the most meaningful moments in my life, and last week only increased my respect for them. There's always the danger that when you meet people you have such a high opinion of, that they will 'ruin' it for you, but not in this case. They went above and beyond the call of duty to a 'fan' and it boggles my mind. My mind is officially boggled.
Thanks guys, you made me feel special for a few days. Now my tattoos mean even more to me than they did before
x
NB This blog was written with my past experiences of people in bands in mind. I am in no way trying to say that all musicians with even an ounce of fame are unapproachable, rude, and arrogant, nor that they will try only to get in yr pants, or assume you want to be in theirs, but sadly, that has been the case with a lot of people I have met who I previously looked upto. Sorry.
Well that's what I spent some of the last 2 weeks doing. Sorry if this journal entry is stupid and gushy and 12-year-old-girl at a backstreet boys concert-esque, I'm not the kind to be sycophantic in anyway, nor am I 'star-struck' or simpering...infact, it takes a hell of a lot to impress me or make me break my stride. But I can honestly say I'm slightly shell shocked by the events.
So...to cut a long story short, I went to see a band a few times on tour. I say a few times, it was actually 6 times in less than 2 weeks. Me, with the shortest attention span of anyone I know. There are VERY few situations I could put myself in repeatedly without getting bored beyond belief, and seeing this band perform live is one of them. Seriously. Even if I'd never had the chance to meet them and hang out, I still would have gone to every show I could have. I wish I'd gone to more. I don't think I could ever get bored of seeing them.
But onto the good stuff. Through casual acquaintances, past events, ba(n)d tattoos, and the internet, I ended up falling into a conversation with one of them. A conversation turned into a smoking session, which turned into backstage, which turned into drunken dancing and kebab eating. At the next show, I expected a casual 'oh hai, aren't you that girl from the last show?', but no, I found myself invited into the circle once again. I ended up staying at the house they were staying at that night, and the hotel next. Within a few days, I was acting like they were my actual friends. Oh, of course I was going to act like that, I'm a sad desperate little girl trying so hard to get 'in' with the band huh? But they were showing me the same degree of respect, treating me far more like a friend than a 'fan'. When people (jealous girls, snotty boys) showed me disrespect, they stood up for me. They defended my honour. A common courtesy perhaps, but unexpected nonetheless.
Oh, and at the last show I went to, my hometown show, they played my favourite song for me. Not only did they play it, but they had to teach it to the new guitarist during sound checks. Can you imagine having yr favourite band take the time and effort to actually do that for you? I'm still struggling to comprehend it. I have no idea if they have any idea how much that meant to me (even though I'm sure I drunkenly told them enough times), but if there was any doubt in my mind that these guys were possibly the only people deserving of being on the closest thing to a pedestal I know, it's gone.
It's funny because they're not even a super-famous band, and I'm not 'showing off' about it because there are very few people who will actually care, let alone be impressed, but to me, it meant the world. These are people I hold in the highest possible regard, and for good reasons, their talents and abilities have created the soundtrack to some of the most meaningful moments in my life, and last week only increased my respect for them. There's always the danger that when you meet people you have such a high opinion of, that they will 'ruin' it for you, but not in this case. They went above and beyond the call of duty to a 'fan' and it boggles my mind. My mind is officially boggled.
Thanks guys, you made me feel special for a few days. Now my tattoos mean even more to me than they did before
x
NB This blog was written with my past experiences of people in bands in mind. I am in no way trying to say that all musicians with even an ounce of fame are unapproachable, rude, and arrogant, nor that they will try only to get in yr pants, or assume you want to be in theirs, but sadly, that has been the case with a lot of people I have met who I previously looked upto. Sorry.
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