Holy Cow

Hello my blog readers, holy cow this has been the longest I've gone without blogging for awhile so I guess I better fill you in. Well it's been a very interesting summer overall, June, I think started everyone in the universe on a couple sour notes but by the end of july things got pretty exciting for me. On July 27th I flew down to phoenix to see and meet Pat Benatar which I must say was above and beyond anything I dreamed of really. I stayed at the budget lodge on west van buren street just a hop, skip and a jump away from the dodge theatre, where the concert was. The first night, it took me a while to get used to the heat which was unbelievable and I sensed as soon as I got settled that it may be a shady part of town so I tried to stay clear of any funny business. Finding something to eat in phoenix was a nightmare because I didn't want to walk to far away from the motel, I hadn't got any sleep on the plane or at home, most likely because I was too excited to sleep. Anyway I settled for a pizza and got a little sleep. The next day I woke up and decided I was determined to find the restaurants and a starbucks, if I would've walked just a little bit more I would've found a plaza next to the sheraton which I found the next day and took in a good latte, then I walked around for a few hours, I was too nervous and excited to eat so I didn't at all that day. Once I got used to the heat it was actually not that bad and kindove nice. I returned to my motel and stayed there until the show, I actually found my motel room the most comforting from the heat and the A.C was top notch, it was an average motel, I've had better and worse but it was clean and thats all that mattered. I showered, shaved and put on my vintage Pat Benatar 1982 tour shirt and I was ready to go, I took a few deep breaths, said a prayer and went to the theatre to pick up my ticket, or so I thought it was a ticket, inside an envelope was a backstage pass and I had to sign for it, I also bought a ticket just in case I couldnt get into the theatre. I returned to my motel room and got the pat benatar watercolor I wanted to give her so bad and I was worried that they wouldnt let me take it in but I called in advance just to see what was allowed and what wasn't. I bubblewrapped the damn thing to get it in my suitcase and I didnt want to come home with it! So I returned to the dodge theatre and eventually lined up when the doors opened, a huge security guy came out and asked me if the painting was a gift for the artist and he said if it wasnt I couldn't bring it in and I said it was, so I was in luck! He took it from me and took it to public relations where I could have someone pick it up, once I got into the theatre I went straight to the merchandise booth and told some big guy who I was and he didnt know anything about me having a pass and he told me I'd have to wait for Rande-the merchandise manager, so I waited and waited and I started to ask myself if this was actually going to happen or not but I just kept breathing and telling myself to be patient. The theatre started to get packed and I got lots of great compliments on my shirt which was great and suddenly the guy at the merchandise booth signaled me to come over there and he called rande up and within five minutes he was there and I introduced myself, he was such a nice guy, he made a phone call to john, pat manager and then he proceeded to escort me backstage, I told him I had a gift for pat and he went public relations and got my painting. We chatted along the way about music etc. He was just a super nice guy and then we entered the theatre and there I was going backstage, wow it was such a trip! Jon came out from the darkness and introduced himself to me and he told me to go with him. I found myself backstage going through a long hallway that had thousands of signatures and graffiti on it, I saw joan jett and alice cooper's scrawled signatures on the wall and john led me and this other guy in to a waiting area and told us pat was getting dressed and he'd be with us in a few minutes, I saw neil giraldo and clem burke walk by and at that moment I realized I was in an area where few people get to see, I felt so high! The guy that was with me was actually there for a blondie meet and greet and we chatted for awhile, he also told me he was once involved in blondie's fan club which I thought was interesting. Suddenly John told me to come with him and I went into this lounge area where the dressing rooms were and holy cow! There was Debbie Harry and Pat chatting away, Neil and Myron, then John introduced me to Neil and Myron as the VIP guy, both were so nice and pretty easy to talk to, I talked to Neil for quite awhile, he was such a nice guy and signed a bunch of autographs for me, Pat was busy talking to debbie and I didnt want to interrupt them and then Pat came up to me, shook my hand and said hi and I told her briefly who I was, she was such a nice lady, very small and very friendly. I tried to talk to debbie too but she seemed a bit preoccupied, I was a bit disappointed she didn't remember me but then I realized she must meet people like me everyday, holy cow did she look good though! She said something to me but I can't remember what it was. John then took the photo of Pat, Neil and I. So then I turned my attention to Pat and she kindly signed some autographs for me and asked me if I was a student after seeing my painting and I told her I was and how big of a fan I was, I gave her the watercolor and a pic of me with all of her cds and she seemed so gratefull and thanked me a couple of times. She even autographed a cd for my aunt, I thanked her and Neil for having me, I was so glad I remembered my thank yous because the last few stars I met I was so starstruck I forgot to say thank you which I always regretted. I said bye to Pat and Neil and went with john back to the waiting area, while I waited I talked to myron, pats drummer and he was just the nicest guy, he told me a bit about himself and I told him what a fan I was and he seemed very flattered, I asked him if he'd mind signing a cd and he graciously said yes and took a cd and went into the back because I didn't have a marker, I stood there and talked to this nice couple who complemented me on my painting,I'm not sure if they were there to meet pat or blondie but they were also very cool, then myron came out and gave me my signed cd which he also got neil and mick to sign along with a blondie cd signed by debbie that neil got for me, I thanked him and even gave him a photo of me with the pat collection and was escorted to my seat, John put me in a chair right next to the lighting director on the side of the friggin stage! It was an experience I'd never forget, watching pat and neil on the same stage was a sensation I think I was so consummed with that more than the show itself, although it was great as always. Pat performed Somebodys baby and I was moved to tears, I think just tears of happiness though. After Pat did a dozen songs, Blondie came on and I decided to risk it and stay on the stage and not one person bothered me, Blondie was great too and had a much better lighting director than pat but pat's all about the pipes! I took several photos, none of which turned out that great but it didn't bother me that much. After the show I was trying to find my way out of the backstage area and I couldnt but I did run into the fan club guy from blondie and he gave me his email address and told me if I ever wanted to do a meet and greet with them to email him, I just might do that. I ran into rande and decided to hang out with him for a bit after the show in the lobby and that was great, he even gave me his card because he wants to use my benatar shirt for a new retro t shirt! Security let me stay because I was with Rande and we continued to talk about music and other stuff. The security guy even asked me if I managed to get that painting to pat and I told him I did because he was the guy who took it at the beginning. I bought a bit more merchandise and said goodbye to rande and told him I'd get ahold of him after the tour, I sure hope he remembers me because I have a major job proposal. I went to the backstage area with all the other fans and I knew pat and neil were gone and on their way to albequerke so their best bet was getting sigs and pics from blondie, I got clems signature on the first blondie record, debbie and chris waived to the fans and got in their bus, whether they came out to sign or not I'll never know, I decided I had enough and went back tot he motel and I just was still so intoxicated with what a great night it was, Im very gratefull. The next morning I woke up, checked out and called a taxi to the airport, he was such a nice guy, wanted to know everything about me and I even scrawled my contact info on a cab card for a possible commissioned portrait. I talked to some guy in the smoking area and got checked in, although I had two delayed flights from denver to helena I made it home exhausted by 1:30 am and slept for ten straight hours. To be continued...