Next time Melissa plays Lowell, I AM SO THERE!!! :-) 

WOW!  How in the world can it possibly keep getting better!!!???

 

Again, I didn't take notes, but I will try to do my best to recall the shows... and hopefully I will be able to follow the correct order of events :-)

 

Before you begin, don't forget my write-ups are loooooooooooooooooooooooong, so please continue at your own risk :-)

 

 

28 July 2006
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Picked up my fan club tickets... Row H.  What!!!???  I'd just helped a couple of friends get Row E through Ticketmaster a couple of days before.  While I was very happy for them, I wasn't completely thrilled with my seats, to say the least.

 

I needn't worry.  For as soon as Melissa came out, we rushed the stage.  Well, originally I took off running and then saw security getting people back to their seats, so I went back to my seat only to see that the crowd was indeed not giving up and rushing the stage, so I ran like there was no tomorrow and secured a nice spot a little right of the center.  Only one person between me and the stage... KEWL! :-)  Well, cool except for a lady in the front (to my left) who totally reminded me of the young kids in Dallas... only she SO wasn't a teenager :-)  But it was all good.  She was just way too excited, and her arms wouldn't stay put, which was not very good IF you wanted to take photos or videos, but oh well :-)

 

When Melissa came out and saw everybody by the stage, she smiled BIG!  You just know she loves it when we're up there! :-)

 

To my right was the cool security guy who was just shaking his head and smiling... I'm sure he was thinking... who can fight these crazy people? ;-)  So I asked him, "can we take pictures?".  His answer - accompanied by an "I just give up" expression on his face- was "You can do whatever you want!"  LOL!  He was a cutie pie and a very cool dude!

 

I wanted to make sure "my boys" knew where I was, so I made a sign saying "Hi Philip!" and another one saying "Hi Fritz!".  I keep neglecting Mark and that just isn't right!  SORRY MARK, I'll try to do better!!!  Got hellos back from Philip and Fritz :-)

 

The lady in the front was trying to touch Melissa (GRRRRRR!!!!!) so Mr. Cool Security Dude told her "DO NOT TOUCH HER!"... He was very nice... UNLESS you were doing the wrong thing, and then he turned into a very stern man who absolutely commanded authority.  I liked that! :-)

 

A woman behind me kept yelling to Melissa "Say hello to my daughter! Say hello to my daughter!"... At some point, Melissa finally heard her... but not quite well, because she made a funny face and said "Stay away from your daughter!!!???"  OMG, that was soooo funny!!!  The lady then told her "No, say hello to my daughter.  She's 17 and loves you so much" or something like that... Melissa, I believe, said "Ahhhh... say hello to your daughter!  Hello daughter!" :-)

 

When Melissa sang "The Different" (man, that song just ROCKS!), I made a sign saying "Such an Awesome Song!"... She was happy to read that and said "Thank you" :-)

 

Since I was all about taking pictures and getting some video clips to share with fans, I was looking down at the camera from time to time.  Well, one of those times, when I looked up, I found Melissa moving her eyes away from me... like... she'd been looking to have some eye contact with me and I TOTALLY missed it!! Ack!  After that, I was much more careful about not missing that anymore! :-)

 

She did the SUPER-FREAKING-SEXY dance with the guitar during "You Used To Love To Dance"... I made a sign that said "Tammy = Lucky" after that one, 'cause whoa... that is one of those moments when it gets pretty darn hot in the venue... whew!  Seriously, that's a good example of when, for a moment in time, I stop seeing Melissa as an artist... and I see her as a wooooman! ;-)

 

The piano song was "The Weakness In Me"... always love hearing that song on the piano... However, you may know by now that "How Would I Know" is my very favorite song of Melissa's, so of course I made a sign asking "How Would I Know - tomorrow?"... and got that wonderful "Of course!" expression that lets me know I'll be hearing my favorite song the following night for sure.  Gotta love it! :-)

 

The whole night was electric!  Melissa was feeding off the crowd and we were feeding off her!  Melissa and the band, as usual, were in top form and having a fun time! 

 

Melissa did "Ruins" which I was thrilled about, since I'd been wanting to hear that song live forever!  Way way cool!  She also did "Must Be Crazy For Me" which is a super fun song!!!  During this song, the band got together on the drums and played them!  I'd seen this before and it was GREAT to see it again!  TOO MUCH FUN!!!

 

This night I was graced with the company of a drunk girl.  Lovely.  She tried to get in front of me, but my man, Mr. Cool Security Dude looked at her and told her to "CALM DOWN"... she went back to her spot then.  She kept yelling "Melissa you're beautifooool!" all the time.  Oh, I was also taking some video when she proceeded to shake me and tell me "That's awesome!"... great!  Thanks!  I gave Mr. Cool Security Dude a look and he came to my rescue and told her not to touch people.  After that, I didn't really hear much from her.

 

You know how the security folks have to sit down, back to the stage, facing the crowd, right?... That is how Mr. Cool Security Dude started off.  Slowly, as the night went on... his body was shifting little by little.  By the time "I'm The Only One" came, he was totally turned around looking at Melissa and singing the song (watch him!), just another fan enjoying the concert... it was much too cute!  In fact, I put my hand close to his mouth and did the microphone *thing* to him.  Melissa caught that and she looked at me, gave me a GREAT "this is too funny, I love it!" smile, then looked at him and sang some of the song right to him... That was just too cute!!!

 

My last sign to Melissa was a simple "Awesome is not a good enough word!"... she kinda liked that one :-)

 

I met a very nice lady (by way of eBay) in person at the show.  It was her first Melissa show.  I later e-mailed her to ask her what she'd thought of it.  She answered with only 10 words: "It was the best concert I have ever been to."  Not one extra word needed.

 

 

 

29 July 2006
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Before the show, eaglefeather and I spent a little quality time with Philip :-)  Dunie also went along and gave Philip the new picks we had designed and made for him.  I think he really really liked them!  :-) :-) :-)  ESPECIALLY since his name is spelled correctly on them! :-)  

Mark and Lily were hanging out too and Lily was taking pictures of us as we chatted with Philip, so I figured it was fair that I take a photo of them too! :-)  Of course I asked if it was OK! :-) Are they the cutest, or what!!!??? :-)

 

On to the concert!

So... we just had like... the best concert the night before.  Really, how could this one be any better, right?  But wait!  Let's not forget this is Melissa we're talking about!  :-)  With this woman it is ALWAYS better!  My God, are we spoiled!!!

Tonight we hung out on the front row right, where Dunie's seat was.  They wanted the stage clear before showtime, so we stayed back.  When the lights went off, we rushed that puppy big time again!  I ended up right up on the stage... it was tighter this time, so I had to stand sideways all night... It was cool, though :-) 

I have to wait until I hear some audio of the show, but I can almost swear Melissa came out, saw us all piled up against the stage for the second night in a row and she said "Security, you rock!  I LOVE THIS!"... Well, that's how I remember it... we shall see.  :-) 

The crowd was even more energetic than the night before... you could feel the electricity in the air... it was awesome!!!

 

Tonight we again had an arm-flinging woman in front of us who kept messing up our pictures.  She also had this one sign that she just kept showing Melissa every time she looked her way... not cool for us trying to do pics and videos :-)  I thought at some point Caren and Lori were going to tackle her!  They were NOT happy!  Ack! :-)

Throughout the night, Fritz and I had our special moments that I've come to love... lots of smiling at each other, and me singing to him and stuff... I do love me some Fritz, man! :-)

 

I made a sign to tell Melissa it was Lori's last show and would she play "Good Girls and Boys" (which she had asked for the night before, but it wasn't on the set list this time).  The sign said "It's her last show - Good Girls and Boys?". Melissa read it and pointed at me asking "You?" with a sorta kinda "That doesn't quite compute" face... well, that's what her expression looked like to me.  It was cute! :-)  I shook my finger "no" and made a "no way this is my last show!" face and pointed to Lori who put her hands together, begging for her song.   It was not to be.  Boo hoo.

"How Would I Know" is also Lori's favorite song.  So we were both very happy when Melissa sang it on the piano, just as she told us she would ;-) *BIG SIGH*  My God... How I LOVE THAT SONG!!!

 

Jen made a sign for Fritz saying "Fritz, stick me".  So I made one too... trying to get Lori a stick... I put on it "Stick her too" with an arrow pointing to her (Lori).  Well, Melissa came over, read the sign as I was about to show it to Fritz, and her face was in like... shock (with laughter!) and she was like "WHAAATTTT!!!???"   OMG, that was too freakin' funny!  I was like "NO! NO!  It's not for you!" frantically pointing at Fritz and turning the sign so she wouldn't see it anymore... Too too funny!  LOL!!!

 

During "Piece of My Heart" Dunie made a sign asking "Scream Here, Please?".  Scream time was approaching and it looked like Melissa would scream in the middle of the stage as usual... she looked like she was going towards Dunie and then turned around... so we figured she'd do it in the middle.  I tell you, she is such a teaser!!!  'Cause right before the scream she turned around and went right over to where Dunie was and screamed right at them!  Melissa's so awesome!!!  That was super cool!

I'd asked for Melissa's pick for Lori... As the lights dimmed, Melissa came and had the pick in Lori's hand, but then took it right out of her hand and gave it to the arm-flinging, sign-waving girl!  It so happens the sign she'd been showing Melissa all night was that her dream was to get a pick... and Melissa had meant to give it to her.  So! She got her pick... which was way cool for her, but not so cool for Lori... boo hoo... We have one more chance to get it, though... I'm on a mission at the Greek, dude! :-)

 

After Melissa got behind Philip on the guitar and did her thing... she switched it up and got Philip to get behind her.  I was all happy recording this as Melissa made the cutest and funniest faces and poses, when I realized I hadn't pushed the button!  BIG GRRRRRR!  I pushed it right about the time Philip actually started playing the guitar.  Which is cool, 'cause I was able to capture that... but I hated missing Melissa clowning around 'cause it was too cute for words! :-)

If the previous night was electric, this one was really off the charts!  I felt even more connected to Melissa and her energy... there was like... MAGIC in the air... seriously!!!  I dunno... I felt like I was in the middle of some fantastic and wonderful dream... Hmmmm... I sound like I was on drugs or something, huh?  But I don't do drugs, so it was a true natural high! :-) :-) :-)  It was without a doubt a night I will never forget!  But really, will I ever forget ANY night I've spent rocking with Melissa?  Not a chance! :-)  

Seriously, if there is one person in this world who will consistently give you the best memories of your life, it's Melissa Etheridge.  She just never ceases to WOW me.  IN SO MANY WAYS!!!  

When Melissa came by shaking hands, she held on to my arm for a few extra seconds... I liked that! :o)  I may have pointed it out to Lori too... it was rather neat! :o)

I really loved my spot at this show.  I loved it because I was able to watch Melissa's face as she said goodbye to the crowd.  It was amazing.  OK, so this may sound exaggerated or overly mushy to some of you, but BELIEVE ME:  Melissa was absolutely GLOWING in love.  Just kept looking at this audience that was giving her SO MUCH love and she just seemed to be in awe of it all.  Truly a beautiful sight!

So... I also met this other very nice lady on Saturday night... she'd helped Dunie with tickets to the show AND to the baseball game!  She's so cool! :-)  Anyway, she beat the lady from the previous night, 'cause she only used NINE words to describe the show:  "OUT OF THIS WORLD, AMAZING, INSPIRING, MIND BOGGLING PHENOMENAL!!!!

 

Nothing I can, or need to add to THAT! :-)

 

30 July 2006
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The Rhondda and Bitey Show:

 

Tonight we were hanging out on the left.  Jen told me the security dude looked mean, and I said "no, I think he's nice too..."  He was very forceful when asking us to clear the aisle, so I thought... "hmmmmm... maybe he IS mean"... he then came closer to us and said "Please stay by your seats!"... then whispered to us, " or act like you're by your seats"... LOL!!!  How cool WAS he!!!???

 

OMG, I just loved the freak out of Lowell!!! :-)

 

The lights went down, and off we went to the stage.  Tonight I was to the left of the center, right by the speaker with Melissa's voice.  Awesome!  The last couple of nights, there was a lot she said that I couldn't understand.  This time, I heard every word she said... way neat! :-)  And I got to be closer to Philip, which I hadn't been in a while! :-)  

 

I had seen that "Good Girls and Boys" was not on the setlist, so I made a sign "Really, no Good Boys and Girls? :-("  The lights were off, but since I was so close, she read it just fine and told me "not this time... not this time"... She was talking to me when the lights came on, so she made that cute "oh, there's more people here!" thing as she looked at the audience... ;-)

 

Behind me there was a lady who kept saying "Say Happy Birthday to my little girl!"... I looked back and saw this cutie pie standing there.  It was her 10th birthday :-)  So, I started working on my plan... :-)  I signed to Melissa "Pick the little birthday girl?" and got an acknowledgement.  When they started to bring out the piano, I put the little girl in front of me and Melissa came over and gave her the pick.  The little girl stayed right there in front of me for the remainder of the show.  I would have let the mom stand there too, but sometimes my selfishness outweighs my generosity :-)  I liked my spot and really didn't want to give it up :-) 

 

All throughout the night, Melissa did a lot of singing and looking directly and Bitey and Rhondda... it was cool :-)  I think some people may have felt left out 'cause it was like... all about them! :-)  I do have to say that I got LOTS of eye contact with Melissa myself... it really felt like it was more than usual... it was quite nice :-)  

As she began to sing "Kiss Me" I held up my sign saying "Scream And Shout Here!".  I saw her looking down at Rhondda (there were a couple of people between her and me) and telling her (I think) "You should stand together.  You're competing with one another..."  Then I saw Rhondda had the exact same sign, so we started "sign-fighting" :-)  Melissa kept singing... and then Scream and Shout time came...!  Well, what do you know... Melissa started the scream at Rhondda's and then came to me and finished it with me.  HOW FREAKIN' COOL IS MELISSA, PEOPLE!!!???  She shared the scream between us.  Man, does this woman freakin' ROCK or what!!! 

So... if I remember more, I'll come back and update this page :-)

Washington DC, here I come!!!