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I always love the stories of fans who are seeing Melissa for the first time. This story is not an exception... in fact, Melissa made sure this would be an unforgettable experience for a young fan... :-)
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Posted by LuckyLauren on the MEIN Board
This past August 15th, in Houston, TX, one of my biggest dreams came true, I got to see Melissa Etheridge live in concert! We drove 9 hours (from Fort Smith, AR) to see her, our car was decked out with paint saying things like "We're getting Lucky with Melissa!" Here is my story of that amazing night, I'm so happy I got to share it with my girlfriend of over a year (Amy), and now all of you! Oh, and you should know that we had shirts made for this. They were green, in blur across the chest it reads "Secret Agent," on the back in gray is "All the boys wanna know If she's got something to hide. All the girls are relieved She's working for the other side." It's my theme song. Now on to the story, I hope you enjoy it and that it brings to life what this woman is like live!
Amy and I got to the arena about 4:00, a little later than we wanted, but oh well. We were a little busy in the room around 3:00 ; ) I was too excited too sit around the hotel room any longer anyway! We got a great parking place and saw the tour busses parked already. I shot pictures of them, purple and silver, so pretty. We seemed to be the 1st fans there which was pretty cool. Chatted with the venders (really cool people) and went up to get our tickets. I handed the girl my MEIN card, signed what I had to, then called Amy over when the ticket lady was going to show us where we were sitting. Now, remember, I was expecting seats between the 4th and 7th rows. She looked at the tickets and said "OK, you're section E, row AA." As she pointed to the little map, I almost passed out. In disbelief I said "We're sitting in the front row?" She said yup, and then the tears came. I couldn't believe we were going to be in the FRONT ROW!! Amy had to help we walk outside so I could call my folks, it was all a blur. After we called everyone we knew, we wandered around inside the arena, and got to know more fans, and security people. I told Amy "You know in the music videos, the people in the front row screaming...that's going to be us!!" It was all still very surreal, I had dreamed about this day for so many years. We had to pee, and the only bathrooms were inside the seating part of the arena. After having the doors unlocked for us, we walked in and there was the band on stage! No Melissa, just the guys, but it was too cool. It was becoming a little more real. After that, more waiting. Met more fans, I love doing that. It's always awesome to chat with fellow fans and share stories. Some of them I had been chatting on-line with for months or years, everyone was so nice. Amy and I bought a bunch of concert stuff (my favorite was the teddy bear) and put it back in the car before the show started. We were told no cameras. Well, they "checked" my bag (aka looked in the very top, camera was on the bottom) & never checked Amy's pockets. Amy shot a roll & a 1/2 without so much as a warning. Don't worry, as soon as I get them back & scanned, I will be sharing. I was to blown away and busy dancing to take pictures, thank God for my Girl!
So finally, at around 6:30, they let us in. I was thinking "OK, front row, will make it easier to rush the stage." Little did I know that from my seat, I could put my feet on the stage! It was circular, and rotated, pretty cool I thought. The lower level of it was what I could prop my feet on, the upper I could lean over and touch. OK, so everything beyond this point is a 3 hour blur, I'm putting together what I can. At exactly 7:15, the lights dimmed & the band came down an isle (across from us) and took the stage one by one. Then I hear Amy yell "OMG there she is!" I see that blond head just barely (she's so short!), making it's way down the isle. OK, crying for the 2nd time now, sobbing like a baby. Melissa took the stage as the familiar cords to "Lucky" filled the room. She was in a tight black top w/ a khaki button up over it, blue jeans & black sneakers. An awesome star belt & buckle tied it all together. That whole song I sang through tears, I was just so overwhelmed, that she was RIGHT THERE!!! Her nose is smaller in person.
I held my sign in front of me ("WE DROVE 9 HOURS TO GET LUCKY!") and sang my heart out to her. After the song she came over and said "You drove 9 hours to get lucky, well I drove 10! OK, they drove me, but whatever..." She said I won for best poster, & the ladies next to me came in 2nd. She crowned Section E The Poster Section.
The next set of songs (I'll post the set list at the end here) we're great! She sounds just amazing live, better than on CD. When she started to play "Mercy" I flipped over my sign. It now read "Mercy! There's nothing like your 1st Melissa concert!" She read it and gave me this face like "aww, that's too sweet." She's just too cute! When getting ready for the piano solo, she handed her guitar to one of the guys (who switch them out) saying "this is for you," then turned, with the guitar pick she had been using the whole time, holding it between her index and middle finger, walked right to me and said "and this is for you." She smiled, and handed it right to me!! I almost died, started crying again! Time stood still for that second, as she held my eyes for what seemed like an eternity. I will never in my life forget how I felt in that moment, staring into the honey brown eyes of my hero. I snapped too and looked at the priceless gem shehad just given me. It's black, has her signature on one side, and the little astronaut on the other. Put that baby in my pocket as soon as I could feel my hand again, nothing was going to part me from it! I don't know why she picked me, I would love to. Maybe it's because she knew it was my 1st concert, maybe the shirt, or maybe just b/c I she could tell how excited & blown away I really was. Some fans were so happy for me, others seemed pissed, but oh well!
The rest of the show I felt like she was playing right to me, she kept
making eye contact, winking and smiling at me. I'm so shocked I didn't pass
out! During "Secret Agent" she pointed out my shirt, and played a
lot of the song right in front of me, it was beyond my wildest dream. She
left the stage, then came back for one last song, "Giant." That's
when I handed her the Lucky Care Bear. She grinned so big, hugged it and
said "Aww, Lucky bear, I love him!" I sure hope she reads my
letter I tied to him. When she came around and took everyone's hand, she
took one of mine, and rustled my hair with her other hand, and gave me a
wink! I was on cloud 10!! She liked me! Melissa liked me!! I felt so
special, like I mattered to her. After she and her band had cleared the
stage, I noticed a set list an arms length away from me. So yup, I nabbed
it! I immediately handed it back to Amy who stuck it in her pocket, didn't
want it getting away! Then the girl next to me took a towel that was sitting
there and the security made her put it back! I have no clue why, it was a
town for crying out loud. After that we walked out to where the busses were,
and all these people kept walking up to me telling me how lucky I was, like
I didn't already know! Some gave me dirty looks though, jealousy is so ugly.
We waited with other fans for her and the band to come out. The band members
gladly signed stuff, but Melissa was surrounded by security. She said
"sorry guys" and just waved at us. Yeah, I cried again. But
looking back I know there must have been a good reason she didn't stop, and
I know I'll meet her one day. All-in-all it was, simply stated, the best
night I have ever had in my 23 years of life. Thank you Melissa, thank you.
I will see you the next time around, I promise.
P.S. Hello to all the boardies I met there! Ya'll were so sweet & happy
for me, so nice to put a face with the screen name! To everyone, thank you
for sharing this experience with me, you we're right, Melissa is just too
amazing for words.
I enjoy chatting w/ other MLE fans. Feel free to contact me anytime. You can e-mail me at Leziebean@aol.com
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~^Lauren^~
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