Day 217: August 14th, 2011
What a weekend…soooo exhausted from three days of concerts. Honestly, if I didn’t get VIP tickets I wouldn’t have survived all three days in the polo fields burning up!): I walked into my hotel a few minutes ago and just totally dropped into my chair lol. Last night I got to bed pretty late (1ish) which really wasn’t good considering I needed to be up at 8:30, those who have lived with me know I need sleep to function and a long time to get up/ ready to leave. Somehowwww we got out of the hotel and down to the shuttle buses by exactly 11, don’t ask me how because Ry didn’t even get up until 10 hahaha. As soon as I got into the park I headed straight for the front of the VIP viewing area to claim a spot right next to the stage, I realized two songs into the first artist that I couldn’t stand there any longer and made my way to the “hospitality tent” where Ry and my mom were sitting. Before that I spent a good amount of time talking with a security guard, I think I might look into a job with concert/ event security (it sounds like a super intense fun job). By the way: best part about being a VIP, the bathrooms were always super clean and never crowded…being at so many other concerts you learn to appreciate this (I should’ve taken photos LOL). I have to use VIP sparingly, one thing I noticed: not everyone in there was famous nor notable. In the three days I heard of three different celebrities that stopped by, I only met one of them today. Supposedly Motley Crue’s drummer Tommy Lee was chilling backstage and Dave Chappelle was seen walking around the VIP viewing area LOL. In between sets in order to entertain myself I would people watch and tell Ry that random famous people are walking around (finding people who shared qualities with famous people haha), this backfired on me when I swear I saw this dude from Grey’s Anatomy. My mom wasn’t around to confirm this and Ry of course didn’t believe me but I knew I was right, I’ve been wrong in thinking someone was famous before so I needed that second opinion ahaha. Today I saw the same guy and luckily my mom was around to tell me if I was right or what, at the time she said I was wrong but when I got back from charging my phone a couple hours later she said I was right…WIN! I felt so bad for the guy…everyone was hounding him for a photo/ to talk with him and all he wanted to do was enjoy the show with his wife and kid. He sat outside the VIP tent almost directly in front of me on the bleachers of the polo field while watching Arcade Fire (the last act of the night), it was sad watching people walk by before the show and just keep their eyes glued to him and telling everyone he was there while trying to get a seat next to him. Ewww, sorry for all the grammer mistakes in that last sentence, I’m not perfect. We decided to leave during Arcade Fire, my mom had the idea to offer our table and chairs to him and his family. He came up to me and Ry to say “Thank you” in one of the most genuine tones I’ve ever heard, what a nice guy. According to wikipedia his name is Justin Chambers and is a former Calvin Klein male model LOL. Pretty amazing way to end the weekend. Taking BART home tomorrow, not sure when but the sooner the better.
Saw Fogerty play today…the highlight of his set for me was this song. Having heard my dad cover it numerous times it is a favorite of mine and brought back memories of all the times I’ve seen him play.
Notes on the day: I tried fried pickles today because the security guards I talked to said I should haha…I didn’t think it was too special, but they loved it lol. FREEDOM FROM THE VIP WRISTBAND, AS SOON AS I EXITED THE PARK I TORE THAT SUCKER OFF MY WRIST HAHAHA!!!
thanks,
-nick
nickoconnordrums 