Lounge for Life 10/26/07 @ the Wiltern

In true form of my life things are never easy.

When I woke up Friday morning I didn't think I would be going anywhere, but home. I had the day off, but still went into work to retrieve my phone I left the night before and to do some work.

While there I got a text from Dawn asking if i was coming, but told her my ticket was not looking like it was coming though. However, Mel still had a pit ticket and after about an hour my field pass was secure. I was going to Lounge for Life.

I left work about noon and came home to get my daughter, we packed and off we went! I dropped her off at her dads and I headed to the Wiltern to meet the girls.

I got there sometime after 4 and parked behind the Wiltern. When I got out the car who did I see? The boys of Matchbox were doing what looked like some pics and promo stuff. I was on the phone with Dawn and went around to get her.

Well I knew the moment would come evnetually, but I don't think I was quite prepared to round the corner and see my ex-business partner/friend and her family. WOW! Don't ALL break-ups just suck? I didn't realize how much I missed her parents. They were wonderful in saying hello to me. I tried to settle old debts, but maybe another time.

Anyhow Dawn and I went to my car where I showed her the B-day gift I got her. LOL, yet at the end of the night I forgot so I still have it! We watched the boys from the parking structure. Of course we couldn't not be seen for long so we got a wave and a "Hello Ladies".

Back around front to the Wiltern and we just hung out. There were pictures taken, which of course I avoided like the plague. I so hate pictures. I talked to the ex-friends dad a little and showed him pics of my grand baby. That was really nice. Again break ups of any kind really do suck!

Now the fun begins! They were letting us in for the pit party and come to find out once everyone got in there was no organization at all at this place. People who got there at 1am had the same chance of front row as the people who got there at 6:15p! Absolutely absurd! So the arguement started with the security and who ever the head chick was in the line. She guaranteed that she would give Dawn notice so that there wouldn't be a problem. Hmmm

So up we go to the Pit Party. Grab some food and then notice that there are people trying to line up. People are actually standing on the stairs. So the chick comes and tells us that they are opening the doors in about 5 mins and there is nothing she can do to stop the people already there basically. So down we go.

Meet the FIRE MARSHAL! Yeah, lets just say he made me a little nervous. Begin the bickering. So Matchbox fans are, hmm, how can I say this, Bitchy! LOL, and I am a huge Bitch when it comes to the guys, spots and so forth...remember Kimmel? Well there was a group of girls that decided they were going to move in front over everyone. Of course this didn't sit well with us. After a lot of "loud talking" the Fire Marshal forced us all up the stairs, where it didn't get any better.

Enter Star 98.7 radio guy, I think his name was Jason. So don't like him. Tried to explain to him what was going on and he found the whole thing funny. Not a very good way to win over fans. Basically he was ass who was like, so you want to keep the same line you had outside? This is a new area a new line. What the F-ck! Are you serious, your an idiot! What's the point of the damn line then dumbass?

Moving on, there is a mad run down the stairs once they let us in. Lots of pushing and yelling and its a mad dash to the pit. LOL, where the argueing continued. I seriously think they should have put a guard down front, but again the security and organization sucked! Remind me to rehash the story of Wilming-hell North Carolina.

So lets talk about the Pit. The stage is made for people over 5'7! LMAO, I could barely see over the stage and I was in the front row (Thanks Mel). LOL I took a pic and the water bottles are in it!

Did I mention MB fans are bitchy? LOL, in our minds (mine included) could we fast forward the first two acts and just get to the boys already?!

First up Marie Digby. She is adorable! Looks all of 12, but beautiful and I loved her shoes. LOL I was looking up at them. What really sucked was that the sound was HORRIBLE! I don't know about the people in the back, but for those of us in the front the sound was going right over our heads. Reminded me of the peanuts mom, WA WA WA WA! We could hear the instruments, but that was it.

From what I could hear every once in a while she sounded great. I got some pictures (without water bottles) below.

Next up Ozomatli. So I have to say, beside my ex-boyfriend being a fan I had no clue who they were. We were literally standing there like, are the boys up yet?

Well let me tell you, these guys kicked ASS! They are a Hip Hop, Salsa, Reggae, Funky 8 piece band. It was nuts! They had a brass section with an awesome trombone player, he kept us so entertained! The rest of the band looked amazing. They were having so much fun, hell I was having fun just watching them. Again I couldn't understand a damn thing they were saying, but wow! I would so go see them again! Of course in an environment where I could understand what they are saying. Totally rocking concert! Just what I needed to get in the Matchbox High intensity concert mood! Couple of pics below.

Are you tired of reading yet? The best is yet to come! As they are getting the stage ready for the boys a pedal is being put right in front of us! So I took a picture of him from my angle to show how close Kyle would be.

The concert was amazing! The boys are soooo BACK! We has a Pit/Front Row newbie standing by us. She had never been this close before. She was so much fun to watch, we just kept telling her to breathe! She was adorable!

The sound was still pretty crappy, but we could hear the songs and hell its not like we don't know all the words anyhow. The set list was ...

Long Day; How Far We've Come; 3 am; Unwell; If You're Gone (Dedicated to Andrea Moss); Bent; These Hard Times; Real World; Back2Good; Bright Lights with She Came In Through The Bathroom Window; I'll Believe You When; Push

LOL, something happened with Ryan before 3 am, lmao something funny enough to get a cheer out of the crowd, but again it was hard to hear. If you're gone was acoustice with Rob and Kyle dedicated to Andrea Moss. The new live Bright Lights is so good! Rob Kyle and Paul sing a solo. Even though I wish we had seen it in Vegas, it was so much better close up. It was amazing and over all to quickly! I have some pics to share. Did I say WOW!

I was to the left of the stage in between Rob and Kyle, I put the pics I like the best up.

Rob Pics.....

Paul Pics...

Kyle Pics...

(If your gone acoustic)
Pookie Pics...




Matt Beck Twenty Pics....




The only good Ryan pics I got...
Once the show was over we got our gift bags which had all kinds of goodies. Shampoos, Conditioner, Champagne, key chains, energy drinks, and t-shirts. LOL I got Junk Foods, but others got Hershey's, Sunkist and the BEST New Kids On The Block! LOL, classic!!!

We went to wait for the guys and I sent Matt a message on where I was. While waiting I got to reconnect with Patsy! I so missed her. Beth and Megan! OMG Megan has grown up, she's gonna be taller than me by tour. I met Shannon, who has a heck of a hand shake. It was pretty cool to be back with people I hadn't seen since the last MB tour.


Matt came out and we took out traditional venue shot.

The CD is coming along! WOOHOO!!! I am so excited about the CD he still will not let me hear. It's gonna be worth the wait though. The CD makes me more excited than the upcoming tour. Its a Matt Beck CD! Can you see the smile on face as I type this? Its always nice to spend time and talk to Matt. We talked for a little while among pictures and autographs with other fans. Rob came out while we were talking. LOL I saw him, but you guys know its all about Matt Beck with me.

What was funny is at one point everyone started calling my name, but I was still talking to Matt. Something I said pretty loudly. LOL, I was having Matt time. LOL, Matt turns and says that Paul must be coming. LOL guess everyone knows what a Paul fan I am huh?

We said our goodbyes and I went to wait for Paul, where yes I hyperventilated, but its getting better. He's such a nice guy. He said hello and asked how I was. I asked about the Break and Repair Method show and he said maybe Nov or Dec depoending on when he could get a booking. YAY!

Pookie and Kyle came out. When pookie came to sign my cd insert I asked where Sara was and he said, I've met you before. LOL I get that almost everytime I see him. Puts a pretty cool smile on my face. I talked to Kyle and somehow that Kimmel incident came up. LOL so I told him what happened, the short version. I re-introduced myself as working with Matt and we talked about life on Myspace. I hardly get to talk to kyle so that was nice.

I finally got to talk to Ryan. If all goes well, and it sounded like it would, look for a Ryna fan site to pop up REAL soon.

Anyhow after getting lost in LA, something I HATE, I made it to my best friends couch and the rest as they say is history!

Matchbox Twenty vs. Matt & Ramona

???????

Seriously! I love the guys as EVERYONE knows. I listened to everything and still side with the boys. MB20 has done some amazing things for its fans. Rob has performed at the jeopardy of his vocal cords and on rare occasions he has been FORCED to cancel.

Yet given time the band has ALWAYS made up the shows, always! Just by going to the old MB20 boards you can see how much it pained him to cancel Lauderdale.
http://boards.atlanticrecords.com/artists/matchboxtwenty/forums/a/tpc/f/523102946/m/535100556

I can understand them being upset, but IMO I think that in having interviewed the boys before and knowing the kind of guys they are they should have given them a chance.

I mean seriously in one breath you say, Matchbox Twenty is a group not just Rob Thomas, but then you go on to say why didn't Paul come on his own. Double standard??

Anyhow its my blog and I can vent.

I have much respect and admiration for the members of MB20 both as a solo individuals and as a group.

Bushwalla

Last night I went to LA to celebrate Dawn and Lis'a birthday.

Of course in true my life form things started to go wrong early. Sandra wsn't feeling well so i spent all day trying to convince her she was better and wanted to go...LOL um not so much!

Anyhow about 7pm Alexandria and I head out toward LA. Pretty uneventful drive. I get to Sandra, who isn't any better nd get Alex set up. About 9:15p off I go, did I mention it started at 8!

I got there, after a few wrong turns, about 9:45 and saw the end of the Make Piece Brothers. They sounded really good, gonna have to check them out on MySpace.

During the break I get to see the girls! It was great to see everyone again. Its been a few weeks, but I really do LOVE hanging out with them. The best were the decorations. Dawn had carved Billy, a.k.a Bushwalla, on a pumpkin and the tomb stones had the days they stopped being a "Mrs." on them. Too cute!

Anyhow Mel asked if I had ever seen Billy and I said No it was my first time. She said i would love the show.

I have to admit going into it, as with all new musicians, I am always skeptical. We all have our favs ya know?

Anyhow, Bushwalla comes on stage with more people than that little stage should have been holding! LOL there was Billy and 7 musicians! The stage looked like it should hold 4 max! Yet they were all there and having a ball.

So they start by making all these crazy sounds with the instruments and a yo-yo! I swear it had to be 10 minutes before Billy comes from the back looking like a bum in flannel pj pants and walking like he is drunk! He was hiliarious! Most musicians perform music, LMAO he juggles cupcakes!

Anyhow when he sang his first note I could undertand why Dawn and Lisa drive from LA to San Diego ALL the time. The crowd loves him! The show lasted what seemed like 2 hours, and each moment was not only funnier than the last, but the music is addicting. He brought the Make Peace Brothers up at the end, are you keeping track, thats 10 people on stage! Crazy!

The music appreciation of them all and the music they make is simply amazing. I bought a CD, something that is very rare for me to do on a first listen.

Wow! I haven't been ths excited about a musician since James!

I thanked the girl for allowing me to join into their party celebration and for introducing me to such a great musician. Look for me next to Dawn and the girls at ALL future San Deigo shows!

The best email I ever got

One of my best friends, who I haven't seen in at least 8 years, is coming home for chirstmas. I am so excited I have no ckue hiw we are going to make the next two months!

Love Ya Brandie!!!

Vegas

Seriously I have been to Vegas twice in like 5 weeks! Crazy!

However, what did I find in my mailbox today?

An invite to stay at the Stratosphere, my new favorite hotel, for three nights during the New Years weekend......FREE!!!

Are you SERIOUS! Vegas for free??? Needless to say I am booked from 12/29 to 1/2. Hmm, so far my daughter is coming with me.

Who else wants to come???

My First Liner Note

Albrights New Album, Just delivered today!!

That's Abby & I!!!!

Even though we ask for nothing its pretty cool to see your name on the liner notes of a CD! Don't get me wrong, we have been thanked before. Matt has always said nothing but good things on MattBeck.com and in the chats. Al sent an amazing message through myspace.

Still....LINER NOTES!!! WOW!

Matt Becks CD

Can you tell how excited I am???

I have waited 5 years for this upcoming CD and its so close!

So we, Abby and I, are going to start getting ready. I opened a new sign up list so that we can keep everyone up on the latest happening.

Send your name and email to CD@mattbeck-fans.com

The Best Weekend Ever...pictures

Rob Outside of Kimmel

Notice anything?

Rules for Leno

Are You Homeless?

Sarah, Matt, Me and Pookie

Matt and I

Me, the Amazing Nick and Pookie

OMG! Yes that is me and Paul!

Me and Saundge

The Best Birthday Weekend Ever

OMG! did we really just go to sleep at 3:30am? What the heck is wrong with me?

Anyhow I woke up on the wonderful Vegas Strip in a suite at the Stratosphere Hotel.

Flashback.....60 miles outside of Vegas visions started appearing and was that a truck I almost ran into? Saundge makes me pull over and I fully awaken in the parking lot. Check in was such a hassle, is it one room or two? Is it two beds or one? Is it free, $100 or $85? Good grief I'm tired already!!! Final outcome, a King Bed suite with a roll away. Whatever!

Moving on, I get in touch with Matt and we decide to meet after sound check. LOL, that would have been great if I had remembered what the traffic on the strip was like. Fast forward about 30 minutes. I jump out of the car on the Strip and Saundge goes to park. I let Matt know i am at Starbucks and we decide to meet.

Piece of Advise: did you know the MGM grand has 3 Starbucks? Me neither. Sorry Matt! Not to mention the fact that Saundge was totally lost!

Anyhow, Matt finds his way to the correct Starbucks and we sit down for Iced Caramel Macchioto's. It's been so long since I was able to talk to him without the worry of the bus leaving.

Being a professional I can blog some, but not all of the conversation.

Matt's CD is moving long nicely! Hopefully it will be ready for the beginning of the year, we are going to start gearing up for it now though. Look for a NEW Matt Beck site and Fan Site. The Myspace will be overhauled too. Its gonna be amazing!

After Matt and I finished our coffee's he went to relax before the show and Saundge and me went to get ready. Back to the hotel for some lunch and let the primping and prepping.

Fast forward to 7pm....Into the Cab and off to the MGM! $20 cab ride later and we arrive! Quick stop at Fat Tuesday's for Strawberry Margarita's (with an extra shot) and we head to the venue where they are just letting people in.

We caught the end of the auction and WOW at the amount of amounts! However it was for a good cause.

I quickly realized I was in trouble when I looked at the people around me. They were going to be no fun at all!!!

The show was amazing! First Tony Bennett, George Wallace, then the Goo Goo Dolls and Kelly Clarkson! OMG! I so need to go to a full show for Goo Goo and Kelly, they put on an amazing show! Hall and Oats are absolute legends and Jerry Seinfeld is funny as ever.

Now comes the best parts! The boys take the stage and are nothing short of amazing as they have been the last two days. How Far We've Come just gets better and better. If you're gone was performed with the full band, as much as I like the acoustic I missed this version. Then the funniest technical difficulty ever. Something was wrong with the piano! Rob being as funny as ever just went with it. They were scrambling and Rob sang "Someone's gonna get fired", OMG too funny! this went on for a few minutes before they finally decided to play "another song". They belted out 3am and it just made me impatient that much more for the concerts to begin!

The guys left the stage and the legendary Santana takes it. I recommend everyone see a Santana show! When he was leaving the stage I was praying that they would do Smooth and as David Foster said, "We need one more song". Did you just see a shadow run over and sit down at the piano?

Carlos told a story that basically ended in the first cords of SMOOTH!!! Having never seen the two perform together it was nothing short of amazing watching them on stage. We were treated to Smooth and some singing and playing that lasted at least another 3-4 minutes! It was the most amazing musical performance I ever saw! I would love to go back to that show next year!

Concert ends and everyone locates everyone. After a much needed search for flip flops, cause my damn heels were killing me and Saundge wasn't doing so well either, we hear from Matt. While going to find him the boys of Matchbox go to the after party. We meet up and talk about the show and his CD, cause that is always first on my mind. Good byes said and off to the after party he goes.

Saundge and I decide to go try our luck at the slots, yeah that sucked. I sent Matt a message that we forgot our venue shot, so we were going to try and get together after the after party.

Eventually we all meet up again outside of Emeril's. Sean and Nick are there talking to the everyone. Nick and i exchange greetings, he is such a great guy. I apologize for the commotion I caused and he says it was OK and I thank him for making it all work out. After he talked to us for a bit he went inside to the party.

While we are there Paul comes out and I tried really hard to keep breathing. I got a pictures with him and we all talked to him. Keep your fingers crossed for another Break and Repair method show, I am!!! We talked about Matt and he said "Matt is the most talented person on that stage", of course I agreed. It was so cool to hear him talk about Matt. We did find out that we really missed a good performance of bright lights because of the piano issue, damn.

Not long after Paul left and I was able to breathe again Sarah and Pookie come out. Sarah remembered me from the new years shows as the person who does all Matt's stuff. I was floored she remembered talking to me close to two years ago, even my name....CRAZY!!

While Pookie was signing Dawns CD Liner and talking to us Nick came back out. I got a picture with Nick and Pookie and before they all left i thanked him again. Rob and Mari walked out, but as they looked like it wasn't a good time to bother them, we didn't.

It was time for everyone to go so we said our good-byes. Saundge and I went to grab a bite and I hear from Matt so we were gonna get out venue shot. Matt came by and we got to talk a bit longer. When I told him what Paul said about him being the most talented person on the stage I think it really took him back. he is so modest. Waiting talking Pookie and Sarah came back. So I have a Matt and me venue shot and a Matt, Pookie and Sarah venue shot! So kewl! LOL, enter Nick again and they all take off for the casino. One last good bye to Matt and the best weekend ever is over!

My Birthday Weekend, Take 2

5:15 am.....Oh good grief just shoot me will you! I just got home!

Oh well I had to get up, finish packing and go get the rental car. Fast forward to 9:30 and off to the beach I go! Work function.

Wake up at 1:15, awards and presentation....2:02 in the car and off I go.

I got to Inglewood about 3:30 and my friend was packing up her son for the weekend and trying to pack herself.

5pm and off to the Jimmy Kimmel show we go. Saundge and I arrived at just 6pm to meet up with everyone. We got to hear the boys doing sound check, they sounded amazing!

Now the fun begins!

I won early entry tickets into the show, well myself and 9 other people. Anyhow security REALLY messed up and everyone else got in first. However the three of us who were there were still in the front. Yet I went to find the fan club guys to see what was going on. Enter Chris and Jay, the amazing guys from All Access. They got us all together and the just as amazing Nick Lippman came out to give us the new Matchbox USB Bracelets. Pretty cool boys!!

However by this time all the people had filtered in and there was no where or way for us to get back in front. So when Nick asked if where they wanted to put us was alright I said no. So he left Chris and disappearing Jay (Hugs Jay) to fix it. They tried, but no go. My favorite, Chris, was awesome, he hung out with us the whole time and kept us up on what was going on.

Anyhow after about 20 minutes and no help from security (although they did redeem themselves later), Nick comes back out and says not to worry he will fix it. LOL, then all these big wig people come out. We got a thumbs up from Nick and security tried to move everyone down. They were going to clear an area and put us in the front. LOL what a difference A LOT of complaining does!

Low and behold NO ONE wanted to move. So the security guard tells me to take his hand and he walks us in front of everyone, when we were all in he stops and says "now you are in the front". You can just imagine the stuff going on behind us!!!

What did I learn from that? Chris is my favorite, Jay is very entertaining, Nick is a force to be reckoned with and Matchbox loves there fans and will do anything (except let us sit on the couch) to keep us happy. This new fan club is going to be amazing!

Insider Info: They are taking over Rob's too :-)

The show was amazing! We had the guy who talks to the audience tell Matt Happy Birthday. The guys are back! They are in sync and just having FUN!!! We got a 5 set show, cause Rob said he had on a 5 song jacket not a 4 song jacket!

How Far We've Come
Push
These Hard Times
I'll Believe You When
Disease

The show ended and I tried to get Matt to come out for a venue shot, but talk shows never go right.

Rob and Paul did come out for a minute. I of course froze around Paul. I did however have time to say "Rob, can you tell Matt I said Hi?". LOL that always gets a laugh.

Anyhow the guys were loaded into a van and off they went!

So after a trip Coffee Bean, and a stop at Numero Uno off to Vegas we go!

Two amazing days down and one to go!

My Birthday Weekend, Take 1

WOW! So Yesterday was the 7th anniversary of my 25th Birthday. What better way to spend it? With Matchbox Twenty!!!



Background: Tatiana has to have surgery next month so i was cancelling all my plans for this weekend cause i needed to use my birthday vacation day for the trip. My mom is filling in for me so all i have to do is make it for the pre-op, being I got to keep my birthday off.



Oct 4th....

I woke up at 1am; got dressed; hit 7-11 for some coffee and at 2am i was on the road. The trip up the 5 was pretty uneventful, sorta. At the 91 the whole damn freeway was closed and the detour signs SUCKED!!! However 15 minutes of being lost and i was again on my way. Just about 3:35am or so i arrived at the Burbank studios!



However I must be in some sort of twilight zone as I see not one other person trying to get tickets in in line. I also see they got rid of all the public parking, bastards! Anyhow, after about 15 minutes I find a side street with non of those annoying "No parking from 3am-5am", WTH!



So I walk over to the studio and sit down. I'm talking to Abby pretty much freaking out that i am there by myself when the lovely Damn and Stacy appear out of the darkness! yeah I'm not alone.

So the three of us are set up and the sprinklers come on across the way and I say, I hope there aren't any sprinklers here....about 20 minutes later we were the faster moving people at about 4:30 am in the world!

The morning was pretty uneventful, accept we were the only people there! We walked over to where you get tickets about 7 am, and no one. Just the three of us haning out. So we tried to go to sleep.

Are You homeless??? The funniest question ever asked!!! Picture this... Dawn chillin in her lawn chair under a blanket, Stacy laying down under her blanket and me laying down under my jackets. Maybe cause we were the only three people there, but a lady at the bus stop walked over and asked "Are you homeless?". So we looked at her like "Are you Crazy?", and she ashed again "Are you Homeless?". LMAO we said no and she walked away.

Now I have nothing against homeless people, something in their life made them that way and I'm no judge. However, I don't remember the last time I saw a homeless person with Blackberry phones, walkmans and chillin on their own lawn chair, but I'm just saying.

So finally about 11 am we meet Glozell. Glozell has been at ever Jay Leno show since last July!! This was her 264 th show, amazing. jay is her full time job. She blogged about us, you should check it out http://glozelllovesjayleno.blogspot.com/.

Pretty much the line was the line if you have ever been there, but I do have this one question. if you were going to see, say the Jay Leno show, and there is this HUGE line, would you automatically think that the HUGE sign that said "The Jay Leno Show" is the end of the line?? Cause the dumb people in CA do. One line going around the building, everyone facing in the direction of the line, but I can't tell you how many people tried to stand in front of us, like "Oh this isn't the end?", are you SERIOUS???

Moving on, because it was my birthday my new friend Mel went and got me this blinking crown she had in her car. So I not only stood in line, but attended the Jay Leno Show and watched the Jay Leno show with a Crown Blinking on my head the whole time! great times :-)

Fast forward to inside the show. Can you say H-E-A-T??? Good thing you can cause Jay Leno can't. That place is a million degrees below zero!!! I was freezing my ASS of. Hands went numb, do i still have feet? If you are ever in attendance for Jay Leno, bring a snow suit!!!

Moving on....the guys enter the stage! OMG how I have missed them. We had an amazing few. there were a handful of us standing up, so guys were the Matchbox Section was? They put on the most energetic and amazing show. They were all in sync, together it just could have been any better! OMG! I hope you got to see it, but the camera's so did not do the live show justice. WOW!

After the performance and all the Leno promo stuff, the guy in the row above me called Rob over. He was signing some stuff for people. I saw Paul and waved...AND HE WAVED BACK!!! I LOVE PAUL!!! Anyhow me being me I said "ROB", Rob look up and I say "Can you tell Matt i said Hi?" LMAO, he looks smiles and says yes. Such a nice guy :-)

Anyhow Leno is over, me and the girls get some dinner and I only almost died a few times going home. never drive the highway in two lanes when you are really tired.....BAD BAD BAD! However I made it home 21 hours after I woke up.....Amazing!