∞Thanks to Melissa, I am Revived∞
The week of June 16-22 was probably the most amazing week of my life. Eleni, my best friend of 4 years came to stay with me, & then go with Amy & me to Louisville, KY. This is the most time we have ever spent together without a computer or phone between us, we live about 18 hours apart :( But for 1 week we were just like classic best friends, shopping, driving my mother crazy, & staying up until all hours of the night laughing & talking. When Thursday rolled around the 3 of us (Amy, Eleni & I) left for a 2 day/10 hour drive from Fort Smith, AR to Louisville, KY. Every day had a plan, every plan had a backup, & every backup had a fallback. As my birthday & Christmas gift, my parents bought Amy & me 2 tickets to the Louisville Travel Package, & Eleni bought hers w/ her leftover grant money (sshhh LoL). So on June 21st, my dream came true.
But 1st there was the M.E.I.N. party on the 20th at The Hard Rock Cafe in Louisville. We had a blast! Marc & Tim were our hosts for the entire trip, & they were wonderful! It was all so well organized, honestly I can't imagine how it could have gone any more smoothly. We got our shirts, passes & stickers, & met all the other people in our package. When it came time for the raffle drawing, no one walked away empty handed. I won a denim button-up shirt, Amy won a cool tshirt, & Eleni got an eco-friendly bag. Even those who didn't have their ticket # called got something, I'm telling you M.E.I.N./Fan Asylum know how to throw a party! After that we walked down as a group & watched the gay pride parade (it was pride weekend there), & then hit the pride booths. I got some awesome stuff. They put us up at The Seelbach Hilton, on the concierge level, ooh la la LoL. After Pride we headed back to try & get some sleep.
Saturday after a major shopping spree (2 malls & a guitar store) we met up without fellow travel packagers at 6:00 in the hotel. This is when we were given our personally autographed pictures from Melissa (so we could go put them in our rooms before the show), & drew our tickets. Ours were set aside since there were 3 of us, & E got her wish, we were right in front of Mark! We walked to the venue as a group (less than 5 minutes), & gathered outside the doors. Tim & Marc talked to security, & we were told we could go in at 6:45 to meet her. So we stood around, chatted with fans who had already shown up, & tried desperately to remember what we wanted to say to HER. The doors opened & I must say, I felt very important walking in, we were special :) Tickets scanned & passes checked, we were lead into the arena. We lined up in 1 of the isles & were divided into small groups. The 3 of us we're in the last group to meet her, along with Angie (bstrongspeaktru) & Frank. Melissa walked in with Steven, & as Tammy likes to put it, my inner self threw up. I lost it & started crying, just overwhelmed. I think I must have squealed or something, because she looked right at me, & waved & smiled. I waved back "Hi!" I couldn't believe she was right there, just as natural & casual as anyone. I got myself together pretty quickly, in fact just in time for Mark to walk up to us (he & E had made plans to meet). He chatted for a few moments, then said "Oh, don't forget to go meet her!", talking about MLE LoL. The 5 of us walked up to where she was, she started with Angie & Frank. Then it was Amy's turn, she said a few words & got a hug. She took 1 look at E & myself, & threw back her head & laughed that famous laugh, it was unreal!!! You see, we had matching: hats (close), pins on the hats, hairstyle, necklaces, bracelets, shirts (front: "Melissa, you are our hero..." back: "...and we are your friends!"), jeans, shoes & light toys. "We've been planning for 2 years!" I said, she seemed very impressed & got the biggest kick out of it. I then said what I've always wanted to say to her, (which I would like to keep between her & me), & started crying again. My voice got really high & she leaned in a bit so she could hear, never breaking eye contact. I had to swallow & say "I'm sorry!" but I got it out, & she was so touched & understanding. She said a few words & then gave me the biggest hung I've ever felt. Not just a little one, but it was deep, long & genuine...that moment was worth all the driving time & $, I will never, ever forget what those moments felt like. There are not words to describe how it felt for me to have such amazing & touching moments with my hero, so I'm not even going to try. She took my hands one last time after the hug was over & looked into my eyes again...wow. E got out what she wanted, got a hug, we took the picture & that was it. It went really fast in some ways, & really slowly in others. I can't wait to do it again!!! On the way out to the lobby we ran into Stephanie. We stopped her & said "Hey, you're Stephanie from the Lucky Live DVD! You hid when the camera came in!" LoL she looked pretty surprised that she was recgonoized.
Then it was Mark time! You see, Eleni plays bass, & she's one of Mark's biggest fans. Through a friend she & Mark had arranged to meet, & lucky Amy & me got to tag along, heehee. We got to hang out with him for probably about 20 minutes, he's so cool! He told us what M37 means (my lips are sealed), branded Eleni's pick guard, chatted music with E, answered my questions about him playing w/ the Dixie Chicks (I'm a big fan), signed our stuff, & even took to back stage & got the other guys to sign it! Melissa stood in the back & watched us talk to Mark. I asked Tim later if fans hanging out with the bad is a common thing. He said "Oh no, this is pretty rare, elite." That's so awesome! Mark had to go get dressed for the show, so we headed to the lobby to potty & buy the awesome merchandise (brown shirt, hoodie, teddy bear, & button pack here). After we bagged up our goodies we walked all the way to the very front of the arena (again, feeling so special), got our wrist bands that were required to enter the curtained off area, & got settled. It was almost 8:00, & I figured we still had 15 minutes (because MLE usually starts 15 minutes late). Wrong! The next thing I know the lights go down & the entire place erupts in screams! The boys take the stage & I hear "All There Is" before Melissa is even on stage. I still don't know if it was a recording or her singing back stage, but either way it was an amazing effect. She took the stage, & so began an amazing almost 3 hour show. She asked "Isn't it pride weekend?" We all screamed & she was like "Ah, ya'll are not just gays, ya'll are very proud gays this weekend!" We loved it, it was so cute & funny! Then she took a survey: gays, straights, & not-so-sures, heehee. She told us that 1 of the security guards asked "Is it true that you play for almost 2 hours!?" She responded to him "Almost 2!? Try almost 3!!!" We all had a good laugh over that. It had a much different feel than the other 2 I have seen ('04 & '06), for 2 reasons: 1, since we had just met her & Mark, that the "Holy crap that is her!" factor was greatly reduced. It was more like a jam session with friends, with jumping & screaming thrown in LoL. 2nd the way she put the show together was just different. She talked less between songs, & let the order of the songs tell her life story. The set & the way they were all dressed was very organically (linen decorations, her guitar straps, big, plushy, throw rugs, etc.), I loved the overall atmosphere. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the fact that she used a mic stand the entire night. I felt like she was tied to it (while she was singing), & didn't have the freedom to play w/ the audience as much as she usually does. But that aside, it was an amazing show! She mentioned that she was getting over a cold (hence the lemon pictures), but you couldn't tell. I was a tad worried that this tour was going to have a more serious feel, (because of the feel "The Awakening" has) boy was I wrong! It was pure rock & roll, E & I jumped & stood so much that we felt like we had been in a really loud car accident the next day LoL! We threw handfuls of pinkish/purpleish glitter on stage when she hit the "Caaaa..." (of "California), but not at her or any of the boys. A few songs later she looked down & remarked "Ooh, it's all sparkle, how pretty!" & E & I started jumping, pointing at ourselves going "that was us!" She names us The Crazy Girls, yay!!! When she sang "I will seek my truth" during "California," she looked right at me. It related back to what I told her when I met her, it was awesome that she remembered :) The private moments are the ones I'll never forget. I'm sure I've forgotten a few show moments, & I'll add them if they come to mind, but the personal, special ones are forever engraved in my heart. I loved standing & swaying in Amy's arms during "I've Loved You Before," it was such a wonderful feeling of love & community. There were several knock-your-head-off moments that night (the 5 of them on the drum set during "Must Be Crazy For me" OMG!), but my personal highlight was "Heroes And Friends." That is my very favorite song. It's who I am, where I was, where I am, & where I'm going, & I got to hear it live! She looked at E & myself out of the corner of her eye, & I can honestly say that we believe she changed the set list for us, replacing "Kingdom Of Heaven" with this song. We still can't believe she did that for us, wow! I was 100% in those moments, singing at the top of my lungs & holding my arms out across the crowd "we are all just heroes & friends!" I got the last line on video, it's my very favorite thing she's written. Amy spotted Tammy in the wings around "Lucky", & she sure saw the 3 of us! She started waving her arms back & fourth, so we did the same. She was having so much fun watching us, I bet she knew who we were (from her board). That was the only time we saw her, maybe we can actually talk to her next time. I was right in front of Fritz, & had fun playing around with him, making faces & screaming for him. One time I was watching him play & he pointed at me with 1 of his drum sticks. The next thing I know it flies through the air & lands less than an arm's length away! I grabbed it & saw that the end was broken off, he was rocking hard with that thing! It's really cool, so beat up it looks like someone had been chewing on it LoL. She came back to do Not Tonight/Piece Of My Heart/Not Tonight, but ended up leaving Janis out of it because the remnants of her cold made it too hard. I'm a bit disappointed, because I was really looking forward to it. But I also think it's kinda cool that we were one of the few tour stops that gets to hear "Not Tonight" by itself. Overall this show was a wonderful, positive & rocking night that proves even at 47, this woman still has it, & it just keeps getting stronger!
After the show we went back to an ally where they would be coming out. E & I then realized just how much jumping we had done, we felt like we had been in a very loud car accident! We hurt for days after, but it was beyond worth it. 1 by 1 Mark, Fritz, Paul, & Philip came out & spent as much time as needed to sign things, chat, & take photos for the 10+ fans who were there. They really are fun, sweet, genuine, & cool guys! They all noted that they saw us & loved our energy! It's so cool to know that Melissa & her band feed off our energy, that fans directly influence the show. A little later Steven & Stephanie came out & told us that since there were so few of us, we need to line up in a straight line & Melissa would sign 1 thing for each of us. I've never seen a group of adults get in a line so quickly in my life LoL! I got my "The Awakening" album cover (I printed out a larger version) signed, so now it has her & all the boys signatures on it. E got her pick guard signed for bass, & Amy got her ticket signed. It was really fast, but awesome to see her 1 more time. All in all I can't wait to go another travel package & meet her again. It was so far beyond amazing that even these words don't truly do it justice...
P.S. Here is a big "Hey!" to all the fans I shared this amazing experience with, thank you so much for everything! It was incredible!!
Revival Tour Set List, Louisville, KY:
All There Is
Ain't It Heavy
Into The Dark
California
Don't You Need/Similar Features
An Unexpected Rain
Bring Me Some Water
I Want To Come Over
Must Be Crazy For Me
I'm The Only One
If I Wanted To
Lucky
I've Loved You Before
I Run For Life
2001/I Need To Wake Up
Message To Myself/Come To My Window
All We Can Really Do
Heroes And Friends
Open Your Mind
The Awakening (The Universe Listened/Imagine That/What Happens Tomorrow)
-encore break-
Not Tonight
:x:M.E.I.N. Travel Package Pictures:x:
:x:The Pictures Amy & I shot at the Show:x:
:x:The Vidoes We Shot:x:
(This is E & myself at the show, we were that close! Many thanks to Angie for taking it!)
(Click all for full size.)
The week of June 16-22 was probably the most amazing week of my life. Eleni, my best friend of 4 years came to stay with me, & then go with Amy & me to Louisville, KY. This is the most time we have ever spent together without a computer or phone between us, we live about 18 hours apart :( But for 1 week we were just like classic best friends, shopping, driving my mother crazy, & staying up until all hours of the night laughing & talking. When Thursday rolled around the 3 of us (Amy, Eleni & I) left for a 2 day/10 hour drive from Fort Smith, AR to Louisville, KY. Every day had a plan, every plan had a backup, & every backup had a fallback. As my birthday & Christmas gift, my parents bought Amy & me 2 tickets to the Louisville Travel Package, & Eleni bought hers w/ her leftover grant money (sshhh LoL). So on June 21st, my dream came true.
But 1st there was the M.E.I.N. party on the 20th at The Hard Rock Cafe in Louisville. We had a blast! Marc & Tim were our hosts for the entire trip, & they were wonderful! It was all so well organized, honestly I can't imagine how it could have gone any more smoothly. We got our shirts, passes & stickers, & met all the other people in our package. When it came time for the raffle drawing, no one walked away empty handed. I won a denim button-up shirt, Amy won a cool tshirt, & Eleni got an eco-friendly bag. Even those who didn't have their ticket # called got something, I'm telling you M.E.I.N./Fan Asylum know how to throw a party! After that we walked down as a group & watched the gay pride parade (it was pride weekend there), & then hit the pride booths. I got some awesome stuff. They put us up at The Seelbach Hilton, on the concierge level, ooh la la LoL. After Pride we headed back to try & get some sleep.
Saturday after a major shopping spree (2 malls & a guitar store) we met up without fellow travel packagers at 6:00 in the hotel. This is when we were given our personally autographed pictures from Melissa (so we could go put them in our rooms before the show), & drew our tickets. Ours were set aside since there were 3 of us, & E got her wish, we were right in front of Mark! We walked to the venue as a group (less than 5 minutes), & gathered outside the doors. Tim & Marc talked to security, & we were told we could go in at 6:45 to meet her. So we stood around, chatted with fans who had already shown up, & tried desperately to remember what we wanted to say to HER. The doors opened & I must say, I felt very important walking in, we were special :) Tickets scanned & passes checked, we were lead into the arena. We lined up in 1 of the isles & were divided into small groups. The 3 of us we're in the last group to meet her, along with Angie (bstrongspeaktru) & Frank. Melissa walked in with Steven, & as Tammy likes to put it, my inner self threw up. I lost it & started crying, just overwhelmed. I think I must have squealed or something, because she looked right at me, & waved & smiled. I waved back "Hi!" I couldn't believe she was right there, just as natural & casual as anyone. I got myself together pretty quickly, in fact just in time for Mark to walk up to us (he & E had made plans to meet). He chatted for a few moments, then said "Oh, don't forget to go meet her!", talking about MLE LoL. The 5 of us walked up to where she was, she started with Angie & Frank. Then it was Amy's turn, she said a few words & got a hug. She took 1 look at E & myself, & threw back her head & laughed that famous laugh, it was unreal!!! You see, we had matching: hats (close), pins on the hats, hairstyle, necklaces, bracelets, shirts (front: "Melissa, you are our hero..." back: "...and we are your friends!"), jeans, shoes & light toys. "We've been planning for 2 years!" I said, she seemed very impressed & got the biggest kick out of it. I then said what I've always wanted to say to her, (which I would like to keep between her & me), & started crying again. My voice got really high & she leaned in a bit so she could hear, never breaking eye contact. I had to swallow & say "I'm sorry!" but I got it out, & she was so touched & understanding. She said a few words & then gave me the biggest hung I've ever felt. Not just a little one, but it was deep, long & genuine...that moment was worth all the driving time & $, I will never, ever forget what those moments felt like. There are not words to describe how it felt for me to have such amazing & touching moments with my hero, so I'm not even going to try. She took my hands one last time after the hug was over & looked into my eyes again...wow. E got out what she wanted, got a hug, we took the picture & that was it. It went really fast in some ways, & really slowly in others. I can't wait to do it again!!! On the way out to the lobby we ran into Stephanie. We stopped her & said "Hey, you're Stephanie from the Lucky Live DVD! You hid when the camera came in!" LoL she looked pretty surprised that she was recgonoized.
Then it was Mark time! You see, Eleni plays bass, & she's one of Mark's biggest fans. Through a friend she & Mark had arranged to meet, & lucky Amy & me got to tag along, heehee. We got to hang out with him for probably about 20 minutes, he's so cool! He told us what M37 means (my lips are sealed), branded Eleni's pick guard, chatted music with E, answered my questions about him playing w/ the Dixie Chicks (I'm a big fan), signed our stuff, & even took to back stage & got the other guys to sign it! Melissa stood in the back & watched us talk to Mark. I asked Tim later if fans hanging out with the bad is a common thing. He said "Oh no, this is pretty rare, elite." That's so awesome! Mark had to go get dressed for the show, so we headed to the lobby to potty & buy the awesome merchandise (brown shirt, hoodie, teddy bear, & button pack here). After we bagged up our goodies we walked all the way to the very front of the arena (again, feeling so special), got our wrist bands that were required to enter the curtained off area, & got settled. It was almost 8:00, & I figured we still had 15 minutes (because MLE usually starts 15 minutes late). Wrong! The next thing I know the lights go down & the entire place erupts in screams! The boys take the stage & I hear "All There Is" before Melissa is even on stage. I still don't know if it was a recording or her singing back stage, but either way it was an amazing effect. She took the stage, & so began an amazing almost 3 hour show. She asked "Isn't it pride weekend?" We all screamed & she was like "Ah, ya'll are not just gays, ya'll are very proud gays this weekend!" We loved it, it was so cute & funny! Then she took a survey: gays, straights, & not-so-sures, heehee. She told us that 1 of the security guards asked "Is it true that you play for almost 2 hours!?" She responded to him "Almost 2!? Try almost 3!!!" We all had a good laugh over that. It had a much different feel than the other 2 I have seen ('04 & '06), for 2 reasons: 1, since we had just met her & Mark, that the "Holy crap that is her!" factor was greatly reduced. It was more like a jam session with friends, with jumping & screaming thrown in LoL. 2nd the way she put the show together was just different. She talked less between songs, & let the order of the songs tell her life story. The set & the way they were all dressed was very organically (linen decorations, her guitar straps, big, plushy, throw rugs, etc.), I loved the overall atmosphere. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the fact that she used a mic stand the entire night. I felt like she was tied to it (while she was singing), & didn't have the freedom to play w/ the audience as much as she usually does. But that aside, it was an amazing show! She mentioned that she was getting over a cold (hence the lemon pictures), but you couldn't tell. I was a tad worried that this tour was going to have a more serious feel, (because of the feel "The Awakening" has) boy was I wrong! It was pure rock & roll, E & I jumped & stood so much that we felt like we had been in a really loud car accident the next day LoL! We threw handfuls of pinkish/purpleish glitter on stage when she hit the "Caaaa..." (of "California), but not at her or any of the boys. A few songs later she looked down & remarked "Ooh, it's all sparkle, how pretty!" & E & I started jumping, pointing at ourselves going "that was us!" She names us The Crazy Girls, yay!!! When she sang "I will seek my truth" during "California," she looked right at me. It related back to what I told her when I met her, it was awesome that she remembered :) The private moments are the ones I'll never forget. I'm sure I've forgotten a few show moments, & I'll add them if they come to mind, but the personal, special ones are forever engraved in my heart. I loved standing & swaying in Amy's arms during "I've Loved You Before," it was such a wonderful feeling of love & community. There were several knock-your-head-off moments that night (the 5 of them on the drum set during "Must Be Crazy For me" OMG!), but my personal highlight was "Heroes And Friends." That is my very favorite song. It's who I am, where I was, where I am, & where I'm going, & I got to hear it live! She looked at E & myself out of the corner of her eye, & I can honestly say that we believe she changed the set list for us, replacing "Kingdom Of Heaven" with this song. We still can't believe she did that for us, wow! I was 100% in those moments, singing at the top of my lungs & holding my arms out across the crowd "we are all just heroes & friends!" I got the last line on video, it's my very favorite thing she's written. Amy spotted Tammy in the wings around "Lucky", & she sure saw the 3 of us! She started waving her arms back & fourth, so we did the same. She was having so much fun watching us, I bet she knew who we were (from her board). That was the only time we saw her, maybe we can actually talk to her next time. I was right in front of Fritz, & had fun playing around with him, making faces & screaming for him. One time I was watching him play & he pointed at me with 1 of his drum sticks. The next thing I know it flies through the air & lands less than an arm's length away! I grabbed it & saw that the end was broken off, he was rocking hard with that thing! It's really cool, so beat up it looks like someone had been chewing on it LoL. She came back to do Not Tonight/Piece Of My Heart/Not Tonight, but ended up leaving Janis out of it because the remnants of her cold made it too hard. I'm a bit disappointed, because I was really looking forward to it. But I also think it's kinda cool that we were one of the few tour stops that gets to hear "Not Tonight" by itself. Overall this show was a wonderful, positive & rocking night that proves even at 47, this woman still has it, & it just keeps getting stronger!
After the show we went back to an ally where they would be coming out. E & I then realized just how much jumping we had done, we felt like we had been in a very loud car accident! We hurt for days after, but it was beyond worth it. 1 by 1 Mark, Fritz, Paul, & Philip came out & spent as much time as needed to sign things, chat, & take photos for the 10+ fans who were there. They really are fun, sweet, genuine, & cool guys! They all noted that they saw us & loved our energy! It's so cool to know that Melissa & her band feed off our energy, that fans directly influence the show. A little later Steven & Stephanie came out & told us that since there were so few of us, we need to line up in a straight line & Melissa would sign 1 thing for each of us. I've never seen a group of adults get in a line so quickly in my life LoL! I got my "The Awakening" album cover (I printed out a larger version) signed, so now it has her & all the boys signatures on it. E got her pick guard signed for bass, & Amy got her ticket signed. It was really fast, but awesome to see her 1 more time. All in all I can't wait to go another travel package & meet her again. It was so far beyond amazing that even these words don't truly do it justice...
P.S. Here is a big "Hey!" to all the fans I shared this amazing experience with, thank you so much for everything! It was incredible!!
Revival Tour Set List, Louisville, KY:
All There Is
Ain't It Heavy
Into The Dark
California
Don't You Need/Similar Features
An Unexpected Rain
Bring Me Some Water
I Want To Come Over
Must Be Crazy For Me
I'm The Only One
If I Wanted To
Lucky
I've Loved You Before
I Run For Life
2001/I Need To Wake Up
Message To Myself/Come To My Window
All We Can Really Do
Heroes And Friends
Open Your Mind
The Awakening (The Universe Listened/Imagine That/What Happens Tomorrow)
-encore break-
Not Tonight
:x:M.E.I.N. Travel Package Pictures:x:
:x:The Pictures Amy & I shot at the Show:x:
:x:The Vidoes We Shot:x:
(This is E & myself at the show, we were that close! Many thanks to Angie for taking it!)
(Click all for full size.)
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