Almost Dissed by My Favorite Band

Well, first of all, my work-to-play outfit worked out pretty well. 

Work:

After Work:

Unfortunately, right after I took these pictures until I got home at 8:45 (luckily, it was an early night), I was wearing my winter coat on top of it all.

from Katie's camera

I usually take half days when Hanson is in town because for the majority of their shows, fans start lining up early in the morning or even the night before.  Since this was such a small, exclusive show, nobody was there.  Well, there were two other fans sitting in a car when I got there.  I met two of my friends who did have tickets, and we hung out and tried to stay warm for a couple hours until it was time for them to line up.  About an hour before the doors opened, Hanson showed up in a white van, parked, and quickly made their way inside.  We didn't bother them and remained in my car, out of the wind.

Our fourth posse member, who also didn't have a ticket, showed up shortly before the show started.  There were six fans total, including us, trying to convince the venue to let us in.  The security guard outside was SUPER NICE and cool, and he even asked his boss and then the radio station to let us watch the show.  We were told repeatedly that it was just for ticket winners, and even if there were extra spots, no one else was to be let in.  It wasn't up to the venue, and it sounded like it wasn't really up to the radio station either.

Now, I don't have enough good things to say about Hanson, and I completely understand that they wanted this to remain an intimate event  The crowd could've easily doubled in size if the opened it up to everyone since they have a large following in Milwaukee.  However,  I do think it was unfortunate that they couldn't let six big fans sneak in the back, not eat any of the catered food or take up a seat, and just watch.  Especially since one of the fans was a 2-year-old girl with her mom, obviously.

Anyway, my friend and I knew two of the other fans, so we hung out in my card and made our own fun, recounting old tour stories.  Our friends inside concert-called us, so we were there in spirit.  The set was only five songs and there was a short meet & greet afterward, so luckily, we didn't have to wait very long.

Our group after the show let out, from Erin's camera

After getting the scoop from our friends who were inside, we stood outside for another half hour, trying to think warm thoughts, while we waited for the guys to come out so that we could get an opportunity to say hi and get pictures with them.

Zac came out first, and we all crowded him, waiting our turn for pictures.  There were probably about ten of us at this point.  Zac was very kind and obliging, feeling sorry for us that we were out in the cold, apologizing that he was keeping his hands in his pockets (because again, it was freezing), and patiently taking pictures with all of us.

In the midst of it all, someone spotted Taylor and Isaac coming from another exit, making a beeline to their van.  Zac must've been the decoy!  I am crazy, yes, but normally I wouldn't chase after them, I'd like to think.  Being in the cold for six hours made me determined, though, so I scurried after them, shouting, "I wasn't one of the ones inside, I promise!"  I didn't want them to think I was chasing them down after having met them just a half hour ago.

The girl with the 2-year-old daughter and a pregnant girl that was there followed me, so I encouraged the guys to take pictures with the little girl first.  Isaac was pretty cute and started talking to the little girl, saying "You must be cold!  How old are you?  Oh, I have a little boy that's 2-years-old."

Taylor took pictures with the four of us that were standing there...

...but Isaac quickly darted to the van after taking a picture with the little girl and her mom.  Still in my pushy, cold state, I said something to the effect of, "Isaac, where are you going?"  He reluctantly came back, saying that they really needed to get going.

Then, he called for Zac, and I continued to frantically wave my friends over to get pictures before they departed.  I headed back over to the group as Zac was wrapping it up.  He started heading to the van, but I hadn't fulfilled my mission of the day yet, so I called to him and chased him down (again, not one of my prouder moments), and while stuttering said, "I just wanted to tell you that I had my daughter a week before you had yours.  Can I show you a picture?"  Whipped out my phone.  "There's Bridget."  He graciously said, "Aw, she's beautiful.  Congratulations."  So although I felt like a completely dork for doing it, I'm kinda glad I did.

Even though the guys were in a hurry, we did get a little time with them, and I'm glad I stuck around.  Plus, it was such a nice change of pace to be home from a Hanson concert before 9:00.  These old bones could get used to that.

...And Zac's my new favorite.