The schedule for the artists was such that it permitted meet~n~greets for Fan Clubs so that you didn't miss much of anyone's performance. Before we headed back to the meet~n~greet area, someone yelled out my name. I turned to look in that direction to see a lady in a military camoflage suit waving. She yelled, "I'm Kerry!!". Oh my God, as soon as she said that I recognized her from photos I had seen. Kerry was a Garthnutt in the National Guard from Connecticut and subsequently sent me a photo she had taken of Garth wearing the fleece pullover I had given him after his Saturday Night Live appearance. She'd taken the photo when he was in NY to appear on Rosie O'Donnell's show. A group of us made it into the show because we lucked out and got stand-by tickets. Some others did not and were able to see him afterwards. We couldn't get out because they taped one and one-half shows that day. Trish from Tennessee (who was shown on Crook & Chase holding a photo poster of her and Chris Gaines taken when she happened upon the shooting of the "Lost in You" video) first alerted me to having seen the photo of him wearing the shirt on the internet.
Sandy, Linda and Wayde and I all had meet~n~greet passes for Phil and Scott tried hard to get me to tell him what the surprise was that I mentioned having planned on the message boards. I wouldn't budge though. Not even a kiss from Scott worked. Of course, thanks to the rain, my hair was flat and I looked horrible. This was to be the first time I would be seeing Keith Urban perform live. His self-titled CD was zooming up the charts and he played in "bare feet" with gold nail polish on his toes. He was completely adorable and rocked! Sandy and I had meet~n~greet passes for Keith and as we stood there awaiting our turn watching him interact with others, we wondered if he would be as nice as he seemed. I soon found out when I walked up to him and told him how nice it was to meet him. Before I knew it, he hugged me and told me he loved my jacket. He then asked my name and I asked him to sign my CD insert, which he did and then we posed for a photo. He was so cute and his Australian accent was to die for!!! As I walked away and emerged from a blonde moment, I thought shoot...why didn't I offer him my jacket in exchange for his?!
By the time Montgomery Gentry came out, the sun had come out to warm things up and we were peeling off layers. The sun is good, it is really good! Throughout the day, the radio station people as well as some of the artists remarked what true country fans we were to endure what we had. MG rocked the Jim Beam, Martina astounded the crowd and Brooks and Dunn blew it out!! As we were leaving the grounds, I spotted Scott and told him that if he would agree to he and Phil having a drink with us, I would tell them about the surprise that did not make it there. He said they were staying at the MacIntosh Inn and would be there in about an hour after the merchandise was packed up. In the meantime, we went to Linda and Wayde's hotel to freshen up and to eat. After which we headed to the MacIntosh and pulled up just after Phil's bus had arrived. Scott told us that since there was no bar there to meet them at another hotel (which I believe was the Marriott) where there was a bar and lounge. When we arrived there, we discovered that MG was staying there. We went into the lounge where we had the place all to ourselves. At one point, a lady came in presumably to see who was in the lounge and left. After a while, Jim walked outside to get some air and when he came back he said, "you are never going to guess who just pulled up in the back of a pickup truck and got out". It was Keith and Linda, Charmaine and I went out into the lobby. I had just walked outside and ran right into Jason Mallory (fiddle and guitar player of Keith's) coming up the walk. We spoke and he went inside. No sooner had I gone back into the lobby, when Keith and Tim walked in. He spoke and Linda asked if she could have a photo taken with him. He told her sure and I asked if we could buy him a drink. He thanked me but said he and Tim were on their way out. He then asked the desk clerk how they could get to Jillian's Sports Bar. She told him she could call them a taxi.
We went back into the lounge for a while until it became apparent that Scott was standing us up. Scott really liked his job and its perks and was a lady's man, so God only knows where he ended up that night. At any rate, Linda and Wayde decided not to join us at the Fall Fest in Lancaster, PA the next day and we said our goodbyes. Charmaine, Sandy and I headed back to the apartment and Jim and Cathy headed home to get some sleep. Brenda and Joyce had gone up to the Fall Fest park that evening to put out lawn chairs spaciously enough to save us spots. See what I mean about Country Music fans??
The gates were to open at 11:00Am and we had followed Jim and Cathy there. On the bill were, Phil Vassar, Keith Urban, Sara Evans, The Kinleys and Brad Paisley. The downside with the Fall Fest at the Longs Park Ampitheater is that all the reserve seats in the center are for VIP's and contest winners. Everyone else has to sit in lawn chairs on the wings and in the back but it's a nice festival just the same. We found Brenda and Joyce and to start the festivities a color guard came out and the National Anthem was sung. I was turned to the direction of the flag and when it was over, I turned back around to face forward and saw Scott running across the field toward me. He said he was sorry about last night and asked if I got his message when he called the lounge. He said that Keith had asked them out to eat at Hooters. I told him it was okay because we saw Keith. The look on his face was priceless as he knew he was busted! LOL He told me he owed me one and I told him he could repay me by getting Charmaine, Janine and Lisa and a friend of theirs back to the meet~n~greet with Phil. He told me it was done and to let them know when to line up and where. I told him I still loved him. LOL
Everyone gave a really good show! Keith jumped off the stage and came walking passed the crowd while playing. Not to be out done, Phil jumped off the stage during his performance and ran across the crowd carrying a flag. Phil's meet~n~greet was first and normally Scott would be overseeing it. We all went to line up and one of the festival people came over to us to check for passes. Initially I thought, I'd kill Scott (I had a pass but the others didn't) but he emerged just in time to tell the guy to let Cheryl's people in. Because of the length of the line, Scott asked me to tell everyone to move down to let everyone in. Once inside the area by the buses, the line had to form a circle as one by one we spent a few minutes with Phil. I told Scott he'd done good and the other girls were really appreciative of what I had done. Of course by now my voice is almost completely gone and he could barely hear me but he hugged me and said he'd be back. After Keith's performance, those of us with passes lined up again and the area where his bus was parked was in the shade so it was rather dark as evident in the photo. When I walked up to Keith he said, "it's nice to see you again sweetheart and thank you for offering to buy me a drink last night." For the life of me, I can't remember what I said to him but I was cool, didn't drop a thing. LOL I do remember his road manager telling someone to get more shirts like the one I had and to bring them back there. Brad ended the show that evening but not before Keith joined him onstage as they jammed out on the guitars. That performance was amazing! We said our goodbyes and headed home completely whipped but reeling from a fun weekend.
On October 17th we went to the Washington Twp. Center for Performing Arts in Sewell, NJ to see Lonestar and Jamie O'Neal. Jamie gave a "sizzling" performance and Lonestar rocked. Richie even did a 'Phil' and found his way off the stage and into the audience during their performance. He also came out afterwards and signed autographs and took photos. A guy who I had seen at some other shows had a seat in the front section. When a staff member made it clear that zoom lenses would not be allowed, he left and did not come back; at least I didn't see him return. Which I think really bites because you pay good money to go to some of these shows and they won't let you use professional style cameras. Sometimes it's the venue's policy and sometimes it's the artist's policy because they don't want people selling professional type photos on Ebay. News flash!...if you take a photo that's good enough to be bought on Ebay, that says something about the photographer and the subject as well. And, did you know many of those professional photographers allowed at the venues sell those photos? I know, because I've bought some. I personally don't hark my photos anywhere hoping to sell them. It's not what I do. I enjoy taking the best photos I can for my own delight. But if anyone happens to see some they like and they offer to pay for reprints, it's not only flattering to me but to the subject. If I happen to capture someone picking their nose, you won't see it because it's not flattering and besides who would want to see that. I'm just glad I don't have any of those because depending on the speed of the film you use, it could happen. LOL
It was around this time that Sheron and Jamee (from Illinois) and I would become friends via the net and converse often. They were fans of Phil's and friends of Danny's who started as his sound guy and became his road manager. They called one day asking if I would be interested in meeting up with them New Year's Eve in Nashville and going to see Phil at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. He was appearing there with Kenny Chesney and Jamie O'Neal. I agreed and when tickets went on sale Jamee and I were on the phone and both on computers trying to get the best we could. I initially bought 3 that weren't that bad but eventually Jamee got 3 that were better. We'd made arrangements to stay at the Ramada Inn on Broadway which is now the Holiday Inn Express and they would pick me up at the airport, as they were driving down. I flew down on the 29th of December and as I walking through the terminal to the security check point, I spotted two ladies standing there holding a sign that said, "Welcome Stelle". Their nickname for me is Stelle and that's a whole other story. Jamee asked if I was hungry because there was a bagle shop nearby. I told her I needed meat and that became the running joke for the duration. Before we headed to the hotel, we stopped at the Willie Nelson Wax Museum where I shot some photos of Phil's, BlackHawk's and Ty England's hand and feet prints in cement. Later that evening we hung out downtown for a while. The next day, we went to Danny's house and hung out with him and Jeff and some others for a while. Since it's customary to take a gift when you're invited to someone's house and in light of the Christmas season, Jamee and Sheron had brought some things for the guys and I had given them some DVD's I thought they might enjoy on the bus. During our stay in Nashville, they were in the midst of tearing down the Country Music Hall of Fame and we each took home a brick from the original section.
On New Year's Eve day, we knew we had 3 tickets to sell. So we headed to the Gaylord box office and sold 2 of them for face value. We also saw Phil's bus arrive and Scott jumped off and gave us hugs. There was no planned meet~n~greet that night but Scott said he'd come out and get us after the show. We met up that afternoon with Carol and we went in and out of the Gaylord a couple of times. When we last exited, there was a radio station truck broadcasting from across the street and Phil was talking on the mic. Carol asked if we supposed Phil might be in that truck, so we went across the street and he was indeed inside. He saw us and waved and when the interview was over, he came out and gave us hugs and took a photo with us. He was tickled to see us! The show was good and our seats weren't bad at all. Scott never came out to get us but that was understandable because we later learned that he received some disturbing news that night.
Jamee wanted to walk down to the bars afterwards and the streets were packed with people. We stayed for a while before returning to the hotel. The next day we headed to Goodlettsville to Garth's gates. Although he no longer stayed there, it's a cool serene place to visit and I showed Jamee and Sheron the rear gates which were decorated for Christmas and a new sign had been hung that says G.B. Farms. We decided to go to the Opry Mills Mall and to have lunch at the Rain Forrest Cafe'. We had just received our appetizers when Sheron said, "is that Phil"? He was walking in with his entire family and Julie who is now his wife. He smiled and waved and the next thing we knew he was headed to our table. We chatted for quite a while and Sheron thought he wanted our appetizers with the way he kept looking at them and before he left our table, he told us to stop by his on our way out so we could meet everyone. When we got ready to leave, Phil stood up and introduced us to everyone including his little Haley.
Sheron and Jamee had planned to leave that afternoon and head for home. I had decided not to fly home on New Year's Day but to leave the day after. Later that evening, I walked down to the Spaghetti Factory on 2nd Street to have dinner. Afterwards, on my way back to the Ramada, I stopped for some last minute souvenirs. When I reached the Inn, I stopped in the guest shop for snacks. While there, I started talking to the clerk who happened to be a retired Doctor. He asked where I was from and if it was my first time in Nashville. We then talked of the show at the Gaylord the night before and he mentioned the crowds arriving at the Inn afterwards. I told him how much I really loved country music now but I hadn't always. He talked of the way things used to be and of the days when George Jones was really strung out on drugs and alcohol. He said he saw him on the street one day and he couldn't have weighed more than 120lbs. and it was about that time that George opened a club in Printers Alley and only five people showed up on opening night; two of them were the Doctor and his wife. He said he knew if George hadn't changed his life, he would have ended up dead. He also asked me if I'd heard the fire alarm sounding in the Inn the night before. I said yes, it had awaken me and my friends and when they called the front desk, they were told it was a false alarm. He said, it was no false alarm and that a fire had started in a closet. (Note to self...avoid booking a room on a floor higher than the 2nd floor and not facing a pool.) He was a nice man and interesting to talk to.
