:: gardens grey ::

Wow

It's been a loooooong time! I just posted a link to my Maroon 5 Reno Experience and realized I hadn't updated in over a year!

Sooooo much has happened. I have another little boy named Nash. He was born 12/11/07. I've seen Maroon 5 3 times in the last 8 months and they are coming again in a couple of weeks.

All of the kids are doing well. I will post a better update later.

A year ago today

I met the boys in Maroon 5 for the first time. I can't wait to see them again.

Dreams

I had AWESOME dreams last night. They were just incredible! I can still remember all the details and I can't stop smiling. :)

The M5 dvd came out yesterday and it's so good. I can't wait to see them in concert again.

I was going through my pics from Reno and found this one and cropped it. Doesn't it look like a banner ad or something? LOL

Nothing else is going on. I haven't felt like posting lately.

 

What happens in Reno...

I'm not even sure that I have enough energy to post about this weekend. So much happened. I had such an incredible time. I'll try to start from the beginning and see how far I can get. Beware, this is gonna be a LONG one.

Saturday, June 11th, 6:00AM, PST
Ryan and the girls drove me to the airport. They didn't even cry, so I was pretty happy. By the time I got through security, it was almost time to board the plane. I headed off to Phoenix for my 4-hour layover.

9:00AM, PST
I arrived in Phoenix and tried to find something to eat. I didn't eat breakfast and it was 11am my time, so I was hungry. I found this little restaurant, but of course they were only serving breakfast, except for those little personal pizzas from Pizza Hut. I had two Bloody Mary's and a  Pepperoni pizza and was feeling pretty good. I decided to walk around for a bit. It was so early that my flight wasn't listed on the departure screen yet, so I didn't know what gate we were taking off out of.

I found a nice Mexican restaurant and went in for some Margaritas. Wow, were they strong! I had three and chatted with Tom the bartender. He was awesome. Pretty soon it was time to board the plane to Reno.

I was feeling no pain by the time I got on the plane. I slept the hour and 45 minutes to Reno. It was nice-I didn't wake up once!

3:00PM, PST
I landed in Reno and my mom picked me up. It was so nice to see her. The weather was just beautiful. No humidity at all.

We went to the hotel so I could check in. Did all of that stuff, and then headed down to get something to eat. We ate at a little cafe-it was really good.

5:00PM, PST
My mom had to pick my step-dad up from work, so she left and I headed to the welcome reception for the fan club (but not before getting another Margarita). I walked up and the girls standing there knew who I was from my picture on the message board. That was kind of funny. Someone said, "You're already drinking?" I replied "Already? I've been drinking for 8 hours now".

The reception was fun. They had a ton of food for us that I couldn't eat because I was so stuffed. It was nice to hang out with the other fans (not all of them were there because some were in Vegas for the show that night).

After that, my mom and I walked around Reno. Played some Keno and then ate again. There was a band playing outside at Harrah's that we checked out for a while-they were pretty good. After that, I had to crash.

Sunday, June 12th, 8:00AM, PST
Mom and I went shopping for something to wear. Ate Chinese food and hung out for most of the day. At around 3:00, we went back to my room to get ready. I had to meet the fan club peeps at 5:15.

4:50PM, PST
Headed down to the bar to have a quick drink before going to the meet and greet. I was starting to get super nervous. Finished my drink and went downstairs to meet up with the rest of the people going.

This is where I totally lost track of time. We waited for a bit before heading off to the Hilton, but I honestly could not tell you how long any of that took. We had to wait outside for about an hour before going back stage. I think it was around 6:15 when we finally got in there.

We were escorted backstage by Shawn, who I had met before in St. Paul. Back there we met Fred, the guys' tour manager. We were then given a tour of the stage. It was really awesome to see it from the other side. The venue wasn't huge, but it looked big from that perspective.

After that, we went back to the meet and greet area where they had 4 tables set up for us. A bunch of girls crowded together, so Maria and I sat alone at a table. Then Gina joined us. We could see the guys' trailer and they were peeking through the blinds at us! It was super funny.

Finally, they all came out. Ryan was not with them. They all went to a table, Mickey came to ours first. I could see Adam at the other table and he laid down on top of it!

Mickey was very nice. His eyes and smile are amazing up close. He asked us where we were from and we talked about Vegas. He said that the city is weird and sometimes you wake up and say, "what the fuck is this place about".

I busted out and asked if we could start taking pictures of him. He said of course, so I snapped a few:

This one, Adam is in the background looking our direction:

Then I asked him for individual pics. He was so sweet and said "Sure!"

Before he left, I asked him if they could please play "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis at the concert. He said he was down with it as long as the other guys were.

Swap time! Mickey left and Jesse came over. The first thing he did was stand on the chair!

Jesse was so sweet and sincere. He was surprised and impressed that we all traveled so far just to meet them.

We chatted for a bit and I asked him when their DVD was going to come out. He said September 20th. Awesome. Lori (TheOperaInMe) had told me to ask him about that.

Then I asked him about playing my song. He said he LOVES the song and what a great suggestion. He too said he was down for it, but that I would have to convince Adam. I thought to myself, I can do that, so I yelled over to Adam:

Me: Hey Adam!
A: Hey what?
Me: Just say yes.
A: ABSOLUTELY NOT! (Then he started laughing)
Me: Please, please, please.
Then he walked over and stood on the chair next to me.

When he was standing, Jesse threw a bottle cap or something at Adam and it hit him right in the belt buckle and made a loud noise.

Everyone started laughing and telling Jesse he was a good shot. Then Jesse said, "By the way, that hit his belt buckle and not his metal penis." Adam chimed in and said, "No, actually it hit my metal penis".

Then Adam sat down next to me.

A: So, what am I saying yes to?
Me: Will you PLEASE play "Don't Look Back in Anger" for me? PLEASE?
A: I can do that for you.
Me: Seriously?
A: Of course.

OMG, I was so stoked. He didn't seem like he was just saying yes just to be nice. I told him that Mickey and Jesse already agreed and he said that was cool and that they hadn't played it in a long time.

We chatted for a bit with Adam. He's super funny. He said he gambled in Vegas the night before and lost some money. Said he hates losing money. I asked him what he played and he said Black Jack.

Then he said he was going to do a trick for us. He told us to leave our water bottles on the table so he could pull the tablecloth out from under them. He wanted us to put our purses on there too, but none of us would!

We all pulled the little plastic clips off so he could do his trick. Here's him getting ready to do it:

He did it the trick and I think one bottle fell off the table. He wanted to try again! So, we all helped him set up again. This time, I took a video of it:

Download MOV01842.MPG

We all got our individual pics with him. He smelled so good.

Adam headed off to another table and Maria, Gina and I were by ourselves. James hadn't been over yet and was still at the table that Adam went over to. Adam was being goofy, so I snapped a pic:

We all got up and mingled around a bit before it was time to take group photos. The owner of the fan club was taking our pics and then I had Maria use my camera to take some, too. These are HORRIBLE of me, but oh well, it was fun.

When I got up there for my turn, I asked James if I looked familiar to him. He said I did and asked how he knew me. I told him he had to use my cell phone once and he totally remembered why! He started laughing and thanked me again. Then he told Adam about it and we were all laughing. That's when they started taking the pics:

I'm not even looking at the damn camera:

And in this one, I have my damn eyes closed and Adam is looking right at me!

After all the group photos, we mingled some more. I remembered that I didn't have a pic with Jesse, so Maria took one for me:

I then tracked down James. I told him that my friend Jess said hello and that she wished she could be here. He said "Oh the one you were drinking with before the show?" (Meaning the show in St. Paul). I said yes and he said, "She'll have to catch the next one!"

I told him that I had convinced the other three guys to play "Don't Look Back in Anger" and he said that sounded cool.

I grabbed Maria again and she snapped this pic. James doesn't look too happy. LOL:

I snapped this cute pic of Mickey and Maria (the blonde in the background is Ali-Blake's sister [from Simon Dawes] who I hung out with later):

Pretty soon, it was all over with. Adam went in first, then Mickey. Jesse and James stayed out and chatted with us until Fred pulled them away. They all thanked us before leaving and said they really appreciated us. It was very sweet.

By the time I found my mom and got into our FRONT ROW seats, the concert was starting. Simon Dawes opened for Maroon 5 and they were INCREDIBLE! They were so animated and put on an amazing show.

The dark-haired boy on the right is Mickey's little brother! Blake is on the left with the sunglasses on.

Then Simon Dawes called out Mickey, James and Jesse to help them on a song. It was so funny!

And then, Maroon 5 came out. Luckily, I stood up right away and walked up to the stage because the ENTIRE main floor of the venue rushed the stage. My mom, who was sitting in front row, got stepped on and had to go out of the main floor area, just so she could see the concert! That was really the only thing I didn't like about the concert, but it wasn't M5's fault.

Here are some show pics. Most are of Adam and James because that's where I was standing. Some aren't very good, because I was getting pushed up against the fence, but I'll post them all anyway:

I need to interrupt the pics for a second and say that at one point, they started playing, what sounded to me like the song I had requested. Then Adam asked for another guitar and they played something else. It seemed like maybe it just wasn't going to work out. Gina asked me a few minutes later if I thought they were going to play my song and I said that I didn't think so. I could tell the concert was almost over. I was a bit sad, but still having a blast.

Okay, now for the rest of the concert pics:

At this point, they left the stage and then came back for an encore. I can't remember what the first song was that they played when they came back (Tangled, maybe?), but after it was done they invited the guys from Simon Dawes up on stage and THEY PLAYED MY SONG FOR ME!

I almost started crying right there! Gina was standing next to me and said, "This is for you!". I grabbed my camera and recorded a few seconds of the song:

Download MOV01873.MPG

I ran out of memory on my camera, so I couldn't get the whole song, but I'm kind of glad because it's hard to enjoy the music when you are trying to record it! They guys totally got into the song and Jesse pointed at me towards the end of it. I'm telling you, I was in heaven. It was so fucking incredible!

After that, they played She Will Be Loved and then ended the show. Fireworks went off and it was very cool.

I then tracked my mom down and we looked for Maria, but couldn't find her. I totally wanted to go backstage, but didn't want to attempt it by myself.

We were starving. We decided to eat at the coffee shop because the line wasn't even half as long as it was for Chevy's. It still took a while to get in there, though. I ate and drank some wine and informed my mom that she had to go home alone because I was not ready to leave. I knew the boys were in the hotel and I was going to find them.

As soon as we walked out from the coffee shop, I saw Jesse talking to Maria, Gina, Nicole and Jayne. I walked up and he ran over to me and hugged me. I thanked him for playing the song for me and he asked if I enjoyed the song and the show and I told him that I did very much. He said he was happy they could play the song for me and said again how much he liked the song.

The girls and him were playing with a deck of cards and some sort of truth or dare game. At one point, Jesse and Nicole wrestled each other to the ground! It was so funny! He thanked us all again and took off.

Shortly after that, my mom said she was super tired, so I told the girls I was going to walk her out and I'd be back. We walked around for a bit because she had to go out a different way than where she came in. We said goodbye and then I called Jess.

Jess said that I better not leave and this was my chance to see the guys one last time. I agreed with her and started walking around.

I walked all the way down to the other end of the casino and there was this big open area with a bar in the middle. Who's that? Oh, that's just James and Jesse over there drinking with some people.

I actually felt shy and maybe a bit intimidated going up there, but then I told myself I was being silly. Jesse was at the actual bar, in conversation with someone and James was at a table nearby with 5-6 other people.

I walked up and James said "Hey!" I thanked him for the awesome show and for playing my song and he said I was welcome. Then he said, "Do you know how long it's been since we've played that?" I told him I had an idea and then he said, "I mean, we haven't played it this entire tour!" He also said it was a good choice and was glad I requested it.

Then Mickey appeared from nowhere and came up and hugged me and asked if I liked the song. I told him I did and thanked him, too. You could tell he was super tired, so he said he was going to bed. He said it was a pleasure meeting me and said goodnight. He's so sweet.

James asked what I was drinking and I told him wine. He also asked something about whom I was with. I told him my mom had just left because she was tired and he said "Ah, who needs her?!" LOL

I told James there was a cover band playing in another bar and he said "Oh yeah, let's go check them out! Do you think they'll let me get on stage with them?" I said I was pretty sure they would.

Just then, a lady came up who ended up being Blake's mom (from Simon Dawes) with her daughter. She and I were having a blast talking about kids and she told me the story about how Blake got into music. She was super sweet.

So we all headed over to the smaller bar. There were about 50 people in there. Blake's mom and I got a drink and started dancing. Jesse was dancing and James got on stage to play guitar with the cover band.

I saw Matt (the drummer that fills in for Ryan) and went up and said hi. I told him he was doing an awesome job and he thanked me.

It was so cool to see James play in such a small setting. After about 45 minutes, all of the sudden I see Adam get on stage and take the guitar from James! He played with Blake:

Eventually, they got Matt and Jesse up there (for one song). Adam moved over to sing and they played "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World".

Jesse got off stage and then they did another song. It was going on for a long time and I really had to pee, so I quick ran to the bathroom. When I came back, Adam was ON THE DRUMS! Oh my God, he was so good-I've never seen him play the drums live. It was incredible. I was right next to the stage. The picture is blurry, but you get the idea:

They played "This Love" and the singer from the cover band sang and played bass. Adam played drums. They did a really good job. They also played Nirvana and that was so fucking awesome!

Then, it was over. Adam got off the stage and waved to me and disappeared. I was sad, but so happy with my incredible night. I gave Blake's mom my number and we said goodbye.

And then I saw him. Through the crowd, I saw Adam sitting at the bar. Should I go up there? I walked closer and could tell from his body language that he was not interested in chatting. There were a few people standing there with pens and paper, waiting for autographs. I almost turned away, but I couldn't. I had to say thank you.

I walked up and sort of tickled his back (I didn't want to just poke him and I figured calling his name wouldn't work). He turned around and smiled the biggest smile. Before I could even start my sentence, he said "I totally played that song for you, you know?" I said yes and thanked him several times. He asked if I liked it and if the show was good. I told him I had an amazing night. Then Shawn, who was sitting next to Adam, but was in conversation with someone else, turned around and said "Dude, they played that song JUST FOR YOU". I was like, I know, I know.

So, I thanked Adam again and said I was leaving. I shook his hand and then he gave me a half hug. He thanked me and we said goodbye.

I walked out of there with tears in my eyes. The. Most. Incredible. Night. Ever.

More pics

I have to leave for work soon, so the concert recap will have to wait. I did want to post the rest of my pictures. I cropped them and made them B&W.

This one is blurry ^, but he's looking right at me!

Oh, and someone else from the message board snapped a pic of J and I meeting the boys:

The 4th greatest day of my life.

Okay, so this is pretty overdue, but what can I say? I'm working a lot this week, not to mention it took 4 days just to process everything that happened!

After hitting MGM and picking up a bottle of Jag, J and I left around 11:30am and headed to the cities. We were supposed to meet some other M5 fans at the Liffey at 1:30. We got there a early and checked the place out. It was lame (at that point). We saw some KS95 people across the street at another bar and decided to head over. There seemed to be a lot more people over there.

We got in and sat down at the bar. It was pretty dead in there, but they made damn good drinks, so we stayed a while. I could see the light-up board on the Xcel center right across the street from where we were at and everytime I saw the M5 picture, I got really nervous. I was going to meet them in less than 3 hours!

Everyone called me that day. Obviously, everyone knew what I'd be doing. I think they all just wanted to share in my special day. :)

We were supposed to meet Shawn (the fan club rep) at 3:30 to go into the sound check. At about 2:50, I suddenly had the urge to go over earlier. At first J was like "why?!", but I managed to convince her it was a good idea.

So, we headed over to the Xcel to the Will-Call area. There were about 10 groups of other people there-none from the fan club-they had all won tickets from the radio.

We tried to get our tickets, but they said they weren't ready yet, so we just hung out. All of the sudden, I look up the stairs and James is walking down towards us! I told J who it was and I don't think she believed me at first because no one else there recognized him!

Me: Hi James!
James: Hi! I am so lost
Me & J: What? What happened?
James: I went out for a jog and got locked out
Me: I'm Rachel and this is Jessica
James: (shaking our hands) It's really nice to meet you
Me: Look at you with your iPod mini!
James: Never leave home without it
Me and J: So, where are you supposed to be
James: Um, in there (points to the arena)
Me: Oops
James: I am so turned around, I don't know how to get in there
J: Where did you come from?
James: I have no idea!
James: Are you two going to the thing tonight?
Us: Yep!
James: What are you doing here so early?
J: Drinking. We've been drinking since Noon.
James: Damn girls, you better pace yourselves!
J: The sound check is at 3:30
James and me: Yeah, but the CONCERT isn't until 7:30!
J: Oh. (she laughs)
Me: You look so different in person!
James: That's because I'm all sweaty and gross
Us: No you're not!
James: I don't have my hair and make-up on yet!
Us: Do you think we can borrow your people for a hair and make-up touch-up?
James: (winking) I'll see what I can do.
James: Hey, can I use your phone?
Me: Sure! (I try to dig it out from the massive purse)
He calls someone, but gets no answer
James: Thanks. (he wipes the phone off on his shirt, then hands it back to me)
Me: No problem!
Two random girls come up: Hey, are you Shawn?
James: No, but I'm looking for him!

They walk away and we laugh. We tell him we think he should try going back up the stairs (we have no idea wtf we are talking about, just trying to be helpful). He says it was great meeting us, thanks us again and tells us to drink some water!

About 5 minutes later, he's back down saying there is no where to go up there. We finally see a security guard by an enterance to the arena and we direct him over there. He says thanks and says he'll see us in a bit.

I was so nervous that I wasn't nervous. He was so sweet and nice. I am so glad we went over before everyone else got there!

So finally Shawn arrives and at around 3:50, we are escorted into the arena and seated in front of the stage. They didn't fill the first row. We were DEAD CENTER in the second row. The lights were on and it was so cool. I couldn't believe we were there!

The boys start coming out, one by one. James came out and waved to J and I. :)

So, they start jamming. At first, it was mostly instrumental stuff, not Maroon 5 material. They were really getting into it. Adam had on his ADORABLE plaid pants! At one point, James suggested a song (we couldn't hear what it was) and Adam gave him two thumbs down. Then he suggested another one and he got the thumbs up!

They started playing Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the name of". Adam and Jesse sounded amazing singing the lyrics. They did an incredible job! They played that song for about 5 minutes, then broke into Soundgarden's "Outshined". As soon as I heard the opening chords, I *knew* they were going to sing the reference to Minnesota:

"I got up feeling so down
I got off being sold out
I've kept the movie rolling
But the story's getting old now
I just looked in the mirror
Things aren't looking so good
I'm looking California
And feeling Minnesota"

Right before the MInnesota part, Adam got this shit-eating grin on his face and sang the verse. He was so adorable! He said that it totally wasn't planned. :)

Here's some sound check pics:

So, it went entirely too quick and then they started walking off the stage. They all thanked us and then Jesse walked up to the front of the stage and thanked us again. We thanked him and he said "And I'll see you guys in about 30 seconds".

From there, we were escorted to the hockey locker rooms. It was a small room. Shawn had the fan club people line up on the left side of the room and the radio winners on the right side. Everyone in there (I think) assumed we would be escorted into another room to meet the guys. There were about 10 of us that had to pee badly, so Shawn said to go ahead and go. J and I were towards the back of the line and they were having the radio people go first, so I figured I had time to pee.

I go to the bathroom and *thought* I heard some giggling. I get out there and the guys are in that tiny, tiny room with us!

They sent the radio winners through the line first. Basically, they just shook their hands. I don't even think they had a picture taken. They may have, I was too nervous to really look at Adam for too long.

Very quickly, our turn comes. I made J go first (ha ha). First was Ryan, then Mickey, Jesse, James and Adam. I said all of their names when I shook their hands. Ryan and Mickey were especially friendly to me. Jesse was very sweet. When I got to James, I said "Nice to see you again". J had already began talking to him about being lost. He thanked us again for helping him and then Jesse chimed in and said "What? You had to use their cell phone?!". We all laughed. Then I got to Adam...

Good lord, that man is beautiful in person. He reminds me of Ryan. I think that's why I like him so much (I knew Ryan way before I saw what Adam looked like). I shook his hand and looked into his eyes until he looked away. I told him it was very nice to meet him and he said the same. I asked him how he was and he said "Awesome. I'm doing awesomely".  They were rushing us through the line and were ready to take the picture. I turned to Adam and said "I'm standing by you!". He said "Okay!". At first I put my arm AROUND his neck, but quickly realized that that would not make a pretty picture, so I just put my left hand up on his right shoulder. Prior to us standing there, Adam wouldn't touch anyone, he was putting his arm straight out so he was touching James' shoulder and not the person standing next to him.

Anyway, I leaned back against his arm, so he totally looks like he has it around me:

(this isn't the picture we get from the fan club-I had a friend take this-it's a bit blurry, but you get the picture!)

Don't Adam and I look good together?!

I thanked them all again quickly and we moved on. It went by way too fast.

We were all going crazy when we got out of the meet and greet. We decided to go see if we could pick up our tickets yet.

One of the girls I know got 1st row and 4th row (her brother had bought tickets, too). Everyone else got 3rd. I got 6th and was pissed becasue rows 3-8 are supposed to go by seniority and all of the girls had joined after me. It all turned out good because Lori traded her 4th row tickets with me and sold the 6th row ones. Plus, I spoke to the fan club on Monday and because of the mix-up, I am guaranteed FRONT ROW seats at my next show. Woo hoo!

After we got all that figured out, we headed to the Liffey. Everyone else had to stop at their cars first, so J and I were the first ones in. We sat down at the bar and this cute little bartender came up and said "Where have you girls been?! I've been waiting ALL NIGHT for you!". We laughed. I asked him what his name was. One guess. Adam. J and I both said at the same time "Of course it is!".

Here's a picture of Adam the bartender:

Okay, I'm tired of writing right now. I'll post about the concert later. :)