3/15/01

WE MET PAUL DOUCETTE!!!

He was walking his dog Sophie. We got around the building running. My roommate, Anne, had beat us out and was actually talking to him when I caught up! He signed her CD booklet, then a girl who was with us'. Then mine! [I had him sign my promo copy of Crutch]. Paul had all this stuff in one hand: the red dog leash, a baby doll head Kerry gave him. He was having a hard time getting the pen cap off with the other hand, so I reached over and took the cap off. My hand brushed against his as I did. He thanked me.

After he signed the booklet, I gave him the boxes of throat coat and Echinacea teas. I said I had heard they’d been under the weather lately, and Paul said he had bronchitis. So I’m really glad I thought of the tea. He thanked me for it.

We got some pictures with him. He let us take as many pictures of him as we wanted, so long as we didn’t get any pictures of Sophie. [My sister Colleen did end up sneaking a picture of Sophie, when the security guard Chad came out to walk her after the concert. That picture will not be posted, to respect Paul’s request]. Then we watched him walking the dog. It was the weirdest thing, watching him climb snow banks, kicking the snow to cover where the dog had gone. We were commenting how weird it was, kept looking at our autographed stuff, and watching Paul. He was wearing one of his cool caps, with a white and light blue design. Honestly, I thought he was a woman when I first saw him.

Speaking of which, Adam did a phone-in interview this morning, talking like a woman. One of the girl’s mothers asked on the phone if Adam was gay.

Anyway, when Paul came back our way, we got pictures with him, (more pics). I don’t know how my camera was holding up though.

Paul said he could do a group shot we wanted, but then he really needed to get back inside to do sound check. When I was getting the group picture on film, Colleen was petting the dog. But Paul was trying to get her out of the shot, (the dog, not Colleen), and she ended up touching his butt. She repeats profusely that she did not mean to do that! So now we’re bugging Colleen for goosing Paul Doucette. She thinks he thought it was the dog. After I took the picture, we said goodbye to him. Then we stood around talking.

Can’t believe that one of the girls we met happened to be Zindo of Rain in Boxes and that it was her mother who drove us around the Centrum…

Okay, I’ll back up a bit, to the beginning of the adventure: My roommate Anne, my sister Colleen, and I were standing outside Worcester Centrum, where we considered was the back of the building. We kept an eye out for buses. We weren’t standing there too long when Anne and Colleen started rushing up the street. When I caught up with them, they said they’d seen everclear jump out of a van and just walk into the Centrum. We were standing there, waiting to see if MB20 would come through the same way, when we met Zindo and her group. While we were talking to them, (before I knew who any of them were), Zindo’s mother drove up and said they were around the other side. She yelled to all of us to get in, whether she knew us or not. We all jumped in and flew around the building, in time to see buses drive by, and everclear’s bus pull up, (though some people say it was Life House’s, but I saw Craig Montoya of everclear come off the bus. He’s unmistakable with the streaks of bright red through his jet black hair).

We stood around and saw the other buses drive by, (Deb said they were all MB20 buses, that Kyle’s family is with him in another bus, and that Rob and his family have their own bus too).

Zindo’s mother came around again, saying we had to get to the other side. By then, we’d picked up another person, and we all didn’t fit, (there were nine of us by then). So I opened the hatchback and jumped in. But I couldn’t shut the back! So we were driving around the Centrum with the hatch open. And I had my foot against the side, held onto a handle overhead tightly. All the time making sure my stuff and the junk in the back didn’t tumble out. Someone did end up closing the trunk when we stopped. And, apparently, Colleen’s door never closed all the way either. There were limbs flying everywhere out of that car. I got so many weird looks!

We drove around the whole thing and decided half of us should post ourselves at both ends of the venue. We got out where we got in the car…

The two on the other side met Paul! [Zindo and Winnie]. They told him what we’d done, driving around, how there were five others waiting. They said he looked surprised and probably thought they were insane.

We ran around the building as soon as Zindo called Kerri on her cell. She was just yelling to get over there. We ran around the building, and Anne got there first.

So can’t believe it happened, and it was so weird when I realised that I knew both Zindo and Deb from the internet, (and Deb and Zindo weren’t even together!). Goes to show you how die hard internet crazed matchbox twenty fans can be.

Now I’m sitting where we’ll be for the concert. It’s worse seats than I thought, but not too bad. Really hope Charlotte’s show seats are better though.

We’ll see everyone behind the Centrum after the show. Hope it doesn’t get too crowded though.

I’ve bought a T-Shirt and a tour event poster already. The poster’s rolled in the T-shirt beside me. So can’t believe it’s the day… AND THAT I MET PAUL DOUCETTE! He’s such a sweet heart! What was weird is it felt like I already knew him. I didn’t even think of my fanfic until after he went in. I’m glad I didn’t; that’s really weird now.

everclear was better on stage than I had expected. But the dynamics within the band sucked.

Such a difference between Art and Rob. Though Art did put a lot of passion into his music too.

Then MB20!!! There were backdrops for Life House (the album cover) and everclear (frowny face, which was quite appropriate for Art). MB20 had a white forefront that went up as they got on stage. Then you could only see their silhouettes. The white curtain came down, and the band broke into Crutch.

BTW, Rob was wearing a long sleeved, deep red button-up shirt with tight black pants.

They played (in close to random order) Crutch, Argue, Girl Like That, Long Day, 3 AM, You Won’t Be Mine and Rest Stop (with Rob on piano and Paul’s drums moved up so they were perpendicular to one another). Rob says he wrote Rest Stop at 17 or 18. Other songs played: Angry, Last Beautiful Girl, If You’re Gone (which Rob claimed as a favourite), Mad Season, Push, Stop, Real World, The Burn, Bent, Back 2 Good, Black + White People.

During Back 2 Good, I got thinking about life in general again. Rob changed a line. Instead of “doing me like they do”, Rob sang “fooling me like they do”.

During their break in between, the disco ball made the room appear to have stars everywhere. It was an awesome effect, the speckled lights spiraling around us, the audience getting louder, banging on seats, calling for matchbox twenty, and cheering when they came back out. I heard Rob had a beer and a cigarette with him.

In discussing Black and White People, (the finalle), Rob’s explanation was that sometimes you feel in black and white and everyone else seems like they’re in colours.

I am so tired! I have to pass out!

3/16/01

Thinking of last night’s concert… with stinking Faith Hill’s “The Way You Love Me” playing here in the orthodontist’s office. So gay.

Rob was a little wild, did this arm flailing thing during their cover song “Lonely Weekends”. He had a tambourine during Black and White People. He was playing it behind their strings section, then by Paul’s symbols. He either hit or pretend to hit one of the members in his strings section on the butt with the tambourine. During the performance, he also claimed that it was Jason’s birthday, but I’ve read from another source that it wasn’t really true, that Rob has this thing for announcing birthdays on the wrong day.

Such an awesome show! Looks like Paul was wearing the same thing to walk his dog that he wore on stage! He’s so cool!

The girls with us were saying that we were cool. I think the whole thing was excellent for my mood, self esteem, and social skills. I was so fearful I’d botch it if I met MB20, but I met Paul, and it was excellent.

Wild Night just came on the radio. Perfect!

MB20 lyrics fit in perfectly at the concert! Anne was bugging me about screaming and cheering and told me to stop. This was during Real World, toward the end of the chorus. So I sang EXTRA loud, “I wish the real world would just stop hasseling me”, the most emphasis on the last three words. I don’t know what her problem was.

During everclear, people behind us were yelling at us to sit down. Yes, at a concert! Sounds like the mentality I had for my first concert at, like, nine or ten years old! The guy right behind me made eye contact when I turned around to see who was yelling at us. He smiled and said not to let them bother me.

I met so many AWESOME MB20 fans, and I attribute the bad behaviour of those behind me to their own stupidity. They weren’t real fans if they couldn’t manage to get off their butts.

Rob is an awesome piano player! Last time, I could see his hands as he played. This time, I watched how he moved as he played. He took on qualities of the composers, like how you’d picture Mozart or Beethoven. Sheer genius. “Trailer trash” from SC/FL was playing piano like that. He is such an inspiration to kids who are where he was, and for all of us.

Adam frequented the very end of the stage. Rob was over there at times too. Picks were flying everywhere, during both MB20 and everclear’s shows.

everclears’ When It All Goes Wrong Again has been stuck in my head. Last night, it was Life House’s Hanging By A Moment. I figure it’s got to be MB20 tune(s) by the end of the day.

The baby head that Zindo’s group gave to Paul ended up on Adam’s amp. I couldn’t see it from the audience, but Zindo told me after the concert, when we were waiting for the buses to leave.

Still can’t say enough how weird it was to watch Paul just walking his dog!

3/22/01

I've been meaning to add this for a few days now. I remembered something else from the concert. During 3 AM and Last Beautiful Girl, images were projected onto a white backdrop. 3 AM's were unrecognisable, (at least I can't recall them now). For Last Beautiful Girl, there were pictures of women with names next to them. There would be a shot of a whole bunch of women, then it would narrow in on one or two. It was a neat effect; can't believe I didn't remember it right away!

Also, during everclear's performance, somebody spilled beer all over Anne and Colleen's seats. They realised this when they sat back down. Some had spilled onto my purse too. At first, they thought it had been deliberate. Then, during MB20's performance, a woman walked by with a glass of beer; the vender had filled it all the way to the top. She was being really careful not to dump it, but she ended up getting it all over the steps. We began thinking maybe somebody had just dumped it by accident.

Besides, that particular woman was sober. There were a few people staggering around the place. One woman was getting back to her seat and knocked into everybody in her path.