Keith in New Hampshire!

This is the picture of Vicky and me with Keith Urban when he played at Meadowbrook in Gilford, New Hampshire. Not the greatest picture of all time, but still pretty amazing...since Keith is in it!

Keith In New Hampshire

This was the day I had been waiting for....Keith in New Hampshire! But first things first...BANGOR last night! After driving 23 hours back to NH from Nashville, Sydney and I headed out to Bangor, Maine (yes, another 4 our drive) to see Keith Urban! We had PIT tickets, so like usual, the show was AMAZING. Highlights: fist fight between 2 40-something year olds during David Nail's performance, guy stage diving into the crowd that quickly became just a face full of gravel, and saying HEY to Jerry! Did I mention he's my favorite? Show was great, Keith looked SO skinny, and I was sick as a dog.

On to NEW HAMPSHIRE! Thankfully I knew a million people going to this show AND Vicky and I had both won Meet and Greets through Monkeyville so we were GOOD TO GO! In our meet and greet it was AWESOME because Vicky and I got to take a picture with JUST Keith. Usually you're in a group of a million people and you might be lucky enough to be next to Keith...not this time, it was just the 3 of us. The best part is I wore my "I got the moves like Jerry" shirt and Keith absolutely LOVED it. I believe it was his Dad that pointed it out and Keith said, "Oh my god, your shirt is AWESOME." After getting a good chuckle and asking if Jerry had seen it yet, Keith's Dad and his professional photographer were quick to snap pictures of the one-of-a-kind shirt...I'm sure I'll see it around Monkeyville somewhere. Thanks again, KJ, for making my shirt of an idea come true!

 Now for the concert...Keith came out with an EXPLOSION. It was amazing because me and my friend, Branden, were 5th row, but Jerry saw me and told me to go up front. As the security guards were literally pushing/holding me back, I yelled at them to look at Jerry and he yells "LET HER THROUGH." WOOHOOOO...front row bitches! Jerry absolutely LOVED my shirt and wants me to make him one....okkkk!!!

 Keith's performance was AMAZING. You could tell from the very beginning that he loved the crowd and was ready for a fun night. He played for a good 2 hours and 15 minutes, and I loved every minute of it. I got one of Keith's picks and two of my little cousins got some picks and Jerry's wristband....I DEFINITELY think Marisa is a fan for life now! Amazing concert, amazing meet and greet....SO sad it's over! Thanks to everyone that came with me - ya'll are awesome! Back to Nashville in 2 days! Love you all.

Eric Church at Mohegan Sun

After going to the Opry on Tuesday to see Eric Church, I flew home to see him 2 more times on Friday and Sunday...that's right, Church 3 times in one week - BOOyeah!

 Sydney and I drove to Mohegan Sun and had a ton of fun catching up with everything on the way there. When we got there we stopped to use the massage chairs at Brookstone, eat some mashed potatoes at the food court, and get some candy at the AMAZING candy story in the casino. After that we went to assess the line situation since we had PIT tickets. There were only 4 people in line, so we decided to stand there and wait it out with them to get the greatest odds of the PERFECT seat at the concert.

 While we were in line one of the guys in EC's crew came out to talk with us. I had met him one night at the guys' gig at Second Fiddle and we've kept into contact since. He's a super nice guy and he chatted it up with us for a good hour or so. He even brought us some EC picks to keep - THANKS BUDDY!

As we went into the arena we literally got the best (in my opinion) seats possible. I was literally at the corner of where the stage meets the catwalk. The opener for the show was very...unique? Totally not what I was expecting because Church is so badass. He was more of a folk singer, kind of like Hayes Carll, but older...and it was just kind of an odd match up with EC.

After going to the bathroom and solidifying our spot, Church came out. BOY does he do a crazy show. He's unlike Keith in that Keith is more intimate with the crowd and is more interactive. Church is just a huge ball of energy. His concert is the most intense concert I've ever been to (yes, the pyrotechnics help) and let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed. Throughout the show he kept on looking at me because I was just RAGING with his songs. Obviously I knew every single song since he's my #2 man, and it was clear that he took notice.

Throughout the show I kept waiting for him to play "These Boots" because everyone in the crowd puts their boots in the air and sings along. As soon as I heard the countdown during the encore I KNEW it was time. I whipped off my right boot in a hurry and was the first one to throw it in the air. As he sang the song, he stared RIGHT at me and just poured his heart out. As he got to the last verse he stepped away from the microphone and pointed RIGHT at me and said, "GIMME YOUR BOOT!" HOLY SHIT - Eric Church was choosing MY boot out of everyone in the whole audience to sing with - HELLO Heaven! He grabbed my incredibly warn boot and tried to get it to stand up straight to sing the song with and hilariously made the comment that he "couldn't keep it up" - SO my kind of humor. He sang the song holding my boot in the air and changed the last words of the song to "This beat up old New England boot!" I was literally DYING. Thankfully I was able to get the whole thing on video! At the end of the song he dropped his pick in the boot, SIGNED it, and threw it back at me - HOLY SHIT!

This was literally the COOLEST thing that could ever happen to a fan at an Eric Church concert. I'm so glad he takes time to notice who his TRUE fans are in the audience and rewards them for knowing every single song. Thanks, EC, for making my whole week! I can't wait to see another killer performance from you tomorrow!!

Switch Topic...ERIC CHURCH!

Ok, so I know this blog is about all Keith Urban stuff, but I figured I could write about Eric Church since he's Keith's favorite artist!

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity of going back stage at the Opry with my friends Josh, Jaime, and Sarah. I originally had 3rd row tickets to the show, but Jaime got a killer hook-up through work and got us all backstage passes - HOLY SMOKES!

Needless to say, backstage is utterly amazing. When you have a backstage pass you can literally explore EVERYTHING. No one is there to monitor, you can go into any rooms/dressing rooms you'd like, and you're literally among the stars. Naturally Josh and I split off from the group to explore everything on our own. Being Josh's favorite artist and my #2 man, we NEEDED to find Eric Church! Unfortunately after searching for quite a while, it was evident he was either in a secret holding area or hadn't arrived at the Opry yet. We returned back to behind where the performances took place and enjoyed the show (P.S...the view is KILLER from behind the artists)

Just before Eric's performance, he came out from behind us. Josh and I were DYING inside, but totally keeping our composure on the outside. He was about 4 feet away from us just talking to people for a good 10 minutes before his performance. One of the coolest parts is when he looked over at me and I waved at him and he smiled and waved back. There's a 0% chance I'm going to hide my excited personality just because Eric Church is in the building!

His performance was 4 songs long and it was SO amazing because he did it solo and all acoustically. Josh and I were literally melting during his performance. Naturally, we decided we NEEDED to get to talk to him when he was done. As he exited the stage, a guy asked to have a picture with him and we KNEW this was our chance! We formed a kind of line and sure enough, he stuck around to meet us and let us have our pictures taken with him. It was pretty epic because he only met about 10 people, and 4 of them were us. After I got my pictures taken with him I go, "Just to let you know, I REALLY love you." I definitely couldn't hold it in; I HAD to tell him. He goes, "Well thanks!" with a huge smile on his face.

Needless to say, Josh's life is complete. I wish he had gotten to talk to him a little longer to tell him what a huge influence he's had on his work/writing, but it was so cool just to get to meet him, have him squeeze your side during the picture, and to have evidence (a picture) of meeting the man of the hour.

Way too cool. Thanks, Eric Church, for an amazing performance and for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet the fans that adore you like no other!

Keith's Grand Ole Opry Induction

I know this is a little late, but Keith's Opry induction was absolutely AMAZING. Mom, Dad, and I left on a Friday to head down to Nashville for the week. Naturally we left earlier than we had originally anticipated to get to see his induction - how could I possibly miss that? After checking into the Opryland Hotel and having dinner, I was off to show #1 - his actual induction. This time I went by myself and I was the first row in the balcony because the seats sold out in about five seconds. I was a crying wreck, let me tell you. I knew I would be emotional, but had no idea I would be THAT emotional. Trace Adkins and Josh Turner ended up also playing that night and helped present Keith with his induction plaque. Keith was AMAZING that night and did the most heartfelt acceptance speech I've ever heard. I love how much he respects his fans and how grateful he is of every single person who's made him the person he is today. Toward the beginning of the show you could tell he was super nervous, but by the end he was his normal self. Afters how numero uno, Mom and Dad met me for the second show (OF COURSE I was going to both shows). Both of them had never been to the Opry before, so this was an excellent first time! This time we had seats 10 rows from the stage, so it was a MUCH better vantage point. Mom and Dad LOVED it there and were really impressed with Josh Turner's live performance (they already knew how amazing Keith was). Needless to say it was an amazing night that I will never forget. I'm so glad I was there for the most important night in Keith's country career thus far. Way to go Keith, I'm so proud of you <3

The Opry's Newest Member!

Last night during his We're All For The Hall performance, Keith was told he was going to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry!!! About time, right? Keith's been in Nashville for 20 years and is FINALLY becoming a member. He thanked his fans, his record, and his family as he teared up holding the microphone in the Grand Ole Opry microphone stand. The best part about this news is that I'm going to be in Nashville during the induction, and I am, in fact, going to the show! Will post pictures and a review as soon as possible!

Pinch me, I MUST be dreaming!

As most of you know, I work at the Texas Roadhouse, and today while I was at work I noticed WOKQ's Mark Ericson sitting by himself at a table. Having had my KU video shown live on their morning radio show and on their facebook page, I HAD to go over and say thank you. I went over and said, "Hi Mark, I hate to bother you, but I have to thank you for watching my video - I'm New Hampshire's biggest Keith Urban fan." IMMEDIATELY he knew exactly who I was, and 100% remembered my video - WOOHOO! I talked to him a bit about the video and how impressed he was at my video skills (thanks for teaching me KJ). We got talking about how I had just gotten back from Nashville and how I'm looking to move there in Nashville and he asked why. NOW WAS MY CHANCE TO PITCH RIVER CITY GANG!!!! I started telling about RCG and how awesome they are. I also told him how I hoped I'd get a job with them in the future, and that I'm working at TRH pretty much non-stop right now to save up to move to Nashville.

What was utterly insane to me is that he seemed as interested to talk to me as I was interested to talk to him - INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE! After completely pitching RCG and telling him that once they're big one day he's gonna say, "MAN, that server at the roadhouse was right," I went to take care of my tables. As I went out back I begged one of my managers to go look for my RCG CD in my car. Naturally I carry around an extra in the event that Mark came in to eat. OF COURSE she couldn't find it, so I went out myself...yep...sorry tables, I have more important things to tend to! Thankfully I found in the CD in about 2 seconds, and KNEW I had to give it to Mark before he left. I kept looking over at his table while I was getting drinks and every time he was looking right at me...NUTS! Finally I went back over to the table and said, "I have to...here's the CD...please listen to it." I start to walk away and he goes, "wait, I have something for you." There it was...he handed me over his business card. He must have been waiting for me to come back over to the table because it was face up on the table waiting for me. He said to give him a call and that he'd love to get to talk to me more and to give me a tour and see what business opportunities were available for me. In essence, he made me feel like he might actually offer me a job.

Needless to say, I emailed him when I got home from work and I look forward to chatting with him in the future.

I hope so badly he listened to RCG's CD on his way home...so surreal!

Thanks Mark Ericson for making my day!