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!

WOKQ Rules

All yesterday and last night I worked on a video to sent to Mark and Karen of WOKQ's Morning Waking Crew to show them what a HUGE Keith Urban fan I am. After failed e-mails and a failed post on facebook, I finally uploaded the video on youtube and was able to send it to the crew asking to take a minute and fourteen seconds out of their busy schedule to watch it. Guess what? THEY DID! In fact, not only did they watch the video, they watched it ON AIR and put it on their facebook page for all to see. How cool is that? Though they can't promise anything right now because they don't even know if they'll get meet and greet opportunities, I'm hopeful that my video will be a big hit and when the time comes, I'll get a chance to meet Keith on behalf of WOKQ's Loyal Listeners. After all, IS there a bigger KU fan in New Hampshire? I dare say not! Here's the video if you haven't seen it yet..

Keith Hits NEW HAMPSHIRE!

That's RIGHT, ladies and gentlemen, the big man himself is coming to NEW HAMPSHIRE!!! Today it was announced that Keith will be performing at Meadowbrook Cellular Pavilion on September 2nd, 2012...OH MY GOODNESS! Never did I think Keith would play a gig in New Hampshire, let alone at a tiny place like Meadowbrook. It's like all my KU dreams are coming true. I'm so grateful to have him in my life and to have him SO close to home. Now the only thing I need to do is GET TICKETS! It's usually ridiculously hard to get face value tickets through the Meadowbrook site because they release tickets to season ticket holders first, THEN the general public, which usually puts you in the back sections. Lets face it, I CANNOT deal with back row seats at a KU concert! I'll definitely be praying to the Keith Urban Gods tonight in hopes of getting lucky with some awesome tickets during tomorrow's presale! Wish me luck :)

KURT: Canadian Edition (revised)

This blog was originally posted a while ago, but needed some vital revisions...here's the new and improved blog...

This weekend Sydney and I ventured to Canada to experience literally the best weekend of my entire life. Our KURT started in Buffalo, New York on Thursday, September 8th, so we decided to sleep over at KJ and Angie's on Wednesday night to get an early move-on. Eight hours and a New York State speeding ticket later, we made it to the HSBC Arena around 2pm for the 7:30 concert. First things first: check out the bus situation. We found where the buses were parked and naturally started talking to the crew guys, many of which remembered us from the last time we encountered/partied with them in Albany - can you even imagine that...the crew guys remember us! We had a little small talk then went to eat some wings in Buffalo (as we saw fit) at a nearby restaurant. We then walked around a little longer, stopped at a bar to try to win some BSE and extremely close tickets, and met back up with the guys before the concert who told us to meet up with them after for a rager. Let me think..um...OK!

The Buffalo concert was a little bitter-sweet for Sydney and myself because it was the last time we'd be seeing Jake Owen open for Keith. We've come to REALLY love Jake throughout this tour and were very sad that The Band Perry was opening for Keith in Canada instead of our Y-E-E-H-A-W boy. Nonetheless, we're here for KEITH, and that's really all that matters.

For this concert we had 12th row floor tickets, which immediately became 1st row tickets when we decided to make friends with the male security guards. That is step 1 to being awesome at a KU concert: Make friends with security guards! It's crazy how much a little small talk can get you in an arena. They may ask where your seats are, and you just point to the front. From that moment forward they'll just remember your faces and never ask you once to see your tickets - Ah, GENIUS! Jake was great; wasn't quite as high of an energy performance as previous shows like Boston, but was still quite flawless. He was sure to look our way a few times and smile...ya know, just to melt our hearts.

Once Jake exited the stage it was the waiting game until Keith came on. Fortunately for Sydney and myself we know that Jake ends promptly at 8;15 and that Keith promptly hits the stage at about 8:42....when his "special song" starts playing. We ran quickly to the bathroom and got back right in the front to be on Danny and Nutter's side of the stage. Definitely not our preferred side of the stage since the camera guy, Chris, is always standing there...but still, front row!

When Keith hit the stage it was absolutely mayhem. He brings such high energy to the arena and makes all your problems just melt away (including the $300 speeding ticket). I had so much fun just letting loose and basking in pure Keith bliss. I was pretty pumped because this time Keith added "Raining on Sunday" into his setlist, which is one of my favorite songs on Earth. Another really awesome part about this concert is that Keith had Jake Owen come on stage for the encore to play "a little ditty, about Jack and Diane..." and it was purely AMAZING. The two men are great together and really make you feel like you're the ONLY one in the arena - kudos boys!

After the concert we went back to our car to freshen up, then met the guys at the buses for a little after party. The greatest part was when Sydney and I were walking to the buses with a 6-pack of Sam Summer and the security guard, who is keeping back a rather large amount of people goes, "ya'll can't go in there." Immediately the guys from the crew go, "NO, it's ok, they're with us." THAT'S RIGHT...eat it! We had so much fun on the little bus party. It was pretty calm, considering, but we got to meet some other really cool girls from the area and Jake's drummer who is absolutely hysterical, so all is good. This time we wanted to head out a little before the buses to "play it cool." We left and starting driving on Ottawa, where the next concert was. Unfortunately I only got about 1 hour into the drive when I just HAD to stop to sleep. We stopped at a rest stop around 3:30, slept until 6, and were back on the road, arriving in Ottawa around noon.

In Ottawa we had a really nice hotel room that was (fortunately) not scary at all. We were not within walking distance from the arena, which kinda stunk, but were more than willing to grab a cab after the show if need be. Friday night was the first night The Band Perry opened for Keith, and they really did impress me. I had seen them once before in Nashville and was really disappointed, but they KILLED it. The lead singer, Kimberly, had her A-game on that night, and perfectly prepared the audience for Keith. For the Band Perry's performance we laid back in our 8th row tickets because we didn't care to be THAT close when they were there..and after their performance we decided to make our move. Step 2 of being awesome at a KU concert: make it seem like you know where you're going. On your way to the front odds are people will stop to ask you if you know where you're going or to check your tickets. Look FORWARD, make it seem like you have a friend in the front, and don't ask questions. If you seem timid or anxious they might want to check your tickets - just play cool! That night we were literally in the PERFECT spot for the concert. We were right in front of Jerry on the right side and right next to the girls we had met at the bus party the night before - awesome.

Keith was yet again amazing on Friday night. The coolest part was that Jerry completely remembered who I was from the time I sang with him on stage and kept on coming over to Sydney and I to make our hearts beat like little school girls. Also what was awesome was when Keith would look over and TOTALLY recognize who I am - I MUST BE DREAMING. That night Danny also threw a pick at me...and I missed it...then threw another...and another..all of which I missed. By the 3rd time he put his hands out and goes.."REALLY." Thankfully the 4th one was a charm <3

After the concert we again met up with the guys to party. That night we saw our favorite security guard for a brief second to say hi, but we mostly stayed in the buses just partying, dancing, and watching football because it was so cold outside. We went back to our hotel around 2am to get a good night's sleep...and were up and on the road again by 7 in the morning to head to Toronto.

On our way into Toronto we quickly realized how much we hated the city. Apparently they were doing some film festival that weekend, so there were people EVERYWHERE and it took us so long to drive to our hotel. When we finally got to the hotel, it was an absolute pit. Note to self: Never stay at THE GRANGE hotel in Toronto - SCARY! The place was one block from one of the busiest Chinatown's I've ever seen. The elevator automatically stopped at floor 2 even if you didn't press it, the place smelled AWFUL, and you had an actually KEY to open your door - not a card. Apparently this place used to be an apartment building, but they changed it, probably because no person on earth would want to stay there for more than once night - Yikes!

We headed to the arena around 5:30 for the 7:30 show, and hit so much traffic for our 1.7 mile commute that we couldn't even stop for food on the way. We stopped by the buses to say hi on the way in, then were in line out in front of the arena. One of the funniest things was when the crew guys came out on their scooters to say hi to us while we were in line. One of the "main" crew guy was being dumb and asking who we were waiting for, etc. He made it seem like he hadn't really even heard of Keith Urban before--except through Nicole Kidman--and that he was surprised Keith was even big enough to have a show in Canada. Obviously Sydney and I were holding back our giggles as the people around us were looking at them in horror. As the guys drove away Sydney and I just watched the faces on the people as they slowly but surely noticed the "ALL ACCESS KEITH URBAN" tags they were wearing. It was pretty epic.

After some pizza in the arena we quickly realized that our 10th row tickets were just NOT going to be good enough. We tried getting to the front, but it really just wasn't working. The security guards were super strict that night and it looked like Sydney and I were going to be screwed...10 feet from the stage. Fortunately for us we have connections!!! Sydney texted one of our friends to say that the guards were being dicks. What did our little gem do? Get us to the front of course! He met us by our seats and just said, "follow me." As we're following him 2 guards stopped us and wouldn't let us go any further unless we showed our tickets. The kind gentleman just turns to them, flashed his "ALL ACCESS" pass and said, "they're with me." THAT'S RIGHT - WE'RE WITH HIM!!! FRONT ROW AGAIN!

Keith brought a TON of energy to the concert that night, but the audience wasn't quite as amazing considering it was a Saturday night. Keith was trying so hard to blow everyone's minds...but they weren't responding as they should have. Slightly disappointed with the audience, but Keith was utterly amazing.

After the show Sydney and I walked to our car...for about 30 minutes considering we got lost...then headed to our room to freshen up. At 11:30 at night the traffic was still HORRIBLE in Toronto. Apparently they were keeping the bars open until 4am because of the film festival, so driving was hellish. We quickly got ready then got a cab to bring us back to the arena for some partying! When we got there all the guys were like, "JESUS, where have you been?" At this point it's more like we're just EXPECTED to party with them - BOOYEAH! When Sydney and I walked onto the bus we literally thought we were going to shit our pants when the first two people we see are DR and CM. Yep, we just upped our game...we're partying with the BAND! Step 3 to being awesome: PLAY IT COOL! Never make it seem like you're surprised/shocked to see these famous people..just play it cool. Talk to them, make them feel normal..and DON'T, I repeat DO NOT TALK ABOUT KEITH! There's really no reason to. All these guys have an agreement that they can't get fans to meet the big wigs, so don't even bother. It'll make you look like an idiot and will definitely ruin your chances of ever getting invited to a bus party ever again. Enjoy yourself...allow a cute guy to make you a drink that's 99% vodka..and see where the night brings you. Needless to say, a few shots and a large drink later, Sydney and I were walking back to our hotel...or so we thought...with the plan of meeting the guys the following day in London for their day off.

As a side note, Sydney and I had been walking/stumbling for a good half hour when we decided to ask 3 men in business suits how to get to our hotel. OF COURSE WE WERE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION! Thankfully these guys decided to split up to go to their cars and one fine gentlemen just allowed us to share a cab with him, drop us off at our hotel, and not make us pay a single cent - THANKS BUDDY!

That night we went quickly to bed and got up early in the morning on Sunday to head to London - after all we had a whole day of hanging out with the crew ahead of us! We arrived in London around noon and we were POOPED! Thankfully we were able to check into our hotel a little early to take a nap. After showering and getting ready we met the boys in the crew at the Fox and the Fiddle for what would eventually become a KU Crew London Pub Crawl. Sydney and I ate there and I was introduced to what one of the crew guys calls the "Peter Piper" shot. Basically it's an entire shot of Jameson followed by a shot of pickle juice. Sounds different...tastes amazing.

From there we went to another bar that you could throw peanuts on the floor, which obviously caught Sydney and my eyes. The place was awesome and was where we began to realize that we were going to have one long, drunk night. The "main" crew guy decided he wanted to see "drunk Katie," so he and another guy began buying shots...and shots...and shots for me...plus a few beers. In no time Sydney and I were bonding wonderfully with our 8 crew members. We were there for a VERY long time..then we went to another classier establishment where I had (I think) the best long island iced tea of my life - it had a little swirl of lemon sorbet on top - so amazing. We then went back to the Fox and the Fiddle just before closing time to have a few more shots of Jager. Thats when everything starts getting a little fuzzy. I know that we went back to the bus for a while where we had a huge dance party and things started getting even more amazing. After than I know I ended up in our hotel somehow, but I go in and out of remembering other things. Crazy? Irresponsible? Try AMAZING.

The next morning Sydney and I literally thought we were going to die. The crew guys had to leave the hotel by 7:15 to start setting stuff up and I honestly have no idea how they did it. I had gotten a few texts that morning from the security guard saying he wanted to rage that night, so Sydney and I had to fill our bellies with water and bread to prepare!

Monday's activities were utterly awesome. We walked around London a bit and got to experience some of the cool markets around the arena. We were able to give our favorite crew guy his awesome "pimp your scooter" kit we had made him consisting of an awesome pink and white bike basket and a rearview mirror. He thought we were hilarious. We went back to the hotel to get ready for the concert and obviously walked to the arena during the only 10 minute shower that entire weekend. We were SOAKED by the time we got there..but have no fear, Keith is here!

For this concert we decided to sneak up front right in the beginning, which worked like a charm. No questions asked, we were perfectly in front of Jerry the entire concert. Monday night was literally one of the top 3 concerts I've ever seen Keith perform. It was more like a Friday night than a Monday night. Keith does well playing off of the audience's energy, so it was truly epic. A few times Keith looked at me an nodded a "hi," which makes me think that he actually remembers me. Jerry, Nutter, and Danny also came over to say hi to Sydney and me. It's literally like we're living a dream.

After the concert that night we were pretty sure we were going to meet up with the guys to party, but weren't sure since everyone was so hung over. Fortunately we got the invite and arrived at the hotel bar to find ourselves staring at a table consisting of the security guard, the entire band (minus Keith), and our favorite crew guys. Again I say, PLAY IT COOL! Sydney grabbed a beer and sat down behind our favorite security guard on a piano bench. I stood there with my Baileys and Coffee just talking to a crew guy and JF. JF is like..TAKE A SEAT BUDDY...to the seat right beside him...don't mind if I do! The entire experience was like I was living a dream. The guys were really interested in talking to Sydney and I and I literally felt like I was famous by association. Each and every one of the guys commented on how excited I was when I hit the stage with Keith, which means that they REALLY knew who I was - SO COOL!

At closing time we were invited back to a party on the bus..and BOY was it a party. Dancing...music...air bass playing by JF - nothing less than a perfect night. He is my little buddy. One of the coolest parts of that night was when we went outside and Sydney formally introduced herself to BN. She then said, "This is my friend, Katie Cardinal" and BN goes, "I KNOW." THAT'S RIGHT - HE KNOWS ME! So insane.

That night we stayed up partying until about 4 am. When Sydney and I finally returned to the room after saying good-bye to everyone we just realized how awesomely blessed we truly are. Never have we ever had a better weekend in our entire lives, and to be able to share it together is even more special. This was a perfect way to kick off our excitement for moving temporarily to Nashville!

You Gonna Fly..

Tomorrow marks one of the biggest days of my entire life...I'm moving to Nashville for 2 months! Having never really left home in my life I'm a little nervous as to what this trip will bring. I already know how much I'm going to miss my family and friends, but I feel like it's just something I HAVE to do. In my mind, there really isn't an option. I need some time to spread my wings, and now is the time.

Sydney and I are headed to Nashville tomorrow morning. We each unfortunately have to take our own cars so we each have a car down there. We'll arrive in Nashville on Thursday...only to sleep..and to get back on the road together to head to Keith's LAST concert in Minnesota. So bittersweet...So happy I'm going to the last concert..SO sad my favorite KU tour ever is over.

I'm sure I'll be blogging a lot coming up...so stay tuned!

Love you all

It's BEEN a Long Hot Summer..

It's been quite a while since I've been able to post on here. I've been crazy busy with work trying to save up money for my KU concerts and temporarily moving to Nashville for 2 months. Wanted to stop in to say hello to everyone. I was having such a bad day today, then Sydney got to work and we were reminiscing about the times I've met Keith and it made my day completely turn around. He never fails <3

I can't wait for next week's KU tour. It's a little bitter-sweet for me. It's awesome because I'm getting to see him 4 times in 5 days, but also sad because it's my last scheduling KU tour. Lets hope he adds more shows to the tour!

Thats all for now, will post after the Buffalo and Canada shows!

KU in DC...

Tomorrow morning Vicky and I are headed to Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts to fly to DC for another Keith show! I know it seems insane that we're flying considering DC is only 9 or so hours away, but the flight was just about as cheap as driving down and saves us some time..so why not! We can wait for the show and hope to get to see Jerry so Vicky can put the moves on him! Wish us luck...we'll be back Friday afternoon :)

Awesome Keith Review...

Earlier this week I got a facebook message sent to me from one of my sister's friends. She explained at the beginning of the e-mail how she and her friend, Nick, from Philadelphia often swap "long, newsy, rambling" e-mails with one another. This week, this just so happened to be what he wrote....

"So, Friday night I went to a concert with my buddy Steve from school. We saw Keith Urban, who might be better known as Mr. Nicole Kidman. Oh. My. Goodness. Can this man put on a show? I don’t know that I have seen two hours of higher energy than the herculean effort he put in. There is such a difference between artists and performers. Often, Urban left the stage to interact with the audience. The concert was in the same arena that houses the Sixers and Flyers, so the stage is set up at one end of the “ice” and it would cover that side of the building, from board to board. (It’s okay to explain in hockey terms to people from Boston because the Bruins have been welcomed back into the sport family with the Stanley Cup win.) There was also a smaller platform out around center ice, where he went a few times to play, just walking through the crowd like an ordinary person. That was really cool. But what took the cake was late in the show when he left the stage, went to about where the far face off circles would be, made a right and walked halfway up into a section of seats. Here, someone set up a mic next to an aisle seat. He politely asked the young lady who had that seat if he could borrow that chair for a moment, stood on the arm rests, and played his song from there. When it was over, he took a harpie from his pocket, signed his guitar, and gave it to the girl who sacrificed her seat. On the big screen, you could see her say incredulously, “Is this mine?” He nodded and ran back to the stage, where the tech had a new guitar waiting for him. It was just one of those things that you felt like, even if he did this every night, this was something unique, like the most important thing in his life was giving the ticket buyers a show worth every last cent of the ticket they paid. Because of that effort, I’ve put him on my list of “must go” concerts whenever he is in town. It’s a short list, but there are some acts that you just don’t miss live."

After receiving that e-mail, Hilary then sent him back, "Wait a minute! Wells Fargo in Philly, this past Friday?! Do you remember the first girl who got pulled up on stage to sing 'Kiss a Girl'?? I know her!!!"

And Nick writes back: "You mean Katie from New Hampshire?"

HOLY SHIT is really all I have to say. First of all, how cool that he went to the concert and that he literally wrote probably the greatest KU review of all time. Secondly...HE REMEMBERED MY NAME AND WHERE I'M FROM!?!?! INSANE! I think this officially means that I'm famous in the world of KU. Thanks again, Keith, for making my dreams come true. Thanks also to Hilary for sending me this AWESOME message...so cool, you have no idea.

Keith Urban Extravaganza: Part II

Last Thursday Sydney and I began my second leg and her first leg of our Keith Urban extravaganza. Having read online that the AT&T store in New Jersey were giving away FOUR sets of two backstage experiences that morning, we knew we had to try to get one! Of course I'd LOVE to get to meet Keith again, and Sydney had never met him before...it seemed like a no-brainer. I left my house that morning at 4:30 am to head to New Jersey, picking Sydney up on the way. After a little traffic and a few stops for gas and pee breaks, we got to the AT&T Store around 10:30 to find ourselves being 3rd in line...not too bad considering they were giving away 4 sets of passes. The first guy in line was actually the "Icee Man" that got pulled up on stage with Keith at Mohegan Sun. He, his pregnant wife, and his 3 year old daughter had literally camped out outside of the AT&T Store since 8 pm the prior night. The lady right in front of us had been there since 6 am. Clearly Sydney and I thought we were going to win the passes because we were 3rd in line and each previous time they had given away the BSE's in order. Other people got to the store a half hour and about 5 minutes before the 2 o'clock hour when they were giving the tickets out. At 2 o'clock the guy came out and said they were doing it a little different this time: it was going to be random. We were all SO upset! Sydney and I had gotten up at 4 in the morning and might not get the BSEs?! That's just ridiculous. Unfortunately when we went in, neither one of us got the BSEs and to put it lightly, I was pretty upset. Apparently they only had 2 pair of passes, which was half as many as they had written online. We all were VERY upset in line considering the first guy got it (well deserved), and the people right behind Sydney and I had gotten it - NOT OK! I actually ended up calling the company running it to ask where the other 4 BSEs went and the lady literally could not answer me...perhaps they should get their stuff together before posting things online!

So there Sydney and I were, an hour from the stadium at 2 pm, with literally nothing to do and no where to go. We decided to go right to the stadium to check out the scenery and to see if we could find some of our KU Crew that we know and love. Fortunately we ran into our favorite ginger KU crew member as he and the guys were getting stuff ready for the show. I love KU guys so much because they're all just so nice and willing to talk to you literally about anything. Sydney and I picked up our tickets for the concert and they were 7th row center, meaning 3rd row because of how the seats are aligned. This was the first ray of sunshine in our day considering we were exhausted and in an utterly awful mood from the BSE incidence. In the meantime we also got the crap scared out of us walking around in Newark because the streets were PACKED and literally every single guy HAD to make a comment to us...I was so out of my element. After eating we ended up finding an awesome parking lot that was literally right outside of all of Keith's buses. It was perfect for us to go by to get a glimpse of "the man" and to talk some more to his crew. Unfortunately we saw Keith go into the stadium for his BSEs and he waved; he just didn't have time at all to come over and talk. When we got into the stadium Sydney and I were on a mission to be "ticket fairies." We had both gotten REALLY great tickets to the concert at the AT&T Store that morning and decided we were going to go to the nosebleed section to "upgrade" someone. I just thought how excited I would be if I had crappy tickets to a concert, then got to be literally one row from the floor. The first lady I went over two was asking me a million questions about the tickets. It's like..HELLO LADY, they are REAL and you can keep your tickets that you have right now if you don't trust me and can return to your seat if you somehow find they are fake. Needless to say, after talking to that lady for a good 5 minutes, she decided she didn't want them...what an idiot. I went over to the next couple that I felt was deserving and asked if they wanted an upgrade in tickets. The lady was a bit confused as to why someone would do something so nice and asked how much I was selling them for. I explained to her that I just wanted her to "get closer," if you will, and she was SO excited with the upgrade. Sydney also gave her tickets to a deserving couple, so we felt like we had done our nice KU duty of the day. The concert that night was great. Sydney and I obviously were able to get to the front to be FRONT ROW. Keith was in a very fun mood, which made it all the better. Sydney was definitely impressed with the new stage setup and how often Keith went into the audience.

After the concert we waiting around a bit by the buses, then realized we were WAY too tired to stay there considering we had to make it to Philadelphia that night, which was about 2 hours away. We embarked on our trip to Philadelphia, which wasn't too bad considering it was past midnight so we hit barely any traffic. When we were about 5 minutes from my friend, Mary's, house that we were staying at, we decided we would drive by the AT&T store in that area where they were giving out BSEs the following day to see if anyone was waiting outside. Unfortunately on our way to the AT&T Store we encountered and entire road that had been flooded. I literally had no option but to drive through the water, which ended up breaking a part under my car. I was SO upset. We were able to make our way to the AT&T Store to find that there was no one waiting out front, but every time I turned the wheel my car made this awful grinding noise. We found a cop parked out in front of a Home Depot who looked at my car and discovered I had cracked/completely broken the plastic protective covering of the engine fans beneath by right front tire...UGH. Crying, we went to Mary's where we crashed for the night and I set my alarm super early to head to PepBoys.

That next morning I was in such a terrible mood, but decided to wear a cute little dress to PepBoys to try to make myself get into a better mood. When I got there they had to put my car up on the lift and a really cute worker came over to tell me what he was going to do to fix my car. Thankfully the entire process only took about 30 minutes. When the cute guy was done with my car he goes to me, "Keithaholic? Is that for Keith Urban? I love him." I literally thought I had met the man of my dreams. I was telling the guy how I was following Keith around for 7 concerts in a row, and he was just so nice about everything. When I asked how much I owed him he said NOTHING!!! I thought I was going to start crying, I was so happy. Would this be the turn in my day? I dare say yes.

I went back to Mary's apartment where Sydney and I got ready to head to the AT&T Store to try our chances. We knew the same guy would be handing out the BSEs that day as the day before, and we knew it was going to be randomized, so why not try our chances? When we got there a few people who had met Keith a ton so far were there already waiting. Sydney and I were stressing out a bit because we know they always win the BSE's, but were hopeful that the guy may recognized them and give them to someone else based on principle. After waiting for about 2 1/2 hours, the guy walked in to give out tickets and BSEs. This concert there was only one set of 2 BSEs they were giving out, and by the time he started handing out tickets there were approximately 12 people waiting in the store. The guy had us line up in order from when we arrived, meaning Taylor and her friends were first, then us. I got mine first and I knew based on the envelope without opening it that I wasn't the winner. Sydney was behind me in line and as soon as he started to take the envelope out of the package I started to jump up an down. her envelope was COMPLETELY different than ours, so it was kind of clear that the guy did it just for her! She was the only one in line that had never met him before, and was completely deserving. I was freaking out, Sydney was crying...and we KNEW our luck had FINALLY switched over! We called everyone we knew to tell them and just couldn't wait for the concert to start!

We went back to Mary's to get ready for the concert, did some shopping in Philly, and of course got a giant pretzel for dinner. I decided it would be a good idea to take the free tickets we got from the AT&T Store and bring them to the nice kid at PepBoys so he could go to the show too. It was awesome when I went in because I just handed them to him and he's like...ARE YOU SERIOUS?! He obviously couldn't freak out because he was in a store full of guys, but came over to give me a greasy hug :) We got to the stadium super early to stand in line for our BSE. The two ladies in front of us in line were wicked nice. They had both met Keith before, so they definitely knew what was going on. After getting our awesome BSE passes, we headed in to the holding area where we'd watch KU videos before going in to meet the man of the hour. Fortunately Sydney and I know what we're doing too and were able to get FRONT ROW for the seats just as Vicky and I had done in Boston - BOO YEAH! After getting so so so so SO nervous to meet him again, we were called up to get in line. Sydney and I knew we were going in groups of 6, so we wanted to be not the first 2 people, but the second two so we could both be beside him in the picture. I was really proud of myself for this BSE because I was so much more calm. Obviously I was excited out of my mind, but I could compose myself, which was pretty much night and day from the Boston BSE. When we went in the ladies in front of us talked to Keith FOREVER, so we pretty much just got to introduce ourselves to him before the picture. Unfortunately the people behind us ended up going BEHIND Keith for the picture, which put me not next to Keith - BAHUMBUG! Fortunately Sydney was the winner of the BSE and got to be beside him...so that was a bonus. Our picture looks so cute! After the meet and greet Keith came out to answer questions and he was in a HILARIOUS mood. I wanted to make sure Sydney got to ask a question so she could have Keith look at her while answer her. Her question was what advice would he give his children, and he gave a very funny response beginning with how his kids probably wouldn't listen to him and just say, "Daaaaad."

After the awesome BSE we headed to our seats, which ended up being the exact same seats at the night before. That translated to FRONT ROW in our minds. After Jake's electrifying performance we did our "normal" routine to get to the front. Fortunately it worked like a charm and we were front row slightly to the right looking at the stage. I decided that night I was REALLY going to try to get onstage for Kiss A Girl because I felt I was in the perfect placement. A few songs before "Kiss A Girl" I got this feeling over me as though I was going to get chosen and I just HAD to get my shit together. I had to be able to sing, I had to be able to enjoy the moment, and I had to "stand out in a crowd for you," if you will. When the song came on, I was going NUTS! When it got to the part where Keith had to pick his first person he came right over to our stage. He was looking at everyone and then went out on his catwalk. He kept looking at the crowd, then right at me, at the crowd, right at me, at the crowd, and right at me. I was absolutely DYING! I just KNEW that he was going to pick me. He didn't even point at me and just said, c'mon sweetheart...and grabbed my hand for me to head to the stage. HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT PICKED! I GOT PICKED! As anyone that knows me knows, I get springs in my legs when I get excited so I was jumping up and down like a maniac. It was one of those instances where you KNOW it's the greatest moment of your life, so you really just have to give if all you've got. I finally made it up the stairs on the right side of the stage and I just could not stop yelling and jumping up and down. Keith thought I was absolutely hysterical. He held my hand all the way to the middle of the stage and I literally was DYING. The good thing was that I didn't even realize that I was in front of 17,500 people. I was so excited that my nerves didn't even matter. As Keith was picking his two other "victims" I was talking to Jerry Flowers and Brian Nutter on stage - those guys are just way too nice. For his second person Keith chose a middle aged guy, and his last choice was a 6 year old boy. OBVIOUSLY I had no chance of beating a 6 year old boy with a mohawk, but I had to give it my all. Keith came over, had us all line up, and went to me first. He asked my name and where I was from. After saying "New Hampshire" he was laughing so hard and said, "Wow, there's 4 people from New Hampshire tonight; I don't like your odds, Katie." He counted down and we both started singing "I wanna..." then he handed me the mic and I exploded with excitement. I absolutely ROCKED the song, regardless of how shitty my voice may or may not have sounded. I even went out on to his catwalk to sing. At the end of the chorus I did what he does and said "I wanna" and held out the microphone for the audience to say "Kiss A Girl." It worked like a charm! Everyone, including Keith, thought I was absolutely hilarious, which was my main goal. The next guy went, who didn't even know the words, then it was the little kid's turn. He didn't know all the words, but he was a little kid, so obviously he won. Fortunately I got to sing the rest of the song with Jerry Flowers, who is Keith's bass player that my cousin, Vicky, is absolutely in love with! It was so amazing being out there ON the stage with MY guys....when I think about it I still feel like I'm in a dream. After the song I left the stage and got a HUGE high five by Keith's photographer, Brad, which made the experience all the better. When I got back Sydney was SO excited for me, which was so refreshing to have a friend legitimately be excited that you got to live out your dream.


The rest of the concert I was still crying and shaking. Keith kept on looking over and checking on me, which I thought was ridiculously cute. Sydney caught his eye once and said "Thank you" and he put his hand to his heart to show that it was his pleasure. At the end of the concert when they bowed to the audience he looked right at me and I said "thank you" and he put his hand to his lips, blew me a kiss, and said "Love ya baby." EEEEEKK!!! This was literally the most ridiculously awesome moment of my entire life. Certainly my reaction was crazier the first time I ever met him in Vermont, but this was the most ridiculous situation I had ever been in. I GOT ON STAGE WITH KEITH URBAN!!!!!! ... and I SO rocked it!

On the way out of the stadium we talked to our favorite ginger who was SO excited that I made it up there. All he could say was, "I told you it was going to be you tonight." When we got out of the stadium I called my Mom to tell her the news. As I'm talking to her we start walking by people who are suddenly realizing that I'm the girl! It was literally like I was a celebrity. Everyone was saying "NEW HAMPSHIRE," "Katie," or "THAT'S THE GIRL!" People were giving me high fives, and even when we got into the car, people were knocking on my window for me to talk to them - talk about a DREAM COME TRUE! Needless to say it's a week later that I'm writing this post and I'm still just as excited as I was that night - gutta love a natural Keith high <3

That night we went to McDonalds for a not-so-healthy dinner (and of course someone almost got stabbed while we were there) and went back to Mary's to crash. All that kept running through my head was when Keith was looking at the crowd, then right back at me...I couldn't get it out of my head. I literally got about 2 hours of sleep that night, but was ready to go the next day!!! We left Marys' around 9 am that next day to head to Albany. When we got to Albany we saw our favorite ginger and crew member who both invited us to a bus party with Keith's crew that night - AWESOME! We literally spend the whole day walking around the stadium and sitting out in front of where Keith's bus was parked. We made friends with some security guards and some KU fans throughout the day. One of the coolest parts was when I was walking and we noticed Jerry Flowers was talking to two other women. As we're walking and they're talking Jerry stops the conversation, points at me and says, "YOU SANG WITH ME LAST NIGHT!" Can you even believe that? JERRY FLOWERS KNOWS WHO I AM...AHHH! He goes, "Sorry Keith picked a little kid, you had no chance." It was awesome getting to talk to one of Keith's band mates who actually knew me...so surreal.

That night the concert was utterly fantastic. The energy was high, we were front row yet again, and we just had the time of our lives. I was still legitimately on my Keith high and we were both just so excited to party with the guys after the concert. Following the concert Sydney and I went back to my car where we literally took a shower in wet ones (thanks Cait for the 30 pack of them!). We obviously had to attempt to look cute for the guys despite the fact that we were sweaty messes.

About an hour and 20 minutes after the concert we headed over to the buses. It was PERFECT because a camera guy was walking out of the stadium just as we were walking by the door and he had us follow him to the buses. So surreal: we were partying with Keith crew! The guys were all so nice and strangely just about all of them recognized me from the night before. The 3 coolest parts: 1) we got to go in the bus where they just showed us where all of the alcohol and beer was and said to help ourselves, 2) I drank a beer with Jake Owen, and 3) as I was standing talking to someone I felt someone come over and put their arms around my shoulders. I look up to find Keith's body guard saying "YOU MADE IT UP THERE LAST NIGHT, BUDDY." I literally thought I was going to die. He talked about how I had gotten a BSE that day and the weekend before. HE REALLY KNOWS WHO I AM!!! Such a cool moment in my life. That night I had 2 beers and 9.5 shots of jager. Needless to say after the buses left I don't remember ALL of the rest of the night, but a few pictures and waking up in the back of my car on top of all of our suitcases tells me it ended successfully.

I cannot believe that my second KU extravaganza is over. It's been a week since I've been to a KU concert and I'm definitely having withdrawals. Fortunately Vicky and I are going to a show in DC on the 28th and Sydney and I have decided to make a weekend out of a few Canada shows in early September.

In essence I really just want to thank Keith for making my dreams come true. He never seems to disappoint. I'm not sure if he recognized me that day in Philly or if it was just by chance, but regardless I am so thankful for him pulling me on stage and letting me shine. Anyone who knows me KNOWS I hate being in front of people, particularly singing, but this was SO worth it. Thankfully a lot of people, including Sydney, got it on video, so it will be something a treasure forever. It's one of those things that will NEVER be out-shined by anything else, and is the video I will show my grandchildren one day. Now the last goal is to get him to write "believe" on me so I can get it tattooed!

Sorry about the lengthy post, but it was worth it!

<3 Keithaholic

Keith Extravaganza: Part I

As I'm sure all of you know by now, my Keith Urban Extravaganza began last week when Vicky and I traveled all the way to Hershey, PA to see Keith. After all, what could be better than Keith and Chocolate??? I dare say nothing :) After going to Chocolate World, getting some awesome pedicures, and eating at Panera not once, but twice, we were ready for the show. Thursday morning we went to the box office at Giant Stadium to pick up our tickets. The cool part about this tour is that Keith released Christmas Presale tickets that I bought, which meant I knew our seats were on the floor, but had NO IDEA where. When we picked up the tickets Thursday morning Vicky opened them up to find out we were 4th row!!!!!!! I almost died! This was BY FAR the closest I had ever "started" being seated at a KU concert and I was ecstatic. For the 7:30 concert we arrived around 5:30 because I had won 2 meet and greet passes with Jake Owen. We lined up, got a cool Jake Owen passes, and went back stage into Giant Stadium to see the awaiting cutie...and BOYYYY was he a CUTIE! When it was our turn to meet him he was SUPER nice, particularly because I was so giddy :) I went in for the hand shake and he went in for the hug: BONUS! We talked a bit about how I was following Keith around for 7 concerts in a row, and after taking a picture with me and signing my CD case, he asked my name. I was putting away my CD case when he's like...WAIT A MINUTE...he asked for it back to personalize it with my name on the top, which I thought was SUPER nice. Needless to say, I wouldn't mind being Mrs. Owen one day :)
Vicky and I hung around in Giant Stadium until they started letting people in the doors for the concert. We had a really nice man usher us to our seats and every single step we took I was getting MORE and MORE excited. Needless to say, our 4th row tickets were actually FIRST row tickets because the first 3 rows are angled just on the sides and the 4th row is the first full row in the stadium..I WAS FREAKING OUT!!! The guys working the seating arrangements thought I was hysterical as I was jumping up and down like a giddy little school girl.
As the clock his 7:30, Jake hit the stage and boy wasn't he amazing. I figured I would love him because of how adorable he was, but I NEVER expected the pipes he had on him. He had terrific stage presence and definitely knew how to make a girl feel like she was the only one in the room. It was absolutely amazing. '
After Jake it was KEITH TIME!!! Per usual I was freaking out before the concert. As the clocked neared 8:45 Vicky found ourselves literally with the BEST seats in the house. This year Keith has a semicircle stage that slants down toward the crowd with a small catwalk in the center. I was literally the first person in the center of the catwalk - HELLO HEAVEN! While awaiting Keith to take the stage I was talking to the girl next to me who seemed to be as big of a KU fan for me. Vicky noticed she was wearing a KU BSE (Backstage Experience) badge and we asked how she got it. She filled us in how AT&T stores were giving away a few BSE passes in the mornings before the concerts and advised us to look online and try to get one in the morning for Boston. I didn't realize until AFTER the concert that this girl I was next to was TAYLOR who was one of five people chosen for Keith's Ultimate Fan that aired on CMT...OMG! When Keith hit the stage it was nothing less than amazing. He sounded fantastic, the roller coaster theme of the set looked amazing, and the boys in the band were awesome.
My favorite part of the concert that night was when Keith played "Kiss a Girl" he got 3 people out of the audience to come on stage with him. One of the people chosen was a 15 year old boy that I was sitting right next to originally, and he absolutely KILLED IT! He won the contest out of the 3 and got to sing the rest of the song with Keith...it was utterly amazing. I know that I would NEVER want to get up on stage with all of that pressure..but I would HAVE to in order to get that close to Keith again!

After Hershey we went back to the hotel and planned on getting up SUPER early to head to Boston in the morning to try to win a BSE at the Braintree Mall. We figured Hershey was about 6 hours from Boston and we figured we would probably hit some heavy duty traffic on the way. We woke up at 5:30 to get a move on and thankfully avoided NYC on the GPS to head to Boston. Luckily we literally hit NO traffic until we got into Boston, which wasn't too bad anyways. We got to the Braintree Mall and were literally sprinting to the AT&T store. We heard that they would be giving out tickets, which we didn't need, and only ONE pair of BSE passes...I would literally do ANYTHING to get them. When we got to the store no one had any idea about the contest, but obviously we were going to wait there and see. After a few hours an unmarked man walked in and Vicky and I just KNEW he was the guy. He walked out back and asked to talk to a manager and I started FREAKING OUT. At the time Vicky and I were the ONLY ones there, so I thought our chances were pretty awesome. The guy came over and introduced himself and asked where we had come from. We said HERSHEY, and he goes..ohhhh, did you go to the concert last night? Happily we said YES and he asked if we got to meet him. We said no sadly, and all he said was, "awww...that sucks." His remark gave me hope that we were going to win! A few minutes later other people started trickling in for the contest. One lady had come all the way from Canada and was following Keith around and the next day was her birthday (hence my chances diminished). Another couple was there from Oklahoma for their 5th wedding anniversary...I started to get a pit in my stomach. Around 1:45 he asked us all to come to the back of the store. Unfortunately, at the front of the store Vicky and I were FIRST in line and at the back we were last in line...I thought I was going to die. He started to give out tickets in the front and when he finally got to us he goes, I have SPECIAL tickets for you guys. I started jumping up and down and literally crying. He gave us a special letter that was for the BSE....so Vicky and I were literally the ONLY two that one the BSE's....AHHHHH!!! Be sure to keep watching YouTube because I'm sure some of the employees there found the video of me freaking out on their security cameras and posted it...AHH..WE WON WE WON WE WON! At this point I've OBVIOUSLY determined that Vicky is my good luck charm and practically insisted that she got to every concert with me. After calling nearly everyone I know to tell them the good news, we went to The Cheesecake Factory to enjoy some lunch and dessert, and headed into the city! Fortunately when we won the BSE we also got 2 really close loge tickets which we were able to give to my other cousin, Samantha, and her boyfriend who originally had nosebleed seats - a win win for all!
We lined up for the KU BSE just outside of the box office and I was CLEARLY the most excited person there. I was jumping up and down and literally just dying with excitement. When we started being ushered in I started thinking about what I was going to say to him..I couldn't have a repeat of Vermont where all I could say was "I love you." We went into this room where there was a tiny stage with two comfy chairs on it in the front and a million tiny chairs on the floor. Obviously Vicky and I went right to the front so we'd have the best seats in the house. They had food to eat, but who on earth could eat at a time like this?!?! After watching some KU behind the scenes videos were were asked to line up for the meet and greet..I thought I was going to pass out! All the people in his crew were all so nice and all so happy for me <3 When we got closer to the curtain that he was behind I saw a quick glimpse of him and started jumping all over again. Fortunately, Keith's bodyguard, Randy, was there to calm me down. He said "tears are ok, but if you're jumping up and down you might not remember everything, and I KNOW you don't want that to happen." He helped me breathe and got me ready to meet the man of my dreams! When we walked in (a group of 6) we all got to hug Keith and tell him our names. He goes to me, "what's that say on your shirt?" I said, "KEITHAHOLIC" and he goes, "Wow, there are definitely worse things." I felt so giddy that he picked ME to talk to when we were in there. When we took the picture I wasn't able to be the one right beside him because it just didn't work out that way, but he did extend his arm the whole way so he could grab on to my back for the picture. On the way out everyone else just left and I got ANOTHER hug from him - OMG! I smelled like KEEEIIITTTHHH! I know it sounds lame but he is literally the most delicious smelling guy in the whole entire world. Vicky and I just kept on smelling my shoulder because I smelled SO much like him for over an hour. We filtered back into the room and in no time Keith came out on the stage and we were literally inches from him. He got interviewed by a radio person and then they opened the floor for questions. I KNEW I couldn't NOT ask a question..I would have hated myself for life. I was the 2nd person chosen to ask a question and I just said how much he's changed my life and asked what artist has had the most impact on him. The best part about his answer was that he looked at me the ENTIRE time when he answered it. I was crying and you could tell he was REALLY touched...it was simply amazing.

After the meet and greet we booked it onto the floor for Jake were we found ourselves with literally the same seats as the night before. What was awesome about Jake's performance is that he definitely recognized us from the night before and sang right to us a lot. He also threw a pick right at me and I caught it midair - AWESOME! Toward the end of Jake's performance a security guard came over and had us move to 2 rows behind. Apparently the 1st guy had the seating mixed up...I was PISSED, but I had a plan for Keith!
After Jake, Vicky and I were just walking around and I had a plan for when the lights went out we would go and show our tickets to the guy that originally sat us in order to get back to the front. We walked around and around and around and needless to say, my plan worked PERFECTLY! AGAIN WE WERE PERFECTLY FRONT ROW CENTER - holla! Keith was yet again utterly amazing. The feeling of him performing at the Garden on a Friday night was unbelievable. This was by far the best I had ever seen Keith and Jake..and I was just happy as a clam. I got a Keith pick and the coolest thing that night I got was an actual piece of his guitar! As he was playing we all saw something fall. No one around me knew it was the knob to his guitar except for me. I had Vicky search around for it and we actually got it - WOOHOO! Another awesome thing I got from this night and from the Hershey night was Keith's actual play list!!!! I'm a huge nerd when it comes to play lists and to get KEITH's for 2 nights in a row was truly a dream come true.

That night Vicky was very sad to have this be her last KU concert, particularly when I going for 2 more nights in a row. We went back to my brother's that night where we found KJ and Dad still up to hear about our awesome stories. Needless to say I was on my Keith high for a WHILE!
The next morning KJ, Mom, Dad and I left in the Minnie Winnie to head to Mohegan Sun where I would see Keith back to back nights. We did a little gambling and KJ and I won a LOT of money on a slot called "Larry the Lucky Lobster." Thanks again, Larry, for the awesome lunch. We got the tickets for the concert and I was a bit disappointed because we were 9th row in the center, which was WAY farther back than the first 2 nights. The good news is that we were literally one row away from the ministage that Keith plays 3 songs on in the middle of the concert, including my favorite song he does, "You'll Think of Me." Keith ROCKED IT that night. It was amazing how different the feeling in the stadium was once he went out into the crowd. KJ was utterly impressed. I was so glad that Mom, Dad, and KJ were able to go in order to see what I see in Keith. My favorite quote was when KJ (who's been to a LOT of concerts in his lifetime) said, "it should be called the Urban EXPERIENCE...because that's what it is...it's not just a concert, it's an experience." I literally could not explain it better myself.



The next day my friend, Alana, came down to do some gambling and go to the last of 4 concerts in a row with me. During the day I had won some money playing $5 blackjack, so it was literally the best day ever. For the concert we got in there kind of early to take our seats and get Alana ready for the concert of a lifetime. She KNEW how adorable Jake was and couldn't wait for him to serenade her. He was great that night, but the coolest part was after Jake and before Keith when we were just sitting there in our aisle seats. Keith's photographer walked by, who is a really cute bald guy with black thick rimmed glasses. He walked by and I told Alana who he was and all of a sudden I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was HIM! He goes, "hi, what's your name." I"m like, "Katie, what's your name?" He replied with "Brad" and asked if I had submitted a video for a Keith Contest. I was utterly SHOCKED that he a) recognized me out of a crowd and b) actually saw my video...it must have meant that I made it kind of far if someone as high up as him saw it!!! I was so impressed! I told him how I was following Keith this summer and he was just so happy to have met me.
Keith, yet again, killed it that night. My favorite part was that he played Raining on Sunday for the 1st time of this tour, which is one of my favorite songs he sings. Also, I got to touch him more than any other concert because he continuously went out into the crowd on our side. Every night before I got to touch him a couple times, but that night I literally touched him at least 10 times. One of the greatest parts was with his ministage on the side. I knew when he was going to come up on the stage by watching the tiny green dot on his mic pack. In one particularly instance I saw him headed toward the ministage when all the lights went out. I, naturally, went right the stage and when the lights turned on I was the ONLY one he was looking at and the ONLY one up at the stage. He smiled, said HI and gave me a HUGE high five before taking the first strum of his guitar...it was AWESOME. Another fantastic part of the concert was when the security guards were being dickheads and Randy came out front and literally tossed the guard to the side so the fans could GET CLOSER - simply amazing.

After the concert we were walking out and I noticed Brad (the photographer) running in between seats toward me. He goes, "Katie...can't I borrow you for a second." OF COURSE I said yes, and we went into one of the middle aisles. He explained how he wanted me to do a review of the concert that night. I was nervous and didn't really know what to do, but OBVIOUSLY said sure! I explained my favorite part of the concert in a nutshell and just said how proud I was to be a Keith fan. When I was done he seemed SO impressed. He was like, "That was PERFECT..it's like you rehearsed it!" I was so pumped to be a part of something for Keith's site and I can't wait to see where I show up in Keith world...despite the fact that I was all sweaty and teary-eyed from the concert. I look forward to meeting back up with Brad this coming week!

Needless to say these 4 days were literally the most fun 4 days of my entire life. I'm so thankful to have awesome friends and family willing to support my crazy KU addition and to go with me to truly "experience" Keith in concert. I feel so blessed to have Keith's music in my life and to continue to have my KU dreams come true. Next concerts are Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Newark, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, and Albany, NY...and DC on July 28th. I just may have to get tickets to the Buffalo and Toronto shows now!!!

Kisses & Keith

My cousin, Vicky, and I have finally made it to Hershey, Pennsylvania to kick off my first leg of my Keith Urban Road Tour. First concert is tomorrow night at Giant Stadium, followed by concerts in Boston and Mohegan Sun (TWICE) for back to back to back to back concerts!!! I'm so glad Vicky is able to share this experience with me because a) she's the coolest cousin in the world, and b) she was there making sure I didn't faint when I met Keith last September in Vermont. Saturday Mom, Dad, and KJ will be going to the concert with me, which will be oober exciting consider KJ has never seen him before. Sunday my friend, Alana, is going with me, which will also be her first time at a concert...wish us happy listening!

I Won!

...No, not a KU meet and greet, but a Jake Owen one! Not a bad start to the tour...Vicky and I BOTH get to meet him in Hershey, Pennsylvania...lets hope a KU meet and greet follows!

BSE Sign-Ups Begin!

This morning at 12am central time the backstage experience sign ups began for the set of Keith concerts that I'm going to. Unfortunately I was in the airport in Vegas when the BSEs began. THANK GOODNESS Tiffany and KJ got me a sick iPhone4 for graduation so I was able to sign up from my phone. All this week I'll have to stay up until at least 1 am to apply..lets hope I get at least one BSE out of 8!

Kissing a Star

This week while in Nashville I made sure I stopped by Keith's latest pride and joy: his star on the Music City Walk of Fame. Naturally, I not only wanted my picture with the star, but also a picture of me kissing the star exactly where he had kissed it...meaning in a very round about way, I sorta kinda kissed Keith <3