So I met Alison Krauss.
It's strange how much your emotions can influence every other aspect of your well-being.
Yesterday I was so nervous about trying to meet Alison Krauss that I couldn't sleep, and right before we were going to leave for Atlanta, my dad - my fellow AKUS fan, with whom I'd been planning this concert trip for months - was called away to be with my uncle in Florida while he dies. My grandma was sobbing and my mom - not an AKUS fan - had to go with me to the concert instead. So we got off to a later start than I'd planned and with all that combined, I felt so tired and so worried about so many things that I wasn't sure I could make it 'til the show, much less handle meeting Alison.
This morning, after meeting her, I woke up early from sheer happiness. And even though it's been three nights in a row now that I've only gotten about five hours of sleep, today I don't feel tired at all. In fact, I feel like tackling projects I could never bring myself to mess with before. I feel like I can accomplish something, which is a feeling I haven't had for a long time now.
- - -
But okay, to the part that everyone cares about.
My sister and I showed up outside the theatre before the show and suddenly there was Jerry, right there in front of us. I kind of squeaked "Oh my god!" and he looked over at me like, Oh gosh, I've been recognized. We asked him if she'd find it weird or creepy that we were there, or if we'd be a bother, and he reassured us that we weren't. And then I told him that he's awesome, because he is. <3
We saw the other guys too, meandering back and forth between their buses and the theatre, but we didn't want to bother them. Dan and Ron seemed to be just chillin' in Alison's bus; I assume they were doing her hair and makeup for her.
Eventually I did gather up the courage to talk to Dan because Allie had given me a message for him. I ran up to him and told him, "My friend Allie interrupted your birthday song in L.A. by giving Alison flowers in the middle of it, so she feels really bad and wants me to apologize." He was such a sweetheart. He kind of rolled his eyes and laughed and said something to the effect of, "Oh gosh. Tell her to stop worrying because it does not matter. I really didn't mind, I promise."
I actually did catch a glimpse of Alison but didn't get a chance to talk to her. She had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt in Atlanta, in August. That woman is seriously cold-natured.
Anyway, we did eventually get to meet her! We got special accommodations made for us and we got to go up to her bus. The stage manager asked if we wanted autographs or pictures or anything, and I said no, we just wanted to make her feel appreciated. She checked the flowers we'd brought for Alison and skimmed the note inside to make sure we weren't creepers. While we were waiting Dan came off her bus again, and I impulsively told him I liked his shirt, because well, I did. He kind of laughed and shook his head and I was a bit bemused, but I found out during the show why he reacted that way.
I was so nervous, though, you guys. I could barely breathe. I felt a little bit sick, and I kept trying to think of what I should say to her and drawing a blank. My little sister's legs were shaking, bless her heart. But then Alison came out and all that just went away, and all I felt was happiness and just a little bit of worry that I was going to say something stupid.
All I could think was that she looks exactly the same as she does onscreen, exactly as beautiful. Her makeup was really natural, not stage makeup like when I briefly saw her close up on the Raising Sand tour, and she just looked exactly like she always does, which I somehow wasn't expecting. Except that she was taller than I ever thought she was, and it was somehow different seeing her in person but in a way I don't know how to describe. When she's onscreen or onstage, she seems very delicate, very ethereal. In person she seems bigger than life, and not at all vulnerable or shy. Just very confident, very sure of herself and very gracious. She seems like someone who doesn't shrink, who can't be taken down.
Also, she's so tall. She was wearing that green dress that seems to be her new favorite and those boots of hers but still, even when she was in jeans I could tell she was tall. And Dan towers over me. I'm kind of glad Barry was the only one I didn't get to meet, because I probably would've broken my neck trying to look up at him.
She talked to us for a few minutes and oh my gosh you guys, she is such a sweetheart. I don't really remember everything that was said or in what order. She shook our hands and hers were so thin, and rougher than I expected them to be. Cool, but not ice cold like Allie said they were in L.A. We'd picked out a bouquet of various non-rose flowers because roses are pretty cliché. It included snapdragons, which it turns out are her favorites! She said she likes them because you can snap them and "make them sing," which struck me at the time as the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard, lol. She showed us how to snap them and "make them talk." <3
I remember she asked us where we were from and was surprised that we'd driven for three hours. "It's fine," I said, "it was worth it!" I remember she asked if we were sisters. She did most of the talking actually, asking us a few questions. Her stage manager pulled out his camera and told us to pose for a picture, and I was like, "No, I really don't-- I know she doesn't--" but Alison insisted, "No, it's okay, I don't mind." So she put her arms around us both - she actually pulled my sister closer because my sister was too in awe to even touch her, lol - and I put my hand on her back and I am a terrible blinker in photographs, but I didn't even blink this time because my mind was full of, "I am touching my favorite person in the whole world."
When she started to go she shook our hands again and she just held mine for a while. I had written a rather long, sappy letter about how much I admire her and how much I want her to know that she is special and beautiful, but I wanted to tell her, in some small way, how much she means to me. So I told her, "We just wanted to make you feel appreciated and loved, because everything you do means so much to us. How strong you are, and just... everything you do. It means so much." At least, I'm pretty sure that's essentially how it came out. There was a bit of tongue-twistedness in there.
She thanked me and I pointed out the note in the flowers and told her that it was very sappy so she should probably just skip to my sister's part at the end, lol, which was very sweet and quite eloquent for an 11-year-old.
She thanked us again and told us to enjoy the show, and I told her, "Thank you for stopping for us," and then she went inside. I grabbed my sister's hand and said "COME ON, I CAN'T MISS PAPER AIRPLANE!" and we ran to take our seats before the show started.
The show
An usher in the theatre told us to stop running, but we yelled, "WE JUST MET ALISON KRAUSS!" so she forgave us, lol. And all the other ushers were like, "Go you! Congratulations!"
We got to our seats and we just started talking both of us at once to our mom. "WE MET HER! SHE CAME OUT AND TALKED TO US!" Eeeeverybody around us tuned into the conversation and was asking how we did it, what was she like, etc.
Unfortunately, my presale seats were only in mid-orchestra, which I'm sure is mostly the Fox Theatre's fault and not the presale company's, considering all the Fox's pit and front orchestra seats are virtually the personal property of rich Atlanta socialites who go to shows just to be seen. But I really was beyond caring.
I was so blissed out I didn't even get sad during Paper Airplane, which always makes me cry. (Just wait 'til Knoxville. I'll be a mess then, for sure.) Oddly enough, it was Sinking Stone, a few songs in, that brought me back to that place of farewells and new beginnings and sadness empathy with Alison that I usually feel when I listen to the new album. Sinking Stone doesn't usually affect me that way but it did this time. I still didn't cry but it was close. The same with Dimming of the Day. Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn just gets better every time they do it. I really like Ron's new song. There were so many little moments when one of them would sing something that would just make me smile or gasp. There was one song where Dan's harmony just killed me and I can't even remember which one it was now, but it was awesome.
I'd told my sister beforehand all the little amusing things to look out for. Alison's sound signals; Jerry bobbing his head like a bobblehead and wandering around the stage with that dobro like he's lost; Dan grinning at Alison for no reason; Barry making faces like he's making love to that upright bass; etc. So she was constantly grabbing my arm and laughing at something going on onstage. It was too joyous a night for me to get really verklempt over the emotion of the songs like I usually do. For once AKUS didn't succeed in making me feel sad!
Alison didn't tell any of the old stories she used to tell, which shocked me. The first time she talked, she mentioned that she'd gotten into the Real Housewives of Atlanta a while back (she does own a TV, you guys!) and that one of the housewives had said of another housewife what Alison thought was the best line ever said on television: "She ain't nothin' but a low-down monkey with a wig on." Alison was very amused by this, lol. She then blamed Ron for getting her into the Real Housewives, which he denied (and denied later on when somebody asked him at the stage door if it was true: "Alison always just says the most ridiculous thing she can think of.")
When it came time to introduce Dan, she made fun of his shirt, how it was tacky and he'd won it from somebody in a casino in Nevada -- which I'm sure is why he laughed and rolled his eyes when I complimented it. She teased him a little bit more and he did his hair thing for no discernible reason, lol, to which she said, "Dan, please do that again because I don't think the people saw you do that trick with your scalp," all sarcastic. He did it again and she goes, "It's just so good..." SARCASTIC!ALISON IS MY FAVORITE ALISON OF ALL THE ALISONS.
After Wild Bill Jones she made the "We're sad people" joke and said she especially likes that song, because everything bad that could possibly happen does. "Got somebody gettin' killed over here... somebody else about to get killed over here... got drinkin' and smokin'... probably a pharmaceutical incident... and a fish hook in somebody's eye! ...It's in there. You have to listen real carefully." Ron helpfully added that it was in the third verse.
When she introduced Barry I was expecting the usual hunting anecdote, but instead some people cheered when she said Barry was from Kingsport, TN, so she asked Barry why people apparently love Kingsport so much, and he deadpanned a few reasons why it's a moderately nice place to live. Alison said there was some restaurant there that had a special sauce that he'd figured out, after much taste testing, is just mustard mixed with ketchup. "Because it's different when you put it together!" Alison enthused.
She really is just such a dork, you guys.
She introduced the keyboard player and the drummer by getting the drummer to tell the audience that he was voted "Most Coolest" in high school, and then getting the keyboard player to tell the audience that the drummer had fallen out of his bunk the night before. She drug it out for a while for maximum embarrassment for the poor drummer, lol. "It's the little things, folks. I could tell other stories but they're all about as funny as that one. It's either that or us going shopping at Rite Aid. I got dental floss!"
She's joking with the guys up there, especially with Dan, the entire time. They're like a family up there, it's so adorable.
They're clearly looking for ways to keep Man of Constant Sorrow interesting, because when they went to start Alison and Dan just stood there for a minute playing the same note over and over again, laughing, and then the others joined in for the world's most monotone jam session. Then during Alison's fiddle solo, Jerry and Dan looked at each other and started moving up and down, up and down in time with the music. I think they were trying to see if she'd notice. Then, at the end of the song, the guys all held the last note and wound it down while twirling their instruments around. Barry nearly spun his bass all the way around and let it fall, lol.
Aaand that's basically all I remember from the show, besides the fact that it was obviously excellent and wonderful. I still hate the setlist but not as much now that they've dropped those extra songs from A Hundred Miles or More. Still needs less Live and more Lonely Runs Both Ways and Paper Airplane, especially the latter. It's like they secretly don't actually like Paper Airplane that much. I am actually kicking myself today for not asking Ron why they don't do more songs from that album, particularly My Love Follows You Where You Go. That is seriously my one regret from the entire night. In other news, I didn't dislike the backdrop as much as I thought I would; I like the encore medley; and I think the lighting is actually pretty cool.
After the show
We'd been told to go to the stagedoor after the show to get our picture from the stage manager, so we lined up behind the barricades with the other ~50 people who wanted autographs and such. Barry and Jerry only stopped briefly to greet the people whom they had to pass to get to their bus, but Dan and Ron came over to talk to everyone and do the autograph-and-picture thing. I didn't want to make Dan stop since we'd already talked to him, but he said as he walked by, "She liked the flowers!" =D
Ron stood out there and talked to people for over an hour, just chatting and answering people's questions. I'm trying to remember everything he said. Somebody asked him if he and the other guys try to protect Alison because she's the girl, and I thought to myself, "Alison's a strong woman," and a beat later Ron said the exact same thing. <3 But yes, he said, sometimes they get protective, but usually it's all five of them being equals and battling it out between their five distinct visions about how things ought to be. "We're all top dogs," he said, and it takes some maneuvering to accommodate everybody.
I told him that he looks like he's in his twenties, and we fans always accuse Alison of aging backwards, so clearly something in their bus is the cause. He laughed and talked about how it's because he eats so healthy. "Oh," I said, "so you're feeding Alison raw foods and that's why she doesn't age!" and he said that no, she did try the raw foods thing but she quit.
I also asked him if he would like for the fans to bring him and the guys something when we bring Alison flowers, because she gets flowers all the time and the boys get no love. He said no, he would feel weird if someone got him a flower, and he doesn't want food because it's hard enough already not to get fat with all the catered food they get. He said he's okay with Alison getting all the adoration because it's his job just to lift her up every night anyway, and I was like, "That's not true! You're all awesome!" So I told him to tell the other guys that even though we bring flowers for Alison, we appreciate all of them just as much. <3
My mom isn't even an AKUS fan, but she hung around while we chatted and ended up hijacking the conversation. She really took a shine to Ron. They talked about guitars and religion for a while and finally I cut in and asked, "Mom, did you just become a fan?" and she admitted that, at this point, she was a bit of a Ron fan. XD She also made sure to continually embarrass me by saying things like, "My daughter loves you. I mean, she really loves you. Really" and just other general things apparently designed to make me seem like a completely obsessed nut. Ron was cool about it, though. I'm just so glad she wasn't there when I talked to Alison. Oh my god. She kept trying to get me to get an autograph or a picture with Ron, and I kept insisting that I didn't need some kind of trophy or proof that I'd met him. It was the experience that mattered to me. But Ron said "Come on" so we got a pic at least. Anyway, she can't quit talking about how impressed she was with Ron. He has that effect on people.
He hung out with us until it was literally time for the buses to roll out. Everybody else left at that point but I wanted to stay and watch the buses leave. I like doing that after concerts, the same way I like staying for the credits in movie theatres. It's a nice coda, a chance for closure, to ease yourself out of the experience and back into normal life. There's something emotional about not leaving before the artist does, about departing for home at the same time that they depart for their next city. It feels respectful, somehow. It says, "This wasn't just a frivolous night on the town for me. I've devoted this night in this city to you and the work that you do, and it won't be over for me until it's over for you." Or something.
However, this time we realized there was a creepy man waiting around the corner to mug us. So. We figured it would be prudent to go ahead and leave, and we got one of the theatre security guards to walk us to our car. (I'll be writing a letter to the theatre praising him for that.)
Oh, also! Turns out there was a short meet and greet with the band after the show. Whatever happened to "no meet and greets this tour," hmm? Somebody said, "Oh it must be a fanclub thing," and I was like, "Hah, no. I promise you it is not. It's an industry thing, probably, or conceivably just a 'the perks of being rich in Atlanta' thing. The fanclub doesn't do crap." Because, I mean. It doesn't. So.
Anyway.
I don't know if this was the only time I'll ever get to meet Alison. I don't know if Knoxville will be the last time I ever get to see her live. Because of the career path I want, I probably won't get to see her again for a long time. So I'm glad this happened, and I'm glad I was able to tell her how much she means to me before I go, and I'm definitely going to make a tradition out of giving her flowers in Atlanta. If I can't be there to give them to her from now on, I'll have some delivered every tour. Because if I'm not there to see her, I'll be in some foreign place listening to her music to help me feel at home, and she deserves to be thanked for that as much as for any concert.
I just feel so happy and calm. I was freaking out the whole time, but once it was over I just felt peaceful, and I still feel that way now. Like I've been waiting for something for seven years and I'm not waiting anymore. I couldn't have asked for anything better than this.
Yesterday I was so nervous about trying to meet Alison Krauss that I couldn't sleep, and right before we were going to leave for Atlanta, my dad - my fellow AKUS fan, with whom I'd been planning this concert trip for months - was called away to be with my uncle in Florida while he dies. My grandma was sobbing and my mom - not an AKUS fan - had to go with me to the concert instead. So we got off to a later start than I'd planned and with all that combined, I felt so tired and so worried about so many things that I wasn't sure I could make it 'til the show, much less handle meeting Alison.
This morning, after meeting her, I woke up early from sheer happiness. And even though it's been three nights in a row now that I've only gotten about five hours of sleep, today I don't feel tired at all. In fact, I feel like tackling projects I could never bring myself to mess with before. I feel like I can accomplish something, which is a feeling I haven't had for a long time now.
- - -
But okay, to the part that everyone cares about.
My sister and I showed up outside the theatre before the show and suddenly there was Jerry, right there in front of us. I kind of squeaked "Oh my god!" and he looked over at me like, Oh gosh, I've been recognized. We asked him if she'd find it weird or creepy that we were there, or if we'd be a bother, and he reassured us that we weren't. And then I told him that he's awesome, because he is. <3
We saw the other guys too, meandering back and forth between their buses and the theatre, but we didn't want to bother them. Dan and Ron seemed to be just chillin' in Alison's bus; I assume they were doing her hair and makeup for her.
Eventually I did gather up the courage to talk to Dan because Allie had given me a message for him. I ran up to him and told him, "My friend Allie interrupted your birthday song in L.A. by giving Alison flowers in the middle of it, so she feels really bad and wants me to apologize." He was such a sweetheart. He kind of rolled his eyes and laughed and said something to the effect of, "Oh gosh. Tell her to stop worrying because it does not matter. I really didn't mind, I promise."
I actually did catch a glimpse of Alison but didn't get a chance to talk to her. She had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt in Atlanta, in August. That woman is seriously cold-natured.
Anyway, we did eventually get to meet her! We got special accommodations made for us and we got to go up to her bus. The stage manager asked if we wanted autographs or pictures or anything, and I said no, we just wanted to make her feel appreciated. She checked the flowers we'd brought for Alison and skimmed the note inside to make sure we weren't creepers. While we were waiting Dan came off her bus again, and I impulsively told him I liked his shirt, because well, I did. He kind of laughed and shook his head and I was a bit bemused, but I found out during the show why he reacted that way.
I was so nervous, though, you guys. I could barely breathe. I felt a little bit sick, and I kept trying to think of what I should say to her and drawing a blank. My little sister's legs were shaking, bless her heart. But then Alison came out and all that just went away, and all I felt was happiness and just a little bit of worry that I was going to say something stupid.
All I could think was that she looks exactly the same as she does onscreen, exactly as beautiful. Her makeup was really natural, not stage makeup like when I briefly saw her close up on the Raising Sand tour, and she just looked exactly like she always does, which I somehow wasn't expecting. Except that she was taller than I ever thought she was, and it was somehow different seeing her in person but in a way I don't know how to describe. When she's onscreen or onstage, she seems very delicate, very ethereal. In person she seems bigger than life, and not at all vulnerable or shy. Just very confident, very sure of herself and very gracious. She seems like someone who doesn't shrink, who can't be taken down.
Also, she's so tall. She was wearing that green dress that seems to be her new favorite and those boots of hers but still, even when she was in jeans I could tell she was tall. And Dan towers over me. I'm kind of glad Barry was the only one I didn't get to meet, because I probably would've broken my neck trying to look up at him.
She talked to us for a few minutes and oh my gosh you guys, she is such a sweetheart. I don't really remember everything that was said or in what order. She shook our hands and hers were so thin, and rougher than I expected them to be. Cool, but not ice cold like Allie said they were in L.A. We'd picked out a bouquet of various non-rose flowers because roses are pretty cliché. It included snapdragons, which it turns out are her favorites! She said she likes them because you can snap them and "make them sing," which struck me at the time as the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard, lol. She showed us how to snap them and "make them talk." <3
I remember she asked us where we were from and was surprised that we'd driven for three hours. "It's fine," I said, "it was worth it!" I remember she asked if we were sisters. She did most of the talking actually, asking us a few questions. Her stage manager pulled out his camera and told us to pose for a picture, and I was like, "No, I really don't-- I know she doesn't--" but Alison insisted, "No, it's okay, I don't mind." So she put her arms around us both - she actually pulled my sister closer because my sister was too in awe to even touch her, lol - and I put my hand on her back and I am a terrible blinker in photographs, but I didn't even blink this time because my mind was full of, "I am touching my favorite person in the whole world."
When she started to go she shook our hands again and she just held mine for a while. I had written a rather long, sappy letter about how much I admire her and how much I want her to know that she is special and beautiful, but I wanted to tell her, in some small way, how much she means to me. So I told her, "We just wanted to make you feel appreciated and loved, because everything you do means so much to us. How strong you are, and just... everything you do. It means so much." At least, I'm pretty sure that's essentially how it came out. There was a bit of tongue-twistedness in there.
She thanked me and I pointed out the note in the flowers and told her that it was very sappy so she should probably just skip to my sister's part at the end, lol, which was very sweet and quite eloquent for an 11-year-old.
She thanked us again and told us to enjoy the show, and I told her, "Thank you for stopping for us," and then she went inside. I grabbed my sister's hand and said "COME ON, I CAN'T MISS PAPER AIRPLANE!" and we ran to take our seats before the show started.
The show
An usher in the theatre told us to stop running, but we yelled, "WE JUST MET ALISON KRAUSS!" so she forgave us, lol. And all the other ushers were like, "Go you! Congratulations!"
We got to our seats and we just started talking both of us at once to our mom. "WE MET HER! SHE CAME OUT AND TALKED TO US!" Eeeeverybody around us tuned into the conversation and was asking how we did it, what was she like, etc.
Unfortunately, my presale seats were only in mid-orchestra, which I'm sure is mostly the Fox Theatre's fault and not the presale company's, considering all the Fox's pit and front orchestra seats are virtually the personal property of rich Atlanta socialites who go to shows just to be seen. But I really was beyond caring.
I was so blissed out I didn't even get sad during Paper Airplane, which always makes me cry. (Just wait 'til Knoxville. I'll be a mess then, for sure.) Oddly enough, it was Sinking Stone, a few songs in, that brought me back to that place of farewells and new beginnings and sadness empathy with Alison that I usually feel when I listen to the new album. Sinking Stone doesn't usually affect me that way but it did this time. I still didn't cry but it was close. The same with Dimming of the Day. Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn just gets better every time they do it. I really like Ron's new song. There were so many little moments when one of them would sing something that would just make me smile or gasp. There was one song where Dan's harmony just killed me and I can't even remember which one it was now, but it was awesome.
I'd told my sister beforehand all the little amusing things to look out for. Alison's sound signals; Jerry bobbing his head like a bobblehead and wandering around the stage with that dobro like he's lost; Dan grinning at Alison for no reason; Barry making faces like he's making love to that upright bass; etc. So she was constantly grabbing my arm and laughing at something going on onstage. It was too joyous a night for me to get really verklempt over the emotion of the songs like I usually do. For once AKUS didn't succeed in making me feel sad!
Alison didn't tell any of the old stories she used to tell, which shocked me. The first time she talked, she mentioned that she'd gotten into the Real Housewives of Atlanta a while back (she does own a TV, you guys!) and that one of the housewives had said of another housewife what Alison thought was the best line ever said on television: "She ain't nothin' but a low-down monkey with a wig on." Alison was very amused by this, lol. She then blamed Ron for getting her into the Real Housewives, which he denied (and denied later on when somebody asked him at the stage door if it was true: "Alison always just says the most ridiculous thing she can think of.")
When it came time to introduce Dan, she made fun of his shirt, how it was tacky and he'd won it from somebody in a casino in Nevada -- which I'm sure is why he laughed and rolled his eyes when I complimented it. She teased him a little bit more and he did his hair thing for no discernible reason, lol, to which she said, "Dan, please do that again because I don't think the people saw you do that trick with your scalp," all sarcastic. He did it again and she goes, "It's just so good..." SARCASTIC!ALISON IS MY FAVORITE ALISON OF ALL THE ALISONS.
After Wild Bill Jones she made the "We're sad people" joke and said she especially likes that song, because everything bad that could possibly happen does. "Got somebody gettin' killed over here... somebody else about to get killed over here... got drinkin' and smokin'... probably a pharmaceutical incident... and a fish hook in somebody's eye! ...It's in there. You have to listen real carefully." Ron helpfully added that it was in the third verse.
When she introduced Barry I was expecting the usual hunting anecdote, but instead some people cheered when she said Barry was from Kingsport, TN, so she asked Barry why people apparently love Kingsport so much, and he deadpanned a few reasons why it's a moderately nice place to live. Alison said there was some restaurant there that had a special sauce that he'd figured out, after much taste testing, is just mustard mixed with ketchup. "Because it's different when you put it together!" Alison enthused.
She really is just such a dork, you guys.
She introduced the keyboard player and the drummer by getting the drummer to tell the audience that he was voted "Most Coolest" in high school, and then getting the keyboard player to tell the audience that the drummer had fallen out of his bunk the night before. She drug it out for a while for maximum embarrassment for the poor drummer, lol. "It's the little things, folks. I could tell other stories but they're all about as funny as that one. It's either that or us going shopping at Rite Aid. I got dental floss!"
She's joking with the guys up there, especially with Dan, the entire time. They're like a family up there, it's so adorable.
They're clearly looking for ways to keep Man of Constant Sorrow interesting, because when they went to start Alison and Dan just stood there for a minute playing the same note over and over again, laughing, and then the others joined in for the world's most monotone jam session. Then during Alison's fiddle solo, Jerry and Dan looked at each other and started moving up and down, up and down in time with the music. I think they were trying to see if she'd notice. Then, at the end of the song, the guys all held the last note and wound it down while twirling their instruments around. Barry nearly spun his bass all the way around and let it fall, lol.
Aaand that's basically all I remember from the show, besides the fact that it was obviously excellent and wonderful. I still hate the setlist but not as much now that they've dropped those extra songs from A Hundred Miles or More. Still needs less Live and more Lonely Runs Both Ways and Paper Airplane, especially the latter. It's like they secretly don't actually like Paper Airplane that much. I am actually kicking myself today for not asking Ron why they don't do more songs from that album, particularly My Love Follows You Where You Go. That is seriously my one regret from the entire night. In other news, I didn't dislike the backdrop as much as I thought I would; I like the encore medley; and I think the lighting is actually pretty cool.
After the show
We'd been told to go to the stagedoor after the show to get our picture from the stage manager, so we lined up behind the barricades with the other ~50 people who wanted autographs and such. Barry and Jerry only stopped briefly to greet the people whom they had to pass to get to their bus, but Dan and Ron came over to talk to everyone and do the autograph-and-picture thing. I didn't want to make Dan stop since we'd already talked to him, but he said as he walked by, "She liked the flowers!" =D
Ron stood out there and talked to people for over an hour, just chatting and answering people's questions. I'm trying to remember everything he said. Somebody asked him if he and the other guys try to protect Alison because she's the girl, and I thought to myself, "Alison's a strong woman," and a beat later Ron said the exact same thing. <3 But yes, he said, sometimes they get protective, but usually it's all five of them being equals and battling it out between their five distinct visions about how things ought to be. "We're all top dogs," he said, and it takes some maneuvering to accommodate everybody.
I told him that he looks like he's in his twenties, and we fans always accuse Alison of aging backwards, so clearly something in their bus is the cause. He laughed and talked about how it's because he eats so healthy. "Oh," I said, "so you're feeding Alison raw foods and that's why she doesn't age!" and he said that no, she did try the raw foods thing but she quit.
I also asked him if he would like for the fans to bring him and the guys something when we bring Alison flowers, because she gets flowers all the time and the boys get no love. He said no, he would feel weird if someone got him a flower, and he doesn't want food because it's hard enough already not to get fat with all the catered food they get. He said he's okay with Alison getting all the adoration because it's his job just to lift her up every night anyway, and I was like, "That's not true! You're all awesome!" So I told him to tell the other guys that even though we bring flowers for Alison, we appreciate all of them just as much. <3
My mom isn't even an AKUS fan, but she hung around while we chatted and ended up hijacking the conversation. She really took a shine to Ron. They talked about guitars and religion for a while and finally I cut in and asked, "Mom, did you just become a fan?" and she admitted that, at this point, she was a bit of a Ron fan. XD She also made sure to continually embarrass me by saying things like, "My daughter loves you. I mean, she really loves you. Really" and just other general things apparently designed to make me seem like a completely obsessed nut. Ron was cool about it, though. I'm just so glad she wasn't there when I talked to Alison. Oh my god. She kept trying to get me to get an autograph or a picture with Ron, and I kept insisting that I didn't need some kind of trophy or proof that I'd met him. It was the experience that mattered to me. But Ron said "Come on" so we got a pic at least. Anyway, she can't quit talking about how impressed she was with Ron. He has that effect on people.
He hung out with us until it was literally time for the buses to roll out. Everybody else left at that point but I wanted to stay and watch the buses leave. I like doing that after concerts, the same way I like staying for the credits in movie theatres. It's a nice coda, a chance for closure, to ease yourself out of the experience and back into normal life. There's something emotional about not leaving before the artist does, about departing for home at the same time that they depart for their next city. It feels respectful, somehow. It says, "This wasn't just a frivolous night on the town for me. I've devoted this night in this city to you and the work that you do, and it won't be over for me until it's over for you." Or something.
However, this time we realized there was a creepy man waiting around the corner to mug us. So. We figured it would be prudent to go ahead and leave, and we got one of the theatre security guards to walk us to our car. (I'll be writing a letter to the theatre praising him for that.)
Oh, also! Turns out there was a short meet and greet with the band after the show. Whatever happened to "no meet and greets this tour," hmm? Somebody said, "Oh it must be a fanclub thing," and I was like, "Hah, no. I promise you it is not. It's an industry thing, probably, or conceivably just a 'the perks of being rich in Atlanta' thing. The fanclub doesn't do crap." Because, I mean. It doesn't. So.
Anyway.
I don't know if this was the only time I'll ever get to meet Alison. I don't know if Knoxville will be the last time I ever get to see her live. Because of the career path I want, I probably won't get to see her again for a long time. So I'm glad this happened, and I'm glad I was able to tell her how much she means to me before I go, and I'm definitely going to make a tradition out of giving her flowers in Atlanta. If I can't be there to give them to her from now on, I'll have some delivered every tour. Because if I'm not there to see her, I'll be in some foreign place listening to her music to help me feel at home, and she deserves to be thanked for that as much as for any concert.
I just feel so happy and calm. I was freaking out the whole time, but once it was over I just felt peaceful, and I still feel that way now. Like I've been waiting for something for seven years and I'm not waiting anymore. I couldn't have asked for anything better than this.