With the other two Greeks still sleeping/just waking up, I left the hostel and walked around the city again for a couple of hours. At one point, I was sitting at a park near the hotel when I saw a big black tour bus go by me. Not thinking that it could be the Dream Theater bus, I stayed put and a few minutes later walked passed the hotel. Through the glass door, I saw John Myung, the bass player from Dream Theater! One thing you should know about John, he a very private person and doesn't talk much. With that in mind, I decided not to go up and talk to him. They may have JUST got in from Italy, and he could be quite tired from the journey. Even if he wasn't all that tired, he probably wouldn't say much to me. If it was any of the other members of the band, I totally would have gone up and said hello, but John is a different case.
Later on the walk, I found myself in a big park called Tivoli. The concert was actually taking place in a stadium located in a corner of Tivoli. It was a nice walk, but I was just waiting for the time to go by so I could finally hang out with Jordan.
Once Simon and I met up near the hostel, we hung out in the lobby of the hotel waiting for Jordan. The weekend was actually a national 2-day holiday, (day(s) of the dead) so a lot of the places were closed, but Simon had an idea of where we could have lunch. After about 10 minutes of hanging out in the lobby, Jordan finally came down. It was great to see him again! When Simon and I first got to the hotel, there was a camera crew outside waiting for someone it seemed. I told Jordan about that, and apparently he heard Hilary Clinton and maybe even Bill were in town staying at the hotel! We didn't see them though...
For lunch, we ate at a restaurant not too far away from the cocktail bar I was at the night before. I didn't have a whole lot for breakfast, so I was ready for a nice meal! I wish I could tell you what we talked about, but I can't remember it all. Obviously about music, how my trip was, how Simon has been, how Jordan was doing, how excited he was to get back in the states, the frustrations with the internet Jordan was having on this European tour, and much much more! Jordan had until around 4 to hang, so at 3 we took a walk up and down the river. Jordan has recently been trying to learn a traditional song from the country the band was playing in that night, and incorporate it into some part of the show. Simon gave him a pretty simple song to learn and it was great to hear the little part played during his solo/break of the show..knowing it was Simon who taught him the song..pretty neat!
As Jordan does, he took a few videos of the walk including me confessing to the fans back in the hostel what I know Jordan...haha. After walking back in the direction of the hotel, we took a couple photos of each other and after not seeing any fans on the street the whole afternoon, ran into about 5 or 6 people in a 10 minute span! As a joke, I played the role of security for Jordan. Whenever they asked if they could get their picture taken, Jordan would look at me, ask if it was alright, and with great authority I nodded yes and took a picture for the excited fans. It was quite interesting viewing people's reactions to seeing Jordan on the streets. Makes me wonder how it must have looked to Jordan or others when I first saw him!
****EDIT: here are some of the youtube videos from the walk****
Intro
Walk w/ confession
Learning the Slovenia song
It was a great afternoon spent with Jordan and Simon, and after saying goodbye to both of them, it was back to the hostel for a little bit before going to the show. During the walk, Simon was wondering exactly when Dream Theater was playing, so he had an idea of when to go to the concert. I was planning on seeing all the bands, but Jordan said he would call us later and let us know. Jordan also mentioned that there may be some other 'special' things going on at tonight's show because 1) it was halloween 2) it was the last stop on the tour...
Luckily, I brought my phone charger because the batteries were quite low, and after checking my email quickly, I noticed two missed calls from Jordan. Calling him back, he told me that I have a ticket and a VIP pass for the show, and that I should come see him at the production office a little bit before and "come check out" the meet & greet, which consists of getting a picture with the band and getting anything you want signed by the band!! Needless to say, I was very excited to hear about that news.
After that, I decided to show the one Australian fan a picture from the afternoon with Jordan and tell him about my story of how I know Jordan and stuff. He wasn't mad at all, and even thought it was a good idea I didn't tell Alex because "his head would have exploded". He then told me that he and the other fan lined up at the stadium at 3, when the doors don't even open up until 5:30! He described the moment as "a pisser" and busted out laughing (as did I) because here I was, this guy just chilling with Jordan the whole afternoon, while a couple of fans are waiting hours beforehand to get in only to wait for a very long time cramped up in front before DT even gets on stage...and I have a VIP pass that will get me back stage just waiting to be picked up!
So a little bit before 6, the Australian fan, one of his friends and I head out towards the concert. Getting to the stadium there was quite a mess of people. From what it looked like, there wasn't a well organized way of letting the people in. I was able to find the ticket booth around the corner and quickly put my VIP pass and headed inside.
The place wasn't very big, but I wasn't expecting it to be. It reminded me a bit of the arena in Copenhagen with seating on the sides and a big open area for people to stand.
The first band was Unexpect, a 7-piece band (with a violinist even!) that I found very interesting..a decent opening band. During the show, I noticed a man dressed in black switching around the symbols on the set of Unexpect's drummer...I was close enough to see the outline of Mike Portnoy's (DT's drummer) face..and I knew there would be more pranks to come! After that song, I noticed some things being thrown on stage...what looked to be fries, coming from the side of the stage...from who else? Mike!! The guitarist even caught one and ate it in rhythm to a break in the song, haha. In between a couple songs, he came out and gave everyone a grape to eat, and after the last song, Mike and a couple of the stage crew guys came out with silly string and sprayed everyone...very entertaining!
After Unexpect played BigElf was up next. Before they got set up, it was about 7:15 and I had to figure out where the production office was to meet up with Jordan...a worker told me I had to outside, and when I was about to go outside, I was told I couldn't come back in...well, that didn't make any sense to me and I had a VIP pass, so I was able to talk the guy into letting me back in if he saw me again.
After being directed to the production office, I saw Jordan listening to a version of the Slovenian song Simon told him about earlier. I also met a couple other of the crew members. It was still a bit early before the meet and greet, so Jordan said we should go see what's going on ON STAGE for BigElf...if Mike was doing anything worthy of being recorded on Jordan's iPhone. So, I followed him behind the stage and before I could say anything I saw Mike running around. I got that excited feeling inside of me...seeing Mike in person for the first time! There wasn't time to say hello or anything..so I just kept following Jordan to the side of the stage.
I wasn't more than 10 feet away from the bass player...I mean, this was DEFINITELY VIP access!!! It was too cool. There was a break during one of the songs, and in my excitement of being a fan on the side of the stage, I let out a shout. haha. Then again after the last song, Mike came out and sprayed the guys with silly string.
Then there were a few quick interview with the band members conducted by Jordan and his iPhone. Here's a couple videos of the band members getting back from playing. Since it was Halloween, the drummer for BigElf dressed up as Mike..haha it was great!
Video prt 1
Video prt 2
Next up was the meet and greet.
In the next few minutes, I was outside of the wardrobe room for Dream Theater. Seeing James LaBrie (the singer) for the first time drinking some water. And was introduced by Jordan to John Myung! He said "hello" and that was about it, but again for anyone who knows John Myung, that's like a 100 words said! Then the question was if I go with one of the workers to meet up with the other fans waiting. The decision was to just walk with the rest of the band to the meet and greet!!! Basically, the best way to describe how I felt was starstruck. Here I am, walking down a hallway with Dream Theater like I'm a member of the band, or even a member of the backstage crew...unreal.
Since I found out about the meet and greet thing from Jordan not more than a couple hours before, I wasn't prepared to have anything signed at all...it was either the little ticket they gave me or the VIP pass...so I went with the VIP pass and hope the marker doesn't smear too bad on the laminated surface.
But first, it was the photo with the band. Not really thinking of what I was going to do, I threw up the classical rock \m/ sign and I THINK I was smiling...I honestly can't remember because it happened so fast. I can then say that I'm the last person on that tour they got a picture with, so we'll see how it turns out. Still not sure how I'm going to get the photo, probably from Jordan or something.
I feel kind of silly I didn't say what I wanted to say to each member of the band. I was still feeling the starstruck because of it all. There would have been many fans (including Alex) who probably would have spilled their guts about how great the band is and stuff. Don't get me wrong, I was very excited to have the opportunity to stand in front of one of my favorite bands while they signed something for me and looked me right in the eye...but instead I just said hello and maybe a few other words while Jordan introduced me to each member of the band. I was feeling a little bit of a calmer state from the band as well. They had been touring for a while, and from earlier conversations with Jordan, I'm sure the rest of the guys were just as eager to get back to the States and see their families.
I did tell Mike I was at the Liquid Tension show in Chicago where Jordan's keyboard broke down, so the other members of the band just jammed for a solid hour or so. THAT was also a great concert...but there definitely was some stuff I wish I could have said now after it already happened...
I probably would have said something like thanks for all your hard work, the great albums they have produced, how great it is to listen to their different rages of music, (metal to melodic) and how talented each person is. How I enjoy each member's personality and how it all seems to work out for everyone. Mike with his craziness on and off stage, James keeping the crowd pumped, John Myung just chilling doing his own thing. I didn't get a chance to tell John Petrucci how he is one of the reasons I started playing guitar. Maybe not because I wanted to play just like him, because that would take more than 22093847 hours of practice, but just go help encourage me to at least give it a try...
Hopefully, there will be another time in the future where I can get the chance to say what's on my mind, or at LEAST say more than just hello. Maybe show some excitement and get them pumped for an upcoming show! That will be my mission for next time...
After the meet and greet, it was time for the guys to start warming up for the show. On the way back to the front of the stage, Mike gave me a shirt and a couple of CDs that I think were given to him by some of the fans at the meet and greet. They weren't DT cds or a DT shirt, but just some random bands, probably trying to promote themselves however they could. I was pumped to get the shirt, because that would help me with having a clean shirt for the ride back home :)
The third band playing was Opeth, who were from Sweden. Again, at the end of the last song, Mike sprayed them with silly string.....up next: Dream Theater!!!
I think this is a good time to stop...as well...keep you on the edge of your seat!!!! haha
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