Guess who's back, back again...

It's been a while, I know, I know... But I have my reasons. The best one being that I've been gone for the better part of the last two weeks. Anyway, 'nuff with the excuses I bring you my report on the killer shows FOB has put up and as a bonus I will let you in on my meeting with my favorite dudes.
Sunday October 19th:
I got up überearly to get to the train in time. I was excited and scared to death because I had never traveled alone before, let alone all the way to the UK. Either way they double booked my seat, so I ended up letting the dude in my seat and his mother travel together, I couldn't exactly separate them, could I? I slept most of the journey to London so whenever anybody asks me what it was like in this tunnel I have to say that I fell asleep, how heroic. I arrived in London and there I had to wait for my train to Birmingham, and that's what I did. I waited. Nothing exciting happened actually until that night.
I arrived at the venue with the help of a nice taxi-driver and saw the line. It was never ending. No kidding. I had a seat inside the arena so there was no point for me to be there that early, but I was there anyway and there was no point in returning to the hotel. Inside the waiting area, a couple of hours later I could really see how long the line exactly was. There were people everywhere and there was no telling where the line started, you could only see the end. I managed getting inside without any bruises and I lived. I was so glad that I had a seat so I could save my standing energy for FOB.
There were two opening acts of which I absolutely loved one. I liked 'You Me at Six' but I loved 'Boys Like Girls', there song 'Hero/Heroine' is definitely one to check out. I was sitting quite far from the stage so I couldn't make out any facial features. I was a bit disappointed about that fact. About an hour and a half later, it was time for FOB to get their acts together and put up a killer show, and that's just what they did. The crowd went absolutely mad. The show was perfect although it was a pity that I was that far from stage. I could see four tiny dudes bringing it. The performance made up for it though and little did I know that the night was far from over...
I was dead set on getting myself a couple of autographs so I waited after the show. I started talking to a couple of girls next to me because I thought it was going to be a long, long night. My experience with artists was that they needed a certain amount of time to get cleaned up, eat something, wait for everything to get loaded into trucks and THEN they come out. Only half an hour later they were there. I heard some people say only Patrick and Joe would come out, so I was stoked enough that I would finally get to see Patrick Stump, finally, but...
First Pete came out, I thought I would be incredibly starstruck or clumsy or speechless or something, but I wasn't, not even remotely. I felt calm and collected. That was a bonus, because then I got to say something without sounding like either a Teenie or a clumsy fool. After Pete it was time for Patrick and boy was I excited. I mean I have this band's pictures all over my walls and I was finally in the process of meeting all of them. The first thing I thought when I saw Patrick (and Pete for that matter) was: "Damn he's short." I was getting nervous, but not really nervous. Just about as nervous as I get when I have to talk to people I don't know, and then, there he and it were. He was signing my stuff and I had the chance to say something to him, so I decided to be honest, a bit too honest even. What I meant to say was: "You guys mean the world to me, so thank you."

What went down was:
Patrick (standing in front of me): "Hi!"
Me (totally embarrassed and unable to look up from the pen he was signing with): "Hi, ummm, can I just tell you something?"
Patrick: "Sure..."
Me: "I just want to say thank you, you mean a lot to me." (I then looked at him, shocked at myself and realizing what I just said, but it was the truth too, so I couldn't be bothered, nevertheless I was so embarrassed )
Patrick: "Thank you." (HE on the other hand was totally smiling at me, for everybody knowing him: you know that little smile he does when he's thanking somebody, almost saying 'I'm not worth it but thank you anyway'. You know that little apologetic, humble smile and nod he does. It's not even a smile, just a thing he does with his lips, but it is half a smile, so it does count... Oh Gosh...)
The girl next to me: "Awwwww, that was so emotional."
Me: "Don't aww me, even though it's dark he's still going to see me blush."
Patrick (from three girls over): "What?"
Me: "Nothing, nothing..."
Patrick: "..."<- Well he giggled, but I can't describe that, it's just the signature giggle he has. It's deep though, very deep...

After that I still met Andy, too impressed to really talk, but he wasn't really talkative, I'm guessing he was totally knackered. A couple of girls asked him if he wasn't cold (being out in shorts and all) he just said he wasn't. Joe, on the other hand is a chatterbox and after Patrick, THE coolest guy I have ever met. I just had a casual talk with him. Not even nervous, like I'd known him for ever.

Me: "Hey!"
Joe: "Hi, how are you tonight?"
Me: "Great, great. You know you guys should do a show in Belgium next time, I came all the way from Belgium just to see you guys. I mean I know you did the TMF awards..."
Joe: "Yeah but that wasn't really a show..."
Me: "Exactly."
Joe: "But we did do a show in Belgium once."
Me: "I know, Pukkelpop, I was there."
Joe: "Yeah, that, but that was more of a festival, not really a show."
Me: "I know..."
Joe: "I agree that we should come to Belgium once, we will though. We will come to Belgium next time, I promise."
Me: "All right :-) thank you!"

And then they had to go. I had to go back to the hotel too because it was F-ing freezing out there. I went to the parking lot to see if there were any taxis, but there were none left, so I had to walk back to the hotel, not caring after what just happened. Not at all. On the way there I briefly freaked out and got teary-eyed, but it went as quickly as it came. It took a while before it dawned on me that I had just met the four guys I really wanted to meet at least once this lifetime and that they were better than I expected and that I was totally calm during the whole thing. After all they are just a couple of guys, who just happen to have the coolest job ever. Gee I just realized that I have written a whole thing on just this, so I will be back tomorrow with more news on the Amsterdam gig.

Think that I'm not figuring myself out...
XO-reos
Monco