Almost a year ago to the day, I wrote about the irritating concert experience we had when we saw 311 in Virginia Beach. Meatheads dancing in our paths, little stripper girls shaking their thangs, and just the general distractions that great people-watching can bring. But today, I am writing about the 180 degree turn our 311 concert experience took last night.
I have always been a believer that timing is EVERYTHING. Even one second can change the course of your life. Ever seen "Sliding Doors" with Gwyneth Paltrow? I'm all over that concept. This is the story about how timing worked to our advantage to give us the best concert experience of our lives, and how we have my brother, Sam, and his wife, Ledy, to thank for it.
We travelled from Williamsburg to Bristow (right outside of Manassas) to see this show. Our concert key players were me, Fran (my husband), Olivia (Fran's sister), Andy (Olivia's husband), and Sam and Ledy. The four of us were waiting for Sam and Ledy, who were late arriving to our meeting spot at 5:30 because they forgot their tickets and needed to go back home, putting them thirty minutes behind schedule. They are the ones responsible for getting us in the car later than planned and getting to the concert later than planned. Had we not arrived later than planned though, we would have missed the amphitheater employee who approached us about upgrading our tickets to VIP status.
"So what's VIP status?" we asked. VIP status meant having access to the VIP lounge (a sprawling, private deck with cabanas and tables, our own private food and beverage tent, and our own personal server to bring us said food and beverage). VIP status meant having our own box in which to sit, separating us from anyone who might bump into us, breath on us, spill on us, dance in front of us, or just generally bother us. VIP status meant having our own server at our box to deliver drinks and food whenever we wished. VIP status meant having our own bathrooms to use that were free from the oppressive humidity and filth that the other bathrooms had. VIP status meant having our own entrance to our box seats. At $20 per person, it was the best decision we've ever made!
With all of these frills came an unexpected ego boost. We all felt like celebrities (or at the very least very important people, which coincidentally was the amphitheater's intention). We were giddy with excitement and kept repeating how "special" we felt being in this box. Before this show I would have guessed that if I were to ever be a celebrity, I would be a very humble one. But after the teeny tiny glimpse I got of being "important", I can see how celebrities get the diva mentality, and I could see me getting a little full of myself as a celebrity. It was very easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of people waiting on you hand and foot!
So, no bumps, spills, distractions, muss, or fuss...lots of drinks, food, privacy, space, and the treatment as if we were famous. Rolling VIP for the night was by far the best way to go. Our concert experience was and most likely will be the best one we'll ever have. And it's all due to the timing of Sam and Ledy forgetting their tickets and needing to return home to pick them up.
For now, we are back to reality. We are special, but not in a VIP kind of way. At home, nobody is bringing us drinks, our bathroom isn't all that special, and we don't have a sprawling deck to sit on and have drinks brought to us. But for one night, we got to live it up, and we rocked that 311 show in the most legendary way! Thanks, Sam and Ledy!
Fran was mid-sentence when the nice girls in front of us snapped this picture.
L to R: Olivia, Andy, Fran, me, Sam, Ledy
Our magical wristbands!
