(OK, second time to do this! The site kicked me off when I tried to submit earlier and the post disappeared! So if doing a long post, compose elsewhere first and do a cut and paste!)
Well, technically, Chris rocked NORTH Little Rock, but as all acts coming to town refer to it as Little Rock, even though Alltel sits across the river in LR's north sister city, then I'll do the same. Much of this was recounted in Chris's blog, but since he erases from time to time, I thought I'd put my account of the day on here as well.
I had communicated with Amanda from the blog earlier and she sent me her phone number. I was working for a friend on Friday, and gave Amanda a call mid-morning to see if she had gotten to town and gotten her ticket. Indeed, she scored on that point, getting row 15 (really closer than that with the way the stage came out in front), and a seat on the center aisle! (I'll try not to be bitter about this since Gaylon and I were 4 rows back, and I had bought my tickets early with the poptart code! LOL)
We discussed where the AI group might be staying, and I gave her my best 3 guesses on downtown hotels that would be the quality that we thought they would stay in. In a few minutes, BINGO, I got another call from Amanda and she had found them at the Peabody. She even got a chance to talk with Chris for a few minutes, letting him know we would be waiting after the show. I was still working, but my friend took pity on me, and I left around 12:30 to meet Amanda, but by the time I got there, the performers had apparently left for the venue.
Amanda and I went over to North Little Rock to a restaurant for lunch and had a nice time getting acquainted. After that, she left to meet a friend, and I had to run home, then get to my salon for my hair/nail appt. (I didn't plan it for the AI concert day, but my stylist had to move me from the week before due to her vacation plans. So, I ended up with cuter hair for the concert than I would have had! LOL)
After I left the salon, I dashed to the dollar store to look for glow anything. I found pink bracelets and necklaces, bought a couple of packages, and then like a doofus, left them in the truck when we got to Alltel. Dang it!
Amanda was already in her seat when we arrived. We decided to meet her there after the show since she had an aisle seat.
The show was absolutely fabulous! I won't recount all the details of each number, as that has been done in previous posts, but I'll share one thing that was different. Sanjaya had everyone call the Hogs (AR Razorback football team). Here's a _link_ to a hog call online in case you've been deprived all your life! LOL
http://www.hogcall.com/funstuff/multimedia/music/Hog_Call.wav Of course, the highlight of the show for me was seeing Chris Sligh perform live. I've seen many posts that express how good he sounds on stage. He really does, and it was a treat to see him play his guitar. In fact, his comfort level is so different on stage when he's playing. We loved the solo, but also enjoyed the Crazy/Hey Jude numbers and his duet with Gina. Love good harmony!
OK, speed forward. We met up with Amanda after the show and walked around to the side of the arena where the buses were parked. (FYI---the Little Rock/NLR area is a relatively small metropolitan area compared to many that he is playing. So I don't know how easy or difficult it will be to meet him afterwards as we did. I'd think the larger the venue and more people, the more difficult.)
Fans were already lined up along the fence, and along the curbs lining the drive that led into the fenced area where the buses were located. Security put up what looked like bike racks to keep everyone on the curb and out of the street. We had been told it might be an hour, but I don't think we were there for more than 15 minutes or so before we saw Jordin. (by the way, I have to give kudos to her...she was absolutely fabulous to all the kids waiting for an autograph.....they all were, but I especially noticed her interaction)
The performers came out a couple at a time. We saw Jordin, then Chris R. (who also took a lot of time with the kids), and then Blake. I asked Chris R. where Chris S. was and he told me he was on his way. I said, well, we're a couple of his blogger girls, and he looked at me a little strangely, probably wondering why Chris was being followed by a middle age groupie! LOL
Then the exciting moment we had been waiting for...Chris Sligh was coming our way. When he got close enough, I said " We're Amanda and Risa." He graciously autographed my HPF CD insert and took pictures with both of us (a really cute one of he and Amanda...I'll let her tell about that). Mine is the worst one EVER of me...but no fault of Amanda's. I set the telephoto and it was too close for that. So you get to see more double chins than I ever knew I had! Oh, well, at least I got one with Chris!
We hung around a little while after that, hoping to get a chance to talk with him through the fence, but we didn't spot him again. Gaylon and I said our goodbyes to Amanda (so glad you got home safely!) and headed home. We bought those tickets for our anniversary, and it was a wonderful present.
Thank you again to Amanda. If she had not been with me, I doubt I could have convinced my husband to hang around after the show. (likes Chris's music, but not an autograph hound) And thanks, dear huibby, for being a sport, even though you were ready for bed!
OK, that's it! Looking forward to hearing YOUR Chris stories.
