Groban Concert

Yes, I am a Groban fan. I've been a fan since I heard him sing "You're Still You" on the radio the summer of 2002. And I remember clearly being blown away by his amazing voice.
Anyway, since then I've made my sister a fan too, and we decided to go to one of his concerts here in Seattle. And to be honest, it's my second Groban concert this year. I'm embarrased by it cause it's like I'm one of those crazy stalker fans! Well, the cheesy-ness doesn't end there...
Let me first say that the concert is still great the second time around. Although, I knew exactly the jokes he would say and what to expect during the show, I still enjoyed it.
Ok, so before the concert, while we were driving around the Key Arena for a parking spot, we found out where the performer's RVs were parked out back. We were already being silly, realizing that Josh could be in one of those RVs right then! So I jokingly said to my sister that we should come back after the show to see if we can see Josh leaving! Of course, its so out of character for us to chase celebraties down. We believe there's a line between being a fan, and being and OBSESSED stalker.
At the beginning of the show, my sister drops her cell phone and the back cover to her Razr is lost somewhere, being kicked underfoot, by everyone in section 208. There was no way we'd find it till after the show when the lights were back on.
So, after the show, while the crew was dismanteling the stage, we finally found it 6 rows down from us. *whew*
Then, I, being 6 months or so pregnant, needed to find a bathroom asap. And of course there are lines into all the women's bathrooms everywhere! Don't event planners know that twice as many women go to the bathroom than men?! So we kept walking around the inside of the arena looking for a bathroom. We finally found one that was empty, and when we were leaving looked outside the arena to see that the RVs were still parked outside. So, just out of curiosity, we decided to walk past the gates to maybe catch a glimps of Josh.
Just as we were getting close, I heard a security guard yell out, that everyone needs to get in line behind the barracades. Then we see a rush of crazy fans coming at us, cause we were standing at the entrance to the barracades. So, without much thought of WHY we were getting in line, we got in line! If a hoard of people are rushing to get in line, there must be something good at the front of the line right?
There were these two old ladies, 60+ yrs old, in front of us, and we asked them what this line was for. They said that sometimes, as tour buses leave, the artist may stop and get out to meet the crowd and sign autographs. Really?! Wow we got in a good line!
These two old ladies were SO funny. They were telling us about how they've tracked down Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners at spring training hoping for an autograph, only to see him speed off in his shades and black sports car. And how when they were younger, at 50 yrs old, ran after Barry Manalo's car as it was leaving a concert! Can you believe it?! These two old ladies have one crazy hobby!
We waited about 20 mins in the drizzle of Seattle rain with these 2 old ladies and a lot of underaged, acne prone, hormone raged, stalker fans that knew WAY TOO MUCH about Josh and his dog and other usless facts. We DEFINATLY did not want to be associated with this crowd.
Just then an RV pulls up and, YES, Josh Groban steps out in a hoodie to sign autographs in the rain. Well, that was nice of him. So, as it turns out he went to the back of the line first and worked his way forward, back to the RV. I made my way toward the back of the line, where there was less of a crowd, and took some good pics and got him to sign my concert ticket. Whoo Hoo! My sister stayed in the front, and mangaged to get a signature too under all those crazy fans. Looking at the video tape afterwards, I realized she was the second to last person to get an autograph in all that madness. Lucky her.
We both were too star struck to say anything more then "Thanks, Josh" when we got his autograph. We're so lame.
Michelle K.: I think that whole evening is right up there with your latest cheesyness.
But, it was a great experience to top off our Groban concert, and we came away with a great souvenir too. Especially since we were sitting in the nose-bleed, cheap seats section surrounded by a lot of Josh's geriatric fans. Who knew his demographics spanned that wide of an age group?! I almost felt weird cheering at the beginning of the concert, cause a lot of the people around us just didn't have that type of energy level. There was, however, a very metro 20 something seated a few rows in front that was freakishly too much of a Groban fan. Let's just say his "enthusiaism" for Josh kept us entertained.

Groban Aug 07