Cardiff - Redemption and Reward

I haven't blogged in a while.

When Lady Elaine, SaintC and I decided to start a blog account a while back, the original intent was so we could follow other bloggers, and put up the occasional humorous, Duran Duran or music or man related post. The idea that anyone else would read the blog was secondary. In fact, the thought of having several people reading the blog was unsettling and a tad unappealing. But I've continued to post even though we only have one follower on our blog (R and A - you know who you are) and my two dear cohorts have chosen not to write anything else since the first month we opened the account.

For me it's this - if there's been a significant event in our Duran lives - in my Duran life - I need to write about it. I want to document the details so I can go back and read them weeks or months later, and remind myself of how everything unfolded. So I can relive the moments through my own perspective and feel what I felt so strongly at those amazing times over again. And this time around there is a part of me that fears I won't be able to blog about anything this cool in the future, because while our NYC 2007 Duran experience was phenomenal, the UK show in Cardiff topped it for me. So I'm laying it out in cyberspace for myself, my two best friends, and for anyone else that would be interested enough to read it.

We were venturing back to the UK for Duran Duran's rescheduled tour, flying overseas a second time, for a chance to see the band perform in their home country. The first time we showed up earlier in the year we weren't very hopeful the concert would even take place. And when it was postponed I was sad, but made the most of my time in London and sucked it up. This time around felt different. We knew that this was it, what we'd been looking forward to for years. We arrived in London on Sunday the 4th of December - mid morning - after a pretty good flight. I was fortunate that SaintC's sweet husband had some business travel points he needed to use before year end, so he upgraded me to Executive class on the plane. We had a bit of sleep on the flight but we pushed through to stay awake after arriving, and power shopped around Oxford Street into the evening and headed to bed after dinner and drinks. Tuesday looked much the same - more shopping, more eat and drink, being treated like queens by our lovely host on the club floor at the hotel - but Wednesday was the day we were both really looking forward to. That was our Cardiff travel day.

The Duran Duran show was scheduled Thursday, but we were up very early on the Wednesday morning to get the 7:55 am train from Paddington Station to Cardiff Central, so we could sightsee a bit in Cardiff. However, without Lady Elaine in tow for this trip due to the surgery on her foot and also the costs involved with having that work done privately, this day held some melancholy for me. We've always tried to do as much as possible as a trio when it comes to Duran Duran, and it weighed on my heart that she wasn't along. And as the train moved in the dark to the outskirts of London, I thought about her a lot. I hoped that by having her on top of mind she could somehow be along for the ride.

Our strategy when we first bought tickets for the UK tour that was supposed to happen in June was to increase our chance of getting to meet the band as much as possible. We always find a way to justify doing a VIP ticket for each show - but once the VIP tickets came in different levels of status, we had a few options to consider. Only 4 shows came with a meet and greet opportunity - and only with Platinum level tickets. So we could spend more money at a bunch of shows at a lower level ticket status, travel all over the place every day, become exhausted, and at a substantial cost, and do our best to chase the band around after the shows for a chance meeting. Or we could take a chance on one of the smallest venues possible, in an out of the way location where there would be fewer attendees, fewer Platinum VIPs, and better odds of having the ultimate fan experience. This latter strategy paid off. Both SaintC and I were awarded meet and greet wins, and were informed the week before the show was to take place. When the tour had to be rescheduled for December, we contacted the Artist Arena fan experience people to ensure that our win would be upheld should we choose to return to the UK for the new dates. After they reassured us we would still get our meet and greet, it gave us ample justification to come back.

What I didn't realize is how much stress knowing we were going to have a meet and greet that far in advance would create. Our first meet and greet in NYC on Broadway was great, but very quick and not overly personal - group photos only and autographs with a few hellos and a bit of chatty small talk. Not as much "substance" as I would have liked. But we also had it sprung on us a 1/2 hour before it happened, without any time to plan or think of what to say or how we'd like it to unfold. This time around we were thinking for weeks about what to say, what to do, and what we would wear to meet the band. In the big scheme of things our clothes didn't matter much in the end, but we are girls after all, so wardrobe does certainly factor in. Neither of us were happy with what we had brought to wear. So after arriving in Cardiff and getting into the hotel room, we did some sightseeing and then went shopping, to see if we could find some purchases to trump what we had brought along. We bought some cool stuff, but ironically we wore what had come with us from home anyway.

Thursday arrived. We needed to be at the venue at 4:30 pm sharp to check in with our hostess Lucy, and get our credentials. We learned earlier in the day that we'd also been awarded the Backstage Tour in addition to the meet and greet. We wondered if we were the only Platimum VIP's in attendance! But upon calling our cab to the venue from the hotel, two other ladies were in the lobby for the same reason, and we made introductions and shared the taxi. Diane and Kelly from LA, who were also awarded the tour and meet and greet. We had comrades! While waiting to start the backstage tour we met the other VIP folks - a total group of around 12 people. They included Aileen and Phillippa from Scotland, who'd seen the band over 30 times. One lady from Europe was on her 89th show. That blew us away. With that knew the other VIP's there were all hardcore Duranies, and we were glad.

The Backstage tour was a true highlight, starting with the rear stage area, and taking us back to the rooms holding their wardrobe and apparel for the tour. We meet Jeffrey Bryant, their wardrobe designer, who has also designed costumes for the Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga. He showed us the bands' blazers, pants, jackets, Anna's dresses, we even got pictures of the tour shoes, including Simon's famous bright blue trainers, and his snake skin dress shirts. Then we moved into the bands dressing room where they had bottles of water, organic juice, snacks, and piles of "road vinyl" - albums they take along for inspiration - including Bowie and Depeche Mode. So awesome. They also have a warm up room to jam in before the show. It was such a thrill to see it all.

Incredibly we were allowed on stage to take pictures and look at the equipment as long as we didn't disturb anything. It gave us a chance to stand where the band stands - by mics, around equipment, Nick's synth, John's guitars - and yes, Roger's drumkit. We got pictures of ourselves sitting on the ledge where the drums are perched, the giant D emblazoned on the front, and it was unforgettable. I even saw Roger's coffee cup and a washcloth sitting out ready for him, and was so tempted to stash it in my purse, but I wanted to maintain good karma so I left everything untouched. SaintC peeked at the set list taped to the stage - a couple folks took covert photos of it - and in doing so were told, "you can look at that and photograph it, but you better bloody well not tweet it"! I walked off the stage a little teary because it was such a thrill.

We then made our way up to our VIP lounge for a 3 course dinner that included free drinks, white linen, waitress service and socializing. We had a chance to get to know Lucy and ask her how she entered the business, and although it turned out her father is a music journalist in England, she started as a lowly personal assistant and worked her way up. Then down to merch to pick out our purchases. Got a Girl Panic tee and some postcards as I needed something for the guys to sign. Picked up another one to bring home for Lady Elaine. Then back up for more drinks. We took pics with our new friends and waited for the meet and greet.

They shuttled us down at about 7:30 and the venue was already starting to fill up. We were side stage in a line, with cameras and Sharpies in hand. We waited for what seemed like forever and were told there were delays for the band due to traffic issues. Not everyone was there yet. Gradually they took us backstage and lined us up against a wall directly in rear of the main stage area. We were told there would be individual pictures taken with our own cameras, no group shots. Lucy offered to help take shots but reminded us she was only one person, so we knew we were on our own. Thank heavens I'd bought a new camera before leaving town so we both had one, and had agreed to just take pics of eachother with each member and make sure we didn't miss anyone. First I talked with Nick, who was not as chatty as the first time I met him but so sweet. Then John, who was the one that was late, and unfortunately he wasn't in a great mood. Didn't say much and didn't really smile for pictures. He was the only one not in wardrobe and you could sense his frustration at being late and rushed, but he was still polite, signed and posed. Then Roger approached me.

My experience with Roger in Palm Springs was still bothering me. When I asked him for a photo at Coachella and he had to walk away in a hurry, I was a bit crushed. In the week before leaving for the UK this time, I'd even had bad dreams about meeting him again, saying the wrong thing, and him walking away from me in disgust. So I had thought hard about what I really wanted to say to him. When he approached me, he looked gorgeous and was all smiles. I said hello and then congratulated him on his newborn son. I asked how he was doing and he told me he was great but that he'd had a cold at the moment. Asked about his wife, and how she was doing and he said she was lovely, adjusting quite well. Then he said, "your accent - where are you from?" I told him I was from Canada and that we came to see the show, but that in fact we'd met before. I said we had done a meet and greet on Broadway in NYC in 2007, but we really wanted to see the band play in the UK. He said "you came all the way here, just to see us play"? And when I said yes, he grinned and shook his head and said that was great. We posed for a picture and as he walked away Simon was approaching, but I was still a bit stunned. Simon was great also, he asked where I was from, I told him and also said we'd met in NY once before, but I was so happy they could resume the tour, and so happy to be there. Then when I posed for our picture, he gave me a huge squeeze and rested his head on mine for a cuddly shot. I was beyond happy. As they finished signing and did the last minute pictures we waved, called out our thank-yous and goodbyes, and then needed to motor back to the VIP lounge for our belongings left upstairs, and get down to the show. No matter - I was practically floating.

On the way into the venue we bumped into Alison and Jules, who I know from the Twitter Duraniverse, wearing their sparkly hats they told me they made. It was so fun to introduce myself and chat with them in person. We took position and the show started almost immediately after we took our seats. Once the music started we were allowed to stand at the barricade and there was tons of room. For the first time, we were front row centre. It may have had something to do with the fact that we got up at 1 am our time to buy the tickets on line from DDM and were probably the first Platinum VIP purchases that went through. But from the moment the lights went down, I was in heaven. We were so close, so in the thick of it all, it felt like the show was just for us. I was barely aware of the crowd but the people around us at the front were also equally into it and we danced and sang along. After the first song, there was a lull in the cheering and I whistled really loudly with my two fingers. Most women don't have this talent but I have it mastered. It rang out so clearly, above any other noise, and John Taylor's eyes went straight to me, wide open in amazement! He laughed when I waved at him and shrugged. It was hysterical. When they played Is There Something I Should Know I was dumbstruck. I couldn't remember the last time I heard it live, but it sounded amazing. All the new stuff, particularly Leopard really struck me as well. I bounced and danced and cheered and clapped. The lights flashing during the start of White Lines was so cool. I really enjoyed the mix of video footage behind the stage - and all the different lighting concepts they used during the show. It felt different than the Portland show. Of course since we had our roaming turned off on our phones due to the astronomical costs, so we couldn't tweet during Tiger Tiger. But our dear Lady Elaine was trying to tweet on our behalf from home. We didn't see those tweets come up on the screen, but we saw a few from other Tweeps we knew, which was great fun.

When the show finally wrapped and the encore began, I knew I had my heart set on getting drumsticks from Roger at the end of Rio. I had called out to him and tried to get his attention at other shows, but I'd never been centre stage before, and I knew that was where he usually went to toss them out. I'd always been too far away in the past. I was hopeful and praying inside my head, and I knew this could be my only chance. I felt I'd made an impression on him at the meet and greet, and I just told myself if it's meant to be it will be. When Roger got up from his kit and waved and began walking up front for his bow, I called out to him and motioned in a drumming movement and waved for him to come over to me. He looked at me, smiled, walked right down in front of me, and tossed the sticks right to me. I was in awe. The sticks came close but the barricade was somewhat far from the stage and they fell just short of my hands. Another person snatched up one of the sticks, and the other fell down in front of the barricade just past my reach. My heart was in my throat. But the security guard, who saw without a doubt that Roger meant those sticks for me, grabbed it, walked to me, and put it in my hand. I looked up at Roger and screamed out a barely audible "Thank you, thank you!" And as the lights came up I had to wipe my tears away. It was the one moment I'd hoped for and I'd never imagined it would actually come true.

We met up with Diane and Kelly where they had been standing and they were so happy for me. Aileen from Scotland caught up with us to say goodbye and share hugs, and said it was so nice to see a "real Roger girl" get the sticks. We walked with D and K back to the hotel and shared our experiences and memories of the night, and then collapsed into our room in exhaustion. We laid in bed and had a tough time getting to sleep. We were both wound up, and I let the evening swirl through my head again and again, barely believing that the moment I'd hoped for had happened, in exactly the way I would have wanted.

Of course if I'd caught both sticks directly when Roger tossed them my way it would have been perfect - and almost TOO good to be true. So I'm grateful for the imperfection in it all. In the pursuit of something you dream about and want so badly, there will always be a stumbling block, a change of plans, a turn of events that can trip you up. Things won't ever turn out like a dream because life isn't a dream - and doesn't work that way. It's got pitfalls. Flight delays. Overdue bills. Union strikes. Traffic jams. Barricades.

And laryngitis.

But maybe the learning in the whole thing is if you go after what you want and put it out there into the world, it can happen for you. Maybe not when you want or in exactly the way you imagine - but it's the not knowing, the great surprises, the unexpected twists and turns, that make what we desire that much more exciting. And I couldn't have asked for anything more out of that day, except that I wanted our Lady E to be right along there with us. And I know in her heart and in ours, she was there, and I'm sure she'll be along for our next great DD adventure, which I'm hoping won't be far away. Because even though Cardiff brought me a much needed redemption and an incredible reward, as crazy as it seems, and as much as it costs me in many different ways, I'm still anxious to do it all over again.


That Girl