So, obviously a lot has been going on this week. With the release of the new record in the States (which I KNOW you all already have ... probably multiple copies ... LOL) the press blitz is WELL underway.
Blame Jon Bon Jovi - Tuesday
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I hemmed and hawed about traipsing down to Best Buy to pick up (yet another) copy of the album so I could get a wristband for the CD signing. I had just gotten finished working a BRUTAL number of hours for several days in a row and was simply exhausted.
I set my alarm for 6am Tuesday morning with the plan that I'd get to Best Buy by (not bye-bye ... LOL) 7am. Well, when my alarm went off my body said "noooooooooo." I turned the alarm off and went back to sleep.
Luckily, my friend L texted me at about 8:15am and basically said "where the hell are you?!" haha. Assuming that the line would be halfway to Idaho by then, I had thought "oh well, wasn't meant to be." So, L informed me that there were only about 30 people in line and to get my butt out of bed.
So ... off I went in a taxi ... whizzing by the theatre where Memphis is playing ...arriving at the Best Buy around 8:45am at which time they nicely let us in, I bought my 3rd version of the album ("one Jovi and a wristband, please") ... paid ... chatted a few minutes with the nice security guy and was done. EASY EASY EASY!
Then, off I went to the office ... again ... exhausted ... not having slept enough.
But, yes ... FRIDAY ... CD signing ... WOO HOO! Will post review on Saturday. :-)
Blame Jon Bon Jovi - Wednesday
Okay ... this one he deserves a bit more.
Still recovering from a whole lot of work stress goin' on (seriously ... nobody needs to be texting me at 1:17am!) I wasn't sure my body could handle getting up at the crack of "way-before-dawn" to go to see the boys play on the Today Show.
As you can see from this picture, New York actually DOES sleep (and as I found out at 4am ... most of them were sleeping on the subway ...)
In any case, got there around 4:30 and immediately spotted my friend L. Eventually we were let in -- thank you R for making sure I got a good spot ;-) -- and stood ... and stood ... and stood.
I must say that I met SEVERAL nice people around me (p.s. if anyone has an extra set of the smirk pins - the four colored ones - please e-mail me at bigapplejovi@yahoo.com) Obviously as this was Veteran's Day, the majority of those in the "special" sections were military and I really enjoyed meeting and laughing and joking with these people who serve our country EVERY day.
There were a lot of families there - the little girl in front of me was particularly cute. She had a Bon Jovi sign with a really big crab on it (I withheld any comments about how it may be reflective of the lead singer sometimes ... LOL.) Why a crab? Well, because she knows Bon Jovi because of the theme from "Deadliest Catch." She even had her own words to Wanted (steamed or deep fried) ... all about this poor crab being served up at a restaurant. Haha. She was QUITE amusing.
In any case, here are some of my crappy cell phone pictures ...
Seriously ... I need to get a new camera ... but I keep using the money to buy more concert tickets. AND ... I really hate to miss any moment of the show because my face is behind a camera. Well, there's pics up all over the internet ...
They did a couple of soundchecks - without Jon (it was like Bon Jovi karaoke - woo hoo!) - then with Jon - then some more levels testing. Everyone seemed to be in a FANTASTIC mood (maybe it was all the caffeine they had probably just consumed LOL.) But, it was a great time.
Obviously, most of the crowd there really didn't know the words to the songs too much ... except maniac me singing along doing all the hand gestures (THE NICE ONES!) which got me some nods from the boys. Ahhhhh ...
As is often the case, Tico gave his sticks to a nearby audience member - in this case a really nice serviceman and his family. He didn't want to be included in the picture but was gracious enough to let me get a shot.
After they were done, L and I stopped by Starbucks (if you read my blog on any kind of regular basis, you know my obsession with coffee) sitting inside the building, downstairs by the ice rink in Rockefeller Center. Total side note: I have a very special connection to that building ... its where I made the call to Juilliard finding out I had been accepted. That call changed my whole life. *sniffle sniffle*
ANYWAY ... back to Bon Jovi. Next up, besides the CD signing on Friday is the AmEx private show at Alice Tully on Monday. I'm super-excited that I will be attending with FM. Tully is another very special place for me as I've played there a zillion (okay ... maybe only a million) times. Its a fabulous venue (and acoustically the best one in Lincoln Center I think, other than the Juilliard Theatre.) It will be an AWESOME night!
Okay ... I have GOT to get some sleep. Will write again soon ...
Ciao ciao for now.
