Post by Susan on Jun 11, 2008 11:20:58 GMT -5
What a great day at Clear Lake. We drove up on Friday night and stayed till Sunday. Once again I would like to thank Andy for taking care of the arrangements. And Mark for setting it all up.
We arrived at the concert Saturday. It was Randy, my mom & me. This is my mom's first time going to a show like this and was so excited about meeting a Van Zant. We picked up our tickets along with backstage pass's. Everything was going smoothly untill it was time to meet the band. Mom is in a wheel chair and they had the meet & greet un a dressing room with stairs. I didn't know what to do. Mom said for us to go ahead and go in
and she would wait outside. I felt bad. Than here comes Mark (38's Road Manager) and says hang on a minute. He goes inside and the next thing I know the door opens and here comes Donnie. Smiling and saying hi. He left the meet & greet to come to us. How considerate is that of Donnie? I get my hug and Randy gets a hand shake and delivers a manly huge telling Donnie it is from Janet. Sorry Janet, Randy would NOT give him the kiss you wanted to go along with it.... .
I than introduce Donnie to my mom and she just can't stop smiling. He treated my mom with so much love and respect that I wanted to cry. Donnie kept asking if he could get her something to drink, soda, water, ice tea. She said no she was fine. She had bought a .38 Special baseball cap and he signed it for her and than took a pic with her. She explained to Donnie that the maintenance crew came and removed the chair she was assigned so we could put the whelelchair there. Donnie says, "Well they better have cuz they don't want this short guy mad for not treating you like a VIP". I just laughed but mom felt very important. Donnie continued to hang for a while and talk to us. We stayed back stage for a bit and Donnie went back in, It wasn't long before the door opened again and there was Donnie with 3 ice cold bottles of water. He brought them to us cuz he was worried about mom in the heat. How awesome is that? Mome and I kept ours but Randy drank his. I want to thank Donnie for being so kind and making my moms day. She is still talking about it and calling everyone.
Now we are in our seats and .38 Special hits the stage. Mom never took her eye's off them. To see them live was a thrill she will never forget. They blasted on stage with Rockin Into The Night and from there on I just know that the sang all my favorite songs. As always Donnie was all over the stage giving us all a show. Don and Danny on Guitars are (as always) on top of their game. The crowd loved them and rocked out, danced and the women were screaming out "I love You".
The also included the audience in singing. I feel that when they tell us to sing it and put the mic into the crowd, it makes them go even wilder. Involving the audience always gives us fans a sense of respect and appreciation from the band. L.J. on Bass and Gary on Drums are always so awesome to watch, he is just COOL. Bobby on the keyboard is one of a kind. I love it when he comes down to the front of the stage to get the crowd going. Gary on drums is always spectacular. He plays those drums like he was born sitting at them. I did get a chance to talk with both Gary and Danny backstage. I tell you I don't know that you will ever find a nicer bunch of men. I for one will rock outwith .38 Special for the rest of my life. The are my number ONE band of all time. Thank you guys for 30 yrs of entertainment.
Mom with Donnie. Can you see how happy she is
Randy & Donnie
Donnie hangin & chatting with mom
Guess who with Donnie?
Donnie signing an autograph
These next few pics are just hanging out backstage while they are getting ready to go on.
On Stage
Hope you all enjoyed this and the pics.
We arrived at the concert Saturday. It was Randy, my mom & me. This is my mom's first time going to a show like this and was so excited about meeting a Van Zant. We picked up our tickets along with backstage pass's. Everything was going smoothly untill it was time to meet the band. Mom is in a wheel chair and they had the meet & greet un a dressing room with stairs. I didn't know what to do. Mom said for us to go ahead and go in
and she would wait outside. I felt bad. Than here comes Mark (38's Road Manager) and says hang on a minute. He goes inside and the next thing I know the door opens and here comes Donnie. Smiling and saying hi. He left the meet & greet to come to us. How considerate is that of Donnie? I get my hug and Randy gets a hand shake and delivers a manly huge telling Donnie it is from Janet. Sorry Janet, Randy would NOT give him the kiss you wanted to go along with it.... .
I than introduce Donnie to my mom and she just can't stop smiling. He treated my mom with so much love and respect that I wanted to cry. Donnie kept asking if he could get her something to drink, soda, water, ice tea. She said no she was fine. She had bought a .38 Special baseball cap and he signed it for her and than took a pic with her. She explained to Donnie that the maintenance crew came and removed the chair she was assigned so we could put the whelelchair there. Donnie says, "Well they better have cuz they don't want this short guy mad for not treating you like a VIP". I just laughed but mom felt very important. Donnie continued to hang for a while and talk to us. We stayed back stage for a bit and Donnie went back in, It wasn't long before the door opened again and there was Donnie with 3 ice cold bottles of water. He brought them to us cuz he was worried about mom in the heat. How awesome is that? Mome and I kept ours but Randy drank his. I want to thank Donnie for being so kind and making my moms day. She is still talking about it and calling everyone.
Now we are in our seats and .38 Special hits the stage. Mom never took her eye's off them. To see them live was a thrill she will never forget. They blasted on stage with Rockin Into The Night and from there on I just know that the sang all my favorite songs. As always Donnie was all over the stage giving us all a show. Don and Danny on Guitars are (as always) on top of their game. The crowd loved them and rocked out, danced and the women were screaming out "I love You".
The also included the audience in singing. I feel that when they tell us to sing it and put the mic into the crowd, it makes them go even wilder. Involving the audience always gives us fans a sense of respect and appreciation from the band. L.J. on Bass and Gary on Drums are always so awesome to watch, he is just COOL. Bobby on the keyboard is one of a kind. I love it when he comes down to the front of the stage to get the crowd going. Gary on drums is always spectacular. He plays those drums like he was born sitting at them. I did get a chance to talk with both Gary and Danny backstage. I tell you I don't know that you will ever find a nicer bunch of men. I for one will rock outwith .38 Special for the rest of my life. The are my number ONE band of all time. Thank you guys for 30 yrs of entertainment.
Mom with Donnie. Can you see how happy she is
Randy & Donnie
Donnie hangin & chatting with mom
Guess who with Donnie?
Donnie signing an autograph
These next few pics are just hanging out backstage while they are getting ready to go on.
On Stage
Hope you all enjoyed this and the pics.