With visions of being a VIP at the show still in my head, we got to the venue in Boulder just as the doors were opening. And there were 2 insane lines. I was nervous, I figured we would have to wait at will call, but that's not what I wanted. I didn't want to get into the back of a long line, and they were letting the people who already had their tickets in, so the people who waited at will call then had to go to the end of the line of tickets. Urgh. So I checked with the venue staff just to make sure the tickets were at will call, I didn't want to wait in line if I didn't have to. But my dreams of being ushered in and swept back stage were dashed. They were just dreams, but there was a glimmer of hope right? Waiting in will call, which was a shorter line, was still torturous. It seemed that no one was moving. 
It took 5 minutes for each group ahead of us. Their were people without ID and then they had to figure out what to do with them and their were people that they couldn't find on the list for 5 minutes. Ugh. By the time we got close to the front the long line of people with tickets were all inside. I started to silently panic. Poor Erika, she could tell I was really frustrated, but there was nothing else we could do but wait. I didn't want to be really far away from the stage, but that seemed inevitable now since hundreds of people already were inside. We got to the box office and were a little sad when we only got little "admit one" tickets which we then had to relinquish to the door staff. So while Erika had been having her tickets signed, now we didn't have one. We saw the Matt posters for the venue outside. They said Matt's name, and the date in swirly psychedelic colors and had an outline of a girl licking a lollipop, it was so random, especially since most of the venues that have posters are the ones from Matt's people and have a picture of Matt on them, like the one I had gotten the night before, but these people made their own and it was 
not the better for it. We went inside and were so lucky that we got a spot right up front, only a few people back from the stage. Unfortunately I was behind tall people a little, I could maneuver and see well, but it was annoying, but fine considering we got inside with only 8 minutes before the show was suppose to start. But it didn't start! We waited and waited, and really, we wanted to see The Break and Repair Method again, because we'd been listening to their album on the driver to Boulder and were super excited now that we knew the songs even that much better. When they finally came on they were great. Every song I would turn to Erika and say "I love this song!" Every song, really. CHECK THEM OUT. Okay, enough said. I wasn't in a good position to see the singer who was more stage left but I was able to watch my new favorite drummer, Ryan. He was rockin and having a great time. The crowd seemed really into them. It was over far too soon. But we found out the 3 of the 4 band members are actually a part of Matchbox 20 and we almost told their uber fan that Rob Thomas is a d-bag, but we restrained ourselves. They played their untitled song and again asked the crowd what to call it, Erika screamed out to call it Boise, 
and Paul chuckled and relayed the story of what happened in Salt Lake and how all us Mormons were offended. Even though I thought it was funny, maybe some people were offended. How should I know? But this song is Erika's favorite. Then we had to wait for the next opener. And when she came out, she played for 45 minutes! After about the 3rd song, I kept hoping she would say "okay, this is the last song, goodnight!" but it took forever. My feet were already starting to go numb, I was trying to move around and dance to keep my circulation going, but it was not working very well which made me even more irritated that she wouldn't just stop. After an eternity she was done and now it was just time to wait for Matt. We saw him run from the stage level to a downstairs level off the stage.
It took 5 minutes for each group ahead of us. Their were people without ID and then they had to figure out what to do with them and their were people that they couldn't find on the list for 5 minutes. Ugh. By the time we got close to the front the long line of people with tickets were all inside. I started to silently panic. Poor Erika, she could tell I was really frustrated, but there was nothing else we could do but wait. I didn't want to be really far away from the stage, but that seemed inevitable now since hundreds of people already were inside. We got to the box office and were a little sad when we only got little "admit one" tickets which we then had to relinquish to the door staff. So while Erika had been having her tickets signed, now we didn't have one. We saw the Matt posters for the venue outside. They said Matt's name, and the date in swirly psychedelic colors and had an outline of a girl licking a lollipop, it was so random, especially since most of the venues that have posters are the ones from Matt's people and have a picture of Matt on them, like the one I had gotten the night before, but these people made their own and it was 
not the better for it. We went inside and were so lucky that we got a spot right up front, only a few people back from the stage. Unfortunately I was behind tall people a little, I could maneuver and see well, but it was annoying, but fine considering we got inside with only 8 minutes before the show was suppose to start. But it didn't start! We waited and waited, and really, we wanted to see The Break and Repair Method again, because we'd been listening to their album on the driver to Boulder and were super excited now that we knew the songs even that much better. When they finally came on they were great. Every song I would turn to Erika and say "I love this song!" Every song, really. CHECK THEM OUT. Okay, enough said. I wasn't in a good position to see the singer who was more stage left but I was able to watch my new favorite drummer, Ryan. He was rockin and having a great time. The crowd seemed really into them. It was over far too soon. But we found out the 3 of the 4 band members are actually a part of Matchbox 20 and we almost told their uber fan that Rob Thomas is a d-bag, but we restrained ourselves. They played their untitled song and again asked the crowd what to call it, Erika screamed out to call it Boise, 
and Paul chuckled and relayed the story of what happened in Salt Lake and how all us Mormons were offended. Even though I thought it was funny, maybe some people were offended. How should I know? But this song is Erika's favorite. Then we had to wait for the next opener. And when she came out, she played for 45 minutes! After about the 3rd song, I kept hoping she would say "okay, this is the last song, goodnight!" but it took forever. My feet were already starting to go numb, I was trying to move around and dance to keep my circulation going, but it was not working very well which made me even more irritated that she wouldn't just stop. After an eternity she was done and now it was just time to wait for Matt. We saw him run from the stage level to a downstairs level off the stage. They came on again to Queen. But they switched things up this show and started with To The Beat of Our Noisy Hearts and it was a great way to start. There seemed to be a lot of songs from Beneath These Fireworks, which I love every song, so I really enjoyed this show. It's funny 
because he'll introduce the songs as being off an "old" record and so I'm expecting something from albums before that, but I guess it was released in 2003 which is pretty old now, but it was my first Matt album, so it has eternal youth in my mind. But it was great, he played Sad Songs, Weight of it All and right after played Curve of the Earth, not to mention the Angel/ I Saw combination. I loved it! During solo time, Matt wasn't going by his set list. He played what the 2 uber fans behind us were yelling out, but the first song was Church Clothes, which is a song that I really love, so that made me very happy. It's a song that when it gets stuck in my head I really enjoy it.
because he'll introduce the songs as being off an "old" record and so I'm expecting something from albums before that, but I guess it was released in 2003 which is pretty old now, but it was my first Matt album, so it has eternal youth in my mind. But it was great, he played Sad Songs, Weight of it All and right after played Curve of the Earth, not to mention the Angel/ I Saw combination. I loved it! During solo time, Matt wasn't going by his set list. He played what the 2 uber fans behind us were yelling out, but the first song was Church Clothes, which is a song that I really love, so that made me very happy. It's a song that when it gets stuck in my head I really enjoy it. The next song he told us was about his brother who had been kicked out of Boulder or Colorado and I think when i saw him here in 2005 he mentioned his brother, but he didn't play this song. It was a song I had maybe heard once, called Miracles. It was really mellow and I wish I had 
known it better. But don't worry kids, I recorded the whole thing so we can all get to know it better.
known it better. But don't worry kids, I recorded the whole thing so we can all get to know it better. Church Clothes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbBqUHPOVOw
Once the band came back we were ready to rock again, he finally played Gone, Car Crash and Wedding Dress. We also got another Chance at the sing along for Take On Me. Finally my side won! But then it was discovered that the balcony on my side was the over 21 crowd that was drinking and the other balcony was under 21 and not drinking, and so a draw was called since alcohol in a sing along is like steroids at the Olympics. Dang it! I almost won! But it was still fun. But as he close with All We Are, I knew that this amazing Matt trip was coming to an end. Once again they made it back from just being on the jet to come back and play us an encore. Detroit Waves and finishing with 
the standard Come On Get Higher. At this point Erika and I are both so tired, since we only got a few hours of sleep the night before and had been going all day hanging out with her family. I was lucky enough to get a little 20 minute nap, so Erika needed some Red Bull, but we were still starting to come down from our Matt high. The show finished. Last time I saw Matt here, he came out to the front area and signed and took pictures and was just awesome, but we were getting kicked out again! We talked a little to Aaron and found out they were going to be flying
out to Portland to play a show tomorrow before playing the next tour stop. Aaron and John said how this crowd was so fun, so much better then the drunk crowd in Denver. They said it was one of the best shows. I thought the best show was the Salt Lake one, but this set list was incredible. Talking to the band we waited as long as we could. I still had backstage hope, it was quickly fizzling away. We saw his manager and thanked her for the tickets and said we wanted to thank Matt. She told us that the tour bus was parked on the next street and to just wait there since he's got to get on the bus at some point, so we decided that that was our best bet, we weren't seeing any of our band members where we were, so we might as well go wait in the cold for a chance. We told her that we had come from Salt lake and she said that that had been her favorite show and gave us the information that David Archeleta had vlogged about the show (which I linked to in the SLC post.) So we headed outside and saw the drummer of B&R Method and said hi, he seemed to be headed somewhere so he didn't stay and chat like the night before. We talked to each of Matt's band members, Erika had gotten one of the ugly 70-ish posters from the door and had them all sign it. I had decided that all I wanted was a few pictures and to thank Matt, no signing for me, I had gotten enough from him in the past few days that I wanted to be a little more laid back, but I still had the new CD in my purse in case I changed my mind. Although the band knew us at this point and signed nice things, not just their names on Erika's poster so I was little jealous that I didn't also have something signed, but I had gotten all the posters and set lists from other shows, so it was her time to sign. Although they were nice enough to shine, no one really chatted like they had the night before. Konrad and Aaron kept busy and John stopped briefly and awkwardly to chat with the other girls for a bit until they had run out of things to say. I felt bad because they would pause in saying something and I would interject just as they were saying something again. I was a total jerk, but it wasn't on purpose I promise.
the standard Come On Get Higher. At this point Erika and I are both so tired, since we only got a few hours of sleep the night before and had been going all day hanging out with her family. I was lucky enough to get a little 20 minute nap, so Erika needed some Red Bull, but we were still starting to come down from our Matt high. The show finished. Last time I saw Matt here, he came out to the front area and signed and took pictures and was just awesome, but we were getting kicked out again! We talked a little to Aaron and found out they were going to be flying
out to Portland to play a show tomorrow before playing the next tour stop. Aaron and John said how this crowd was so fun, so much better then the drunk crowd in Denver. They said it was one of the best shows. I thought the best show was the Salt Lake one, but this set list was incredible. Talking to the band we waited as long as we could. I still had backstage hope, it was quickly fizzling away. We saw his manager and thanked her for the tickets and said we wanted to thank Matt. She told us that the tour bus was parked on the next street and to just wait there since he's got to get on the bus at some point, so we decided that that was our best bet, we weren't seeing any of our band members where we were, so we might as well go wait in the cold for a chance. We told her that we had come from Salt lake and she said that that had been her favorite show and gave us the information that David Archeleta had vlogged about the show (which I linked to in the SLC post.) So we headed outside and saw the drummer of B&R Method and said hi, he seemed to be headed somewhere so he didn't stay and chat like the night before. We talked to each of Matt's band members, Erika had gotten one of the ugly 70-ish posters from the door and had them all sign it. I had decided that all I wanted was a few pictures and to thank Matt, no signing for me, I had gotten enough from him in the past few days that I wanted to be a little more laid back, but I still had the new CD in my purse in case I changed my mind. Although the band knew us at this point and signed nice things, not just their names on Erika's poster so I was little jealous that I didn't also have something signed, but I had gotten all the posters and set lists from other shows, so it was her time to sign. Although they were nice enough to shine, no one really chatted like they had the night before. Konrad and Aaron kept busy and John stopped briefly and awkwardly to chat with the other girls for a bit until they had run out of things to say. I felt bad because they would pause in saying something and I would interject just as they were saying something again. I was a total jerk, but it wasn't on purpose I promise.The lead signer for the opening band was walking by, we had seen him briefly in Salt Lake, but never talked to him. He looked determined to ignore us, but after I called out his name, he turned. There was only Erika and I and a group of 3 other girls, so he probably figured we were just waiting for Matt (which was true, but we're not going to pass up an great opportunity) and so we all introduced ourselves and it was very formal, he would get our name shake our hand and say "I'm Paul" or "Paul" for every person, even though we had all heard his name. Maybe he wanted to make sure we remembered him. Erika and I told him how much we loved his set and he seemed really taken back. We told him that we bought a CD and the other group said they had too. He seemed kind of insecure about whether the crowd had liked them. We told him that this was our third show and just loved all the songs. I told him I loved how he played like he was on fire, really banging the keys and that we loved how he had used his foot to slam the keys in Denver. He was really buoyed by our loving words, or maybe he's really self deprecating. We wanted to tell him how much we hate Rob Thomas, but we didn't know if that was a sore spot or not, so we'll save that comment for next time. Erika almost forgot to ask about the "Boise" song, but she asked if she could download it or when she could get it and told him that it was the song that made her a fan. Someone with him said they had recorded it that night and so had a live recording, so we'll see if that's made available. I hope that it is, because that song will light your 
pants on fire! The whole band hoped into a car and made a get away.
pants on fire! The whole band hoped into a car and made a get away.Then Matt came out! He was only wearing a scarf and jacket and said, "Okay let's do this before we freeze our butts off!" Which meant, this needed to be quick, but luckily there weren't many of us. He talked with the other group, they got their set list signed. One girl asked if he could have a friend of her propose to his girlfriend at his show on Saturday. Matt seemed sympathetic, but adamant that he couldn't do that for one person because then everyone would would want personal things done for them and it would all snowball, which I can understand, but how cool would it be to be proposed to at a concert that you both love. Oh well. I found out later from teh set list picture that I took that during the solo part he was suppose to do Wings and Gospel. Which I actually called out for Wings and Gospel is one of my other favorites, they are both on my favorite album, Still Waiting for Spring, so that would have been so great for me, but i guess we can't have everything, can we? If I had known, I would have chastised Matt, so it's good that I didn't know.
We took their pictures and then it was our turn. Matt said something like "well willow, you made it"and I went all fan girl and had to rush in for the hug. He remembered my name! Officially! yeah it had only been one night and he had written it on his hand (his hand!) and so it was not likely he would be able to forget so quickly, but it was still fun. We took a group shot, we wanted individual shots, but we were taking what we could get and trying to be gracious. I had done my hair curly instead of the usual "dressed up" straight and he touched my hair and and said "Your hair looks cute." Then I died. Right there. We thanked him profusely and he hugged us again. I think I got 3 hugs. It was a little hazy. We wanted to get our individual pictures but after seeing Erika's poster and finding out that the band actually liked them the other girls asked if there were extras, so Matt was going to get them a poster and we decided our time had come. We wished them a good trip up to Portland and said goodbye. We practically skipped to car. It was over, but it ended with an incredible show and we got to say thanks and goodbye, what more could we ask for? Then next day was the drive home, we had come, we had seen, we had kicked Colorado's trash and had a better time than we ever imagined. We got into both shows, we meet Matt after every show, had decent conversations with him, met all the band members and found a new group to love.
I know that while some of friends would definitely be up for a road trip, it's unlikely that any would be able to drop everything with only 24 hours notice and be gone for 3 days, on the chance that we would get into one or two sold out shows. So my thanks go out to Erika, and her brother, the people who sold us tickets and to Matt and his band and manager and all others who made this the most fun I've had on a crazy whim! Peace out!
I know that while some of friends would definitely be up for a road trip, it's unlikely that any would be able to drop everything with only 24 hours notice and be gone for 3 days, on the chance that we would get into one or two sold out shows. So my thanks go out to Erika, and her brother, the people who sold us tickets and to Matt and his band and manager and all others who made this the most fun I've had on a crazy whim! Peace out!
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