A week ago, one of my local radio stations had daily brainteaser contests. The winning callers received two tickets for each of two days of Christian concerts that would be occurring over the weekend.
I was determined to win tickets. I wanted to see the bands that were going to be featured…my memories from last summer’s concerts fresh on my mind.
Long story short, I won, being the brainiac that I am. No. Scratch that. I’d have to credit the Lord for the tickets. I’m not really all that smart and had a bit of luck on my side. Either way, I won, and I was happy.
I was thrilled and picked up my tickets on Friday. Well, I was shocked when the guy at the radio station told me that I didn’t need to take chairs because there would be chairs already set up in the VIP section.
Oh my goodness!
I had planned to take Rooster to the concerts with me; however, Dancing Girl was having her 16th birthday party on Friday night, and he had already planned to go.
I called up my friend, Jane, who I taught with last year, and she agreed to be my date for the evening.
Now, you guys have to first understand that Jane is 61 years old. Don’t let her age fool you, though. She’s not your typical 61 year old.
Nope.
Jane is way cool and has more energy than most 20-something-year-olds.
I was thrilled to get to spend the evening with her because our schedules are going to be busy this year, and we’re not going to get to see each other as often.
As we drove to the venue, we saw a sign that said, “VIP Parking.”
“Nathalie, do you have VIP parking?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but I have VIP tickets. Let’s try,” I said.
Turns out that the tickets got us to the good parking spots as well.
It was our first taste of the VIP treatment, and we were as giddy as children with candy.
We went in our own special entrance and had special bracelets put on our arms…
We were also given tickets for free drinks (not alcoholic, mind you…this was a Christian concert series).
We found the gated off section and saw white chairs set up in rows. We found seats in the fifth row.
Can you say happy? We got a gal to take our photo, which I’m planning on having framed. Jane is such a dear friend to me.
We chatted until the first band began to play…PETRA!!
I don’t know how familiar you are with Christian music, so I feel that I must explain that Petra has been around for forty years. Their music has the feel of heavy metal. At the time they began playing oh so many years ago, most Christian music fell into the genre of Gospel. Petra helped revolutionize and popularize Christian music.
I am quite proud of the little camera I own. It takes GREAT pictures, as you probably know by now. This post is going to be picture-heavy, so be forewarned. I just couldn’t decide which pictures to omit.
Here are some snapshots I got of Petra…
The guy in the next picture stirred Jane’s heart. I think she liked his long hair, and I chuckled as she told me he was cute…
I don’t want to leave out any of the band members. This guy was awesome!
They performed a GREAT show and took their bows at the end…
We had to wait a bit between acts so the next act could set up the stage according to its preferences. There was a screen hung up on one side of the stage, and Christian short films were shown.
I, however, had to go potty. I was not happy at the thought; however, when nature calls, you answer. So, I went looking for the restroom and was dismayed to discover that I would have to use a porta potty.
Folks, I am a soccer mom who has loathed porta potties for many years. I refused to use them unless it was early the first morning of the tournament…when my hiney was the first to sit on the nasty seat and the potty cubical wasn’t stinky.
Here’s what I saw as I approached…
I was a little curious because I’d never seen a potty that large. Usually these things are closets. I was not expecting much when I walked in.
Let me tell you…I was shocked when I opened the door…
The first thing I noticed was the smell. It was…get this…PLEASANT. No pee smell to stick on my body after leaving. On no sir.
There were four…yes FOUR…bathroom stalls in this trailer. Every stall had toilet paper, and the toilets flushed!!!
The sinks…yes, there were two…had HOT and cold water…and soap!! AND, there were paper towels too!!!!
Being a VIP was FUN, let me tell you.
On the way back to my seat, I had to walk under a tent set up with tables and chairs. I saw a long banquet table set up with food, and a couple of people were filling up their plates.
Curious, I asked if the food was for workers of the concert or for patrons.
Get this…it was for VIP guests, of which I was one of.
JACKPOT!
There were various types of meat, but there were also vegetables!!!! SCORE!
Jane had been keeping watch over our seats, so when I returned, I just had to share our good fortune, urging her to go pee and check things out. I also told her to grab herself a plate of food on the way back. Her eyes got big.
Yep, that’s me…good friend that I am.
Jane came back raving over the toilet trailer.
We were living the high life in Podunk, USA.
Good times indeed!
But, I digress. Back to the concert stuff.
Next up was Matthew West…
This guy’s music was much easier on the ears, and I quickly realized that I was familiar with his songs, having heard them on the radio and sung them in church. His band was FANTASTIC!
What impressed me about Matthew was the way he connected with the audience. At one point, he went into the audience and found a guy he nicknamed “The Rickster.” Apparently, this guy had not been singing the La La La La La lyrics, and Matthew had busted him…
He gave The Rickster his own solo, and the guy, bless his heart, was a good sport and sang into the microphone. It was priceless!
Here are a few more pictures of Matthew, who sang songs from a new album that is about to be released.
Last up for the night was Third Day!!! Oh my gosh, but the crowd had increased exponentially. Jane was pumped. Third Day is her favorite Christian group, and she owns all of the band’s CDs. She started singing as the lead singer began…
So, what is up with lead singers and long hair? Must go with the territory, eh? Oh, I’m not complaining…just making an observation…
I took TONS of pictures that I think really captured the fun and mood of Third Day’s session…
It’s so easy to understand, when you see this band in concert, why it is so popular. The lyrics sung are powerful, and the voices are deep and rich. God has blessed these guys and continues to bless people through the music they play.
The next series of pictures show you the keyboard player. Look at the fun this guy was having…
And here are more pictures…random…of Third Day…
Check out this guy’s guitar…silver!!
I just love the next picture…raising his hands to Jesus in praise…
I have such respect for those whom God granted the gift of music to…
I think the next series of pictures are neat, given the red/pink background…totally unplanned…
The band came out for an encore, and we were treated to one more song…
And then it was time to go…for real this time…
I was exhausted when the evening was over, and my ears were not working very well. Still, Jane and I laughed and chatted the entire way back to my car and during the ride back to her apartment where I dropped her off.
I felt incredibly blessed and, truth be told, a little special. The VIP treatment was just what I needed.
The best part? There was another day of concerts coming up. I could not wait!
Filed under: Christian | Tagged: Christian music, concerts, Jamie Grace, Matthew West, Third Day, VIP | 5 Comments »
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