Okay, before you read this, there are a few things you should know:

1. This is gonna be a long recap lol…but my meeting with the band starts on the 4th paragraph (meeting Joey, 2nd paragraph!)
2. I have gone to the Chesaning Showboat Festival every year since I was 2 years old. IT is the smallest event ever and I never expected David Cook to come there, let alone on a night I would be there. So yeah, when I found out, I might have run around the block screaming or something
3. I love Andy Skib…yes, more than David Cook. Sorry, not gonna hide the truth. David has no problem with it so hopefully I won’t get too many messages about how disloyal I am to David. I love David, I realize it is because of him that I know Andy, but I have grown to love Andy just a little more.

Okay, so here goes. So on Saturday I went to the fairgrounds and waited 4 hours in the sun for David’s bus. I have a nice sunburn to show for it, and some guy even told me I looked like Bozo…lol. Anyways, 4 hours later, David’s bus pulled up and I freaked out. Once the bus was in the barricade, all the gates closed. Now I could have been creepy and snuck in because there are like 4 cops tops in Chesaning, but I actually do respect the band’s privacy. I was there with a few other fans. They were nice and I was glad to see no “regulars” there. Even the one guard acknowledged that we could easily overtake him and get it, but everyone was respectful and did not try to sneak in.

Anyways, the first one out of the bus was Neal. I screamed his name and he waved at me. The same happened with Joey. Kyle was with his wife, so I didn’t yell for him at the time. Then David came out and smiled at us. Andy never got out of the bus, apparently he was late. Then the band, minus Andy, disappeared, but Dublin came out and was let free, so he ran right over to the fence and let me pet him. I got down on the ground and he gave me a kiss on the lips!!! Yup, David’s dog kissed me!!! Then I saw Joey. I asked him if he would come and sign for the 10ish people there. He was like Sure! And came right over. I was sooo excited!! He was the nicest person ever…very polite and constantly thanking us for coming and for supporting then. I was like “Thank you so much” and then he was like “no, thank you! It’s great to come out and see you all.” Then I got a pic with him…I told him he has awesome hair and he said he was thinking about dying his facial hair but he was afraid he would turn his entire face purple. The entire conversation, he had his arm around me and I was silently squee-ing lol!!! Then some people asked if we could get a whole band picture. He said he was up for it, but the rest of the band was busy, especially David, who was doing millions of interviews. He took pics with everyone and was just the sweetest person ever…I wanted to take him home lol. He even opened up the gates to the barrier if we promised not to stampede lol. After Joey came, no one else did, but I did get random waves from Neal, Kyle, and David as they walked around, but still no Andy.

Then they did a soundcheck. They did Make Me and Til I’m Blue…I was so excited because this was my first time hearing them live. Afterwards, David came out of the bus and played baseball with Joey and a stage crew guy. They were pretty bad lol. The highlight was watching Joey chase after David’s fastball which ended up under a trailer. Joey quit early because he kept missing catches because the wind kept blowing his hair in his face, but David played a while longer. Neal stood off to the side, smoking but I still hadn’t seen Andy. When David left, the crowds that suddenly appeared also left. All of a sudden, I saw Andy and screamed “I love you Andy Skib!!” He turned and waved and than MADE MY DAY!! Just wow!!

After that, I left and found my family and we sat in our seats (21st row, Andy’s side). I left to get a David shirt. When I came back, my aunt was like “Go meet your Aunt and Uncle, you’re going to David’s Meet and Greet!” I squealed, freaked, hyperventilated, and then started crying…people were looking at me really strange, but I was going to meet David Cook! I ran up the stairs and found my Uncle, who told me to hurry because I was the last one. I got in a line of maybe 20 people…I was now on the other side of the barricade (legally) waiting for David. People around me were excited, but I was so pumped that people came over just to shake my hand. Finally, I turned the corner, and I saw the greatest sight…it wasn’t just David, it was the whole band!!!! I was going to get the full band picture!!! I thought I was going to die! We were 2 people away when Joey suddenly shouted “Hey, it’s that whole band picture!” I turned and he was waving at me! He remembered me!! I was dead. When it was my turn, Joey came over and gave me a high five. Then I said something like “Sorry I’m so excited and weird” and David leaned over and was like “It’s perfectly fine, you’re okay.” Yup dead. Then I shook Kyle’s hand and he signed a picture of him. When I got to David, the only thing I could say was “Could you use a silver sharpie?” and “Thank you” I wasn’t exactly articulate at that moment. Then I got to Neal and Andy and I got my picture of both of them together out. When Neal saw it, he said “Aww, I love Andy” and they gave each other a huge hug right in front of me!!! It was just too much! Andy pointed out that my shirt said “The Doctor” on the sleeve, and Neal was like “Sweet!!” They both signed my picture as David announced “It’s all a show, they really hate each other, I promise!” Everyone laughed and then my mom was like “Well, you can choose where you want to stand for the picture, and then I said “I’m standing next to Andy because he is my favorite person in the world and I love him.” David did a cute little gasp and pretended to look offended saying “What about me?” I quickly apologized by saying “Sorry, I figured you had a lot of fans already!” (did I just say that to David??...I really wasn’t thinking, but he thought it was hilarious) David laughed and said “Don’t worry, Andy is my favorite too.” He thought it was great that Andy got some love. Meanwhile, as this was happening, or before (time was kind of a blur lol), Andy gave me the most adorable surprised look and said “Me? I’m flattered! Really me?” then he smiled at me and turned to David and pretended to give him a smuggish look, which caused David to bow to Andy. It was great! Then Andy put his arm around me and we got the picture. I then turned back to Andy and told him that To Have Heroes is amazing and I love all his music and that I wish him the best. He was so sweet and kept saying thank you and smiling. Then I had to leave and they all said goodbye to me, but then I realized I hadn’t said much to Neal so I turned and said “Oh, Neal, I love you too and you’re awesome” he smiled and nodded at me lol. Then it was over, I was crying and squealing and hyperventilating. I had a pic with the whole band! Life was great!

As for the concert. NeedToBreathe was amazing and David even more so. He did Make Me, which was what I came for. A Daily AntheM was all I could have imagined and so much more. The crowd was a little small, but they were loud and on their feet the whole concert. I think David really enjoyed the crowd enthusiasm and fed off of it. I learned a few things seeing David and the band live:
A. David is so charismatic on stage. When singing he engages the crowd and his voice doesn’t suffer one bit. His banter is also hilarious!!
B. Neal absolutely shreds on guitar…just electric to be able to watch him. So much energy, amazing solos, he even did a Joey jump!
C. I love Andy more and more everyday lol…but I never realized how much he was to work switching between keyboard and guitar on Light On. He’s so talented and amazing!
D. Joey is a sweetheart. He is amazing live…his energy is so adorable and I love the way he moves around the stage.
E. Kyle was blocked by a pole the whole concert, but I could hear him all the same and wow!! What talent squeezed into a 21 year old “kid”

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm295/smokinsox20/david094-1.jpg

Above should be the pic of me and the band! I'm by Andy lol!