My brother (Travis) and I drove down to San Francisco from Tacoma, WA. 15 hours later, we arrived tired, but enthusiastic! The next day, I got up well rested and spent the afternoon working on finishing Nadia's doll. I was informed that Travis and I could wander down and possibly sit in during the sound check at 5pm. I asked if An and Odette could come in, too. Long story short for that, they could. Yay! I finished up the doll and about that time and I got a call from Odette saying that they were outside the venue. It worked out well since we were about to head there, anyway! We hung around outside the venue awhile. Troy came by with Bruce (Lena's merch manager) and got hugs and we talked a little while. He mentioned Steve's absence and would later tweet that Steve had gone mad and that they had to shoot him, so Jesper would be replacing him for the show, lol (he was actually busy touring with Against All Will). He asked where everyone was staying and that if we had no where to go, he'd gladly give us a key to Sven's place, LOL! Joking, joking! They'd all come and go now and then while we waited. I kinda felt bad cause I wasn't sure if An and Odette really wanted to just stand around since I wasn't actually sure when we could go in. They went to get some food and came back. We were still waiting, but it's cool. Anywho, Sven came out a little later and got hugs, too, and we talked with him a bit.
Awhile later, An went to throw something in the trash across the street. As she was coming back, she started walking across the street and began running. I was confused cause it looked like she was running from a turning car or something! Turns out she saw Lena. We hadn't seen her since we were around the corner of the building. Lena saw Odette, came over, and talked briefly. I don't know why, but I felt really casual. Not like "OMG IT'S LENA KATINA" or something. It was just like meeting up with a friend on the street. Lena just has that air about her. Just the kind of person you can feel comfortable around. Her hair was in braided pigtails and she had her orange track jacket on with a scarf bundled around her neck. It was a bit cold out and of course, we all know Lena is always cold. She went inside and we waited around a little longer. I got a twitter update from Troy saying that Jesper got hit by a homeless person with a cane and he laughed his ass off! Too funny! We had an experience or 2 with some particularly odd homeless people. I mean, I feel bad that they are homeless, but sometimes, it's just incredibly awkward. You don't want to be mean to them, but you just want to be left alone because it's a little uncomfortable. What can ya do. Troy tweeted a pic of the inside of the venue, so as a joke, I tweeted him back and said "...it looks nice and WARM in there!"
Around 8:30 or 9, we were allowed in. The sound check was beginning. Bruce asked if I'd like to help bundle postcards, so I did and Travis, An, and Odette came and did, too. After that, we sat out of the way in the back of the venue and watched the sound check. When Domen was up, they had the bass sound WAY up and it vibrated the place HARDCORE. It was AWESOME! The band rehearsed ATTSS and Lena came out about that time and watched them, her hair in rollers and, I'm assuming, a warm beverage in a tumbler. When the mic checks came up, Lena spoke into them before Nadia and Nicole came out. When everyone was together, they rehearsed a handful of songs. Like An said, Lena placed the mic in her shirt during "Lost in this Dance" since it looked like the stand wasn't there, yet. Nadia and Nicole danced during it. They're actually quite good! Olga came by and asked An and Odette to help upstairs in the VIP area. Travis and I wandered back to the merch booth and helped roll posters.
Soon, the doors opened and the event began. It started off with some of the DJs. Mostly people dancing and raving. It's not really my scene, personally, so I just stood around by the booth. It was funny cause I kept getting asked questions since it seemed people thought I was working at the booth. I did what I could! I made change, answered some questions when I could, and watched the booth if Bruce needed to go somewhere. It was fun, actually!
At some point, Sven came by and asked me and Bruce if we wanted anything to eat or drink. He brought us each down a sandwich and a Red Bull. Svenny gave me wiiiiings! LOL! I needed it, too! The big question was obviously when Lena's set would begin. We weren't actually sure, but it would be between 11 and 12. At about 12am, the opening to Running Blind started and the show began. I didn't get center, but I was in the front row by Lena's keyboard. She walked out on stage and looked phenomenal! Her ensemble was classy, yet sexy. She sang beautifully (as did Nadia and Nicole). The set list was the same as the Troubadour's. Lena, Nadia, and Nicole interacted a lot with the crowd! It was awesome! When they played "IRS", during the instrumental portion, Nicole and Nadia got freaky with Lena!
After she sang "Craving", she went to remove her hat and shoes so she could move more freely and dance and began singing "Cosmos". When she went to sing "Lost in this Dance", I had to smile ironically. Before the show began, Travis and I were standing in front of the stage. It was almost 5 feet off the ground, so I joked that I hoped Lena wasn't going to wear a skirt since the stage was so high up. When she came over to sing "LitD", she sat down on a box since the piano seat was forgotten and well, from where I was standing and at my height, um...well...yeah. I felt bad! Sure, she has beautiful legs, but when they're literally a foot and a half away from face, it's hard not to want to admire them, but you don't want to feel like some kind of weirdo, so exercising restraint is essential!
So, when I recorded her singing, I kept the camera level with the top of the keyboard and concentrated on her face. I SUCCEEDED! I was a good girl! When the first part of the set list ended, the lights dimmed only to come back on as Nicole and Nadia were pulling Lena back on to the stage for the encore. Lena asked how many Russians were in the crowd and spoke to them in Russian. She sang "30 минут" for the lyrics and "30 Minutes" for the chorus. Before the second verse, Lena asked the crowd "Russian or English?? Russian or English??" They ended the encore with NGGU. At the end of the song, I laughed when Lena kind of bowed with her back to Nicole and Nadia and both reached out and pretended to grab her butt!
It was a great concert! It almost went without fan drama, too! I can't remember which song was about to begin, but before it did, a guy close the front yelled "F**K YULIA" really loud. The crowd reaction was a mixture of shock and awkwardness. If Lena heard it, she didn't show it. Be mad at Volk if you want, but don't bring that to Lena's show. It mostly pissed me off primarily because dude...it's still Lena's friend. Why would you practically say that her face?
It was uncalled for, that's for sure.
Afterward, the VIP meet and greet began upstairs. I couldn't afford VIP for this show. I scrounged just to get there at all, so I was content just to be there even if I couldn't go the VIP part. Besides, I went in Milwaukee, so it's all good! Anyway, I went back to the merch booth and hung out, again. A short time later, Sven came down with Nicole and Nadia and I was able to give them their dolls. They said they remembered me from Milwaukee. I gave Nadia hers first. She was really surprised. I was about to give Nicole hers, but I'd noticed the tag holder came untied, so I had to put the tag back on first. It was kind of embarrassing and it didn't help that my hands were shaking a little, so putting it back on the string was difficult.
Anyway, I eventually got it and gave it to her. Their reactions were priceless! It was really rewarding! They screamed and jumped about, excitedly! They asked me a little about them and then thanked me profusely before we got a pic together and then they danced around with them! Too great! I'm glad they liked them so much!
Their dolls actually took the most effort because I had to dye the fabric for the skin tone!! I would have liked the dye to come out a little darker, but no matter what I did, the fabric just wouldn't take it like I wanted it to. It's the BEST fabric, but it only comes in one color. Ah, well. What can you do?
Around 4am, the event was winding down. Bruce began taking the booth down and I sat around watching it while he took stuff out to the car...van...whatever they were driving. An and Odette came down and said they were going to head out and that they were hopefully going to see Lena outside at some point because they had forgotten to give her the gift they brought to her from Holland. It was really cute! We said bye and parted. While sitting there, a small group of over-excited and/or mildly intoxicated fans came down and started "talking" to me. Random stuff, really. Bruce had taken all the merchandise down except the display copy of the Troubadour poster. It was taped to the table, so I'm guessing he didn't take it because it had tape on it. Anyway, one of them kept asking if it was mine. I said no, it was the display. They kept hinting they wanted it and that I should hook them up. I asked why they thought I could hook them up and one was like "don't you work here?" and I said no, I was just a fan that was helping out and watching the booth. He didn't seem convinced. Then he asked if I was the band's security. I bit back a laugh and said no and repeated I was just a fan. He said "oh, so you're waiting for Lena, then?" and I said no and that I had no idea where she was. He said "bullsh*t, you know where she is because you're security" and I insisted that I was just a fan. So, he went to the poster and basically removed it from where it was taped. 3 attempts later and he took it. I was polite, but I really just wanted to be left alone. Bruce came back a short time later and handed me a paper. I looked at it and saw it was a copy of the set list. On the bottom was written:
"Hey, you thief!
Bring the set list back to where it came from!!!
'Kidding' - Keep it!"
I wasn't sure at first who wrote it, but the way I figured it out was the way the letter "H" was written. It was written the same way the "H" in my name was...when Lena signed my tour book in Milwaukee!! I later asked Bruce just to be sure. He came back and said "you got quite the little collector's item there. Lena wrote that!" I laughed and told him to thank her for me. The guy from earlier came over and saw it and freaked out because he also recognized Lena's handwriting. He joked that he hated me and practically begged me to give it to him. I put it in my folder and into my bag. At that point, he was again convinced I had the hook up and wanted me to get him something...so of course, I had to insist I was just a fan, again. Anyway, Bruce thanked me for helping him out and we said our see-you-laters. Lena came down the stairs about that time, but I didn't want to bother her since I'm sure she was exhausted, so I let it go and Travis and I walked out of the venue. I saw Troy, shook his hand and thanked him for everything and then went back to the motel.
It was an awesomely memorable night and I'm looking forward to finding out where the next gig will be! Hopefully, I can make it for that one, too!