If anyone were to tell you that the Glee Live concert is amazing, don’t believe it. Because it’s so much more than that. In fact, it’s arguably one of the best shows I’ve ever been to (Darren Criss’ performance in the Yale Glee Club in SF is the other).
The entire day was just unbelievably wonderful. It still feels like it was a really good dream.
It all started when I arrived quite early at the HP Pavilion in Downtown San Jose, where the concert was going to be. After a little while, I started walking toward the nearest coffee shop to wait in and get something to eat. But, along the way, I passed by the hotel my sister got married in, and there were three huge, fancy tour buses outside the building.
“…No way,” I thought to myself, gaping at them like an idiot. And then I hurried inside.
I sat down in the lobby and, moments later, saw Curt Mega step off the elevator. Suddenly, someone slapped him on the back in greeting and I peeked around the corner to catch sight of Riker Lynch. Then Jon Hall stepped off the elevator and I was panicking because the Warblers were standing a few feet away from me. I tried to find the courage to go over and say hello, but they were approached by two women I assumed were managers, who mentioned some important travel information with them.
The managers eventually left, and Curt, Riker, and Jon left the hotel and walked down the street to get lunch or something. Figuring that they would come back eventually, I decided to wait around in the hopes of catching sight of Darren Criss.
Several of the backup dancers and stand-in Warblers (meaning they weren’t in the show but they’re on tour) passed through the lobby. One of those Warblers was even singing Silly Love Songs to himself (very loudly, I might add).
I started to get anxious, so I went outside the hotel to stretch my legs a little bit. And that was when Riker, Jon, and Curt were walking back! I told myself to talk to them for sure this time. And I tried. I really did. I even opened my mouth to say hello, but nothing came out. I totally lost my nerve. And they gave me strange looks as they passed. I was so ashamed of myself.
Eventually I went back inside the hotel and waited around in the lobby for almost three hours before a manager came by and kicked me out.
Outside, I noticed the bus drivers and four other people I assumed were fans were waiting around too. After a little while of waiting, Jon came out of the hotel. I wanted to ask him for a picture, but he had headphones on, so I didn’t want to bother him. Still, when I waved at him, he smiled and waved back before boarding the bus.
Not long after that, Riker came out. Without even stopping to think, I quickly said, “Hi Riker!”. And he immediately came over, greeted me back, and then gave me a big hug. He asked me what my name was and if I was going to the show that night. I finally worked up the nerve to ask him to take a picture with me. One of the bus drivers was nice enough to come over to take it. Then I asked Riker how he liked San Jose so far and he said that it’s “beautiful” before we said goodbye and he boarded the bus.
He was so sweet.
A few minutes later, Jon came out of the bus, but he was still wearing his head phones, so I couldn’t approach him. But then Curt came out of the hotel, so I smiled and waved at him. “Hi,” I began, but couldn’t seem to get anymore words past my throat.
Fortunately, he just kind of smiled at me and said, “I’m Curt.”
“I know,” I replied, internally wincing at myself because doesn’t that sound incredibly stupid? He shook my hand and looked like he was about to ask my name, so I told him what it was.
“Have you met Jon?” Curt asked, gesturing to where he stood.
I nodded. “But he has his headphones on so I didn’t want to bother him.”
Curt beckoned Jon over, who took his headphones off and smiled at me as he approached. Riker came off the bus too and Titus Makin came out of the hotel.
I asked if I could take a picture with all of them, but Curt seemed reluctant. “How about just with these guys?” he asked. “I’ll take the picture.”
But Nick is one of my favorite Warblers and I must have been making a dismayed sort of expression, because the bus driver wandered over again and offered to take the picture. All five of us gathered together, but I think at some point Riker jumped out, because there’s only Titus, Curt, and Jon with me. Then they stopped to talk to me, asking where my seat was for the concert and if I followed them on Twitter.
The other fans started to realize that I was taking pictures with “important” people, so they hurried over to get their turn. But the bus was about to leave and they had to go, so really I was the only person who got to take a picture with them. But before they left they said they would see me later (although how, I have no idea)!
After the buses left, the other Glee fans approached me. Two of the girls were from New Castle, UK, but -unfortunately- their names escape me at the moment. The other two were a boy and girl (Litttlej), high school students who live in the same area I do. They asked me if I wanted to join them to go to another hotel where they hoped the main Glee cast would be. I immediately agreed.
They were very nice and it was a lot of fun running over to the hotel together in a fan craze. Unfortunately, the main cast wasn’t there, so the UK girls (who were staying there) stayed behind to change because it was getting colder and they were wearing short sleeves and shorts. The rest of us headed back to the HP Pavilion.
When we got there, there was already a long line of people waiting outside. Litttlej wanted to catch sight of Darren, so we went to the back of the stadium in hopes of somethingbut no luck. We figured they were probably already inside, so we went to the merchandise tent (I bought a program) and stood in line to wait.
We heard from other fans that the main Glee cast were at an AT&T store not far from where we live. I was absolutely devastated. But I got to meet the Warblers! So that made me feel a little bit better about missing my chance to meet Darren.
The doors finally opened and we went to find our seats. The show started at 7:30 PM, but there was a mini LXD (League of Extraordinary Dancers) show before the main event, so it didn’t actually start until about 8 PM or so. And -I’m not going to lie- it was fantastic. It was so wonderful being able to see the Glee cast perform live and, while my ears were ringing afterward from the loud music and screaming fans, I was still delirious with excitement.
