2003-08-15 1:20 p.m.

For the 2nd time this year I find myself thinking how glad I am that I didn't go to a specific Rockapella Concert. And yet again it has nothing to do with anything that happened between hearing the first notes of the first song and the deafening cheers that follow the guys off the stage at the end of the last encore. It's because of what happened after.

I've avoided Yahoo land a lot during the first half of this year. Even PellaParadise, which isn't prone to the drama found else where. Partially because the blah of it all just makes me tired. But recently I've been thinking that enough time has passed and things should be calmer now. But then there was Clemson. Let the Drama being.

First there's the Eyeball thing. Not much for me to say on that one. I wasn't there so I don't know if it disrupted the show or not. I've heard that it was soft so that's good. I know I wouldn't throw anything on stage. I also know women have been throwing their undies and bras on stage to male singers for many of moon. Whatta ya gonna do?

What I do have an opinion on is the fact that this chick, Annie I think, goes on The Big Board (a fatal mistake in and of it's self) to tell about her first show. She's full of excitement and a bit of youthful abandon. So of course she got berated, beaten down, called a bitch & basicly skinned alive. Ah the joys of Rockapella fandom.

Next item of contention? The "Meet & Greet." I use a copy/post here because this was posted in a public group:

"Anyway, because this is my club and I can say whatever I want, without trying to hurt anyones feelings on purpose. There has been some things said about Clemson's meet and greet that I don't appricate. I'm sorry not everyone went back with us. I wished those who wanted to see the guys had - It wasn't anything special, I was just damned if I was going to let a certian person (no names will be reviled, so no one asks me... Linda, you know who I'm talking about... if you don't think HARD!) go back and see the guys and my youngin' is sitting there BAWLING because he want's to see the guys. And come on now people, would YOU want to ride in a car for 6 hours with someone who drove 12 hours to see them and didn't get to show Scott the piccies? ME EITHER! (Tell Laura I LOOOOOVEEE HER.)"

and from the same thread:

"It isn't our fault you didn't follow... so don't be mad at the ones who crashed the meet and greet. I would have loved for some of the younger ones in attendance to have been able to come back..."

Now I have an opinion, regardless of the fact that I wasn't there. I've actually known for a few weeks that this wasn't an offical meet and greet but that info was not given to me in public so I didn't talk about it in public. But now that it's there....

1st - "crashed the meet and greet" What the fuck??? Bad bad bad. And this isn't just a slam on the author. She didn't do the crashing all by her little lonesome. But could these people BE anymore selfish? So what's next? Rockapella has to include the added cost of extra security to their Tech Riders causing the ticket prices to go up? Put me down for a big "I told you so" when M&G's stop altogether because of shit like this.

2nd - I was just damned if I was going to let a certian person (no names will be reviled, so no one asks me... Linda, you know who I'm talking about... if you don't think HARD!) go back and see the guys ..... Bad leads to Sad. Leave this silly bullshit at home. So Jade doesn't like someone. That's her problem. And maybe Phil shouldn't let some back and not others. But you know what - life isn't fair. Any show anywhere at any given moment in time has some people that get to go back stage and some that don't. Life is more about who you know that what you're qualifed to do or what's fair. If you don't think that's true, send me a postcard from Camelot when you get a sec, I'd like to add it to my one's from Narnia and Middle Earth.

3rd - ... and my youngin' is sitting there BAWLING because he want's to see the guys. I don't have kids so on one hand I'm not qualified to make comments on how other people raise their kids. But maybe the 7 yr old was bawling cause he was fucking tired. It was like 10 pm at night & he'd been in the car 6 hours then sat through an hour and 1/2 concert. I'll skip my theories on why a 7 year old would have such a strong attachment to total strangers that not seeing them would cause a bawling episode.

4th - And come on now people, would YOU want to ride in a car for 6 hours with someone who drove 12 hours to see them and didn't get to show Scott the piccies? ME EITHER! (Tell Laura I LOOOOOVEEE HER.)" Um, Laura's a big girl, and not committing a misdemeanor crime (ie trespassing) wouldn't have killed her. Would have been a bummer, but again she would have lived.

You can try to justify this any way you want but this behavior is deplorable. When I first got off the phone getting the original version of this escapade I was disturbed. It bothered me, but I didn't say anything. Now I think I should have said something when I got the chance, because this has been bothering me ever since, more and more as the Drama escalates. But again, other than one kid, the people that attend these shows are adults and can act, say or do anything they want. But I hope the stench of it never reaches me. If I ever go to another East Coast show, I won't even stay for the M&G. There's no way in HELL I'm going to STL. 3 days of Drama Central? No thanks. I don't have time to worry about who-hates-who and if I speak to so-n-so who'll hate me. Also I could give a shit less.

I saw the guys in Vegas last December, didn't stay for the M&G and it was still an amazing experience. One of the best out of my 13. I went to enjoy the music and I did. I would have stayed for the M&G, but I was hungry. Plus I'd seen them the night before. I don't go for "credit" - another term I've heard thrown around alot lately. 'I won't get credit for coming X far because so-n-so came further' and 'I can't believe X Pella guy didn't remember my name!' - stop for a second a calculate the number of people that these guys talk to night after night after night! Yet you think You're suppose to be the special one! Give me a break.

Rockapella's members are not there to bolster the egos of their fans. They're there to sing. Find happiness in your REAL life, not some fantasy you've concocted about 5 people you have to PAY to hang out with. You think these guys are your friends? Oh, well I guess you were at Sean's wedding then? And any minute now Scott & Kev will be calling you up to invite you down to sunny FL for 18 rounds?

If so, then good for you. Have the good taste to respect the privacy of your friends and don't share the info with the general public. If not, take this as a clue - these guys don't owe a single one of their fans JACK SHIT. You bought a ticket ot a Concert - so sit back and enjoy the music. They do the M&G's cause they're nice guys. They don't have to do it. Any of it. The concerts, the records, the m&g's. None. They could all stop tomorrow and the earth would still continue to rotate. Enjoy for what it is and stop all the childish bullshit.

'Kay. Rant done.