Wembley - The Show

On Tuesday I arrived at Wembley Arena at about 3pm.  My first impression of Wembley was “Wow, look at that huge Stadium… where’s the arena?”  Wembley’s such a big place that it could actually hide an arena to the naked eye.  Eventually I found the arena and I quickly met up with Lisa, Selina, and everyone else.  Even though I was just meeting Lisa for the first time, by this point I felt like I knew her so well from all the emailing and twitter messaging.  Once again so sweet, giving big hugs, and almost as happy as I was that I made it.  Then I got to meet Stijn and Jim, two fellow die-hard Alter Bridge fans that I’ve talked to on the forums for years, but have never met in person.  I’ll admit as a Broncos fan, Stijn was a pretty cool guy for a Chargers fan.  After we all met up, it was time to figure out how we were getting in.  Lisa still had her contact Adam but Stijn, Jim, and I were all on the guest list.  So we all go to the box office to pick up our passes only to find out we can’t pick up our passes until 6pm, the same time the doors open.  Clearly I couldn’t just call Mark Tremonti and be like “Hey Mark I’m outside, can you let me in?”  We ended up making our way around to the security entrance where we asked if they could contact the tour manager (since he put us on the list).  Instead some other guy would didn’t know what he was talking about and tried to get us to leave came out.  Luckily Lisa was able to get in touch with Adam, who came out and got us the workers passes.  She really saved the day for me.  I’m forever grateful for her getting me the workers pass.  I would have been screwed without it, and if I was anywhere besides the front row, it would have broken my heart.

Now we’re escorted by Adam into the venue, walking backstage.  I felt like a kid walking through Santa’s workshop.  I never imagined in my wildest dreams I’d be on Mark Tremonti’s guest list, backstage at an Alter Bridge arena show.  We did have some “work” to do before we could start enjoying this special Alter Bridge night.  The least we could do is help out Adam set up, and all he needed us to do was put up posters around the arena.  There was about twelve of us, and we got it done in under an hour.

We were told by Adam that we could hangout and watch soundcheck, but not to make ourselves too noticeable, that it was better to stay in the back, near the doors.  Best thing I ever did was listen to him.  Standing in the back of an empty arena, seeing your favorite band play, and test out all their cool lights and pyro was a breathtaking experience.  What a view!

As the time to start the concert grew closer, and we started to get ballsier, we moved up toward the rail.  Then a man in a suite in his 50s comes over and starts talking to me (he overheard me say I work for apple and was asking me about the company).  The more we start talking, I found out he was in a similar situation as me.  He also was supposed to have passes and had didn’t know where to get them.  He ended up calling California, where he got in touch with management, who forwarded him back to London to the bands manger.  Once he got in touch with the manager, he was able to get in early and meet the band.  Once I explained to him my situation, he was very sympathetic and wanted to help.  With his VIP pass on, he lead us backstage, in the direction of the bands dressing room.  As we’re walking towards this area everybody seems to be coming and going.  I first meet Steve, the band’s manager.  I introduced myself and he responded with “Oh yeah I know you, I put your name on the guest list.”  Then Mark and Myles walk by on their way to do a photoshoot and they noticed me before I even saw them.  They said hi, but were on a tight schedule and had to run.  Then Scott Phillips comes out, and I got to talk to him for a few minutes before he had to do an interview.  This was an insane moment for me.  Once again I’m in awe that here I am backstage, and the guys from my favorite band are saying hello to me!

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Introduction - From NYC to London

I’ve been an Alter Bridge since day one.  I’ve been to 22 Alter Bridge shows dating back to their first tiny club shows on their very first tour.  The majority of my road trippin’ has been to see Alter Bridge.  I’ve seen them in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts and Ohio.  But nothing comes close to what I did to see them this time.

Being an Alter Bridge fan for over seven years now, I’ve gone on the forums, I’ve seen the youtube videos, read the interviews, and the consensus is that Alter Bridge shows are better in Europe.  It makes sense, because in Europe, they play bigger venues, have more passionate fans, and tour more.  It’s been a dream of mine for awhile to be a part of those shows.  Instead of just being around a few hundred people in a small bar, I’d be surrounded by over 10,000 people who feel about music just as I do.  

2011 was one of the most difficult years of my life.  I have a very small, close family, and in 2011 both of my aunts lost their battles to cancer.  My Aunt Pat, who passed away in January, was like a mother to me.  Being raised by a single mother who had to work, my Aunt always stepped in to raise me like her own.  Loosing her was, is, devastating to me.  The only thing that helped me carry on was music, going to shows, specifically Alter Bridge.  I didn’t think it was possible appreciate Alter Bridge music any more than I already had, but when my Aunt was in the hospital during her last days, all I did was listen to Alter Bridge.  I felt like Myles wrote Blackbird for me, and for my Aunt.

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Do you like live music?  How about travel or photography?  My name is Donny and I’d like to welcome to you my blog. Seeing my favorite bands, taking pictures at the shows, and creating memories along the way is a lifestyle for me.  For a long time now, I have a passion for live music.  For me, road trippin is what it’s all about.  This is going to be my diary for those experiences.  I’ll be posting concert reviews, showing off my photography skills, and sharing the stories of all the people that I meet along the way.