(If you want to enlarge the pics: mouse right click, OPEN LINK IN NEW WINDOW and click the pic in the new window)
After waiting off to the side of the autograph tent for about 45 minutes, I was the seventh in line when one lane of the autograph lanes was assigned for Foster the People. There were four lanes for four different autograph sessions to be going on at once. I had been told earlier by a Waterloo Records employee to get there early since they were expecting Foster the People to be their biggest turnout. Waterloo Records (the host for the autograph tent) was requiring a purchase, so it was a good thing I had bought a second SUPERMODEL cd from the adjoining Waterloo store tent as soon as the festival opened. BUT, I saw a woman waiting in the next autograph line for Ozomatli who had the SUPERMODEL poster flat! I asked where she got it and she said, "Oh, in the store tent. They are giving them away for free with cd purchases." I ran into the tent, showed the cd I bought earlier (I still had the wrapper as proof of purchase -- the little voice of intuition had told me earlier not to throw it away!) and got back in line and when a coupe of people got inline behind me, I told them about the poster deal since they didn't have one and they went to get posters, too. Then, I had to decide which side I wanted autographed: the band side or the SUPERMODEL cover side. I decided on the band side. Then the moment had arrived. Seventy-five minutes in line chatting with other fans around me had finally come to an end. Light beamed down from heaven and there, 30 feet from me, were Mark Foster, Mark "Ponsi" Pontius, and Jacob "Cubbie" Fink. The holy trinity of Foster the People were closer to me than I had ever seen them at any concert. They came out a little before their scheduled time of 3:45. The Nazi woman (a Waterloo employee who had blonde hair with a pink streak) in charge of the autograph seekers started barking orders.
After waiting off to the side of the autograph tent for about 45 minutes, I was the seventh in line when one lane of the autograph lanes was assigned for Foster the People. There were four lanes for four different autograph sessions to be going on at once. I had been told earlier by a Waterloo Records employee to get there early since they were expecting Foster the People to be their biggest turnout. Waterloo Records (the host for the autograph tent) was requiring a purchase, so it was a good thing I had bought a second SUPERMODEL cd from the adjoining Waterloo store tent as soon as the festival opened. BUT, I saw a woman waiting in the next autograph line for Ozomatli who had the SUPERMODEL poster flat! I asked where she got it and she said, "Oh, in the store tent. They are giving them away for free with cd purchases." I ran into the tent, showed the cd I bought earlier (I still had the wrapper as proof of purchase -- the little voice of intuition had told me earlier not to throw it away!) and got back in line and when a coupe of people got inline behind me, I told them about the poster deal since they didn't have one and they went to get posters, too. Then, I had to decide which side I wanted autographed: the band side or the SUPERMODEL cover side. I decided on the band side. Then the moment had arrived. Seventy-five minutes in line chatting with other fans around me had finally come to an end. Light beamed down from heaven and there, 30 feet from me, were Mark Foster, Mark "Ponsi" Pontius, and Jacob "Cubbie" Fink. The holy trinity of Foster the People were closer to me than I had ever seen them at any concert. They came out a little before their scheduled time of 3:45. The Nazi woman (a Waterloo employee who had blonde hair with a pink streak) in charge of the autograph seekers started barking orders.
DO NOT TOUCH THE TALENT!
DO NOT TAKE PICTURES IN FRONT OF THE TALENT!
ONLY ONE ITEM ALLOWED!
IF YOU TAKE PICTURES, TAKE THEM BEFORE THEY START SIGNING FOR YOU OR AFTER THEY FINISH WITH YOUR ITEM!
I was already a nervous wreck, she made it worse! I pulled a letter I had written for Mark Foster from my bag and put it in my back pocket. I was going thru my head trying to remember everything I wanted to say: Twitter, Empire State Building, I love your music, the letter, tell Ponsi I appreciate the work he does for animals. I had so many things to remember. Mark looked like he had just woken up: white tshirt, scruffy face, kind of grumpy (wearing clip on sunglasses over prescription glasses--something I did not noticed when I was in front of Mark Foster or even days after reviewing the pictures!)...but the grumpiness was to be explained over the next several minutes. The line creeped forward and I was up next. I hand the Nazi lady my poster and she slammed it down on the table in front of Mark. My mind went blank. The only thing I could remember: "Mark, I miss you on Twitter." He said, "Well, that is why we do these things to get one on one. Isn't this much better than Twitter?" I could feel my face light up with his smiling face looking back at me...Ponsi signed, Cubbie signed (I thanked each of them) and my moment with Mark Foster was over. Just. Like. That. OVER. I stepped off to the side, took more pics and started kicking myself knowing the letter was still in my back pocket. I exited thru the store tent and came out disgusted with myself and almost in tears. As I was cutting back thru the autograph line, I saw some people who had been in front of me had gathered off to the side of the tent and were taking pictures. I joined them. Mark kept asking how much longer. He was looking ticked. My thinking is he did not liking the rush of the event and how The Nazi was bossing his fans around. He wasn't smiling as much as I had expected. Finally, after about 30 minutes (he was told he had signed for more than 300 people), the line was closed and they were finished. And Mark looked so relieved and relaxed. During this time, I was the last person left standing off to the side, outside of the autograph tent. But another reason I had stayed there: I had noticed earlier that they were going to have to exit the way they had come in near to where I was standing, but still inaccessible for me because of a fence barrier. Still, I had a clear and open view of the guys as they were at the table.
As Mark stood up, I yelled out his name. HE SMILED! I said, "I have a letter for you that I forgot to give to you when I was in line. May I give it to you?" He said, "Yes, that is great." He had Andy Barron (their photographer) to get the letter and Andy put it in a canvas bag he was carrying. I then asked if I could get a pic of him, drum genius "Ponsi" and guitarist Cubbie all together. I could not get a picture of me with them since I was outside the tent and they were still behind the tables. When I asked about the pic, Mark said, "Sure! Of course." Ponsi was ready to get the hell out but Mark, said, "Wait up guys, one more picture." And I got it. Then, I had one last thing to check off of my Foster the People to-do- list. When I was in New York City last year, a guy asked for me to take a picture of him and the young woman he was with on the observation deck of The Empire State Building. It wasn't until after I took the picture that it hit me: Was that Mark Foster? I did not want to chase him down and interrupt his privacy so I had just let it eat away at me all of this time but now was the time to get that resolved: "Mark, were you in New York City in May 2013?" He said, "Maybe, I am in New York a lot. Why?" I told him about the Empire State Building meeting and he said, "Huh, it could have been me. I can't really tell. Like I said, I am in New York City a lot and I am out and about all of the time." I thanked them for their time and gave them good wishes for a great performance that night...and they were gone. This was quickly turning into one of the best days of my life.
DO NOT TAKE PICTURES IN FRONT OF THE TALENT!
ONLY ONE ITEM ALLOWED!
IF YOU TAKE PICTURES, TAKE THEM BEFORE THEY START SIGNING FOR YOU OR AFTER THEY FINISH WITH YOUR ITEM!
I was already a nervous wreck, she made it worse! I pulled a letter I had written for Mark Foster from my bag and put it in my back pocket. I was going thru my head trying to remember everything I wanted to say: Twitter, Empire State Building, I love your music, the letter, tell Ponsi I appreciate the work he does for animals. I had so many things to remember. Mark looked like he had just woken up: white tshirt, scruffy face, kind of grumpy (wearing clip on sunglasses over prescription glasses--something I did not noticed when I was in front of Mark Foster or even days after reviewing the pictures!)...but the grumpiness was to be explained over the next several minutes. The line creeped forward and I was up next. I hand the Nazi lady my poster and she slammed it down on the table in front of Mark. My mind went blank. The only thing I could remember: "Mark, I miss you on Twitter." He said, "Well, that is why we do these things to get one on one. Isn't this much better than Twitter?" I could feel my face light up with his smiling face looking back at me...Ponsi signed, Cubbie signed (I thanked each of them) and my moment with Mark Foster was over. Just. Like. That. OVER. I stepped off to the side, took more pics and started kicking myself knowing the letter was still in my back pocket. I exited thru the store tent and came out disgusted with myself and almost in tears. As I was cutting back thru the autograph line, I saw some people who had been in front of me had gathered off to the side of the tent and were taking pictures. I joined them. Mark kept asking how much longer. He was looking ticked. My thinking is he did not liking the rush of the event and how The Nazi was bossing his fans around. He wasn't smiling as much as I had expected. Finally, after about 30 minutes (he was told he had signed for more than 300 people), the line was closed and they were finished. And Mark looked so relieved and relaxed. During this time, I was the last person left standing off to the side, outside of the autograph tent. But another reason I had stayed there: I had noticed earlier that they were going to have to exit the way they had come in near to where I was standing, but still inaccessible for me because of a fence barrier. Still, I had a clear and open view of the guys as they were at the table.
As Mark stood up, I yelled out his name. HE SMILED! I said, "I have a letter for you that I forgot to give to you when I was in line. May I give it to you?" He said, "Yes, that is great." He had Andy Barron (their photographer) to get the letter and Andy put it in a canvas bag he was carrying. I then asked if I could get a pic of him, drum genius "Ponsi" and guitarist Cubbie all together. I could not get a picture of me with them since I was outside the tent and they were still behind the tables. When I asked about the pic, Mark said, "Sure! Of course." Ponsi was ready to get the hell out but Mark, said, "Wait up guys, one more picture." And I got it. Then, I had one last thing to check off of my Foster the People to-do- list. When I was in New York City last year, a guy asked for me to take a picture of him and the young woman he was with on the observation deck of The Empire State Building. It wasn't until after I took the picture that it hit me: Was that Mark Foster? I did not want to chase him down and interrupt his privacy so I had just let it eat away at me all of this time but now was the time to get that resolved: "Mark, were you in New York City in May 2013?" He said, "Maybe, I am in New York a lot. Why?" I told him about the Empire State Building meeting and he said, "Huh, it could have been me. I can't really tell. Like I said, I am in New York City a lot and I am out and about all of the time." I thanked them for their time and gave them good wishes for a great performance that night...and they were gone. This was quickly turning into one of the best days of my life.
(this one and the poster pics are mobile phone pics, all of the rest are camera pics)
No comments:
Post a Comment