Rockapella Meet & Greet - The Starlight Bowl, Burbank, CA - August 6, 2000

Burbank, CA. The Starlight Bowl. This day was like going full circle for April and me. It was the same venue and the same time of the year when we first saw Rockapella in concert ever. It was a very momentous occasion. The Blenders were there as well, who also double-billed with them the year before, so it was like a huge reunion for us! The year before, they didn’t have a meet and greet after the concert because the guys had to fly back to NYC for another concert the following day. April and I thought that it was going to be the same case this time, so we decided to head out when we overheard one of the workers at the Starlight Bowl and he said that the guys were coming out to sign autographs in a few minutes. As soon as we heard this, April and I rushed back and immediately stood in line right in front of the autograph table. I believe we were the first ones in line. Well, there may have been a couple of people right before us. Anyway, the guys finally emerged from backstage and situated themselves at the autograph table. First up was Scott. He was looking down so I shoved a picture that we took with them back in May for the “Eat and Greet” right under his nose. He looked at the picture then looked up, saw us and he smiled, “I remember this picture!” I said “hello” to him, and we exchanged pleasantries. He was about to sign the picture when he looked up at me and asked me how to spell my name. I looked at him and said, “aww…you don’t remember my name?” He said, “Oh, I kind of remember it. I remember that it’s unique.” And then he smiled. *sigh* Anyway, I told him what my name was and spelled it for him. He said, “That’s right! Your name is Aura.” And as he wrote my name on the picture, he said something like “I like how I write your name.” :-D That was cool. I asked him if I could get a hug and he said, “Sure!” So, he got up and gave me a huge hug. As I pulled away, he smiled and said, “It’s nice to see you again!” El was up next, he was sitting there with his big grin looking at the picture, looked up at me and said something like, “Hello. How are you?” Just had a bit of a chat with him, then I asked him for a hug. He smiled, and then he said, “I could use a hug anyday!” And he proceeded to tell me that it’s nice to get a hug especially when you’ve had a rough week. So, that was El for me. He was too cute! Bear was sitting next to El. He looked up and smiled, got up, and gave me a hug! I didn’t have to ask this time! LOL He was probably paying attention to me when I was talking to both El and Scott. LOL Sitting next to Bear was Jeff. I went up to him, but he didn’t even look at me! He just kept talking to this guy who was standing behind him with a girl. I was going to ask him for a hug, but he wasn’t paying attention, so I just took my picture and slid it over to Kevin. At this point, Kevin was looking at me with this smile on his face. I guess he noticed that I had this disappointed look on my face, like “oh well…” and I just shrugged and smiled at him. But what Kevin did next completely made my evening. Before I even got in front of him, he got up out of his seat, walked around the table and gave me a huge hug. I guess he was trying to comfort me or something because Jeff ignored me. Pathetic ol’ me eh? LOL But it was great of him(Kevin) to do that. So, I stood next to him, started chatting away while I was waiting for April to be done with getting her stuff signed by Kevin. As Kevin got up to hug April, Jeff looked over to where I was and said, “Hey! How are you?” So, I said, “I’m okay, but I didn’t get my hug yet.” (I know, sad puppy aren’t I?) He laughed and said, “Well, it will cost you $5!” I said, “5 bucks?! I got it for free last time!” So, I walked around April to get my hug. He said, “It’s good to see you.” That brought a smile to my face. (Yeah, I was like a big teenaged dork around her crush!) So, I went back and stood right next to Kevin. While Kevin and I were talking about when they were going to have their next show in So Cal, Jeff looked over to where I was standing and said, “By the way, you smell good.” I looked around to find out if he was talking to someone else, but he was talking to me, so I said, “Thanks Jeff!” And then he said, “It’s nice to get a hug from someone who doesn’t smell.” I just started laughing. Next thing I knew, Bear chimed in and said that I smelled good as well, followed by Elliott and Scott! I had to pick up my jaw off the floor! Then I looked at Kevin and he said, “Yeah, you do smell good!” So, that completely made my night! :D After we got our stuff together, we said goodbye to the guys and told them that we would see them in Santa Barbara in a few months.

Rockapella Concert - The Starlight Bowl, Burbank, CA - August 6, 2000

It had been approximately a year since I first saw Rockapella in concert at the Starlight Bowl and seeing them again in the same venue of that fateful day was like going full-circle for me. It had also been about 3 months since the Troubadour show so I was all ready to get my a cappella fix. What was also exciting was that April and I were getting to see another awesome a cappella group, The Blenders, who were also at the Bowl that previous summer. It was like a big reunion for us! (LOL) When we first got there, we found some great seats close enough to get a good view, but we later left those seats and situated ourselves right in front of the stage to get a closer view of the Boys. After gettin' our groove on during The Blenders set and having our pictures taken with them and our CDs signed, we were finally ready for our beloved Rockapella. During the opener, which was "I Am Your Man," I managed to wave hi at Bear, Kev, El and Scott. It was really cool when each of them smiled back and/or winked. I finally was able to say hi to Jeff right after they did "Use Me." I was able to catch his attention (which was hard to accomplish, btw, when he's on-stage since he's in his own little VP world most of the time) when after Barry announced that JT was "singing and drumming" at the same time, I yelled, "Yeah, Jeff! You go!" which, I think, startled him! (Sorry JT, didnt mean to give you a heart-attack there! LOL) He looked up, scoped out the crowd, and when he saw me, I waved at him and he smiled! Anyway, they did their usual concert repertoire. Especially entertaining was the "Pretty Woman" segment because the lady that they picked turned out to be a chiropractor, and as soon as the Boys found out, they all fought for a chance for a back massage from her! Kevin won out though, getting a laugh from the crowd as he grimaced in pain while she tried to crack his back. (LOL) The Boys gave a great concert, as usual, but before we even knew it, it was all over. Again, April and I decided to hang around after the show, hoping for another meet-and-greet (they didn't have one the year before because they had to fly out that night to do another concert the next day). We waited for a few minutes, but then gave up, so we decided to head out. However, on our way out, we heard one of the volunteers at the Bowl announce that the Boys will be out shortly to meet with the fans. We immediately headed back and stood in line. It was nice to be able to speak with the Boys again and it was really cool that they remembered us from the "Eat and Greet" 3 months before! I was able to get a hug from all of them, and was even able to get a "you smell good" compliment from one particular Rockapella member ;-)! (LOL) After we got all our Rocka-stuff signed, we said goodbye to the Boys and told them that we will see them in Santa Barbara.