Marley Station Mall, Glen Burnie, MD, October 24, 2000
by Jackie
Anyway, I attended the Billy Gilman concert in the Marley Station Mall,
and it was great! I won an essay contest from WPOC, so I actually got to
go backstage and meet him before the show! I have never been so excited
in my life!
Even though I loved it, it was a little disappointing. (Not entirely,
but it could have been better.) Going back, I was the last in the line
to meet him, but we were going the wrong way and we had to switch
directions, so I was in the front all of the sudden. We had to
wait for him to get ready- which seemed like forever- before we could
enter the "green room". I did not want to be the first because I had
no idea what to do, but it was too late. They led 14 of the other
winners and me into the room. Billy was waiting on the left. They led
us (we were in a long line) around the perimeter of the room and told me
to stop. They needed to set up a table for Billy to write on, so my dad
and a WPOC worker went to get the table that was setting against the wall
across from Billy. But when they moved it, something happened and they
started laughing, saying that they probably had that table there for a
reason. I’m guessing that there was something wrong with the wall.
Since there wasn’t a table, they just had us walk up. A guy in a gray
suit told me to go on over to Billy. I walked over and showed Billy a
painting that I had done of him. I would do anything to see his face
when he saw it again!
I then pulled out a pencil portrait that I did of him. "Here. This
one’s for you." (Billy, if you ever read this, I am SOOOO sorry that
I didn’t give you the painting-it was the first one I ever did on
canvas and I know I can do better, so the next one I do I’ll give you.
I felt so bad about that!)
"Um, could you please sign the painting?" I asked and handed him a black
sharpie. He took the marker.
"Sure! Thanks! Thanks so much!" he started to sign
the left hand side of my painting.
I wanted to ask him a few questions, but the guy in the gray suit told
the next person to come up. I didn’t have time to ask for a picture,
which I really really wanted. The gray suit guy took the drawing away
from Billy and threw it on the chocolate chip cookies on the refreshment
table. I was going to move it, but it wasn’t mine anymore to move and I
didn’t know if they’d say anything to me. But Angela Barcarri was nice
enough to pick it up.
After everyone was done, we got a group picture. I should have been in
the back since I was the tallest, but three of the WPOC workers or
Billy’s managers made me stand in the front with my painting. I felt
really bad about the people behind me. I tried to duck a bit, but I
don’t think it helped a lot. I don’t think they were happy with me,
and I tried to tell the WPOC people that I should be in the back row,
but they told me I was fine.
All of the parents stood across from us to take pictures. The one lady
from WPOC kept telling us to smile over and over and over.
"You sound just like my cousin! She always says that!" Billy said in his
high/small little voice that made it really funny. Everyone laughed.
Then we left. I had about 24 seconds with Billy, which isn’t a lot or
what I expected from a backstage pass, but it was better than nothing.
The concert was great. Even though we got there two hours early, the
place was packed and my friends and I had to go up and look down from the
second floor, off to the side. I set my painting against the glass under
the railing so it wouldn’t get stepped on or anything on the floor.
(I’m glad I did-some one knocked our sodas over and they spilled all
over thefloor during the concert.)
The concert started about 45 minutes later. Billy was wearing a red
Tommy Hilfiger sweatshirt and dark blue pants (I thought they were black
at until I watched the video I had recorded). When he was backstage, he
was wearing a dark green sweatshirt and matching dark green khakis. He
opened with "Little Bitty Pretty One." During one of the vocal breaks
in the song, Billy looked up on the second floor and saw my painting.
He laughed and pointed right at me and my painting. Then he smiled and
gave me the thumbs-up. Some people turned and looked up at me.
I lost control of the camerecorder and almost dropped it. I missed the
thumbs-up on tape because of that, but I got everything else.
That’s what made the whole trip worth it.
After that song, he sang "I Thing She Likes Me", where he then gave a
four year old (I think-she was really small but also almost bigger than
Billy because he’s so tiny) a "birthday hug". Then he sang "Oklahoma".
Then he answered questions. Then he sang my favorite song-"I Wanna
Get to Ya". Then he sang "One Voice" and ended with "Warm and Fuzzy".
It was a great concert. Then I waited an hour and a half in the
autograph line at Record Town. I barely made it before he left. I got
it signed at 6:27, and he left at 6:30.
The people working at Record Town said they sold over 500 copies of his
CD just before the show. (Go Billy!) They would have sold a lot more if
they continued selling them during the concert (the store was caged off)
and when people were waiting in line. A lot of people tried, but they
wouldn’t sell them anymore because they said it was too late.
I loved that concert and I’m couldn’t be any happier that I went!
I think I like smaller concerts better than larger ones, but I think that
they should have sold his Billy Gilman stuff just the same. I really
wanted a tee shirt or poster so I could do another painting off of.
J.
© 2000 Jackie, All Rights Reserved (12/03/00)
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