THE DAY I MET LINKIN PARK

THE DAY I MET LINKIN PARK …

THE DAY I MET LINKIN PARK

Im standing in front of my favorite band and my favorite singer,  a once in a lifetime experience ….. and i cant believe what just came out of my mouth.

let me start at the beginning its a great story !

i started listening to Linkin park way back in their early days, from memory it was a friends son who introduced my son dylan,  and of course he insisted on playing their music.

Before long i was hooked, i loved “in the end” then I bought their next album “meteora” and the passion grew stronger as the years marched on and more albums were released.

 

October 2007 I attended their melbourne concert at Rod laver arena, linda had seen an ad in the newspaper … i couldnt believe it, the opportunity to see them live. Being a USA band they obviously didnt tour australia very often i had to take this opportunity.  I arranged and booked the tickets half an hour after seeing the ad, i couldnt wait.

I like most people always seemed to have a favorite band or singer, in the early days it was Staus Quo ..(rip Rick parfitt), who i saw live in about 1976 or 1977 at the Myer music bowl. And if i could ever go back in time im sure a led Zeppelin concert would be high on the list.

 

linkin park was my current favorite …. Linda came with me and we werent disappointed, it was a no nonsense concert just hit after hit,  an awesome live performance playing all of my favorites.

If there was a downside it would be that we were seated well back in the stadium. As the lights scanned the darkness i could see all of the people in the area close to the stage rocking along, i was so jealous !  I would love to be closer and how could i do it ?  were common thoughts. They wouldnt be back soon anyhow so i had plenty of time to think it over.

Time went on and i did often think about it. They must have some type of fan club ? and Its easy really, good old google will help you find almost anything …  so i searched and yes a group called LP Underground (LP for linkin park), not too expensive to join and main benefit is priority to concert tickets. yes good plan ! so i filled in my details and paid my money, oh yer T shirt size ? a free t shirt thats a bonus if nothing else.

A week or so later it all arrives in the mail … T shirt, lanyard and a few other trinkets. I say nothing, dont make a big thing of it is my plan, but i may as well wear the T shirt. It comes dinner time and ive just changed out of my work gear and put on the new shirt just as we sit down. Emily who has a keen eye for detail spots the shirt and the conversation goes something like this … Emily “youve got a new T shirt”    me “no i havent”,       emily  “yes you have” once again i deny it   “no i havent”

“you have” she says ….”and what have you done” ?   hesitation “youve joined the fan club !  why “?    well by this time we had the attention of everybody else who had started to laugh at my expense, And whilst they agreed with my logic of priority purchase on concert tickets i dont think they really took it seriously, in fact they found it quite funny.

So my LP Underground shirt didnt see much external action, in fact it became my favorite lawn mowing / garden shirt.

it was maybe nearly 2 years after joining, in late 2010 i got the email … they are coming and you have priority to tickets. You ripper, it had worked a treat and yes priority to great seats close to the stage, but i still bought 2 x mosh pit cos i couldnt decide which ones i wanted. I will just decide later somebody will use the others.

Now what i had forgotten was that being a member i also got to register for a meet and greet with the band at any concert i attended. I recieved the reminder about 2 weeks out and i thought wow wouldnt that be awesome but passed it off quickly. however a few days later i pondered over it and calculated, what maybe 7 or 8,000 at rod laver arena, probably not many members in melbourne, and not all attending the concert. I reckon im a chance !

One day whilst discussing our travel plans and where we would stay etc with our visit to melbourne, i shared my thoughts with Linda …. ive registered and i think im a good chance for the meet and greet.

She said almost nothing from recollection, but i could clearly see she didnt share my optimism. Maybe she thought i was silly in fact, but didnt let on.  That changed  2 days prior to the concert on the saturday morning as we were preparing for breakfast and i checked my emails, which is fairly normal in the morning in case i get some work info come in on US time overnight. At first i read you havent been selected and i was disappointed, oh well thats ok …. hang on hang on read that again. You HAVE been selected ! you ripper i couldnt believe it, and Linda was taken back also, she was almost silent. Emily though when i told her she was shocked and said something like “youve got to be kidding”

Im going to meet Linkin park … its like i just wanted to shout and tell everybody. The next 2 days were almost better than actually meeting them, it was such an amazing feeling, and linda certainly noticed it. The monday when we headed for melbourne she later told me she could see i was really happy and nervous at the same time, i kept thinking this is real, and what will i say ?

There was a criteria .. only a group photo no individual due to time constraints, only one personal item to be signed by the band, be at a certain place in the stadium on time, and wear your Lp underground T shirt. damn where is that lawn mowing shirt ? lucky it washed up ok so i put it on.

As we lined up that night with fellow members and we got chatting it was quite obvious i was very likely the oldest. I estimate there was maybe 30 or 40 of us in total as they marched us up the stairs and into a room, where a couple of guys chatted to us about how the band were super excited with a big crowd attending tonight. Answered some of our questions and asked us a few trivia questions as we waited for them to arrive.

Suddenly out they came … all 6 members. Chester had a real presence he clearly stood out from the others, maybe the mohawk haircut and sleeveless shirt helped, but you could see he felt the pressure of being the centre of attention being the lead singer.

They sat at a table and we walked past one at a time to chat and have our items autographed. I had a twin cd pack and i spoke to Joe first, who didnt seem that chatty, in fact almost like he couldnt be bothered.

Thats ok … i just moved along and next was Chester, my favorite singer. I can say now i had no idea what i was going to say and i honestly didnt plan this … i said to him ” hey do me a big favor and sign my arm … my daughter will love it she is a huge fan” well i couldnt believe it ! did i really say that, where did that come from ? when he looked up at me and hesitated, i thought Oh no ive just made a complete fool of myself. And he did hesitate but then smiled and said “yer sure” as he signed my outstretched forearm. To this day i will never forget the way he spoke the word “sure” had a little shriek, sounding a bit like when he screams out the high notes when he sings .. its clear in my mind even now.

Im thinking maybe this type of request isnt unusual, but from a fan only one month from being 50 years old it may be very extreme.

I moved along the table and had the rest of the band sign my cds, no more arm signatures, and as i stepped back i saw Rob the drummer kind of look me up and down. Im sure he was thinking this guy is a lot older than our average fan, maybe it was just me but thats what i felt. I did stand out as the oldest, but thats ok.

We lined up for the group photo and one young girl was ecstatic that Chester stood beside her and she put her arm around him for the photo. A moment im certain she will never forget… i kind of smiled to myself seeing how chuffed she was.

Finally the boys left and we all headed out to find our seats, lucky i gave the mosh pit a miss cos it was too late it was now full, but it didnt matter we had great seats just about as close as you could get.

Another awesome concert and an experience i will certainly never forget and cherish forever.

What about the signature ? somebody suggested the next day “get it tattooed” i laughed you have to be kidding, but as the next day or so wore on i warmed to the idea, so back in wodonga i marched down to the tattoo parlor and said “do you have half an hour free” ? i need this inked over. They did so maybe it was meant to be.

CHAZ is how it reads, i now know, is his nickname. Some months later i has a small LP logo inked in beside it so it makes a bit more sense.

Being on my inside forearm it does draw attention and conversation… some people laugh and say hey thats a great story, some dont say much, but quite a few have that look of disbelief and im sure they are saying to themselves “what the hell were you thinking “?

Thats ok it is a clear reminder of what seemed at the time such an important day and a very very fond memory.