Third times a charm? #AugustinApril

April rolled around, and the All the People tour rolled through town!  Okay, not exactly through town but a close enough town to justify going to the show. Also, the show was on my last day of vacation, which basically made it the best vacation ever. This time Chris August was the only person on the tour I really was familiar with.  I had never heard of Bellarive, and knew of Matt Maher but had never really listened to his music.

So the doors open at 6, and we literally pull into a parking spot exactly at 6. However, they aren't opening the doors, it's super windy out, there aren't too many people, and it was a long drive so we just chill in the car for a while. The doors open, we scoot through the side door and are waiting in the lobby area for the main doors to open.  I take a trip to the ladies room and when I find my way back to my spot in line...who is standing there but Mr. August himself.  So I grab the back of his shoulders and he turns around and chit chats with me till the door opens :).

We end up 3rd row center, which makes me a pretty happy girl. And everyone in my row snuck in french fries? Yup...you read that right, and I am just as confused.  Chris sits in the front row and chit chats with a girl that brought him cup cakes and the ladies behind me don't believe it's him because in his promotional picture he doesn't have a beard. Really?

First onstage is Bellarive, who I'm pretty sure most of the audience had never heard of. They are awesome, and if you are in the same boat as I was and have never heard them take a listen.  A little Bellarive on youtube SUPER good live, and really fantastic worship!

Also Bellarive hand stamped paper bags as their cd packaging and sealed it with wax, pretty much the coolest cd packaging ever. I would show you a picture but I'm having a hard time putting it up here...

Then to my great pleasure Chris August takes the stage.  As usual, everyone sits down between sets, and Matt Maher tells everyone to stand back up, which I love him for doing! Chris did his magic trick again and this time I was prepared:

Chris August does Magic

Ya know, the Matt Maher comes on, and I really enjoyed him   I had never really listened to Matt Maher before, but his music was great and he put on a good show.  I loved the story about his song "My Only Love." At one point he had some of Bellarive come out to join him for a few songs and the fire alarm went off. I was SUPER impressed by how well Bellarive handled the situation.

The show is over and everyone is standing and chanting "One more song" which in my experience doesn't typically happen at Christian concerts, but he came back out and had Chris come back out to sing Starry Night.

Then everyone is back out onstage singing together and it is fantastic!

Sometimes when CA plays keys he thinks he's Stevie Wonder ;)

So the show is over and I camp myself at Chris's table. After some time he heads over and one lady jumps in front of me, but honestly I would wait till everyone else talked to him so that I didn't have limited time :). Then a group of preteens try to jump in (which like I said I'm fine with) but he tells them it will be a sec and turns to me and says "Tabitha we need a picture"

So that happens

I wanted to take another picture, and he said he "really really liked" the first one.

We chat for a bit and he tells me that next show I get to pick any song and he'll sing it.  :)!!!  My sister tried to get him to "duck face" with her and this happened:

We say goodbye and he says "Tabitha wait I need a hug" so we hug and he says "I'll see you in June."

Then we just kinda wander around and take some pics with some of Bellarive 

She is really impressive at remembering names

This is a duck face compromise

,,,

Look who got someone to duck face.

Well that's all I got till next time.

August in February

     This was my second go at seeing Chris August in concert, and I was A LOT less freaked out about it!  Okay, I'll admit I was a little bit concerned that I could have freaked him out a little bit last time but this time I  was just mostly excited to go and enjoy myself and more or less worried about just getting there on time.  I over think most everything and my mind had been on many other things so that probably helped.  The show (Redeemed tour..so it mostly included Big Daddy Weave with a dash of Citizen Way and a dash of Chris August) was a good 1 1/2ish drive away and the doors opened for VIP at 5 and I got off work at 3:45. It was a race against time and I had been fighting off feeling sick all week..determined to not be because I knew I had this show. 

      We get there and are the second to last people in VIP line before it get's cut off.  A "local" Christian College has set up camp in a booth right outside the (inner) doors and one of the girls comes over and talks to us.  She is extremely nice and we chit chat about Chris August (she's a fan too :)).  The line moves and she tells us to come let her know if he remembers me (which I'm sad to inform we never did go back to talk to her).  We first meet Citizen Way (two sets of brothers that areWisconsin natives...woot woot!) and they all introduce themselves and ask our names and we take a group picture. They are genuinely REALLY nice guys.

Citizen Way, my sister and I

     Next up is Chris along with a couple of the Big Daddy Weave guys, we walk over and Chris says "Tabitha right?" I tell him yes and that he just made my day. We take a group picture..which is kinda awkward looking because everyone was kinda mushed together but spread out at the same time but I love it, so whatever.

Chris, Me, B, and Big Daddy Weave

     We then head to find our seats and end up in the 7th row in between two older couples, one of which has easily become my favorite people that have ever sat near me during a concert/show.  They were the couple to the left of us and they had a paper bag full of goodies..cookies and coffee.  The guy also made a handy little contraption out of his glasses by attaching earplugs to the ends and asking us if we think he'd need them.  I joked that he must have known he'd be sitting near my sister. They ask us who we are there to see and I quickly respond with Chris August, to which he says "Oh" and smiles.  He clearly has no clue who I"m talking about.  The show starts and Citizen Way is on stage, I am impressed.  These guys were really good and I can't wait until their cd is released.  I would definitely go see them again. 

 

Ben Calhoun, lead singer of Citizen Way

Then Mike Weaver (Big Daddy himself) comes on stage to announce Chris August, joking that you may not be able to see him because of the camouflage.  The couple next to me makes jokes about Chris August and nudge me every time someone says his name, they also cheer...it's a grande old time.  Chris comes equipped with a full band decked out computer named Cletus, magic tricks to amp up the show, lots of jokes, and sweet vocals of course.  I'm bummed that everyone sat through his set but it was amazing and I like some of the special little things he did with Cletus. 

Cletus and Chris

Oooooooh I almost forgot I have a whole like 2 seconds of vocals..but I'll share with you :)

Next up is intermission, which in the couple next to us asks if we are having fun and informs me that they enjoyed Chris August.  They think he has a great vocal range and a great sense of humor (I agree).  Then B and I head out to the foyer to just kinda hang (ok..really to try to figure out where Chris is hanging out).  He's hanging out in the greenroom hallway so B calls out to him and he head over.  We just kinda sit and chat for a while, about the show, converting the couple next to me into fans, little sisters, and snow and such. It's pretty awesome. We take a picture and as the conversation dies down I say we're gonna head back inside to which he says "WAIT you're leaving?!" I tell him no we aren't leaving we are just gonna go back into the show and he tells me to come back and see him before we leave at the end of the show..he'll hang out by his merch table...I promise we will and we head back inside.

By this time Big Daddy Weave is a good way into their set and we come in just in time to hear our fave song of theirs :).  It's a fun time and I really don't have many pictures (all of 2) because they had a pretty hardcore light show which was mostly pointed into my eyes a lot and it was just hard to get pictures.  They end the night in worship and prayer and some really healing things happen. After this I think it's safe to say I would go see BDW any time they are in the area.  

We gather our things and head back out to the front to meet up with Chris as promised.  It's freezing out there because they have all the doors open and it's below zero outside and he is not to be seen.  We just kinda hang out in his merch table area.  It's just us and a big group of kids that are talking/taking photos with Ben from Citizen Way.  

Chris finally makes his way out and I ask if I can take a pic on my camera( because B won't send hers to me right away) and he says yea and tells me to sit down next to him.  We chit chat with him again for a while. He does his Kermit impression both just vocal and starry night version for B after I tell him a story of how our brother thought that B would be a frog and so when my mom was pregnant we called her Kermie.  At this point there is a line forming behind us so we say our goodbyes and He promises to come back to the area soon.

Although this time it wasn't ask shocking it was really fun that he remembered me and to just sit and chit chat.  Now I just can't wait til April ;)

Chris August..err um Toby Mac concert

Wrote this months ago and have been putting off posting it...don't know exactly why but I just needed to sit on it for a while. Seeing as I will see him again in concert in a few weeks here I figured it was time..

Bear with me here, because I promise you this get's really exciting.

Ugh, so I know it's been a few weeks since the Eye On It show...hey, the tour itself is even over now, but I just still don't even know how I can put this night into words. (And I REALLY don't want to fangirl).  It was BY FAR the best concert I've ever been to, and I've been to my fair share.

And now it's been more than just a few weeks..it's been over a month and I go over and over what I want to write on this thing and I just can't decide.  Not sure why it's so important to me, but I just don't want to "get it wrong." It was one of (if not the) best nights of my life and I just really want the words to come out right..so bear with me here.

Over the past year I have sent out a lot of emails trying to get someone to book Chris August in my area.  It all started with that whole cruise thing..i decided I couldn't wait any longer I just HAD to meet him.  I received a few responses (but nothing concrete has come out of them...YET :) ).  Nonetheless I was quite pleased to hear that he would be opening for Toby Mac in a town that is an hour and a half away.  Buy the tickets..front row center. Is it crazy to buy front row center tickets just to see the opening act? I mean Toby Mac is great in concert, I've seen him before, but I would be lying to you if I said I was going there to see anyone except Chris August.  I mean if you are here I'm assuming you are one of the like 4 people that have read this blog before and already know how much I love Chris August, and some of the reasons why, so this should come as no surprise to you.

We make our way to pick up my sister's boyfriend (he goes to college in the town Chris is performing) and to go out to dinner.  At this point I kinda feel bad for them...I'm so nervous and antsy..it's getting close to the time of the show and I'm pretty sure I just keep saying "Are you still eating? Are you done yet?"  I mean I can't even describe to you how nervous I was, I have never felt that way in my life. I was shaking, I think I teared up a little bit..it was just out of my control..and I really don't know why.

We get there..and i make them bust their butts from the car to the venue.  At this point I ask the usher to show us our seats and I'm so glad that I did because someone was sitting in them!  They also had the nerve to say I was in the wrong seat! So glad the usher was there to kick them out. Now I really have to pee, but don't want to leave my seat, and I'm freaking out because the microphone is like 2 feet from me!

Jamie Grace is up first and I run for the bathroom.  She was fantastic, and her boots were fantastic, and she was inspiring..and I can't say enough good things about her..but I am ANTICIPATING CA.

And this is the part..even now writing this, I loose my words.  My brain is like a twisted, jumbled, mess of emotion. UGH! This is the part that Chris August comes on stage!  He's wonderful and he is playing the keyboard and singing like 2 feet from me and he's cracking jokes and I'm cracking up..and I am in heaven! Pretty sure no one behind me is standing, but I don't even care!



Then he gets up and dances around while singing (pretty sure it was to Let the Music Play?) This is important guys!  When he's done..he's working his way back to the keyboard and someone yells something at him and he's like "Sorry I can't here you over my breathing I have..." And we both say "ASTHMA" and he's like "ahhh I see I have a connection with someone here" And I'm like "YES! I LOVE YOU!" And he starts to say "I lov......TABITHA IS THAT YOU?!"
Not even kidding guys, Chris August looked down at me from the stage and said "Tabitha is that you?"!!!
I can not tell you what happened after this. It is a blur. Best moment of my life.  I guess it's important to point out that we'd never met before! And I think at this point I'm practically falling over the banister thing in front of me in disbelief and he's like half explaining to the crowd that he recognizes me from twitter? I don't even know!

THEN he says "Can we meet real quick? I wanna meet you!" and comes and shakes my hand. I am now shaking and in total disbelief so I sit down to calm down and try to text someone/anyone what just happened but I'm shaking and MY PHONE IS BROKEN! THE SCREEN WON'T TURN ON!  This is probably the only time that this could ever happen and me not care!  Also, I'm really glad this is when he sings 7x70 because I am toooooo hyped up to start crying and I really need a serious song so I can relax a bit.  I still don't really know how he knows who I am..so hey Chris if you're reading this wanna clue me in? (And quite honestly I reallllllly hope he's not reading this..cuz I think I would probably be real embarrassed.)

(This was right after "meeting"..and is a terrible picture but I think it captures how I really could barely control my excitement!)

I go out by the merch table during intermission because a little birdie told me he was there and he wasn't allowed to take pics with people in order to get through everyone. NO WAY am I leaving without getting my picture with him!  So I just kinda stand off to the side until everyone clears out. It's just a couple and I left and I take a picture of them with Chris and they return the favor.  And misc. picture taking lady..in the very slight chance that you would ever come across this I have two things to say to you. 1) THANK YOU SO MUCH and 2) You are freaking amazing at taking pictures! You zoomed and everything! I really can't thank you enough!

So I don't know..I think I'm gonna leave it at that..I stayed and talked to him a bit.  He is super nice, and (almost) everything I expected. He was not as outgoing as I expected.  He thanked me for coming and when I said I can't believe he recognized me he said that was the first time that ever happened to him.

I was floating on a cloud for a good 4 days.