It took me most of yesterday (24 March), until the early hours of this morning, to write the following review. Due to its extreme length, I am going to split it up into more than one post. I apologise for this indulgence, but when I began writing, I just couldn't stop. My memories came flooding back and I just had to record all the details. I hope you all enjoy it:
THE EAGLES AT THE O2 ARENA, THURSDAY, 20 MARCH 2008
Introduction
It has taken me several days to gather my thoughts in order to bring you a review of the Eagles’ concert at the O2 Arena last Thursday. I am tired after spending so much time travelling, as I was on planes for a total of over 24 hours (and getting no sleep! ), as well as travelling on the underground train (“tube’) service, in a state of uncertain nervousness. I am still in a state of disbelief, and can barely come to grips with the fact that it is all over already. All the time I spent planning the trip to London, stressing about obtaining my passport in time… co-ordinating with GA and GEF regarding how and when we were going to meet each other before or at the venue… deciding which outfit would be the most appealing to wear just in case the boys, or Glenn in particular, saw me… wondering where GA, Timtot and I were going to sit since we were 5-star VIPs with the “I Love All Access” group, and had spent so much money… Everything that we had planned, everything that we had hoped for was over far too soon. However, the memories we now have will stay with us for the rest of our lives, without a shadow of a doubt.
Preparation
I started my showering, dressing and grooming at midday, since I had arranged to meet GEF at 14:30, after she arrived in London by train, at the hotel where I stayed in Bayswater, London. GEF was resident just up the road from me. I was scheduled to meet GA and Timtot at Entrance B at the O2 Arena at 17:00, where we were to meet with our ILAA hostess. Since everything in London was new to me, and I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to travel from Bayswater to North Greenwich by tube, I wanted to leave by about 15:15 to ensure I got to my destination in good time, and to give me enough time to find the venue in case I got lost. I wanted everything to be perfect, and wanted to take my time grooming myself for what I anticipated to be the most exciting night of my life. I wanted to look and feel my best, and thank goodness I managed to get some sleep the night before. It wasn’t enough, though, and I was running on adrenaline. A sense of urgency kept pushing me into unknown waters, and conquering my fears of getting around London. Seeing my beloved Eagles was more important than anything, and nothing was going to stop me from living my dream… the dream for which I had been planning, saving and sacrificing for almost a year.
GEF asked hotel reception to phone my room and inform me of her arrival, just as I was preparing to leave. It was wonderful to meet her, and we chatted and looked at the pictures of Glenn that we carried around with us for about 15 minutes before I had to leave. I was of course much too early, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I had already found out the day before what the best route was to take to my destination. The weather, unfortunately, was nasty, with a fairly strong wind (I thought I had escaped the Capetonian South Easter! ) and dark, threatening rain clouds. “Please Lord,” I prayed, don’t let it rain! Please don’t let the wind blow too hard! I need my hairstyle intact by the time I get to the O2!”
The weather got nastier by the time I arrived at North Greenwich station. It had begun raining and the wind was howling. My poor umbrella didn’t really stand a chance, and I had great trouble controlling it on my way to the O2. I had to ask directions on my way there, as the rain spitefully spat on me, but I largely had to find my own way, since I seemed to have a knack for picking on other foreigners who also didn’t have a clue where places were! My raincoat protected my outfit, but my hair was another matter. As my umbrella kept blowing inside out, my hair was exposed, since I didn’t want beanies or any other form of hat on my head that would ultimately press my hair flat. So I braved the rain, with my umbrella battling under the pressure from the wind, and finally found the O2 Arena main entrance, with a little help from a security guard.
I arrived at 16:20 (another 40 minutes to go before I was scheduled to meet GA and GEF), and immediately bought an Eagles programme (£10 ). I struck up a conversation with the young gentleman who was selling the programmes, and I gave him a quick lesson on the Eagles. He’s young (probably in his very early twenties), so I shouldn’t have expected him to know anything about our boys, but I’m sure Maleah will tell you that being in one’s twenties is no excuse for not knowing anything about the Eagles! I told him how far I’d travelled for the concert, and it just so happens that his parents are South African. While I was chatting to him, a lady appeared at the kiosk, and asked the young gent to see a programme, as she was not sure what the Eagles look like, even though she was familiar with some of their songs. She said she wanted to know what all the fuss was about, and since our programme vendor was none the wiser, I took over and gave her a quick lesson too. I pointed out the boys’ in the programme individually, mentioned the names of some of their hits to her, and promoted “Long Road Out Of Eden”, telling her how successful it’s been. I told her too that I’d come from South Africa to see them, and that was enough to convince her that she was missing a very special concert. She gave the impression that she was going to look into Eagles music from that point onwards!
While I waited for GA, Timtot and GEF, I went to stand next to a restaurant not far from Entrance B, as they were playing the whole “Long Road Out Of Eden” album. Needless to say, I didn’t budge, and sang along as I waited for my friends to arrive. Once LROOE was finished, they continued with songs from “The Complete Greatest Hits”. Just next to Entrance B, there was a stall offering Eagles souvenirs, mostly of the T-shirt variety. I decided to wait to see what the VIP experience would offer before I bought anything.
I began stressing and worrying when GA, Timtot and GEF had not arrived by 17:05 (remember, the scheduled time was 17:00 ), and I went over to the ILAA stand just to inform them that I was part of their group and was waiting for my friends to arrive. One of them said to me that it was only 17:05, and that I shouldn’t worry! I wasn’t sure when they wanted to begin the evening, and just needed to make sure that they didn’t leave without us! I was also concerned about the weather, and GA, Timtot and GEF’s safety on the way to the venue (I was yet to learn how much safer London is than Cape Town!), but breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived at approximately 17:15. We chatted for a short while, and I asked a diner at the restaurant to take photos of the four of us together. Then it was time. GEF could unfortunately not come with us , but I knew we would see each other later, since she had a sixth row seat. We still did not know at that stage where we were going to sit, but when we signed in at the ILAA stand and received our tickets, we learnt that we had SECOND ROW SEATS! Timtot was somewhat disappointed, and said that it could have been better , although GA and I were very pleased. Of course, we still didn’t know exactly where in the second row we were sitting…
More to follow...