Take a look at that hottie! Seeing Maroon 5 in Antwerp last December was so much fun!! Every time my girlfriends & I looked at our photos we couldn't believe what an incredible night we had. We talked about it for a week straight! lol!!! Here's what happened...
Several days before the concert, Peace Corps Girl e-mailed us about going to Antwerp a little early for drinks & dinner and maybe a meet & greet with Maroon 5. She said she'd do a little research and find out if it was possible.
When I told Gio, what Peace Corps girl was planning she said, "Are you on the list? "
"What list?"
"If you're not on the list I don't see how you're going to get in."
Gio obviously underestimated Peace Corps girl!
Fab 5 before the Concert
We arrived at the venue early and found a group of about four girls and one guy standing outside. So me, Spa girl, and Peace Corps girl jumped out of the car while our other two friends parked the car. After asking a few questions we discovered the group waiting outside were on a list and were waiting for someone to take them inside the concert hall to meet the members of Maroon 5. It was cold and drizzling which was not good since I had straighten my hair for the concert and I had open toe shoes.
One of the tour guys comes outside and asks us, "Are you guys on the list?"
Peace Corps girl says, "Yes, we're on the list" and gives him her name. As he's looking she asks "What's your name?"
"Sean. I don't see your name on the list"
"What!? That's impossible."
Sean looks again for her name but of course it's not there because we're really NOT on the list. But that's just a small detail.
"Did you call and..."
"Yeah, yeah I did all that"
"How many are in your party?
"Five"
"Well, you can only do two names at a time."
Peace Corps girl is now bouncing up and down because she is so cold... "Yeah, that's what I did. Two, Two, and one." She quickly looks at his list and randomly chooses a name and says, "I think we're with Vanessa."
"No, Vanessa is on another list"
"Oh, well I don't know."
"Maybe, one of your other friends is on my list?"
So Peace Corps girl looks at me and gives him my name.
He looks at me and says, "Hey, I know you!" Now it's my turn to get us in!
"Really? Where are you from?"
"California. Me too!"
We then start making small talk about what schools we went to and what year we graduated. He said he graduated in 2001. I'm thinking, "Oh god, he graduated in 2001!! I was already done with graduate school in 2001!! He's a total baby!" I then asked him if he had a brother.
"Hmmm... maybe I know your brother."
After our little conversation he checks to see if my name is on the list.
"No, you're name is not on the list either. Ok. Wait here and let me check these other people in. I'll be right back girls."
As he walks away, Peace Corps girl says, "You got the California angle workin'. Girl, you gotta get us in! Start flashing some boobs!" lol!!
I'm not THAT interested in meeting the band members but I give a little and unzip my jacket to reveal a little cleavage. lol! As he's checking the other people the rest of our party arrives.
Sean walks back up to us and says, "Ok girls, follow me."
All five of us give each other a smile that says, "YES! We're in!!"
We followed him until we got to the front doors of the concert hall and waited for a few minutes while some of us went to the bathroom. While my girlfriends were in the bathroom Sean started to ask me & Spa girl all kinds of questions about what we were doing in Europe. Of course, I lied. He doesn't want to hear about how we're all married with small kids and stationed in Europe. Nope, I told him we were college friends traveling around Europe for a few weeks. I had to make us sound a little exciting! lol! I excused myself so I could tell the other girls that our lie was getting bigger! I wanted us all to be on the same page just in case Sean asked us more questions.
When we got back, Sean lead us into the concert hall. Wow! I can't begin to describe how cool it was to enter a venue when it's completely empty. The air was a bit smoky and a couple of the band members were tuning up their instruments. All five of us were so excited!! We kept repeating, "I can't believe this!"
We watched the band members tune up for a while and then Adam, the lead singer came out to sing. Our own private concert!! I couldn't believe it!! The band played two songs, "Kiwi & Nothing Lasts Forever", my two favorite songs on his 2nd album and I was right there in the front to see & hear him sing. Sweet!!!
The music was so incredibly loud that I'm sure my friends & I lost some of our hearing that night. I could actually feel the vibrations inside my body and I even think my hair was blowing a little from the speakers. It was that loud!
After Maroon 5 played a few songs, Sean came up to us and asked, "Before I start making some calls to see if you're on the list I need to know if you're BS'ing me."
Peace Corps girl came clean and told Sean who we really were and he said, "I knew it!" I told him I really was from CA and he was totally cool with us. Sean asked if we wanted to take pictures with the band and of course we said, "Yes!" After our little photo session, we got to talk to the band which was fun. They told us about their tour and they asked us how we enjoyed living in Europe.
We left the venue on cloud 9! We were thrilled to have met the band AND to be present for the sound check was more than we ever expected!! When we got outside Peace Corps girl tells us, "Sean, told me he could get us good seats if we come back at 6:30 but we'll have to skip our dinner reservations." Without really answering we made our way to a cafe/bowling place and unanimously made the decision to go back early. We had 30 mins to eat and get back to the concert which is almost impossible when dining in Europe. So we explained our situation to our waitress and asked what we could order that would be done quickly. She pointed to a few things and it came down to Fries & Fried Calamari. So we ate quickly and ran back to the concert where we got to see the band again up close.
The actual concert was fantastic! My girlfriends & I were screaming like teenagers! It was so funny! Peace Corps girl kept screaming, "I love you Adam!!!"
On the ride back home we all agreed that what we experienced that night would never have happened if we were at a Maroon 5 concert in the US. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to see them in Belgium and hope they enjoyed seeing some fellow Americans at their concert singing their hearts out. ;)
