It has taken me a week to fully process this.
Last Wednesday, March 22 has gone down in Victoria's all-time-favorite moments in history! I had the amazing privilege to attend my favorite band, Johnnyswim's concert as a VIP. That means I got to meet them!
The days approaching the concert I did not even think about it because I refused to stir myself up with anxiety to a point that I would be completely worthless when I met them. That said, I actually was pretty chill the whole entire time; part of me is proud the other part is like, you should have made them watch you put on a full-on concert for them in five minutes. Oh well, there's always NEXT time! (My husband is a pretty chill guy and so I didn't want to TOTALLY embarrass him ... either #wifegoals).
I brought them a little gift for the meet-and-greet. It was a memory box that had the world on it (because their song "We Can Take the World" was our wedding song) and inside I put what would technically be our very FIRST photo together on some cute fluffy material with the date the photo was taken (August 20, 2014) at our very first time seeing them in New York City at the Bowery Ballroom. The photo was taken by their drummer and you can see Abner and Amanda singing and my husband and I are singing and laughing in the front row. It was such a cool shot, so I stole it from their drummer's Instagram, printed it, framed it and gave it to them — the first memory in our memory box. Too cool!
The meet-and-greet was awesome, although I will say the staff made it a little stressful. "Do this" and "Don't do that." I wish it were a bit more easygoing, but I do understand that there are rules and they have to get through the whole meet-and-greet line in time to get ready for their show. All of that didn't matter once we met them. It was like meeting a long lost cousin. They are completely down-to-earth people. We chatted a bit and asked them to sign our guitar, which they gladly did!
Before they opened the doors we were able to get a nice spot right in front of the stage. The show started off with Amanda's dad, Bruce Sudano, who shared some greats from his new album. Amanda is actually the late Donna Summer's daughter, which is totally cool! She comes from a musical family and to see her dad on stage was a treat.
I had charged my phone up and had an extra battery pack ready, so I decided to go Facebook Live during the concert. As they sung Don't Let it Get You Down, Amanda takes my phone out of my hand and starts recording from up stage. What a cool moment! I was screaming my head off and singing. It was such a cool feeling! You can see the Facebook Live video below. Scroll forward to 5:35 so you can see where she takes my phone. WOW! And then once the song is over, she shouts me out from stage by name! AHH. She remembered my name, and that was totally super special!
A fantastic night came to a fantastic end! If all the treats were not enough, after the band bowed at their curtain call, Abner takes a huge swig out of his mug, walks up to me and places it in my hand.
Whoa! Did that just happen? I was completely floored. What a great night!
And it still had tea in it! Here's the little piece of heaven advice Abner's tea had to say to me:
Growing up there was this musical family that would visit our church yearly. Their name was The Higgins, and they were from Nashville. The city girl in me just loved their vibe — Christian, country and family love. I always wanted to marry a musician and have a family band like The Higgins, so when I discovered Johnnyswim, the husband and wife duo stole my heart with the SAME vibes. I am truly so happy for their success, but also, their music has touched my life. 2014 was a transition year for me. Go back into this blog and you will see that it was a hard time. I was coming back home, but it wasn't home anymore. Lots of hurts, disappointments and relearning who I was in this familiar place I once called home. Johnnyswim's music really helped me get through that year! While one of my many dreams was to pursue my music, I know as of late that God had lots of other plans in store for me. I am so grateful for that. I am also grateful that I can see my family band dream being lived on by some amazingly beautiful people! Their music is so refreshing and fun!
If you have not experienced a Johnnyswim concert, you already know that I highly suggest it. Experience the magic of Abner and Amanda for yourself. You just won't understand it until you experience it for yourself, and I am sure, just like the rest of us, you will be hooked and ready to see them over and over again.
"Got my hand on my Bible, Hold it firm like a gun, While you pray for revival, I'm already livin' in one."
— Live While We're Young, Johnnyswim
No comments:
Post a Comment