I was then walking with him for the whole first half of the walk. I asked him about the note I passed him yesterday and asked if it had anything to do with the 2 songs last night, and he said "it might have had something to do with it" :) He said it was interesting because where they play so many shows, sometimes they don't realize that people that only go to a couple shows may go a long time without ever hearing some key tunes. So he was glad I gave him that note. I asked if they were consciously not doing anything from TTW, as I wasn't able to go to TWATW tour last fall and it would be great to hear something from that EP. He was like well, "we don't have the... oh wait, yes we do have the book for sale. That's a good idea, I'll keep that in mind for tonight." He asked where I was from and what shows/where I had gone. He thanked me for coming all this way to see them. I thanked them for doing walks with their fans and spending this time with us, I said I would be scared of some of the fans if I was them. He was like "oh, we are." hahaha. Legit. Anyway, then a girl chatted with him who is from South Africa and has done walks over there and stuff. It was interesting to hear her story. All in all it was just a wonderful chat with Isaac and I'm so glad I had that opportunity :)
We actually stopped halfway this time since we were on a campus, Taylor gave a very long but motivational speech. I tried to not take pictures and just listen. I think they appreciate that. Also, sidenote, I'm pretty sure I'm in all of Zac's iPhone video from yesterdays and todays walk, so look for me in the podcasts haha. Then we did the second half, I found Jenna and we just chatted. We also chatted with 2 students from the school who just came cause they saw the crowd. We were trying to convince them to come to the show tonight, they might, who knows. At the end of the walk, they played Great Divide acoustic!!! I have never seen/heard Hanson play anything outside of a concert, so this was pretty epic. I recorded it all. After the song Taylor came over near me and I was like... okay, it's now or never. So I asked as politely as I could for a picture, and he said "yeah sure but hang on a second, we have to get some group pics over here" (and touched my shoulder, yes I am 12 haha) so I waited and they got pics with the TOMS organizers at the campus (they have a TOMS group which is pretty fantastic!). After that I approached him again, he said yes, and I got a pic with Taylor :) Zac was just a foot away but surrounded by people... I was like alright, I am not going to be disappointed if this doesn't happen. So I waited right behind him, tapped on his shoulder and asked, HE said yes, and I got a pic with Zac! :) Literally as soon as I got that pic their assistant and the TOMS people said they had to leave and no one else got pics (well some people followed them to their van but we won't talk about that). So I was SO LUCKY and I couldn't help but cry a little bit after that happened. And the pics turned out FABULOUS.
After that happened I cried a little bit haha. Jenna & Megan & Jen were just so happy for me :) Thank you guys for just being awesome haha, I am such a Hanson n00b compared to these girls but I feel nothing but love, it's so awesome. So after I regained some composure Jenna & I headed back to the subway, inadvertently walking right past Hanson and saw them go to their giant van and get in. haha. NOT being a creeper we had to go that way! Got on the train, got back to Dearborn St and saw a Starbucks. YAY. So I got me a pumpkin spice latte and decided to buy a 3-pack of VIA since Taylor from Paramore said it was pretty good. And for buying it I got 3 more for free. Score. Then we came back to the HOB and chatted with Brooklyn (who is #2 in line!) and a couple of the security guards who were really nice.
That afternoon Heather Jenna & I played tourist and went to Millennium Park/Cloud Gate. By the time we got back to the HOB/hotel it was just about 4:30/time for doors to open. I said hey to Brooklyn & Christina before they went in for front row, then Jenna Heather & I came back to the hotel to hang out and relax until Catie got here with her friend. At around 6 they got here and we decided we'd eat supper in our box since it wasn't anymore expensive than the HOB restaurant. So I ate my supper in our box, watching Hellogoodbye perform. It was pretty stellar I have to say. I got the food gone and just had time to pee before Hanson came on!
The show was awesome once again! I kind of feel the first night was better, but that may be because a) there were a lot less people there tonight b) the newness/excitement aren't as great when it's the second consecutive show. But I still danced like a retard and screamed/sang so much that I may not have a voice tomorrow. Isaac & Zac kept looking up at us so that was fun. Setlist highlights... Get Up & Go (first time hearing it live!), Runaway Run, Georgia acoustic, Use Me Up, These Walls, and Don't Stop Believing! Since the venue wasn't as full they had the whole balcony closed off except to box people, so I went on the other side for a bit to get some better Taylor pictures. I tried to record less tonight but a few things I just had to. I kind of wish I didn't record as much of Don't Stop Believing as I did... I feel like I didn't take it in in the way that I should have. It's always such a tossup between capturing the moment and actually experiencing it. But I definitely had a ton of fun, Jenna & I rocked out and danced our butts off. Before the show started I was kind of melancholy thinking this is all so close to being over. And several times during this weekend I have been in awe that I have gotten to have this experience this weekend. Before Hanson came on tonight I was like "this is a dream. This is not happening. I am going to wake up soon." I honestly think that tomorrow when I fly back home I am going to think none of this actually happened to me.
Luckily, when the concert was over, I didn't feel depressed in the slightest. I felt very content, very full and happy with what I got to hear. After we were herded out of the HOB I met up with Megan & Jen and said goodbye/got a pic with them. It's so great how many new friends I have now :) Like real life ones and not only internet friends anymore haha. They are all so nice and are just so happy that I am excited about everything. Cause a lot of them have been to 50, 70, even 100 Hanson shows! So they like it that I'm still so over-excited because I've only been to 6 (as of now). Part of me never wants to do more than 2 shows a tour. I like the excitement and anticipation I get. If it gets too routine, it might lose it's specialness.
When I was getting ready for bed and the other girls were in the room I was just like "guys... I love you so much. This weekend has been awesome." And it HAS! I've met such great people. Going places alone is really a good idea! As long as you have a game plan haha. Anyway, Jenna Brooklyn & I went searching for a vending machine only to find out this hotel is too upscale for vending machines (they prob want us to pay a million dollars for the stuff in the mini fridge). So we put hoodies on over our PJs and walked down to 7-11. The two of them are gone now to hang out with Cesar, our friend that works here. Christina is sound asleep and I'm just sitting here clicking through pictures. All 278 of them. I have a lot of editing to do.
So this is it... I get up at 7am tomorrow to catch my flight back to NS. It was a great trip; I think I may have to come back to Chicago sometime in the future :)
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