Revive!

I had put in to get the day off work yesterday so that I could see Revive in concert.
I was denied. I normally help out in the kitchen for concerts at this venue with this promoter (People for Christ Ministry) so I offered to help until I had to leave for work. I not so secretly hoped the band would be timely and that sound check would be early. :)

I had my alarm set for 7:40 a.m., but I probably woke up hourly for some reason. It was rather annoying as I really needed some sleep. But finally 7:40 came, the alarm went off and I dragged my tired (and rather sleepless body) out of bed and proceeded to get the day going. I said a few prayers along the way.

I cleaned up a little, got dressed, took Mollie outside, and loaded the car.
The plan was to be there at 10 a.m. Then I was going to make homemade potato soup and get a few things ready for lunch. There as much to do as Subway had donated sandwiches for the event.

I left the house by 8:30 and headed for Smith's to get gasoline. Then I had to go inside and get two bags of ice because the one outside their gasoline area hadn't been restocked. This is what happens when one is in a hurry. LOL. Then I realized I had forgotton a pan I needed, so I drove the mile or so back home, got the pan and headed out to Salt Lake City. There was traffic, but it was moving well, and I arrived 15 minutes early. When I arrived I was really excited to see the bus had already arrived, so I figured they were all at the hotel. One wish fulfilled, one to go. :) Then I parked and started unloading my car.

Then a few others began to arrive. Eleanor started some Bear Creek Chicken Noodle, Paula diced an onion for me, and I peeled and cubed 10 lbs. of potatoes ,and started them boiling. Paula set up the tables and fruit bowls. I cut up seedless watermelon. IN the interim my pastor showed up and said he couldn't stay and asked if I'd pick him up a cd, so I said I would. The sandwiches arrived about 11:30. Things went rather smoothly, and everything was ready on time. About 12:10 we started to serve lunch, pretty much one or two at a time. Everyone was taking the chicken noodle. I tried to give it away. Ty (or was that Rich? I can't recall) came back and had some later in the afternoon. I hope he liked it. I think he had some just because he said he would, so that was pretty nice of him. LOL

Then something amazing happened... wish no. 2 was fulfilled. The started sound check. I didn't bring all my camera gear, just a point and shoot (and I hadn't had a chance to charge the batteries) and I ran to the car and grabbed it. Then I went in to listen. Let me say that Dave has an absolutely beautiful voice, and their harmonies were spot on. I know it was probably nothing compared to the actual show, and it was still excellent. I couldn't really get any pics without flash, so I asked if the minded if I took some pics, and was told no, shoot away. The camera wasn't co-operating too well (not focusing and long delays - should have changed the batteries after all) but I did get a few. They all posed for me. It was kinda fun. LOL I asked if I could get some merch and bought a cd bundle for me and the newest cd for my pastor and a sticker.

Then I went back in to see if there was anything I could do to help with dinner. All I really was able to do was chop a bit more watermelon, and put some noodles in boiling water. Still.. I guess I did my part. LOL I think Lynn was fixing Chicken Alfredo - lots of garlic, and it smelled wonderful.







I finally headed for work a little later than planned as I can get a bit gabby at times, and figured it would be close but I might make it. The longest part was waiting at the two lights between the venue and the freeway (who timed those things?!) and the traffic accident about 20 minutes from work. I ended up being 12 minutes late. :( Not good. But no one seems to upset with me yet. I did call to let them know when I got stuck in accident traffic. It was already off the road or it might have been worse.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. LOL I wonder how much soup was left over and what happened to it. LOL Stay tuned... or not. I can see ya'll are on the edge of your seats.

Till next time....

Peace out,
Melanie

Superchick = Superfun

April 14 was Superchick Day. Those that made the trek out to see Superchick in Salt Lake City Tuesday have no idea how close it came to being cancelled. The band had bus issues and ended up leaving a day late. With 2 bus drivers they managed to make the 24+ hour drive arriving just 3 hours before show time, and pretty famished from not having had "real food" for a couple of days. I personally want to thank the bus drivers. I'm not sure I was able to meet them, but they were awesome for getting the band to us.

We knew ahead that the band would probably not arrive until about 2-3 p.m. I was secretly predicting 4 and hoping it would be earlier. We decided to meet early anyway and I arrived at the venue at 10:22 in the morning and began unloading.
Just about the time I arrived I spotted Liz and she helped me unload. Then I set about trying to find the coffee. I never did find it. It did finally show up later, but we used some of Calvary's coffee for the first pot at least. Calvary Chapel Salt Lake City has some of the best, most giving staff I have ever met. They truly see everything they have as God's and always share freely. For that I am eternally grateful. I know this is how it is supposed to be, and how it isn't far too often.

Anyway, we set about fixing lunch, and had plans to fix a lunch/dinner combo. In the end, with the band to arrive at 3, we just fed some of the volunteers some of the salad, tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. We saved out the rest of the salad, a fruit tray, and vegetable tray, and lemon/pepper chicken for dinner. While we waited for people to arrive, we started preparing dinner, finishing touches on the roast, seasoned baked chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, corn, peas. There was lots of food. Everything turned out very well!

David was first to arrive as he flew in (someone even made the obligatory joke later in the evening about his arms being tired. LOL). A while later we finally heard that the band had arrived and we took care of feeding them as they made their way in.
Some had plates taken to them as they worked like mad to get everything ready in time for the doors to open at 6. Since it was raining it was decided that everyone would be wristbanded and let into the merch area later, which took a small bit of rearranging. I had come out to the merch area to find out if I could get a seat and get approval for my camera and was drafted to put on wristbands for a bit. It soon became apparent that the ticket takers were only going fast enough for two of us to stay busy, so I bowed out and went back to the kitchen.

Before long the show was starting so I finished helping a little, by putting some things away, and then went to see the show and take photos. First was Tal & Acacia sang for us. There were a lot of comments throughout the night about how fun it was having 2 sets of sisters on the tour. They are beautiful girls and I thoroughly enjoyed their set.



Then Rachel Hockett spoke. She talked about her struggles with being a people pleaser as a result of things she experienced, and eventually an eating disorder and about letting go of the things that hold you in bondage, the things you think you can control, that control you (my paraphrase and take on it, anyway.) She is an engaging speaker, and a sweetheart of a person.


Afterwards, there was a video about Melissa's trip to Uganda to visit her 2 children sponsored through Compassion International. You could tell how much the trip meant to her and how much she thought of Compassion. Then I went back into the kitchen and tried to help out a bit and went back out as Tal and Acacia were singing one song before Superchick took the stage. First off Trisha had everyone in the Gold Circle seating come forward, and stand next to the stage. Then they fun began. There were some children up by the stage to the right and they were having a blast. This one little boy was jumping up and down, dancing and just having a great time. He was a crack up.. and cute. LOL I stood next to him for a bit and took some pics and finally went to the other side of the stage and took photos there and enjoyed the show. IT really was a lot of fun. Some of the highlights were Matt's challenge with the audience to a dance off (and I'm sure a certain little boy spurred that one on by his exuberance), Trisha talking about Matt's sweat, etc., and joking about the things that come up on stage when one is in front of an audience, and hearing Stand In the Rain performed live. It's such an amazing song.

Anyway, the concert ended and there was an autograph signing. They tried to do paw prints of Trisha's dog, but it didn't work. It was a cute idea, though. I went over to the merch tables and bought a few things, took a few photos, had a photo taken with Tal & Acacia and Rachel, etc. Then I went over to have a pic taken with Superchick. They were so nice about everything and took the time to talk to people, including me... being my usual chatty self.

Then clean up began in earnest. A lot had already been done, so mostly it was just sorting through everything, loading, chatting, etc. There was a mix up with my coolers being accidentally loaded into other vehicles, which was semi-amusing, and finally I went to put the last cooler away and my car floor on the driver's side was full of water. Good thing I didn't put my camera down there (I almost did) so I drove home with a big puddle on the back floor, which leaked up to the front. What a mess!

I finally arrived home shortly after midnight, and was one tired individual.

God's blessings,
Melanie