Sun Nov 19, 2006 3:29 pm

What a great night. After standing in line for four hours, we finally got in and got spots right up front. We made a few friends, and they saved our spots while we were off to meet Ran. The M&G went great. We were having so much fun back there and Ran was so sweet. She remembered exactly when I saw her last, which was cool. Since I have so many pictures of me just standing next to Ran, I asked her if she wanted to do a fun picture, and she said sure. So, we did the whole Charlie's Angel's thing. It was awesome. I love that M&G pic. After the M&G we went back and watched the RRB. Then it was time for Sara and I to go meet Dierks. There were two lines when we got there. One for Bud Light, and one for radio. We begged them to let radio go first, so we could get back and not miss any of Ran, but it didn't work. They took the Bud Light group down first. We were standing at the top of the stairs, and we see Dierks walk by. He was looking up at us and waved, but as he was doing that he ran into the railing of the stairs. It was pretty funny. Then it was our turn. Sara and I were right at the front of the line so we could get back to the show. Dierk's was so sweet.He signed both the pictures I had for him, and after our conversation he gave me two more hugs. It was awesome. We made it back just as Ran was finishing up What about Georgia, so we didn't miss too much. Ran's set was awesome. You could see her eyes light up when she realized a lot of people already knew the words to Crazy-Ex. It was awesome. Then it was time for Dierks to come on. He put on a great show as well. They were both so awesome. After that show, I am contemplating hitting up the Dubuque show next week, I just have to find a ticket...lol I had a great time with everyone. We definately need to do that more often.

Here's my pictures:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=micbvo0.2w56f92c&Uy=-xivxx8&Ux=1

iowafan - Jill - Madison, WI

---------------------------------------

Here's a link for some pics.... GodBlessTexas! - Peoria, AZ

http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e249/hisbabygirl115/Dekalb/?sc=1&addtype=local

Bryan and I started our day with a nice hour long drive to Dekalb! We hooked up with Craig who was saving our spot at Fatty's, arriving there about 1:30 or so we got there just in time! The place filled up rather quickly! The crowd I must say was evenly mixed, with a few "Wolverines" sitting at the bar!

It wasn't long before we were joined by Sara, and her sister Melissa, (who I might add reminds me of Sara Evans!) Sara's Mom and her friend Kristine I think it was...The food was great! Now if anyone has been following our "stories" it's common knowledge that Sara is on a quest to find a drink that she likes! Having all congregated for Ran at Joe's Bar in Sept. it was decided that Sara isn't a big fan of "Uh hummmmmm on the Beach"...so our quest continues! Craig and I plotted and we eventually came up with something! Now the fun in all this is Sara never really knows what she's drinking, nor does she ever know the "name" of the drink, so her comments and her onliners often contribute to the on going saga of finding her "niche" unbeknownst to her, she's making comment after comment that has the rest of us in stitches...like "Oh! This one's creamy!" , or "I'll have to take this one slow" or "I'm not really liking this!" or better yet "Gee yesterday I had "virgin" hair and look at me now" (she got her hair colored and cut)...*Hint* for you drinkers out there let just say it was a real SCREAM! to the "finish" !
She never did finish it though even with all of our coaxing! The food was great and we were stuffed, time to join Jill, with some Hot Cocoa to the rescue! Jill arrived at the venue around 2:15 and there were already about 20 people in line. All I can say is what a trooper! She did a fantastic job for the Ran Fan Entourage!

Like Sara said Jill was the first out of the gate and it was on... before long there we were all 10 of us I think it was front row and ready to rock! Gotta love Ran! I must say Dierks fans are some of the best, there were several that took it upon themselves to save our spots when we left for the M&G and that was awesome! The meet and greet went smoothly and was over long before RRB took the stage! Each of us had something specific to discuss with Ran, I must say I love her spunk!!! Our "discussion" led her to say a resounding "That's Bull Crap"! And I must say I can't agree more Ran! Jill was like "tell us how you really feel!" We did our group pic, and as usual Ran was nothing but sincere and appreciative!

Being from Texas I am already a HUGE fan of RRB! They covered Ragweed's "This Time Around"! Randy was very receptive to BrYan's wearing his RRB shirt, and of course us knowing all the lyrics didn't hurt! Brady the fiddle player is High Energy! They did a great job getting things started! Great new CD! Love their music!

Ran was in true form, and it felt good to hear those around us that weren't really that familiar with her ooooh and ahhhh over how impressed they were with her! It's amazing how she can relate to everyone in the crowd and be so well received, the guys of course want to be next to her, she's gorgeous! And the girls well they want to BE her! They love her grit and spunk! Each time I see her she just gets better! One thing for certain is she KNOWS where she's going! Gun Powder and Lead got a great reaction, and the crowd roared when she started Crazy Ex Girlfriend, dispelling any bad review she may have gotten after the CMA's! She's on a roll.........it ended all too quickly! Dec won't come soon enough!

Bryan and I took the opportunity to go upstairs and chat with Randy Rogers and the guys while the stage was being set for Dierks....took a couple of pics, and discussed things "Texas" while we were there, We did run into a fellow fan sporting his Stoney LaRue shirt, we were in good company!.

Dierks is certainly an Entertainer!!!! He loves his fans, and they know it! He did a great job, of making sure he reached EVERYONE. I too "scored" a pass to meet Dierks but mine was after the show. It was awesome! He did the official line up and get a photo and signature thing, but then CMT was in the house and he took us back to "his backstage" and we were allowed to mingle and encouraged to ask questions...All of RRB was there and Aden from Ran's band was there...It was a great time..all of which was filmed and to be on CMT...I couldn't resist asking Aden if he ever had a bad hair day! That was fun and brought some interesting answers! His M&G lasted about an hour and half....They are all just awesome individuals! I also had the opportunity to talk to all of RRB about seeing them back home Dec 16th, ahhh fond memories of Schroeder Hall....moonshine and NO Cell Phone Service! They are hilarious!

--------------------------------------

Alright, finally cought up on my sleep and cleaned a very messy room and got a test and 2 Huge papers done. Oh ya and the race season is over.

My mom, sister, me , and my frined Kristine went down together to Fatty's. There we met up with Craig, Veronica, and Bryan. There food is awsome! But the drink was not and had the group laughing all night long! Then we left for the venue to meet up with Jill who was standing in line and waiting there for many hours! Good thing she is from the North! She ate and I held her hot chocolate that warmed up the hands! THen they opened the door for us to go down to the floor. Jill was first out of the gate and took off towards the front of the stage. By the time I got there she was already sitting down. We all spread out and waited fo rmy other friend Allison to get there along with her boyfriend.

The a little before 7 we left for the Meet and Greet and thank god we had enough seet holders! We were all in the back of the line as usual! There were some who tried to be last but we won that battle! Meeting Ran again was awsome as usual! I gave her a Camo t-shirt I found and I have the same one for myself! Plus I gave her a candle holder that has snowflakes on it for the holidays. She said that she really liked it and thanked me. She also commented on my necklas, the gun one from Junk Gypsy! I love that store!

Then we had our group shot! That was awsome again and I think they are getting used to us doing that! Thanks Veronica for taking the pic of me and Ran since I forgot mine back by the stage!

Then we got back to the front of the stage and watched the Randy Rogers Band. They sounded pretty good. People around here have never herd of them and I think they made some new fans! Then after that It was time for me and Jill to head back for our meet and greet with Dierks Bently! Jill had got an extra M&G pass that was a suprise to her and let me go back with her! Thanks! While we were waiting and our pleading to let us go back forst didn't work we saw Dierks and he waved at us and our good looks must have distracted him b/c he ran his elbow right into the railing by the stairs! That was funny and would later be my ice breaker when I met hiim.

Jill went first and made him feel bad about not getting any meet and greets while in his fan club! Then it was turn and asked him if his elbow was ok and he said ya. He was so sweet! Wiow Can't believe I got to meet 2 artist in one concert! Thanks again Jill.

Then we rushed back to watch Ran who was already on stage singing! She is so awsome on stage! She is like a firecracker! We were going nutts for her! Aden saw me and Jill and waved to us! We bothed mouthed Set List and he smiled and shok his head yes! Here is the set list:

Georgia
Charlie
I Wanna Die
Gunpowder
Bring Me Down
Strings
Travelin Band
Crazy Ex
Hillbilly Highway
Kerosene

She was awsome as always and is getting better each time I see her! We were the only ones that knew the words to Gunpowder and Crazy Ex!

After her set Aden gave me and Jill set lists! Then some girls around us were asking how we got those. My mom said b/c we have an in with him! The girl said we were so lucky!

Then was Dierks and he was awsome to! Alot better than when I saw him with Kenny Chesney. I got crushed a couple of times and touched his hand like 4 times! I love being in front! But my ears took awhile to get back to normal since the speaker was right in front of me! oh well it was a blast and can't wait to do it again!

Concerts are alot more fun when you go with a group of Ran Fans!!!

I will get pics up soon! Although they are not as good as the others are!

Here is a link to the pics:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2754846390092774183MxlaRN

countrychick8 - Sara - IL / NC

-----------------------------------

Well...here's the final part of the weekend. La Crosse Friday night and Dekalb Saturday night.

Picking up where I left off from the La Crosse review...I got into Dekalb around 1:00 or so and got over to Fatty's to get a table for everyone. Ronie and Mav joined me about a half hour later. Sara, her sister, mom, and best friend joined us around 3:00. Mav was intently watching the Ohio State/Michigan game, but still paying attention to all the goings-on at the table.

As Ronie said, we had some fun with Sara at Joe's in September with a drink. We had to continue that tradition and got her another one with an interesting name. Of course, we didn't tell her the name, but as Ronie said in her review Sara's comments had us falling off our chairs. Let's just say the name had something to do with Screaming. Sara kept saying things like "I have to take this slow" and "I don't really like this".

Despite all this fun, Jill was outside the arena freezing to save us a spot in line. Ronie got her a cheeseburger and hot chocolate and we went to join Jill in the cold. When the doors opened, Jill was first in and got us a spot in the first row on the left hand side of the stage. We all joined her and had awesome spots for the concert.

We went off for our meet and greet at the appointed time. Met Lindsey (Pologirl) in line and kept letting people get in front of us. Turns out, the front of the line was really the back of the line. However, Tony let us go the real back of the line! When it was our turn, we chatted with Ran individually (got her to sign the set list Aden gave me from La Crosse) and she agreed to a group photo with everyone's camera. She's extremely accomodating and gracious. Couldn't ask for more!

Mav and Sara's clan helped save our spots (as well as some Dierks fans) and we were back well before Randy started. Randy was great again and Brady still cracks me up on the fiddle. At one point, Randy saw Mav wearing a Randy Rogers Band T-shirt and acknowledged him during a song. Mav was trying to get a drum stick from the drummer and he threw it our way, but bounced off our hands and landed about 3 rows back. I did manage to get the set list from one of the guys and gave it to Mav. Jill and Sara went to meet Dierks and barely made it back for the beginning of Ran's set. They missed about the first minute of What About Georgia.

After the changeover, Ran came out and just rocked the place. We were right in front of Scotty. Ran was awesome - same set list as La Crosse. She sounded great and really got the crowd going. A lot of people were singing along with her songs they knew. Our group knew the lyrics to Gunpowder and Lead as well as Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The set went by way too fast. I could have listened to her for another hour. Ran got a great reaction from the whole crowd.

During the changeover, Mav and Ronie went out to the merch table for a while. Aden came ver with set lists for Jill and Sara. I managed to get Keith's attention (drummer) and motioned for a drum stick from him. He brought one over and tossed it to me. Jill had a "What about me?" reaction, so Keith went back and got the other and tossed it to her. The whole band is just awesome - great guys!

Dierks was excellent too. He really got the crowd into it and everybody loved him. He ran out into the crowd once and acknowledged his fans in every song. I've always liked Dierks and seeing him twice in two days (and meeting him once) gave me a greater appreciation for him. He's a great entertainer. At the end of the show, Dierks' drummer came over and tossed a drum stick to me. Since I already had one, I gave the one from Dierks' drummer to Mav.

After the show, we got a group shot with everyone and Ronie headed out for the Dierks fan club meet and greet. She was gone forever (but had a great time). Sara had to leave as her sister was tired. Jill, Mav, and I visited with Crysta while she did inventory after the show. I think we were the last fans to leave the arena!!! Ronie, Mav, Jill, and I visited for a while longer before Jill hit the road back to Madison.

It was an awesome experience and seeing the concert with other Ran fans makes it even better. Ronie, Jill, Sara, and Mav are great people and fun to hang out with.

karateguy - Craig - Minnesota