When we arrived at ‘Ahoy’ around 3 PM there were already many busses parked next to the arena and I saw some people from Gwen’s crew walking outside.
oI noticed that it was really windy when I stepped out of the car. There were already many people waiting outside at the entrance of the arena. They’ve had probably been waiting there all day, so they would get a good place in the crowd that night. My mom and I decided to take a look for a restaurant at the shopping mall near to the arena, because we were hungry. I saw Stephen Bradley walking into a clothing shop, but didn’t wanted to bother him.
When I walked back to the arena, I met Mariette Hardeman (webmaster of www.ndifc.net. We had a little talk and she showed me some work that she did for the website.
After a little while my mom got back from the shopping mall and Mariette introduced herself. I had to go to the toilet and when I got back, I saw the Harajuku Girls walking outside. They went to the mall.
We were cold and decided to wait in the car.. then I saw Stephen walking outside. I grabbed my camera and asked him if I could take a picture with him. He said “Sure”, introduced himself and asked what my name is. He is really nice!
Then I saw a limousine from a radio station called “Radio 538”. We waited a while, but nobody was coming out. So, we walked away.
|
I met my friend Bonny. She had a present for Gwen and asked me if I could give it to her, knowing that I would have
a meet & greet with misses Stefani at 7.
After waiting and waiting it finally was time to pick up our passes for the meet & greet, but we were not on the list..
Luckily the tour manager came to bring them after a while. He told us where we had to wait and said that he would pick us up there in 10 minutes. That was a really exciting moment!! |
.. but somebody told us that we had to line up in a row and take our stuff with us.
Then Gwen’s bodyguard Curtis came and introduced himself. He told us the rules about taking pictures etc.
I recorded a little part of that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW0Atx6oi1s
After that a woman came and said “She’s coming”.. and I felt so lucky that I was there about to meet Gwen Stefani!!
Then the moment came that she walked in with the Harajuku girls!! She had Kingston on her arm and putted him down. He saw a little girl that also had a meet & greet with Gwen. She had a teddy bear in her hand.. Kingston
grabbed the teddy bear, but Gwen told him not and said that it belonged to the girl. She lift him up, but he was mad and pulled Gwen’s hair really hard. Hehe. Gwen talked with Mariette, who was standing next to me. Kingston (who was wearing little LAMB shoes) was pointing at my present the whole time, but then he started to cry and someone took him from Gwen's arm..
So, when Gwen was standing in front of me, I gave her little "klompen" (wooden shoe's) from Holland that I bought for Kingston.. she seemed to like them and said "Wow, look at that! Kingston LOOK!" She's sooooo NICE!!!!
I started to talk about my contact with her brother Eric and she said "Ooh, are you Jolin? Nice to meet you!!" I didn’t even have to introduce myself.. SHE KNEW MY NAME!!! I was stunned :D
I also gave her a bracelet with her name on it in rasta colors, that I made. I said "I don't think you will wear it, but hope you like it." She said "Thank you. Off course I will wear it!" Aww!
Then she signed my Sweet Escape album, No Doubt pictures and the picture they gave us for the meet & greet |
I was the first one to take a picture with her. The Harajuku Girls are also on it. I felt so little next to Gwen!
After Mariette and I both took a picture with her, Gwen smiled and waved me good bye!
We went to a door that brought us inside the arena. I decided to take a look at the merchandise and bought a black and white striped shirt and putted it on. (Picture is taken after the show, I was really tired at that point)
Then I looked for my mom and give her my bag. She took my sign that said “the Queen from Anaheim” with her, but wasn’t allowed to take it with her inside the arena. I was kinda bummed, because it took me so much work to make it.
We walked into the arena and I looked for Bonny, who send me a text message that she was standing in the front row.
I pushed my way to the 5th row, but couldn’t find her. So, I decided to just wait for the opening act.
After a long time of waiting, the lights went down and CSS (Cansei De Ser Sexy) came on stage.
They played a couple of songs, like: “The bitch says yeah”, “I’m of the hook” and “Let’s make love and listen to death from above”. Then the lead singer said something like “Hollanddd!! This is our last song. Are you ready for Gwen Stefani?!!”. The crowd started to scream very loud! After they went backstage, we had to wait veryyyy long..
Then finally the lights went down again and we heard trumpets! Yayyy, the SWEET ESCAPE!! Love, on of the Harajuku Girls, came on stage..
She disappeared and then Music, also on of the Harajuku Girls, and one of the b-boy dancers came on stage in a police outfit.
Then one part of the stage with the musicians on it moved to the left and the other one to the right. A huge flash of light came trough it and I heard “Woo hoo weee hooo”. OH MY GOSH! GWEN! She was standing in a huge golden cage that moved to the front. Then she sang “If I could ESCAPE..” and jumped out of the cage. The crowd went NUTS!
The rest of the setlist:
Rich Girl: Her and the HL girl were dressed up as thieves and tried to open the locker.. when they finally opened it, (fake) money twirled trough the air.. it looked really cool.
Yummy: Gwen changed costume before and after this song. She was wearing a funny cook hat and a puffy dress.
4 In The Morning:
Luxurious:
Early Winter: Before she started to sing the song, Gwen had a little talk to the crowd about how much she likes to be in Holland and she said that the husband of her mother in law comes from here and that she is actually Dutch too, haha!
.. and then she said:
“.. Kingston got little ‘klomps’ today.. thank you for that Jolien.”
OH MY GOSHHHHHHH! I couldn’t believe she just mentioned the present I gave her and that she said my name! WOW.
Somebody caught it on video. Thanks to the nodoubtweb for uploading it!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEVK5QA3H3E
Wind It Up:
Danger Zone:
Hollaback Girl:
Now That You Got It:
Dont Get It Twisted:
Cool: Gwen jumped of the stage and ran trough the arena.. then she walked trough the crowd and they went wild! She started to sing the song.. and at one point she was really near to my mom.. she could have touched her if she wanted.
Wonderful Life:
Orange County Girl: Halfway the song, the band kept playing and Gwen introduced them, the Harajuku girls and the b-boy dancers. Then she finished the song and they went of the stage. Many people thought that this was the end of the show.. but it wasn’t.
(short break)
The Real Thing: They came back on the stage. Gwen sang song with Gail An Dorsey. Stephen and Gabrial were also on stage with a couple of instruments.
What You Waiting For?: The last song!
When everybody left the stage the light turned on again and I decided to look for my mom. We handed out some flyers, but the people from the arena told us to leave the arena and go to the entrance. Many people were still there, so my mom handed out the rest of the flyers. I bought myself a drink, because I was really thirsty.
Then we drove home and I was really really tired, but had a wonderful night!
I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS WONDERFUL DAY :D
Thanks to everybody who made this possible! |
