Charlotte, NC - NASCAR - Lowe's Motor Speedway
May 17, 2003
From: Pryde

I'm home, caught up on some sleep, and I'm ready to review. We had a GREAT weekend on the infield at Lowes Motor Speedway. We didn't get much , but it sure was a lot of fun. Here's some of the details: We got to LMS much later than I wanted to because we had to stop and have some repairs done to our camper that another dealer hadn't done when Hubby picked the camper up the day before. The other dealer hadn't detailed the camper like we had requested either, so it was pretty dirty on the outside too but we didn't have time to wash it ourselves before we left for Charlotte. But we got a really good spot on the infield anyway with a great view of Turn 3. The first thing we did once we got there was to put up the camper flagpole and run the Gutterflower flag I painted up it. I'm sure everyone around us . TXGooFan almost beats us to Charlotte too. She met us in the infield, and we went to scope out the concert stage for the next day. A security guard sends us over to "Redneck Hill" and we see a very small stage with a very small tarp over it going up. We got really worried that wouldn't have enough room to rock out on that little stage, but what we didn't realize was that the stage we saw wasn't the Goos' because their big stage couldn't go up until after the race that night. (Some people were actually there to watch the race - what's up with that? ) Later that night I'm sitting on the Yukon's roof watching the race and this kid goes by on a scooter and yells at me, "Goo Goo Dolls Fans Suck!" I was so happy the kid could actually read the lettering on the flag - I didn't care what he said. Plus I was really glad he wasn't my kid too. Another funny thing was that when Rusty started racing around Friday night in the Goo car - I guess people finally understood what my flag was about. Because after Rusty ran, everyone on top of their campers around us kept looking over at us like, "Did you see what your boy Rusty just did?" So TX and I had a pact, we were going to get up early and get as close to the concert stage as security would let us the next morning and chill there until the concert started. So I get up at 6:30 and TX gets to the camper about 7:00. So then we start trekking across the infield and I'm dragging a cooler of drinks, a rolling cart with golf umbrellas and folding chairs, and two backpacks. TX was carrying about 6 bags of stuff too - gifts for the guys, race flags to hand out to the crowd, her "signature promotional items", etc. So the Hottie (TX) and the Nottie (me) with the cooler attract the attention of RaceFan1 and RaceFan2. The guys help us carry all of our stuff to the concert stage. They lose interest in us when they see the cooler only had 2 beers in it, which we give them for helping us out and they move on. Much to our relief, a huge cool stage had sprung up overnight for the Goos due to the hard work of the . I don't think anyone anticipated any fans showing up that early, and I want to be very clear about this point - we asked the security guards at the gate if we could go to the concert stage area, and we had their permission and we were told to stay away from the Lowe's Jamboree area (which we did) which was near the Goo's stage. When we got to the stage, the were still putting the finishing touches on the stage/concert area and covering up the instruments to protect the equipment from the misty rain. We followed ALL the directions given to us by either the Lowe's staff or the Goo's staff and we didn't say a word to anyone working unless they said something to us first. And if we had been asked to leave, we would have done that too. We were asked to sit near the sound tent, and we just chilled and watched the do their thing. Maybe once or twice when Damage looked over at us, we quietly waved back to him. But we weren't there to disturb or make problems for anyone. When it came time for soundcheck we were asked to move away from the area but we had permission to leave our stuff where it was. So we moved all the way back to Redneck Hill. We could barely see the stage, but we could still hear. So we're listening to soundcheck, trying to contain our enthusiasm so that we don't get into trouble with anyone. We can't help it but we dance around and sing a little bit on this great big empty field. TX was like - "Calm down Girlfriend!" It was so ! Had the Goos and the speedway to ourselves! By this time Hubby and "the boy" arrive with some warmer clothes for me because I'm freezing cold. So at one point during soundcheck, Johnny says something like, "Hi, Ladies!". I'm not sure if he's talking to us and I'm too scared to say anything back or do anything back because I don't want to get bounced from the concert area, and then Hubby yells back "Woo Hoo!" Thanks Hubby! Then somebody comes out in the field near us to check the sound, and I'm holding my breath and thinking we're going get bounced now and it's all Hubby's fault. But we didn't. So after the Goos left we got to go back closer to the stage. After soundcheck more folks started showing up and we had to stay behind the white line near the sound tent. And I got to meet a whole bunch of WOGgers. The sprint to the stage was pretty funny - I sure hope no one filmed that. The Lowe's security people were so too! Lowe's security Stacy, Stacy's boyfriend, and the other security guy with the gorgeous blue eyes (who sang along to some of the Goo's songs - I gave him the thumbs up for that) were SO NICE to us fans. BIG PROPS to them. One of the Lowe's security guys gave my son a Greg guitar pick, and then later Security Mike gave my son a Johnny pick too. Thanks so much! And someone else that I guess was the stage manager came out and advised us that if the crowd started pushing too much to put my son in the barricade. BIG THANKS! After the show the stage manager also gave me set list and I gave it to GooGooLuver since we already had 2 picks. But then someone gave set list to Lowe's security Stacy, and she gave it to me! Big thanks! One of the beer vendor ladies gave my hubby one of the Miller Lite Goo banners too. And after the show a radio station was handing out CD's. I was hoping to snag one of the Michelle Branch CD's, but the DJ handed me Bounce. Here's some of the WOGgers on the rail - 2Goo, CTGooFan, Bonni, me, GooGooLuver, TXGooFan, Gooncy, HolliGooPez, MoveYourself2Goo, Charlotte Sister, Cincy Sister, and if I left anyone else out - sorry! Darcy I'm so sorry you and your friend missed part of the show. I got to meet GooGooGrl182 and SimplePlanBabe briefly after the show (I'm glad one of the flags made it back to you ), but I didn't get to meet AllThatGoo or TerrieBGoo. I'll catch y'all next NC show though. I also briefly met DizzyMeUp(?) who I apologize for not staying around and talking to you longer - about that time you found us, I looked around and realized I couldn't find my son in the crowd and I began to panic until I found him again. Hopefully we'll get longer to chat next time! It was an AWESOME show! (I really like that Rusty Wallace as an opener. ) How good was it to hear Naked, Long Way Down, Burning Up, January Friend? Jason was so incredible on the Broadway sax solo and I hope I've got some good pictures of it. Thanks for the photo opportunity, Jason! Also during Broadway was messing with Greg's guitar and said "He gets jealous of the other guy!" Greg came out to the edge of the stage rocking out once and Bonni got an excellent picture of him that I'm hoping she'll let me post soon. Let's see what did everyone else forget to tell you about show? How about when Johnny said, "I wish I could take all you guys home with me!" WOOO HOOO! And this is the first show where I had an awesome view of ! Mike made lots of eye contact and seemed to be looking into the crowd more than at other shows and seemed happy with the crowd. He must have been in a really good mood since I sent him a t-shirt before the show. (Someone who shall remain NAMEless forgot their Mike present.) I really, really wanted the guys to have a good crowd in Charlotte. If you've read Robby's interview in the Charlotte Observer you'll understand why. Besides, if they have a great show, they'll be back more often, right? That's what I'm hoping! Thanks again for another great show Goos! And thanks for letting TXGooFan and me watch sound check. After the show we did some chillin' and grillin' with my GooGirlFriends from WOG. And y'all need to quit trying to talk me into those shows in Chicago and Virginia Beach. I can't take that kind of temptation - and besides my college football addiction will have kicked in by then. It was so GOOd meeting all you WOGgers, and I hope we'll all be together again soon!