Hey guys! Ok, so I’m finally going to do my Nashville review. First off, we got to Nashville on Tuesday. The Idols had off on the Wednesday and were in town. We did not see any of them out and about, except Ace, who was out eating with his brother. We did meet him later on in the evening. He is such a cute guy! The next day, which was Thursday, the concert day, we got up early and got ready. We got to the arena about 1:45. I had met Elphie right when we arrived at the arena. She caught me attempting to parallel park. That did not work well. So after we all met up, we headed to the back where we knew the busses were going to go into. Yes, just our luck, they do go underground. A little after 2, the busses arrived at the arena. The crew bus was first, then the girls bus, and then the guys bus. Paris was the only one that came up to the front of the bus, when they were pulling in backwards to go and park underground. However, we did swear to ourselves that, that was Katharine sitting in the back of the bus, so we just screamed her name at the window for the heck of it, as we said to ourselves ’I hope she doesn’t remember this later on.’ It was so hot out there. I think they said it was like 104 degrees. About 15 minutes after the busses were settled, Bucky had come out down the ramp, and was yelling at the fans up above. I had yelled down to him to tell Katharine hello for me, and he told me he would if he saw her..’hehe’..I’m so bad. After that happened, we could not stand the heat anymore, so we left. We heard later on though, that Ace made his way up the ramp, and signed some autographs for the fans. To kill some time before the show, we had gone out to eat. We ate at this little BBQ type place across the street. It was more like a bar, if anything. I had one drink there, cause I knew what was to come later on in the evening, and I wanted to be able to talk. Ha, it doesn’t work, by the way. ;) So while we are sitting there, wasting time, we get word that these baskets/hampers for the girls, will have to come inside with us. Elphie was really not liking this, as this place we were out, smelled like smoke. She did not want it to overtake the giant baskets/hampers. I think they came out of there, pretty well. Those suckers were so heavy, and filled with so much stuff for the girls. I’d be surprised if the girls did not love The Kat Pack, after that project. Anyway, after sitting there for almost two hours, we realized that the sky was becoming real black. So in fear of the baskets/hampers getting wet, along with the fear of thinking we might not be able to take them in, we grabbed them and took off for the arena, across the street. Now, there is already a huge line forming outside, and the weather is getting much worse. We fight our way, to get to the front as fast as possible, so that these baskets/hampers do not get ruined. During that process, this radio tent, flew up, and almost came into the line, surely to kill us all. Thank goodness the awning on the arena, caught hold of it first. Otherwise, we would have been hit by it. So, it starts to drizzle, and at that point, we all took off. Right when we got under the shelter, the rain just poured, and I mean poured, down. We had made it, just in time. Our next goal once inside, was to make sure these baskets/hampers can come in with us, so that we could give them to the girls. The guard tried to mess around with Elphie, telling her he would have to take them, but in the end, he was just joking with her. So, getting the baskets/hampers inside, was a complete success!

Our seats inside, were so awesome. They were right next to the stage. 3 rows up from the floor, even with the 7^th row on the floor. We were sitting around a lot of Mandisa’s friends. The baskets/hampers had seats of their own. They had to change seats about 3 different times, before we found a place where they would be able to stay for good. The whole show, was pretty entertaining. I think out of all of them, Lisa impressed me the most. The girl can sing, so good. She is so great live. Of course, Pickler entertained the crowd. She was a trip. As for Katharine, she was just..amazing. Before she had even came out, when the lights went dark, both me and Elphie had screamed “We love you Katharine!” She then emerged from the platform in a black dress, and sang Black Horse and a Cherry Tree. Let me just tell you, if you had not known that her foot was broken, you would of never known. She kind of made a really hip walk out of walking with the boot. It was hard to tell that she was even injured. I was impressed. Of course, she had a lot of fun singing the song. After she finished singing that, she stopped to talk for a bit. She, of course, talked about how she was out of the tour for three weeks due to being sick, and then told of how she then broke her foot the first week of the tour, and lifted up her dress to show the boot. She shared a story about how she has some ties to Nashville, cause she was supposed to go and see her first country concert, which was Faith Hill, but her and her boyfriend, who was her friend at the time, ended up ditching it to go to the American Idol auditions instead. She then finished that up, and started Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Which was just simply, amazing. Right before she started, some girls had screamed “We love you Katharine!”..and she said..”I love you too!”..it was really cute. So, she did her thing on that song. That end note..just..wow. She got a good almost full standing ovation for that one. The applause for her, for her set, was pretty good, but could have been better. Can’t complain though. ;) She came back out, later on, for the finale number, Livin’ In America. She came out with the same shirt she had on in Richmond, and some cute jeans, and she was barefoot. She did not have the boot on. She was moving around fairly good. There were a few times where Mandisa and Paris helped her move around a bit. Her and Tay did their usual “getting down” moves. There were a few moves in Ace’s direction. She was basically just having a real good time up there. She did sing one note, and twirled her finger around when she did it, it was cute. She laughed a lot on the stage..just moving here and there and everywhere. She was the last one off the stage..as she was leaving she kept singing..”the band..” over and over again. All in all, the concert was good, and Katharine was just amazing. I think once the show ended, it finally hit us, as to what was about to happen.

So, here we are, just sitting here, waiting to go on backstage. Just sitting there waiting, of course, made us nervous. We had tried to plan what we were going to say to Katharine as soon as we got to her. We wanted to have it planned out and ready. So, we had decided we would put down both baskets/hampers, then hand her the scrapbook, then hand her the letters, and then go..guess who? So, that was our whole idea. We kept saying it over and over again, as to not forget it. Finally, we made our way up to the top floor, where the after party was. We stepped into an elevator, it brought us to like the 3^rd floor, we got out, and had to walk down this long hall, until we finally reached the room all of the way at the end. We stepped into the room, and Katharine was immediately to our left., Lisa and Paris were directly in front of us, and I think Bucky was off to the right. Katharine’s line already had a good amount of people in it. So, out of fear of having them take her away quickly, we jumped in her line right away. So we are sitting there, in her line, going over and over to each other, what we are going to say. So we are moving closer, and when we are like 3^rd from her, she spots these baskets/hampers that we have with us. She has the most confused look on her face. She has no idea what is about to happen. So finally, it is our turn. She finishes up with the people in front of us, she then turns to us and goes..”Hey!!”..and does the double handed wave. Let me just tell you folks first. The girl, is so gorgeous, its unreal. So we walk up to her..drop the baskets down..Elphie tells her..’whatever you do, do not carry these yourself’..so then..at the same time mind you..over each others voice..fumbling words galore..me and Elphie attempt to explain to her..what these baskets/hampers are for. Let me just say, her head was basically spinning, we had her so confused. After we finished, she kind of just looked at us and was like..”so wait, this is alllll for me?” and had the biggest smile/shock on her face. I had to be like..’no!..these are for all five of you girls!” By like the 3^rd time of explaining it to her, she finally got it. She really appreciated it though. She said that she had the greatest fans, and that it was so sweet of us to do that. I believe right there, is when she kind of half hugged Elphie and said something about how she hears about and from all of her fans, but she never gets to see all of them. So it was at that point, that I took out the scrapbook, and handed it to her. We told her that might help her a bit with that. She smiled real big, she opened it up, flipped through it a bit, then set it down and said she would have to look at it fully a bit later on. It was at that point, that I had finally decided to tell her who I was. So basically, just out of the blue, I went..”I’m Laurie!” She kind of just stopped, she turned to me, and then went ‘ohh, your laurie!!” and then grabbed my hand to shake it, then pulled me in for a good hug, and said “its nice to meet you!” Mind you, her hair smelt, really good..lol. I replied, “its finally nice to meet you too!” I think she kind of mumbled..’yea, I know’..but you know..was such a blur. So then Elphie took out the letters for her..and explained those to her. I had asked her if Kellie had given her the other ones from when she was gone from the tour, and she told me that she had, but that she was not able to read them yet, she was too busy. We told her we completely understand. She then signed a few things for Elphie. They did exchange some words, but I was too busy getting my own stuff ready, that I was not paying attention to what was being said. Elphie will have to explain that part for you guys. So after she finishes with Elphie, we have the most embarrassing part of the night. She turns to me, to begin to sign my stuff, and all of my stuff, falls to the floor. Not only was that embarrassing, but Katharine herself, with a broken foot mind you, decides to bend down and pick it all up for me, and does anyone have any idea, what was down there? A freaken Carrie Underwood CD in Katharine’s CD case. I was so embarrassed. She was trying to read the CD too, but someone helped her by screaming..”ohhhh..uh oh..a Carrie Underwood CD!!”..uh..I was so freaken embarrassed. I couldn’t even get an apology out of me. I kind of just made this face towards Kat and just like pointed back and forth between me and her, to let her know, that I was sorry. My goodness, it was just..bad. But Katharine had kept saying..’oh no no..its ok!!” Uh. I did not even explain myself. I was supposed to say..that I had taken Carrie’s CD out of my CD player in my car..put Katharine’s in..and then just stuck Carrie’s CD in Katharine’s CD case…but uh..I couldn’t get that out..so embarrassing. So then she finally signs my single. While signing it, she had asked me if she had ever sent me a letter in the mail. I tried to explain to her, that I had gotten the picture of her and the blanket, that was signed..but I don’t think she understood what I was saying. I just couldn’t function normally after the Carrie CD moment. I think got her to sign a single for someone else..as I sat there for a good minute..trying to figure out what the name of the person was..that it was for..cause Katharine had asked. I just kept going..’uhh..omg..what is her name..wow..you just met her the other day..you know..little girl..and I made the little height symbol..and I finally just ended up telling her the little girls nickname..cause it was all I could remember. Wow, I’m pretty sure Katharine thought I was nuts. After all of the signing, she then asked if we wanted a picture with her. We all said sure. So, we take a picture..and mind you..the whole time..she is like rubbing my back. I was like..how sweet..the whole time. So we are taking the picture..and Kat notices that the sharpie is in the way..so she goes..”You might want to move that pen there” and she laughs..and so we all laugh with her..so the pen gets moved..and she then goes..”there we go”..and chuckles again..so we all laugh again..and then the picture is taken. She then says she is sorry she cant talk to us longer. We told her not a problem, we understand. So we gather up all of our stuff. As I begin to walk away, she stops me, and suddenly goes..”Rumor is..” and then physically turns me around herself, to read the back of my shirt that did say, “I’m An Adopted McPhee”..and then kind of looks puzzled..she kind of chuckles..just doesn’t get it at all..I’m embarrassed again..so I’m like..omg, joke..and she just kind of turns away..so I then walked back up to her..and so stupidly said..’ill just tell you what it means later’..omg..as if there is a later!..the best part though..was when she said..’ok’..and that was it. The meeting with Katharine, has concluded.

I can attest to the 104 degree weather since I was waiting outside WITH L and Elphie haha I just didnt know at the TIME who they were! *smacks head*

During that process, this radio tent, flew up, and almost came into the line, surely to kill us all. Thank goodness the awning on the arena, caught hold of it first. Otherwise, we would have been hit by it.

You didn't tell us in Live Chat that you and Elphie could have DIED transporting the hampers!

Loving the re-cap, Laurie... awaiting the backstage story, cause... well... that is the best part

Edit: I kind of just made this face towards Kat and just like pointed back and forth between me and her, to let her know, that I was sorry.

LOL, that is really cute and funny, L.  You did a lot of sign language and charades moves, huh?  Kat appreciated that, cause she's always using her hands to talk too. 

Thank you for the great, great re-cap.  I knew that you would capture every little fricking detail and that would make it even better.  We loves us some details. 

Awww, L., thanks for sharing that story. You are a good writer! I'm so wishing you were mic'd and that we had a recording of you and Elphie waiting in line, giddily rehearsing what you were going to say. hahahahaha

Laurie that was soooo awesome, thanks sooo much for deliverinig everything to Kat. You had such a great time, I cannot wait till I see your pics. Thanks for representing the Kat pack sooo well. We all appreciate everything that you do and continue to do. That part in your recap about the sharpie is really funny. ("there we go")
I am sooo happy and excited for you and sooo glad you had such a wonderful time, with sooo many awesome moments from that evening that I know you will remember always.

No kidding V!  "The T-Mobile Girls Rehearse". . . .would have been a great video capture.  I can just totally picture Laurie and Elphie planning everything out to say, which was a smart plan.  It sounds like it was a great meeting with Kat, and the dropping of the CDs is just one of those unrehearsed moments that make it all the more memorable. 

Laurie, great recap!  I agree with V, you are a good writer - thanks for adding the details they always help enhance the story! 

Thanks again for the great recap Laurie! I still find it hillarious that you guys rehearsed over and over what you would say, but when the time came it all went out the window, lmao. Don't feel bad, you guys represented the Kat Pack very well.

That was a great detailed recap of your exciting day. I hadn't realized it was that stormy there! Thanks Laurie! I can't locate the picture you linked in the chat room last night of you guys with Kat. Where is it now?

OMG! That's the best revew ever!

now you have something to tell your grandsons!

lol!

lucky girls!!!!!!!!!

You can now see some pictures in the Kat Photos section!

Awwww...hHAHahahaaaa!! That's so awesome. And I bet Kat really loved you guys. Hahahaaa...I can't get over how hilarious and jittery that was when Carrie's CD fell out and you were freaking out. ^_^ HAHAahaha!! Awesome..and I bet the girls are gobbling up those candies, and watching those movies you guys got for them.

AWESOME!!

Thanks for sharing your Nashville review. And your moments with Kat were AWESOME!

You guys be sure to thank Elphie for all of her hard work on those baskets..that was all her!

I saw you there! I was on the floor a little below you and to your right. I was the one wearing like 6 orange glowstick bracelets and necklaces. One of the necklaces,by the way, I bit into during Blackhorse. I was video taping the performances ( I will post link in a few) and I sort of dropped the camera and you can hear me say "ew, yuck".

great review, great pic

Question:
Did you meet Taylor?
What were some of the other idols like (especially Taylor.)

awww L yay!!! great review! and i love the picture!

L!!! I loved your review!! =)))) And the pic is sooooo cute!

Bawx- I saw you! ;)

Kelly- No, I did not meet Taylor. He was in there though, for a good 10 minutes. He had a large crowd though. I did meet Paris, Bucky, and Ace though.

how did u get the backstage ticket? and you are soo lucky!!! good review!!thank you!

Laurie, girl, you're amazing!! I love this review, glad that you meet Kat and this is probably one of the best fan coverage ever!!!

Thanks guys

Now you know what it's like to craft a novel, L.

This is almost Russian novelesque in quality when you think about it. Even Tolstoy couldn't compete with all the multiple characters, near-disasters (and torrential weather if not bags of your belongings collapsing)--and then trying to fight the battle of the nerves. But it all turns into an inspiring ending where being a Kat Phan has true meaning.  And that meaning is the realization that Kat REALLY appreciated those gifts and will remember you and Elphie forever for your dedication and hard work. That's all that matters.

I didn't initially notice the near-disaster with the radio tent. It'll make me want to stay clear of those things the next time I walk by one. Then again, I probably won't ever be out walking by one in a torrential rainstorm. And here I live in Oregon where that's common...at least in the winter and spring.

Thanks for confirming that Kellie did give Kat the letters. In the first transcript--I initially had the impression that Kat didn't know anything about it. But she obviously does know about it--and I already suspected she hadn't read any yet. Bus time is probably 'zzzzzzzzz' time (or however you want to impersonate their snores ) rather than reading time. But now that she's been given a third volume of those letters--maybe she'll look at least a few if possible. Though I have a feeling they may not be read until after the tour. After all, there really is a lot of reading there...mine not withstanding.

Anyway, I'm off to make comment on your pics. Thanks again to you L and Elphie for everything. Since many of us took part in those projects, your hard work and devotion will be remembered by me forever too.

As we like to say about 'Five Star' media here...you two are also Five Star.

Tremendous, recap, L. It's very, very you ... and believe me, I mean that in a good way! You put more personality in your writing than some pros do!

You did an excellent job capturing all the details, particularly Kat's personality, which comes through very vividly. If I have a meeting with her one-TENTH as thrilling as this, I will consider myself a very happy man indeed.

For now, you made me feel like I was right there with you, and that's the next best thing. Next time you meet her, you just may want to be on the lookout for people who want to stow away with YOU!

Great recap L!

AS for the letter campaign, I must add that she was very apologetic about having not read them all yet. The convo went as follows:

*I hand Kat the folder with the letters inside* and say: I have fanmail from KMF.

Kat: What?

(Evidentally Kat isn't up on her acronyms...hehe Me: It's fan mail from KatharineFans.com.

Kat reads the folder which says-you guys will appreciate the humor in the fact that this was the only three prong folder I had-"waiting to be discovered" She flipped through it, and then recognized what it was.

Laurie: Did Kellie give you the other letters.

Kat: She did... (Kat does the forearm "I have a secret" grab, and goes really apologetically "But honestyly, I haven't had a chance to read them all. I want to read them when I have time to sit down with them."

I thought that was really cool of her to be so honest, because she could have done the usual celeb. thing, and said "yeah, I read them. Thanks". She's a sweetheart to want to devote time to them, and I'm sure between getting used to the tour schedule, and the whole broken foot thing, she's been crazy busy so far. I'll bet now that her foot is doing better and she's more used to the schedule, she'll have more time to work on other things. I bet she may also be doing some writing for her cd. I hope so-I would defnitely love to hear some Kat originals.

Anyway, if I think of anything else that we've forgotten, I'll add it later...LOL

AWW, Thanks Elphie. That was really sweet of her to tell you guys that.

Woo, so I may as well add my side of the story now....

Haha-1st of all-the hampers. I put them together in the back seat of the car on the way to Nashville, because we had to stop by first thing that morning and get a second one since we'd officially outgrown the first one. So, anyway, they were both filled to the brim when I first put them together, but then when L and I went to retreive them a few hours later, all the stuff had like bloated down to the bottom...hahaha So they were more rounded than rectangular at that point...Haha But no worries.

So, as L said, we saw the "AUNTY EM, AUNTY EM" looking sky and headed out quickly. It seemed like the line would never move, and the wind was really picking up. You have NO idea how close we came to death with that tent. It seriously caught the overhang by a couple of inches, or else we woulda been toast. When it started to sprinkle, we just pushed through up closer to the front and got about 5 feet from the door. Luckilly, people thought it was cute that we were bringing things for all the girls, and they didn't seem to mind that we broke in line. So, finally we had literally JUST pushed through the door when it starts to pour. whew. Then I sit the duck down in water. Ugh. I see it quickly, and wipe it before it does damage. Now comes the guard. When we get to the front, I plop the duck on the table, explain our plight, and tell him "It's mesh so that you can see everything in it". He spots the candy and DVDs and goes "No, we'll have to keep those here." and when he sees the look of horror on my face he goes "I'm kidding, go ahead through.". Then, we get to the ticket turnstiles, and I get the same thing in the form of "You're gonna have a hard time with those. Please step over here." I thought they were gonna search them, but actually he was just being sweet and letting me bypass the turnstile with the heavy hampers. So, we were officially in. Of course, we walked the opposite direction to our seats, and thus ended up carrying the hampers plum around the arena. But they made it.

The show-of course-was McPhabulous. Much better crowd than B'Ham. They really enjoyed Kat. Person with the multiple orange glowsticks on, whose username escapes me at the moment-we totally saw you right away...LOL Good job representing!

So, on to the after party. Ok, the differences in my account are as follows:

When we first saw Kat, and she goes "Hey!" it totally threw us off. Our script had not included a cue line from Kat, so we just tossed it out the window...Haha So, I plopped down the duck, I think, and go "We come bearing gifts. Do NOT try to move these yourself." haha Then L sat down the elephant. As was stated, we were both overtalking, so Kat was just all big eyed and excited and was paying more attention to the baskets themselves than what we were saying, and it was soooo cute when she looks at us and squeals "Is it alll for meeeeee?" Hahaha And L put up a stop hand and goes "No, it's for all 5 of the girls." and I added " for the girls tour bus". and she's all "Okay! and gives me a hug, and says "I'm so glad to see faces. I never get to put faces with names." Cue the fan book. Whilst L showed her the fan photo book, I pulled out the letters, which were stuck on my glowsticks and I almost knocked everything out of my bag. LOL so anyway, see above post for letter chat. After that, she's all "I have the GREATEST fans! I wish I had more time to spend with you guys." So then, I'm all "Will you sign my bag?" and she's all "SURE!" so I plop it in front of her. The side I had her sign was a double exposed SOTR collage I did, and she said twice how beautiful it was, and I had an embarrassing little chattering moment where I wondered if I should A) thank her for the compliment, or B) thank her for being photogenic, which I kind of discussed with myself outloud under my breath as she signed. I think she didn't hear cause she was still staring it down when she finished signing. BTW, my auto said "To Laura: You're the sweetest! Heart Katharine McPhee." Hahaha when she started to sign it, she goes "To? To? To?" Cause I don't think I'd introduced myself yet...haha And I finally blurted "OH, Laur-uh" hahaha I inunciated that last syllable so she'd get that Laurie and I had different names...hahaha Anyway, back to her, as she finished signing, and said something again about how neat the graphic was. She goes "This is YOUR bag", in that I'd designed it, and made it and all. And I said "Yeah, and I like the other side even better." And she goes "really, what's that?" So I flipped it, and it had my avatar, and she did the forearm grab again, as though she was telling me a secret, and goes "Actually-I already saw that, and I think it's REALLY cool." Hehehe she so totally lurks here. Anyway, L had her auto moments, and cd dropping moment, and then I came back with my sister's shirt from the BHam show, which she'd reserved the front just for Kat's auto. I told her that when she got off the bus in BHam, she'd evidentally waved or glanced in my sister's direction and she started crying cause she was so excited. And Kat said all giddilly, "I DID? OOOKAY!" LOL It was funny. So then the photo moment. The end of which, L and I got more Kat hugs. Mine was funny, cause as she went to hug L, she didn't move her arm from the photo pose, and I started to move away, and she turned quickly and hugged me...haha She's too cute.

We headed to Paris next, cause she was right there. And we told her about the baskets, so she'd know to look for them on the bus. And she goes "I heard about you guys (the Kat Pack) in Birmingham. A girl told me we'd be getting goodies! Hahaha It was sooo me. And how funny is it that she remembered. I wonder if they'd said anything about it to Kat.

I then proceeded to act as the Katarazzi, because I could not, in good faith, go see other people while Kat was still there in the same room. So, I did a sideways (don't ask) video, which is dark and kinda far away. Then I snapped some random shots of her with other people.

When Gustapo, the evil Kat handler, took her away, I decided to venture over to other people. First Tay Tay...uhm yeah.....Then Ace, whom I just adore. He is the sweetest. (No wait, I'm the sweetest-according to Kat...hehe) But I had him sign a pic of he and my sis from Bham and I also delivered a fan letter from my pal who's a fan. And when I finished with him, he rubbed my forearm and goes "Thank you". Ugh. I could have melted (no pun intended). And I go "No, thank YOU." hahaha Then, Bucky, who was also just so cute and so sweet. I walked up, and he was with a couple of Buckaneers so I just kind of looked off and whistled so as not to interrupt. But he wanted to acknowledge that he saw me, so he goes "Hi. How are you?" Then, he finished with the other two, and I had him sign my sis's pic of she and him. Total sweetheart.

Can I give Kat some mad props for signing her full name! And legibly. Most of them sign initials, though the girls are all better at signing full names. I didn't meet "Pickles" as she was being restrained in the hallway. We did heckle her in an attempt to get her to come in, but to no avail. So no McRoomie auto yet. But it was an amazing evening, and we accomplished all that we set out to, and it rocked!!!!

Whooo..Go Elphie!!!


hahahaha..i totally remember that convo now..of you telling katharine of your sister and the wave..hahahaha..and we all started laughing with katharine..cause she was just like..'oh, okay then'..hahahaha..I was at least laughing..and then I think Kat heard me laugh..so then she started laughing..hahaha..my goodness..poor confused Kat! 

Hahaha Kat's too funny...LOL

I love your funny, upbeat post, Elphie. Thanks for all the happy details. I'm glad to hear the people at the entrance were nice about letting you bring in your gift hampers. I can so understand how nervous you must have felt. These lines really tickled me:

"When we first saw Kat, and she goes "Hey!" it totally threw us off. Our script had not included a cue line from Kat"

"had an embarrassing little chattering moment where I wondered if I should A) thank her for the compliment, or B) thank her for being photogenic, which I kind of discussed with myself outloud under my breath as she signed"

"I then proceeded to act as the Katarazzi"