Dinner and a Show with Nick in Miami: Thursday, October 23rd
Getting a Ticket
A few days before I was to leave for Miami for BSB Cruise 2014, I spotted Nick's tweet about possibly doing a dinner and a show before the cruise. Well, when the event was finally confirmed and tickets were on sale through his website, I quickly bought a ticket. I figured since I never did this kind of event with Nick before and would be in the area, I just had to be there and thought it would be a great way to celebrate the start to my BSB vacation. I was a little reluctant at first because no time and location were announced right away, but it felt a little good to be spontaneous and I figured since I should be in Miami around 2 p.m. that day, I would be okay time-wise. Come to find out that it would be held at the Hard Rock Café. I was happy about that because there's a free shuttle that takes me from my hotel to Bayside Marketplace where Hard Rock is at and last year a friend and I ate there for dinner so I was somewhat familiar with the area. Also, it gave me an opportunity to buy some KISS merchandise for my brother.
As far as price goes, of course it would have been nicer if it was cheaper, but it was the same price as a Nick VIP for Nick & Knight so I thought it was pretty fair.
Welcome to Miami
I had to use a cab service to get to O'Hare Airport and had them pick me up at my house at 5:30 a.m. to make sure I had plenty of time for my 9 a.m. flight. As far as their service goes, they got me from point A to point B, but I could have done without the question probing on the way there. I mean, it was 5:30 a.m. I was not awake and didn't feel like talking lol. Also, I don't understand why the cab driver needed to bring her boyfriend with. Kind of unprofessional, but whatever, I got to the airport.
I didn't have no trouble getting my tickets and checking my luggage, but it felt like forever waiting for my flight to board so I had some breakfast to kill some time. I was really anticipating the Miami palm trees and the cruise so when it was finally time to board, I was happy. It was about a three hour flight that went very well. I even had an empty seat next to me so I was able to have more room. I was enjoying looking at the clouds and listening to music.
When I finally arrived in Miami, I quickly got my luggage and headed for Super Shuttle, noticing that the weather was dreary, windy, and rainy...which sucked. I could have stayed in Chicago for that kind of weather lol. After waiting a little while, I ended up being in a crowded Super Shuttle van and thought since I was the last one to be picked up I would be the last one to be dropped off, but luckily I was the first to be dropped off. The guy did try to charge me more though, but I pointed out how the receipt had a certain price and he changed his tone. At first I thought he wasn't going to give me change and assume that was his tip, but he didn't.
Anyway, I arrived at Marriott Biscayne Bay and was able to check-in early. This was the same hotel I used last cruise and it's the one Rose Tours partners with. It's a pretty good hotel. After I checked out my room with a balcony and king size bed, I grabbed my camera and headed downstairs from the 21st floor to take some pictures. I ended up taking pictures of the hotel's pool and hot tub, which sadly I didn't get to utilize because of the weather and because I had a dinner with Nick to go to lol. I also took some pictures of the stores that are connected to the hotel and had a quick bite at an Italian restaurant. OMG, real imported Italian salami and strawberry gelato...yum! Also, I really enjoyed hearing the husband and wife owners speak to each other in Italian.
 |
| View outside my balcony on the 21st floor. |
 |
| My hotel's pool and hot tub. I wish I could have used the hot tub. |
 |
| My balcony! I enjoyed the view, but rediscovered I'm afraid of heights. |
 |
| I see the tail of Carnival Ecstasy! |
 |
| Oversized chess board. Too bad I don't know how to play. |
 |
| Puppies! They were at a doggie salon getting pampered. |
 |
| I wanted to get a palm reading, but it was too much. I wonder if they would have said anything about the cruise??? |
 |
Took a picture of this place because it reminded me of Nick and his wheatgrass lol.  |
 |
| Real Italian salami! |
 |
| Best all-natural strawberry gelato! |
After walking around a bit and checking things out, I changed and made my way to the shuttle bus pickup. After getting rained on, I decided to go back up to my hotel room to retrieve my jacket and tried leaving again. While outside, I heard some fans say that Brian and Leighanne's Wylee vehicle was just outside my hotel picking people up who won the contest they were having to get a ride to their Wylee party. I did enter, but didn't win and decided that I wanted to make my way to Nick's event. It would have been really nice to go to the Wylee event, but there wouldn't have been enough time. I also decided not to see them at the hotel since I thought that would take time too. I was really excited for Nick's event and wanted to get there as soon as I could.
The shuttle came pretty quickly and was crowded because of the downpour, but I did end up getting a seat and a nice older guy told me where to get off at that would be closest to Hard Rock. I took some pictures and after briefly browsing some of the shops, I made it to Hard Rock.
 |
| Smiling and all ready to go to Nick's dinner. |
 |
| Thought this bird was pretty and it's "black and blue" ;) |
When I got to the Hard Rock Café, there was about five or so girls in front of me, one of who was my BSB friend Laura who I was very happy to see and it was nice that we were able to chat while waiting to get in. If I remember correctly, I think I arrived around 5 p.m. and we were told to be there by 7 p.m. I'm glad I arrived early and the line quickly got really long. In my mind, when Nick tweeted that it would be intimate, I pictured 50 fans, but I guess that was a naïve thought. I also remember it being tweeted that it was almost sold out so I thought that they weren't going to sell as many tickets, but that was probably a tactic to get more tickets sold. Regardless, I still felt it was intimate.
 |
| Me waiting to get inside to see Nick. The wind already screwed up my hair and makeup lol. |
I was so fortunate to be one of the first ones in and thanks to a good BSB friend, I was able to sit at the table that was right in front of the stage! Inside my head I was flipping out that I had such a wonderful seat for the dinner! This right here made everything worth it.
 |
| Had to take a picture of this Metallica memorabilia. |
Once our drink orders were taken, we made our way to the buffet. There was chicken tenders, fried chicken, spicy eggrolls, macaroni and cheese, fruit and cheese plates, salad, and some desserts to try. Overall, it was a good spread and looked pleasing to the eye. I didn't get too much to eat and regretted it later that night when I was starving, but I was too nervous to eat knowing Nick would be around soon. I didn't want to have a shovel of food in my mouth when he came to our table lol.
Nick's Here!
Nick came out into the dining area pretty quickly and he started making rounds to each table talking, signing autographs, and taking pictures. Since our table was closest to the stage, we were the last table to get a chance with Nick, but I spent the time eating and watching Nick interact with other fans.
I was trying to think of something to say to Nick while I was eating, but kept getting distracted with watching what was going on and seeing BSB's videos played on tv so I ended up deciding on focusing on the music.
When Nick did get to our table, it was very exciting. After a few fans from our table got their time with Nick, it was now my turn! I was able to exchange hugs with Nick, get a picture of him and I, and then I asked him if he was going to sing "Just Kids." He said that he wasn't but that he should have and then I asked about "Prisoner." He said that he wasn't going to sing that one either. I then said that his show was going to be great and he smiled and went to the next fan. I wish I would have thought of something better to say, but I wanted him to know that I am a big fan of his music, so much so that I know tracks that weren't released, and I wanted him to know that I love those songs (I frequently watch the youtube videos of Nick singing these songs for one of his birthday events he did in the past. Here's a link to "Just Kids" and another to "Prisoner." Be prepared to have goosebumps.)
 |
| Nick's at our table! Yay! |
 |
| Trying to keep my cool lol. |
 |
| A Nick hug :) |
 |
| LOL I look so giddy there. So much for playing it cool... |
 |
| Our photo! Turned out nice! I'm so happy :D |
Despite Nick not choosing these two songs to sing during the dinner, I really enjoyed the show...so much so that I think this event might have even topped the cruise for me *gasp!* I say this just because I liked the more relaxed atmosphere with no pushing and shoving and enjoyed having the best seat in the house while watching Nick's soul pour out through his songs. Everyone pretty much behaved themselves at this event, with the exception of some girls sitting on the steps leading up to the stage right in front of me. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the cruise but I suppose that could have been worse.
I think it was maybe afterwards with Nick that I was able to ask Mike, Nick's bodyguard for a picture. He was really nice and said of course. I respect him for taking care of our Nick and making sure no one harms him.
 |
| Mike and I |
Nick's Concert!
After Nick socialized with a few more fans, he got on stage and talked for a little bit. He thanked us for coming and apologized for the crappy Florida weather. He mentioned that some fans were complaining that he was chewing gum and he said it was only because he thought he had bad breath lol. I can't believe someone would tell someone else to stop chewing gum lol. At least I'm glad I didn't say that to him! He also mentioned the cruise and of course a lot of us were going to be going so that was nice of him to bring it up.
 |
| I liked the stained glass behind the stage. |
 |
| Nick! |
 |
| I love this picture! Nick looks so handsome! |
Nick ended up singing seven songs. I wish we could have just stayed there forever and heard Nick sing, but I enjoyed the songs he picked which were "I Got You," "Quit Playing Games," "Falling Down," "I Want It That Way," "Help Me," "Incomplete," and "Halfway There." A good mix of solo songs, BSB, and Nick & Knight and I'm glad he did more solo stuff. I enjoyed hearing "I Got You" because it's from his first solo album and "Falling Down" because it's always an emotional song. "Help Me" was awesome to hear because it brought back memories from the Now or Never tour and I enjoyed hearing "Halfway There" without Jordan lol. Hey, I'm a Nick girl ;)
I was trying to achieve the perfect balance of recording and just being in the moment so I ended up just taking video of each song's chorus because I just wanted to be there and not play photographer. At the same time though, I wanted video to watch later on when I miss hearing Nick sing.
I think I was lucky enough to get some eye contact from Nick while he was singing and that's always surreal to me. Part of me wants to look over my shoulder thinking he must be looking at someone else lol.
At the end of the show, Nick said he loved us and he'll see us on the cruise! He's so sweet! Then he took a group picture of us and video of us that he posted on Twitter. You can see me waving at the end!
Throughout the show, I kept noticing Nick drinking out of his water bottle and then having to throw it down to the ground (can the guy get a small stool to put his stuff on???) so when the show was finished, I ended up asking a nice stagehand guy to give me the water bottle LOL. I know, I kind of felt a little weird asking for it but I figured someone else would have just done the same or it would have gotten thrown out. I guess the guy sensed I felt weird asking because he said that he gets it and would do the same if his favorite artist was just up there. He made me feel better about asking and was nice enough to give me some tape to tape around the top.
I had a little fun with this with my friend and wanted to get a reaction out of her. When I came home from the cruise, I told my friend (same friend who went to Nick's vip with me) that I got the water bottle and that I drank some of it and then poured the rest of it all over my body. She started laughing and asked if I really did that. I asked her what she thought and she said she thought I was joking. I said "was I?" and she started laughing some more. Well, I came clean and told her that yes, I was just joking. She said she knew and then said, good thing you are joking because you would be a weirdo if you did LOL. It was fun to get that response from her! I wish I would have been more convincing though but I kind of cracked up haha!
Back to the Hotel
Well, after the show it was time to get my brother's KISS shirt and pin and then go back to the hotel. It was after 10 p.m. so the free shuttle wasn't an option. I ended up finding a cab and had the singing taxi driver take me back to the Marriott. I really think he purposely took me a little farther out to charge more, but I was just glad to be back at the hotel.
 |
| I promise I usually don't take this many pictures of myself lol. |
Once I was in my room, I just ended up taking a shower and getting ready to leave for the cruise the next day. I was exhausted already, but was still having a hard time falling asleep because of all the excitement of getting to talk to Nick and hear him sing and knowing I'll be on the cruise the next day. Also, I was starving and there was nothing to eat. When I did fall asleep, I'm sure I had a smile on my face thanks to Nick :)
Thanks for reading and I'll be continuing my posts with my BSB Cruise 2014 review!
No comments:
Post a Comment