WOW! I am still in total shock. I met Elliott last night at The Fillmore at TLA in Philly. It was the most exciting night of my life. Chloe had invited me to share her hotel room, which was so gracious and helpful to me, since I had to drive around 3 hrs. so I arrived at Philly around 1pm. Chloe was not there yet, so I just waited in the lobby for her. When she arrived, we went to the room and I looked at all her Elliott scrapbooks, which was a real treat. This was the first time I had met Chloe, and she was just absolutely wonderful. I can't say enough about her. I'll say more later, through my story. Around 4pm, we left to drive down to South St. We were going to meet Trouble(from Moosak). We were talking on the cell phone and then we saw her waving on the corner. Chloe says" There's Elliott's bus!" It was just on the next block. We walk over there and don't see or hear anything, so we leave and go find the Fillmore. "Elliott Yamin" was in huge letters on the marquee (pics to follow). We find out from someone on the staff, that the line forms around the corner, so we go "stake" our place in line. I think there are probably 10-15 people in front of us. We also see "itslate" from etrain. She was wonderful. It is so great to meet people who want to talk about Elliott. She and Trouble hold our place in line, while Chloe and I go get a cheesesteak at Jim's...mmm..good. When we come back.....BOOHOO!!!...we find out that Elliott had come out of the bus, met the people outside and took pictures. I am so bummed, because I have never met him. We get back in line and have a great time meeting other Elliott fans. We also saw "Robyns" from etrain and her husband and three sons. Chloe says quietly to me, "Linda, come here,. so I walk out to the corner of the street and lo and behold, THERE HE IS!!!!! Other people started getting pictures and I'm just standing there in awe and I hate to ask for one, because I have such respect for him, I really don't want to invade his space. Chloe intervenes on my behalf (I love you Chloe)and says "I have someone I want you to meet". He turns around, and I tell him how much I love him...and ask if I could have a picture. Of course, he is gracious, as always, and obliges this 44 yr old fan. Then I ask if he would sign my CD. My hands were shaking and I couldn't get the jacket out of the case, so I just say anywhere is okay. So he signs the inside,Dear Linda, Thankx and God Bless, Elliott Yamin. I thank him many
times for being so kind. And then he heads back toward his bus. We have been in line since around 4:30 I think, and the doors finally open at 8pm. A few girls jumped in front of us in line as we are walking in so they get the front row positions. My hero, Trouble, tells them (nicely) we waited in line for hrs and they need to move.....they do. We are right in the front about one foot from the stage, in front of Oli. We are still looking for Angel and Bernie(Elliott!fan and Berniefan) but don't see them.

Josh Hoge comes out and does his set. I really enjoy him. Most of his set are originals. I love "Take It Or Leave It". He is very complimentary to Elliott's style. His final number is Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" One of my favorite songs. Then he announces that Elliott will be out soon......crowd goes CRAZY!!!

The band comes out and starts pounding out the intro to "Alright".....energy level is rising! Out bounces Elliott clapping, and dancing. We all go nuts. He is just amazing live. Has he EVER hit an off note???We finally see Angel and Bernie in the crowd and wave to them. Find A Way, Train Wreck, I'm In Love With You Forever, One Word, Wait For You, Little Ghetto Boy, Living For the City, I'm The Man, Take My Breath Away, Movin On, and his Encore is A Song For You, with just the keyboards....unbelievable set. When it's over, no one really wants to leave, but the TLA staff are telling us we have to, so we get in line to meet Josh. He was REALLY nice, too and talked to each of the fans personally. Great guy.

Elliott has family in Philly, so they go backstage to see him. We go outside and the band members are coming in and out. They stop and talk to us and let us take pictures. Just a really nice group of guys. We had a great time. AND THEN......out comes Elliott again. We get a few more pictures. The fans LOVE Elliott...there was a very big crowd gathered around to see him again. He speaks to everyone, and is just so kind and gracious. Then he goes back inside, but his tour bus pulls up front, so we still keep hanging out.( Chloe, Trouble, and now Angel and Bernie have joined us) Elliott comes out again and we get yet another picture. I thank him sincerely for giving us time and he touches my arm in recognition, and smiles. A GOOD SOUL. He get on the bus, and waves to us all.

Now, we are so high with Elliott luv, that we can't leave, so we go down to the corner cafe and get a drink and talk 'til 2 am. then we decide we are hungry and go get pizza. I just have to say, that my great friends that I met are just the sweetest, most dear people. We have a common bond that joins us all together and makes us like family. Elliott has blessed us in many ways. I had the most amazing night. It is now 3 am and we all hug each other and part ways. Angel and Bernie are driving all the way home. Trouble is staying in the city and Chloe and I go back to the hotel. Believe it or not, we still stayed up for a while when we got back, and talked some more. Not sure when we went to sleep, but we decided it was time when Chloe started falling asleep in the middle of a sentence...literally!

I say goodbye to Chloe around 9:45 am and drive home to Salisbury, MD, but will relive this night over and over for a long time to come.

Linda, love your recap.....thanks.

THat's awesome Linda! I just read your review on Moosak..i loved it and the pics too :)

:awe: still love struck

A day you'll NEVER forget! :)

Congrats, Linda! Thanks for the very up-to-the-point recap. 'Twas like I was with the Elliott ladies--AGAIN! Yes, Elliott is beyond compare LIVE. I wasn't able to shake his hand here in NYC coz I had to scram for an urgent business. But you definitely are LUCKY. Bless you and the other Elliott ladies.

Aw, I knew I shoulda hung out a little more with you all. I really wanted my son's gf to get a picture with Elliott. She's become a big fan, thanks to me lol. She didn't get to meet him :(. Well my legs were killing me and that "slice" Josh Hoge kept mentioning was sure sounding good to me at that time. And I had a 45 min ride home, kids had to get to work in the morning too.

It was so nice meeting you Linda... and Trouble and Chloe, and to see Aviva and Elliott!Fan and their families again. I was so happy for you when you got to see Elliott on the street. I knew you would :). And THEN you got to meet him again... SWEET!

So who's going to Lancaster now? :)

Can't wait to see your pictures... make sure you check out mine... since I added E concert pictures they've moved to page 2... but there is a real nice one of you and Elliott.

I'm home and will post my recap soon.

It was wonderful meeting you, too! Thanks for posting the pictures, Your's all turned out great! Thanks for getting the one of Elliott and I! I look like a doofus in the one captured on my camera! My smile was so big, it took up my whole face!! :lol: Still, I will treasure it forever! Thanks for being a lovely part of a wonderful night! I'll post my pictures later today, hopefully

I'm still :thud:

Great recap! I had the luck of showing up late for the show in Sayreville NJ and finding Elliott hanging outside the bus talking to a very small group of fans. NOW...I am a 42 year old man...and I felt like a twelve year old girl standing there in front of this kid...I said something incredibly dorky and when we went to take a picture i put my hand on his shoulder and it was shaking...I felt so stupid, because I can't imagine that he didn't feel it. I can't imagine what he tought (he was probably looking out of the corner of his eye for security!!) But he was so kind and gracious, not only with me but with all the fans...he was just making everyone feel so special...for that brief moment he looks at you like you are the only person in the world and pays attention to what you are saying (Or maybe he was looking at me trying to figure out whta I was babbling!!!) Anyway...I wish I had taken a moment to think and really say what I wanted to say...As he gets bigger and bigger there are going to be fewer and fewer opportunites to meet fans like this. It amazed me that he had no security with him. Truly a nice guy...thanks again for your review!

Linda I am so happy for you! Glad that you got to finally meet Elliott!!!
Great recap !!
:elliottcap:
I wish I could of been there with you all.
Can't wait to see your pics!

Great recap, guys. Thanks.

:etrain:
You must have had a great time.
How many people were there? Was the room full?

Love reading all y'all's experiences!! Congrats and thanks so much for sharing!! :))

Yeah Linda met Elliott. Awesome! I'll take you back in time, I met Paul Revere of Paul Revere and the Raiders today at a Rolling Thunder event. He's a Harley guy.

I remember Paul Revere!!! He was a hottie back in the day :lol:

I took a pic with him. I'll post it later.

Thanks!! I wish I was coming to Lancaster w/you on Tuesday!!! I hope you have a wonderful time!:)

I thought of you on my trip :)....drove past a big Harley store in Symrna, DE...

Mikefamous.com

have you ever heard of it?

I know exactly how you feel...I really didn't know that meeting him would affect me so profoundly. I was pretty much overcome afterwards. I was shaking, crying, and the like. I know he thinks he's "just Elliott" and he is, but he evokes such emotion in so many ways. First of all, his talent which is unequaled, which he so willing pours out night after night, coupled with his beautiful, genuine, humble spirit that he eminates. :awe:

I have, haven't been there though.

That's funny...I know and I know he thinks "he's just Elliott" and he probably really is...but when he opens his mouth to sing...HE"S NOT JUST ELLIOTT!! I have been blown away by singers all my life...I have a list of favorites a mile long...but it is so weird that some "pharmacy clerk" from Virginia was going to have such a profound effect on me. I was never even that big an American Idol fan...but I happened to walk in to the room a little over a year ago and heard this kid singing If You Really Love Me and I was hooked. I am not even that much of an R&B fan, but his voice touches me so deeply I can't even explain...and then add to the mix that back story and what a nice person he is. I would love to just hang out with him and talk music and stuff, but I am so awed by his talent that I don't think I could find the right words.
Rick, sorry to interject, just wanted you to know that the above caption has been archived here: http://etrainstation.com/index.php?showtop...0&#entry6347620 TxRangerette

I was also afraid that maybe he would be rude and then it would ruin my image of him. Just three weeks ago I got to see Betty Buckley in Seattle who before Elliott was my favorite singer in the whole world. I had planned a vacation to Seattle around the concert . I have seen her a million times, but never had the chance to meet her. Well that night they said that she would be signing CD's in the lobby of the theatre...normally I wouldn't bother because of the nerve thing and I figure what could I possibly say that she has not heard a zillion times before. But I bought a cd during the intermission and decided to do it. She had mentioned during the concert that she played the Bottom Line IN NYC many times and missed it since they closed. Now I am from NYC and saw her at least six times at the Bottom Line. It was the kind of place that people mourn when it closes. So I figured I would mention it when I met her. I went out into the lobby after the show and ended up 2nd in line. There was a young girl (about 19-20) in front of me who was shaking and nervous. I began speaking to her and she told me how much she loved Betty and how inspired she was by her music and was a singer herself and if she could sing half as good she would be lucky. So I started getting more excited for her. When she came out I thought the girl was going to pass out. Betty sat down and the girl told her her name (which was Annie) and how much she meant to her and the she was the reason she wanted to be a singer...I was so moved...and you know what Betty said to her?? Annie...how do you spell that??? I was floored...here was this girl pouring her heart out and that was all she could say...she didn't even look up at her while she was signing. Then she thanks the girl and reached out for my cd. I said my name was Rick and that I had seen her many times over the years at the Bottom Line in NYC and that I had planned my vacation to see her in Seattle...Her response?? How do you spell Rick?? I know that she owes me nothing...but as a fan...which she must have been once...hell might even still be...doesn't she remember what it's like? To be moved, by a voice?, By a song? It ruined my whole image of her. That's why I was nervous about meeting Elliott so soon after that experience. Remember how he reacted when he met Stevie Wonder? Does he understand that people feel that way about him? From the way he treats his fans he clearly gets it...he might not be able to comprehend it, but he acknowledges it. There were some little girls around 8-9 in front of me and they were so excited to meet him and you could see he was just as excited to meet them. He treated them so sweetly that they will have an amazing memory to carry with them their whole lives. Hey...where am I going with this?? I just go off on these tirades...but that's the power of E I guess!![B]

Well here's my recap... guess I should post it here too.

We left my house just after 1PM... I knew I was headed the same direction as half of the county headed to the shore. Sure enough the traffic was hardly moving. I dropped off the ticket to my best friend, who might be late, and getting fidgety headed to the TLA.

I arrived at South Street at 3PM, parked my car and headed straight to the TLA to see what time the doors opened. I got there just as the bus was pulling up in front of the TLA. Later they moved it down the block. My son and his gf were with me. We and maybe 5 girls were waiting to see Elliott. The first one off the bus is Russell Ali. I got up the guts to approach him... after all I kinda know him personally now after listening to how many interviews with him playing guitar for Elliott. I told him how great I thought he sounded and that I had all the interviews on my computer... he looked like huh? but when I said oh I'm with the etrain and we have them posted, he looked at me like I was less of a stalker lol. I got a picture of him with me. He really is sweet too. Told me it was a rough ride through the city with the AI Finale and he didn't have far to go.

We then went to get a cup of Coffee... I only slept a little more than an hour the night before. Upon returning I see Chloe, Linda and Trouble standing outside the doors. They just got there, but saw the bus parked a block away. We stayed a few minutes chatting but were ushered off to the line, that was a 1/2 block away. There were some already there... and it was like 3:30 or 4? while Chloe and Linda went to get something to eat... Trouble and I chatted. I then asked the girls in the front of the line, who were 3 of the 5 I saw earlier if they met Elliott yet. They graciously told us, he was at the bus and coming out soon, they had seen him a few minutes before. So the bunch of us there headed to the bus.

Trouble and I waited patiently. There were maybe 12 people there waiting to see him total. I got a picture of Russell and Trouble. And watched Josh Hoge open a package that contained 2 packs of underwear from his fans lol. Elliott finally came out with a blue cap on wearing that underdog shirt. Well actually he kind of sneaked out before we noticed. We were probably the last to talk to him but he is so sweet, beyond words. I mentioned I knew who gave him the shirt, told him congrats on his single going gold and he signed my CD insert and we both got pictures with him. Trouble told him she knew how much the judges just loved him. Then he was off for sound check. I got a picture of Trouble with Josh Hoge, and then we took off to see where Elliott went. When we turned the corner he was gone? So we headed back to the line. About 20 min later Elliott comes walking up the street, seems like he ducked into a store. Cute to see him walking up South Street.

Staying in line, that's when Chloe and Linda got pictures with him as he appeared just a few feet from where we were standing. That was the first time they saw him that day.

I guess we were standing in line for 4 hours before the doors opened altogether... later Aviva joined us with her family... and we had a great time chatting with all the Elliott fans. All about Elliott. It was so nice meeting Linda, Chloew and Trouble. I felt like I knew them for a long time :) even though we never met before. Oh, maybe because we've all been chatting on this thread for a year now :).

The concert was absolutely wonderful! Quite different from the acoustic show I saw in Delaware.. although I enjoyed them both. We were all crammed this time in front of the stage... after Trouble was nice enough to tell those girls who stepped in front of me to MOVE.. ahem.. nicely of course. Although we were so close it wasn't too close.. except for all the screaming (and boy was there a lot of E love) coming from behind. The speakers were facing the band, so we weren't overwhelmed by the sound. He played all that everyone said he would, but how wonderful it was to be right there LIVE. I swear One Word hits a weak spot, and makes my eyes tear. I just love the sound of his voice singing this. How odd to know every song word for word. I'm not sure I've felt like this in a concert in years. It was so much fun to hear the crowd go crazy. He did mention and got some yells from his Philly family... who were standing towards the middle. Quite a few too :).

Later I limped out of the concert (was on my poor feet for 9 hours almost).. was going to wait to see Elliott again, but my friend and family must of had too much... and I was hungry having not eaten all day. We had that "slice" Josh Hoge talked about having in the city. It wasn't the best around, but nice sitting looking at the pictures and going over the night with my guests.

Oooo that was long.

beautiful post......and he never dissapoints. I realize(intellectually) that he is not perfect, but the character traits that are most important, like kindness and integrity, are deeply instilled in his soul. That is so very obvious. Claudette is also a special person, to have raised such a son.

Rick I love your post! I hope Elliott never lets success change him. It's those gracious souls that will be around for a long time.

Ricki you have written what I have been unable to put into words. Thank you.
I try to put into words what I want to say and I trip over my tounge so maybe i'ts a good thing I don't get a chance to talk to Elliott he'd be like ummm what language is that? I'm a 46 year old woman who has never had someone touch them in the way Elliott has touched me and so many. it's the way his soul touches us and that is what makes us shake. Not because we are all :fangirly: He is just an amazing young man!



I'tslate thank you for posting your recap loved every bit of it. I am so happy that you got to meet him again.

Linda i wish you could be with us on Tuesday Maybe we can try a cell cert? Has anyone ever tried this before? I don't have a clue but maybe we can arrainge something if my phone gets reception. thank you all for the recaps and pics I still wish I was there last night. Stupid work!

Goodness! Wonderful recaps - I feel like I was right there with you. Sure wish that all of the E-Train could share one concert together. :grouphug:

Love your recap. itslate :) :awe: ...reliving every moment again!!

What a wonderful story! It weas wonderful to see you again and get to spend some time together.

And can say that Lorenzo's on South Street has great pizza -- its worth the line.

Great recaps, Linda and Itslate. I'm happy that you both got to meet Elliott and enjoyed his concert. Thanks for sharing.

This is an amazing time to be on the E-Train.

It's much better and happier time than last year in May. Remember? I was almost sick after Elliott was eliminated. I thought that it was the end of carrier for Elliott. And now we have Elliott's CD and they play him on the radio.
:etrain:

great re-cap. What time does elliott usually arrive at the concerts? i want to be there early like you guys.

Nanasetta, I have been thinking the same thing! I mentioned it to Chloe and Lindagt in NYC when I met them. I thought it would be SO COOL to arrange a place for only E-Trainers to have a private concert by Elliott. Maybe late fall? Early winter? Whenever Elliott's schedule would permit. My guess is that he would do that for us if we asked him and arranged it through his management somehow. Maybe not. Maybe I am completely out of touch with reality to think this could happen, but I really think it could! A suitable place would have to be found to have it, and it would not be open to the general public. Only E-Trainers.

What do you think? :thumbsup:

I think that is a WONDERFUL idea!

sorry I think that is a bad idea..elliott has lots of fans who may not be Etrainers and I think it would cause bad feelings..He shouldn't give the impression of liking any fan more than the next...I am glad he has been so available to meet all the fans at his shows..I would also say to those who have met him over and over and over that is great but also be mindful that for some who have never met him they deserva a chance too and the show they go to might be the only one so don't be an Elliott hog..

Do you have any idea how I/we would go about this?

I agree with what Sami said in the beginning of her post (and it's not because I'm jealous that I wouldn't be able to go to an event like this!)

Rick, that was a beautiful post!

I think having an E-Train only concert is a fantastic idea! It would be so nice to meet EVERYONE since we are all a family, after all. :grouphug:

Great recaps everyone! Thanks for sharing! :elliottcap:

Elliott has many fans some of whom cannot or choose not to join an online fan board..Why are the ones who have entitled to "special" treatment?The other fans are just as valid with their support.

Can I add, that while we were in line last night, we met many lovely Elliott fans, that were very devoted...had their own printed t-shirts, CD's, etc...who had never heard of the etrain. A girl and her mother took our pictures with Elliott for us, and we did the same for them...Chloe exchanged email addresses with several people of whom she had pictures in her camera to send them.

Of course they are!

Brandon would be the best bet on this one!

So why have a special ETRAIN ONLY show?What would you have to do to get in register here and have a certain # of posts?or be a "known etrainer"?