I don’t know if anyone has posted their recap from Orlando yet. Here’s mine. I didn’t want to read anyone else’s until I had written down my own memories. Maybe my memories are faulty because I’m only going on 3 hours sleep here, so if anyone was there who remembered things differently, please chime in.

I’ll start with explaining how I ended up 1500 miles from home to watch Elliott in Orlando at the House of Blues. I was having a phone conversation with my brother-in-law (Roger), who is married to my sister Susie. He said that he and Susie would be vacationing in Orlando October 24-29. I immediately said that Elliott was performing in concert there on the 28th and I said ‘YOU GOTTA GO!!’ He thought it was a good idea, and then I started talking about how I had wanted to go to a concert somewhere, but wasn’t sure where. Then he said that I should join them in Orlando. I thought it was a great idea, of course. I talked to Susie about it, and she thought it would be fun, so I made my reservation. Afterwards I started feeling like I had butted in on there vacation and planned an activity for them, so I talked to Susie and told her that it would be standing room only, and the concert would be long because of the two opening acts. This might be agony for people who had just spent the day at Disney. She started waffling on whether they would actually attend the concert. I said it was fine with me whatever she decided, because I knew there would be members of the Etrain I could visit with at the concert if I went alone. Well, on the flight down I was getting so excited about the show, and I was really regretting giving my sister all the negatives and not concentrating on the positive of seeing Elliott live in concert. I was worried that they would opt out and miss out on the experience of a lifetime. Happily, they decided to attend. We made arrangements to meet for dinner at the Earl of Sandwich before the concert.

Fast forward to about 3:45 pm on Sunday. I was sitting down outside the House of Blues near the waiting line (which had begun forming at 1:30 or so, but was still practically non-existent). Suddenly a boy came tearing around the corner, said something excitedly to his mother, and tore back from whence he came. I knew no one could generate such excitement other than Elliott or Santa Claus, and since Downtown Disney was still concentrating on Halloween, I figured it was Elliott. I went tearing (but in a more dignified fashion) around the corner to see who I could see. There was a group of fans (mostly teen girls) gathered near a very tall fence, giggling and peaking through cracks at the big black bus. It was parked so close to the fence I wasn’t sure anyone would be able to get out of it. A few more people joined the crowned, and suddenly, to the squeals and applause of the little crowd, out steps Elliott. He was smiling and looking cute as can be. We all stood around him in a semi-circle, gazing in wonder and excitement, and nobody saying a thing. I decided since I was probably the oldest person there to take charge. I said “Can we come closer?” Elliott smiled and said, “NO! STAY BACK! Nobody cross this line!” Then the little boy crossed the line, and Elliott gasped and said “You crossed the line!” The little boy hopped back and didn’t know quite what to do. I decided enough with this nonsense, age before beauty, and I walked right up to him. This was our conversation:
Me: Elliott, we met in Minneapolis . . .
Elliott: Oh, at Trocaderos! In back?
Me: No, You were out front having a ***.
Ellliott [eyes widening, he puts his finger to his lips and looks around guiltily]: SHHHHHH!
Me: Ooooooooops. I’m sorry! [I figured I better move on, and fast] Anyway, I met you, and my biggest regret afterwards was that I didn’t get a hug. Could I get a hug?

Then he hugged me. Ahhhhh, what a great hugger he is. I probably mumbled some thanks to him . . . don’t remember exactly what I said. Then I came to my senses again and remembered that I had printed out a photochop for him from the Y-Pod. It was done by the very talented Kelliott from Royal Misfits, who does photochops and the banners for the Y-Pod. I’m ashamed to say I forgot to mention her name when I gave it to him. But the picture was of Elliott as a golden Buddha. The headline said E Goes Gold! Yaminions in Nirvana! Congratulations Elliott! We knew you could do it! Elliott got a chuckle out of it, and thanked me. Then I backed out of the way and let everybody else have a turn while I started snapping pictures.

Part II

Here's the pictures I took. I should have been bold enough to ask him to remove the hat, or at least push it back a little:





The obligatory butt shot:


Then I was approached by Elliottcrazy and Rick1965. What a surprise to see Rick there! I’m sure I would have recognized him if I had any notion at all that he would be in Florida. We had a great time talking and taking pictures. I got one of Rick with Elliott


and an interesting series of Elliottcrazy with Elliott. Let the jealousy begin:
Elliott is interested:

He sees his chance:

He scores!


What a lucky girl!

Elliott, as usual, spends time with each and every person, signing autographs, having photos taken, etc. Finally as he leaves he says, “we’ll see y’all after the show. I’ll be doing a meet and greet.” So we’re excited!

Afterwards Elliottcrazy, Rick and I meet up with SandyB and AngEll and have a great time sharing our stories and taking pictures. I had to leave the group at this point to meet up with my sister and her husband (Susie and Roger, remember them?). We have decided that we’ll just forego the earlier part of the concert in order to have mercy on our poor aged feet. Rick was kind enough to track us down and offer us pass the line tickets from AngEll and Sandyb, but we decided to stick with the plan and enter HOB an hour after the start time. It turned out to be a very good decision. While they were waiting in line, Rick brought me over to CathyEm, so I was able to visit with her for awhile before the doors opened too. There was quite a line by this time, but it went fairly quickly (it seemed to me, since I was just sitting there watching) once it started to move. Once the line went in we would see more people steadily arriving and going in.

Once it reached 7:30 pm, we started debating our decision. Should we go in now? What should we do? We had been sitting around for over an hour by then. Then one of us (can’t remember who) came up with the idea: stalk Elliott! We moseyed back over to where he had made an appearance earlier in the day, and there was Aaron chatting with a friend. I approached him because I had read many times how nice he was, and I wasn’t disappointed. We talked with him for quite awhile, and he was very friendly and sweet. He is so happy to be doing what he’s doing. He talked with Susie and Roger about E, since they didn’t really know much about him except that I was a huge, huge fan. He told them how the song (WFY) is nice, but Elliott is so much more than that song. He said you have to hear the whole album to see what Elliott is about. And then I piped in with “And see him in concert!” and Aaron agreed. I told him how I had heard that they were getting better and better as a group, and he agreed on that point also. We also talked about the Philippines and other things. He’s truly a nice young man. He posed for a picture with me. I wasn’t going to post it because I look awful, but what a shame to not let anyone see this when he is such a cutie, and I confess I love to see that nice big hand of his on my shoulder!



When Aaron had to leave we said we were hoping to see Elliott. He told us that he would probably be along in about 15 minutes or so. We waited around awhile and started feeling guilty/stalkerish, and found a place to sit just a little bit off from the gate the guys had been using. We were just chatting when Roger spotted Elliott, walking at a fast clip with a couple of shopping bags (I wish I had asked him what he bought!). Roger called “Elliott!” and he stopped. I asked him if he had a minute, and he said sure. We went and talked to him, and told him our story, how I had told Roger about the concert when I found out they would be in Orlando and I said YOU GOTTA GO! Elliott said something on the order of Yes! You have to! Live in the moment! He was very cute. So we talked a little more, and I took a picture of Susie and Roger with Elliott. I told him that I already had a picture of myself with him, so I didn’t need another one (I just feel like I was asking so much of his time already, chatting with him for the second time that day). Then he thanked us for coming, and shook our hands. I didn’t ask Susie and Roger, but when he shook my hand he held it extra long and gave it a squeeze. I know he’s done that for others too. What a wonderful guy. I love him. He started to say that he would see us after the show, and then he stopped and said that he wouldn’t be able to do a meet and greet that night because HOB had some disco event going on and they had to clear out of the place after the concert. I felt bad for the people who were counting on the meet and greet, and I think I said something like that to Elliott. I should have kept my stupid mouth shut because I know he is full of care and concern about his fans and doesn’t need somebody reminding him that people will feel bad.

Needless to say, Susie and Roger were very impressed with Aaron and Elliott. They kept talking about what great guys they were. They were thrilled with being able to meet E, and they hadn’t even heard the man sing a note yet!

We then decided to enter the music hall, and had our cameras confiscated (grrrrrr). Anyway, The Last Goodnight were performing when we entered. I liked a couple of there songs, didn’t like a couple others, but was really impatient for them to get off the stage because we all know why I was there. When they did get off the stage, the tension started building as the equipment was set up for Elliott. It seemed to take forever! When the band finally came out the crowd started shouting and when Elliott appeared there was a roar! Elliott was wearing his white v neck t-shirt with a gray argyle-patterned sweater vest. He was also wearing a fedora (yay! My favorite E hat), and I think it may have been a different fedora from the one he usually wears. He looked good.

After his second song, my sister turned to me and said “He’s come a long, long way since American Idol.” She only saw one American Idol show – final three night, when the judges gave him short shrift (Let me tell you, I hold a grudge a long time when I think my kids have been wronged, and Elliott is my boy!) Back to the concert. I was really amazed by Elliott. I thought he had noticeably improved since I had seen him perform in June, and I thought he was fantastic in June! The man is an absolute treasure! The band is hot, the night was more than amazing. I will try to remember the songs sung, but I probably don’t have the order correct: Alright, Find a Way, Take My Breath Away, I’m the Man (Elliott took off his hat right before this song and I became excited to be able to get a better look at his beautiful eyes while he performed. Then some flunky working the lighting shone a spotlight directly down on the top of his head. He gave him the ghoul treatment, cast his eyes completely in shadow. That’s not a good look on anybody unless, like I said, you’re going for vampire or something. I decided to concentrate on the beautiful performance, knowing they would change the lighting soon enough. Sorry to b***h about this in the middle of my description of a truly beautiful evening, but my boy was wronged again). He also sang Little Ghetto Boy, In Love with you Forever, Wait for You, One Word, Movin On, and, of course, A Song for You. Maybe I forgot one or two, but I think that’s it.

Before singing One Word Elliott talked about having just filmed the video. He said something like it was the longest day of his life, so he must have worked really hard. He said that he was very happy with what he had seen of it so far, that it was a ‘real’ video and kinda sexy. Do I have your attention? Heh.

Elliott gave a shout-out to the Etrain, some cousins and some young people with diabetes who were in the audience and also to Yaminions. I took that one very personally, because when I spoke to him I never mentioned any of the three message boards where I post, but I did give him the Y-Pod photochop which mentioned Yaminions. It made me feel like he was shouting out to ME! What a guy! He really knows his way into your heart, doesn’t he?

I have to add that Elliott seemed very pleased with the crowd’s response. It was difficult for me to judge whether they were really loud or not, because most people were in front of me. He performs with such joy – I’m really at a loss here to come up with the words to express how I feel. You who have seen him live know what I’m talking about. Those of you who haven’t need to find a way to make that happen.

I didn’t spot any of the Etrainers during the concert itself – they were all up front somewhere. We left immediately afterwards since Elliott had told us he wouldn’t be doing a meet and greet. We did see a small number of fans lining up near the bus, so perhaps those that had patience were able to have a moment with him.

Do I need to tell you how impressed Susie and Roger were? Susie said the concert was the highlight of their vacation. When the show began she commented right away that all the guys in the band were cute, but after the show she said she only watched Elliott because he sang with such emotion and sincerity. He doesn’t eat up the stage. He just commands it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your recap!!! Been checking all day for something. I live in Orlando and so wanted to go to the concert, but couldn't. What an awful feeling to have Elliott this close and not be able to experience him live in concert. I am going to try to catch one of the other Florida shows. Have some physical limitations and didn't know about the standing for all that time. How was that part of it? I think at HOB they have some seating upstairs, was that full?

Great recap and great pictures. Again, thanks for sharing your experience!

This is a great recap and I'm so glad your sister and brother in law saw him live. There's just no denying his charisma and talent in person! I thought that Aaron's insight was very telling - yes, he can create one of the best pop songs in the last ten years, but his talent and potential contribution to the world of music is so much deeper than pop!

Thanks for the great recap. I'm so glad that you had such a great day and got a chance to talk to Elliott and especially that you got that hug.

I saw you at the show! I went!! I remember you telling me where you were from.

My dream finally came true! I met Elliott twice that day!

We you the one waiting in line really early?

PoorMe!!!! What a great recap! Thank you for sharing it with us.

*Runs off looking for EC*

Yep the first person in line!!

Poor Me, did she run off with him to Ft Lauderdale? I've been DYING to hear from her. I've been counting down the days for her show as though it was me attending. I can not wait to hear what she has to say.

(We need a squealing running back and forth smilie!!)

]Here is my story!
I got to the House of Blues at 10. Ate at the resturant so I could do pass the line. After that we waited for the brunch people to go in and we were the first people in line. We met some cool people! One girl told us all about the opening act Josh Hoge. After that we saw his tour bus coming and waited for it. The bus pulled in and they blocked it. It was so cute because this little boy looked in whole of the holes on the fence and he made faces at Elliott and Elliott made faces back. 30 minutes later Elliott came out. We were like the 5th group to meet him! He was SOOOOO sweet! I LOVED him. He was so cute. He made a shout out video for my friend that could not make it. After that we waited in line again and a girl from the radio station 106.7 came up to me and my sister and asked us if we wanted to meet Elliott! We said YES!! :)


Also the record in his hand my sister and I made him. He LOVED it!
Updating in a few!

Hahaha...she would/could wish to run off with him, lol!! She's probably still on cloud nine, Jackie!!

Toni. Shhhhhhhhhh! Don't be such a buzz kill! We can pretend that running off with him is a viable option! :shifty:

I have a little recap and I wasn't even there!

Before the concert, I got a call from Rick and elliottcrazy. I had first talked to Rick on the phone the day before, and this was my first time talking to elliottcrazy. I was hoping to join them in Orlando for the concert, but being all the way over here in California, the airfare was just too much.

However, they included me in their day by calling me and telling me about how they met Elliott and what fun they were having. I'm so glad elliottcrazy got those pics! Thank you for sharing them, PoorMe!

The bottom line is that, if not for Elliott, I would have never met such great people as my buddies elliottcrazy and Rick. Thank you, Elliott!

It was great meeting you, PoorMe! Thanks for the wonderful recap! Actually Elliottcrazy had decided not to go to Ft. Lauderdale though for some reason...

Does anyone know when Rick will be able to post? He took a couple pictures of me with Elliott. I want them!

Great Recap...Thank You, PoorMe........So Happy for EC and Rick !!

Hi guys :) I'm soo tired..I'm posting a re-cap tomorrow. Cathy..I don't know how you managed to write such a thorough account of your experience as tired as you must be...more power to you my friend!! It was great meeting you & everyone else. I'm signing off now but Elliott was freakin' AMAZING...he left EVERYTHING on that stage last night & some.
More tomorrow....

:fangirly: OK, but every detail tomorrow, Missy!

(I took care of your Jags while you were busy with my boyfriend, by the way!)

He's on his flight home as I type. I don't know if he'll post tonight. I can't wait for his recap!

Thanks for the great recap and pictures, PoorMe. Glad that you got to go and got to meet Elliott. Your pictures turned out very nicely.

Thanks for the first part of your recap, NomadsGirl4ever. I look forward to reading the rest of your recap. Glad that you got to meet and talk with Elliott too.

What an awesome recap! I love hearing about the video! Thanks for the wonderful pics too.

Great recap & pics thank you!

I must say I LIKE the "butt" picture :eyebrows:

I love Elliott coming or going :thud:

Aawww, PoorMe. That was such a great recap. I almost felt like I was there. Can you post the picture of Elliott you gave him? I would love to see it. :awe:

PoorMe, you are a treasure. I loved the recap! The part of Elliott and you by the bus was great and the pics....whew! So glad your sis and brother in law loved the show.

Welcome, NomadsGirl4ever and looking forward to the rest of your recap. Keep 'em coming....now EC and Rick we need your recaps too.

Thanks for the beautiful recap Poorme....such detail!! I'm so happy for you. Thanks for the pictures of Elliott..... EC, Rick and Aaron, also!!!!

Thanks for thw wonderful recaps! I have to admit i love the backside pic! Thanks so much for that one!:D

Cant wait to hear the rest of the recaps! Keep them comming!

I'm at work now, so I can show you what the picture looks like on the Y-Pod. It's here in the October archives. Scroll down, until you see what looks like a newspaper. I only printed out the photo of him, the "E Goes Gold Yaminions in Nirvana" part and the congrats part below the picture. We had those fake news articles on there, and the one had some unfortunate wording about Elliott blowing the roof off of the Ayala Mall. I thought I wouldn't print that part because of the tragedy, so I edited out all the newspaper article stuff.

By the way, I didn't mention the size of the crowd. The place wasn't full, but there certainly were lots of people. I am a very poor estimator, so I asked my brother-in-law what he thought. His guess was 800-1000. I was told the maximum capacity was 2000. It was a good and noisy crowd.

I love, love, love the re-caps!

ETA: I just noticed with this post I was promoted from commuter to rail pass holder!

Wonderful recap PoorMe, thank you for taking the time! =) =)

EC you lucky, lucky woman!!!!! What was your secret??

PoorMe--just wondering...where is your picture of you and Elliott?

No secret Great..I just asked.. :) I figured when am ever going to get another chance to feel that man's lips on my cheek?...so I went for it. He was the consumate gentleman & very obliging. He looked like he'd literally just woken up 10 mins before getting off the bus..all puffy eyed & cute..
It's funny... I was so nervous while waiting for him to come out but the second I laid eyes on him I was calm & at ease...he's such a great guy.

BTW...Russell is even more gorgeous in person..

I didn't pose for a picture with him. Rick took a couple shots of me when I was talking to him, so that will be my momento. I feel extremely lucky to already have a nice pic with him. I just didn't want to ask him for one more thing. I know he would have willingly obliged, but I was trying not to be greedy.

Wonderful recap poorme!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

Yes, you have a wonderful pic with him, Poorme--love your avi!! Just misunderstood and thought you had said you got another.....ALL the pics are wonderful and do glad you had such a great time (me too!!) My DH has now become a huge fan too...

COOL! Aww, I'm so jealous....I am still yet waiting for some E sugar!