Sydney, Australia; The First Gig

Good Morning!!! It’s about 7:30 AM and we’re in Bondi Beach, an area in Sydney. “Hmmm… we haven’t heard from the kids or Kim or Jack….Should we call or go knock on the door to see if they’re awake? Nooo….just in case they’re all sleeping.” So, I end up going down to the gym, and Spencer goes to work out on the beach with the cell phone in case they call….

9:30 AM…. Well, we still haven’t heard from them, so let’s go over to their room. And just as we’re walking next door to their room, they are walking over to tell us that we can have the morning off until the lobby call at 1. “Thanks!…. we’ll see you later!” and so Spencer goes down to the surf shop where Jack conveniently gave all the employees tickets to the concert in exchange for the use of any surfboard. And I go to walk around and sit in a bookstore.

1 PM: Lobby call in the hotel. The crew has already had their lobby call at 8AM (the crew consists of the people that set up EVERYTHING…stage, production, dressing room, take care of security, etc etc). The band doesn’t have to go until 1….and that is Jack and his fam, the 3 other band members, and the two opening bands that are on tour with us (Matt ***remember the song Sweet Rose on the wedding CD??****) and Will – You should also check out his music!).. I love it!! And G-Love is also here for the show tonight in Sydney in front of 30,000. So we all meet in the lobby and get picked up by a big nice bus. On the way I tell Spencer that I feel like I’m at church camp or something… it’s soooo fun and everyone has so much positive energy. We arrive at the venue (or the gig) and everyone goes to their various dressing rooms…WOW…. It’s amazing what has to be done for a show of 30,000….. and what special treatment you get when you’re with the band. Lunch is being served, so we all sit down and eat (once again I feel like I’m somewhere between church camp and Club Med). The kids want to go run around in the field, so Spencer and I leave backstage since the gates haven’t opened yet, and go run around in the grass with the kids, and watch the magic created on stage….lights, screens, instruments, cords and more cords… It’s HOT here, so we quickly return backstage and jack wants to spend some time with the kids before he has to go on stage and things get hectic. So, jack takes the boys on stage to so a sound check and the kids play the drums. Everyone is shocked backstage to find out that it’s a four year old on the drums, not an adult. M* rocks!

4 PM: Spencer and I have just been walking around, and chattin with different people, making juices, and takin it easy. Kim is in the production office. Jack comes back with the kids and about 15 guys over the age of 24 end up playing with M* and L*’s race cars.

6 PM: The buzz has begun and it’s fun to wish Will (and Dave who plays various instruments with him) and Matt good luck as they go on stage. Jack’s drummer, Adam, starts doing upper body/hand exercises to prepare. Merlo, the guy that plays the bass, does a little yoga and some stretching to get ready. Zach, the pianist, and jack sing together………

7:15: It’s time for the native Maori/Australian dancers to go on stage to present Jack. So we all hurry backstage to get sidestage with the kids, and look down on 30,000 as the dancers come out pretty much naked but painted.

7:30: Spencer and I start making our way off stage, as there are quite a few people, it’s dark, and Jack doesn’t really want M* to see or hear what follows….As we’re walking off stage to the dressing rooms, the crowd is chanting “jack jack jack jack”… and you can imagine what 30,000 people sound like. The earth is shaking. We all have chills. And then it’s like thunder….he must have gone out!…..

8-10: Spencer and I take turns going side stage to watch. Absolutley incredible…..

10: The show’s over, and Kim ,the kids, Spencer and I are in the shuttle waiting for Jack and the 3 other band members… They run off stage and jumps into the car…and we taaaake off!!…. before the crowd escapes…. We hear stories from their perspective…..and they laugh about mistakes and jokes.

and we end up back at our hotel.

Night night!

Next Day: 8 Am…..jack calls and wakes us up and tells us that we can go to breakfast with them, or do our own thing. We choose to go walk on the beach and get acai bowls and pack up.

10:45 AM: The band has a lobby call, and we get picked up by a bus that takes us to the airport. In the lobby as we wait for the bus, people are staring, coming over to ask for autographs, and get pictures taken. In the bus, people are giving Matt a hard time because he partied until 4 in the morning. Dave is talking about how his wife is a mermaid (huh?) and then there’s a group of us in the back of the bus singing B-I-N-G=O with the kids.

As we pull up to the airport, the tour manager tells us the that we’re running late, but that we get to check-in at group check-in….have you bags ready to put in line and listen for your name to get you boarding passes…. and we’re off…. no ID’s necessary.

1 PM: We’ve arrived Brisbane and now we all go check-in to a hotel for a couple hours….Spencer and I go read, write and get cleaned up.

3 PM: We head to the “gig” with Jack, Kim and the kids……it’s right on a river surrounded by gardens and mangroves. We get situated in the room, then go sit out on the lawn of the place and watch as the stage gets set-up again…just 24 hours later.

4 PM: M* and L* decide to join us outside and we make some fun with cardboard boxes and the nice little slope…..

8-10: We get to see Spencer’s friends from Virginia Beach, Conor and Tommy briefly….then we hang out backstage for the remainder of the night. At 10, it’s the same deal, we’re all ready in the car, and Jack runs and jumps in after he’s done. Security is holding 5,000 people at the gate so that Jack (and the people in his car) can drive out……. Well, we forgot something in his dressing room so we end up lagging ans ssecurity can’t hold everyone anymore. 10 minutes later, we’re ready to proceed. take Two: security holds everyone, and we star driving through this swamp of people…. Jack’s in the front seat with his window down and decided to start giving people high 5’s out the window… well, of course people start FREAKING out running up to the car…. running next to us as we’re driivng away…… people start jumping on the car…..the head of security is freaking out… And we were all in the car CRACKING up…. it was so classic….

1 AM: We’re back in Byron Bay! Good Night!

and then today Kim and I went to yogalates, while Spencer and two of Jack’s friends went surfing. Jack stayed at home with M* and L*.

After lunch, L* napped, Jack took M* to the beach, and Spencer and I just hung out here at the house.

Tonight we went to a crew/band “barbie” and everyone got pretty involved in a group tennis match…… fun times…. and the feeling of family is starting to form…. and the dynamics of everyone is soo hilarious and interesting. It’s crazy to think that we’re going to be with these people until September! We love it!!

Don’t forget to wear green!!!