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| I think he looks like Vin Diesel |
But, if I had an iPod, it would have an eclectic mix of songs from classical to hip hop and Celtic to Bollywood. I just like music. I probably wouldn't take the time to put any Daughtry songs on my iPod, but I would drive two hours to see him in concert and get home at 2:30 a.m. even though I have to work at 7 a.m. because Sheri likes Daughtry... and I like Sheri.
We saw him about 3 years ago when he was opening for Bon Jovi at the Air Canada Centre and it was a good show. We had a good time. The tickets were crazy expensive as I recall, but Sheri paid. I have excellent friends :)
So, when she mentioned on facebook that she was thinking of seeing her boyfriend, Daughtry, in concert again, I offered to go. It wasn't until about a week before the show that I asked where he was playing. To which she replied, "The Phoenix Concert Theatre".
I had never heard of this venue, so I decided to Google it. Turns out, The Phoenix is a nightclub in Toronto! Now, this may seem like a very small deal to some of the population.To me, it is both intimidating and frightening. City night clubs are so far removed from anything I (as a County girl) am used to. She might as well have told me he was playing in a castle at the bottom of the sea!
First of all, County girls generally have one outfit for weddings (i.e. a little black dress) and one outfit for work (depending on whether they work in a nursing home, in an office, in a daycare or at a restaurant.... those are the four choices here). There is only one outfit for a night at the bar and that is tight jeans, t-shirt and high-heeled boots.
Now, I've seen Sex in the City AND Jersey Shore and that is just not how they do things in the more densely populated sections of the planet. Night clubs require big hair, smoky eyes, glossy lips, Jimmy Choos and short skirts. I started to panic a little bit! I'm just not a Jimmy Choo kinda girl! I mean, I would totally buy a pair (from Value Village maybe), but I couldn't actually wear them. I really like all the funky lamps at IKEA too, but that doesn't mean I'd actually have one in my house. At least not where everyone could see it.
Anyway, I saw a pair of thigh-high riding boots at Winners that I thought would pass for haute couture with a pair of jeggings and a nice top. Unfortunately, they were $60 and I am currently broke. Not like "disconnection notice/can't buy name brand KD" broke. Just can't-afford-no-fucking-$60-boots broke.
I mentioned my concerns to a girl at work and she offered up a nice, gold-striped, sheer black shirt that would be perfect for the occasion. She bought it in Las Vegas for $80 while drunk shopping in a sketchy boutique where she stumbled over some boxes to try it on in a store room. But, that's her story to tell and I've probably already butchered the truth of it anyway.
At least, I had a plan. I picked Sheri up at 5-ish on Monday night and she was wearing jeans, Daughtry t-shirt and high-heeled boots and she looked really good. I was still planning on stopping at Winners to pick up those $60 CFM boots, whether I could afford them or not. On the way, I asked Sheri if she was excited to be reunited with her boyfriend after all these years. She just shrugged and said, "Not really."
WTF?! This was not normal. I know Sheri is in love with a real man and all, but Daughtry has been her loverboy since he was on American Idol five years ago, for crissakes. He would be top of the list of celebrities she is allowed to sleep with regardless of marital status. Over the years, my list has included Ben Affleck, Adam Sandler and Gerrard Butler. I don't think anyone is on my list right now. Taylor Lautner is cute and all, but I am not interested in having sex with Lava Boy.
I spent about 20 minutes looking for matching boots in the state of emergency they called the footwear section at Winners that evening. In the end, I said to hell with it. Sheri looks awesome in jeans and t-shirt. And, I just happened to bring a black, fitted Tee I recently purchased from grouphugapparel.com. Those highfalutinToronto bitches would just have to kiss my ass if they didn't like my traditional native moccasins!
Took two hours to get downtown and we found the place on Sherbourne pretty easily. Parking was a bit more difficult. But, it gave us a chance to scope out the locals in the lineup. They were all wearing high-heeled boots, blue jeans and t-shirts. I had to lmao.
The Phoenix actually looks like my kind of night club - bars at every corner, disco ball, poor lighting, creepy 20-foot portraits on the walls and a loft with comfy couches. We spent an hour standing in the loft waiting for the show, only to discover there was an opening act not listed on the ticket stub. The bleached-blonde, beach boy played about seven songs in a row that all sounded suspiciously alike. I did enjoy his version of U2's "With or Without You" and Night Ranger's "Sister Christian". My calves were killing me as we waited for the sound check crew to finish up. It was damn near 10:30 p.m. when Chris Daughtry finally arrived on stage.
Sheri said, "I thought I was over him, but I just felt my heart go pitter-patter."
The "loft" crowd was not excited enough for my liking. They were all sipping their coolers and quietly observing the rock concert from the comfort of their chrome chairs with the disinterested expression of perfume models. I headed down to the main floor where there appeared to be more enthusiasm. I had no problem manoeuvering through the masses because everyone was standing a respectable (and classically Canadian) two feet apart, but Sheri seemed happy to be at the edge of the crowd where she had a clear line of sight to the brown-eyed, sweaty, bald man she loves. This put me, however, behind an ogre-sized fellow wearing a robin's-egg-blue hoodie and size 13 high tops. I couldn't see shit. Not unless it was in this guy's pants because his ass was at my eye level. No jokes, this guy was tall.
Meanwhile, a plus-size brunette and her equally stout blonde friend were pretending to be drunk and acting like tools right in front of Sheri. I say they were "pretending" because these girls had no respect for alcohol. Since I couldn't see anything else, I watched them flail around with a single shot of rye and cola for 15 minutes without ever taking a sip. There was far more booze on the floor than they ever got in their obnoxious mouths. The brunette almost knocked Sheri in the face when she leaned back to holler. Don't get me wrong - I have absolutely been "that girl" at a concert before; acting drunk and irritating the masses. But, I wasn't in the mood for her 'cause I had pulled a hamstring 3 days earlier, doing the splitz after chugging a six-pack at a 60th birthday party. I know. I'm a hypocrite.
I was beginning to feel like Goldilocks - the loft was too laid back, the back of the crowd was too intense, but the spot right beneath the disco ball seemed perfect.
I don't think Daughtry ever made eye contact with Sheri. She was obviously smitten nonetheless. I enjoyed the second half of his set, which included "Over You" - my favourite Daughtry song. I was also really impressed with the fact that he likes Elton John's Rocket Man and Billy Idol's Rebel Yell.
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| I am deceptively thin-looking in this pic. That makes me happy. |
