Joel Madden

It’s taken 24 hours to collect my thoughts on what happened yesterday. What happened yesterday? Well, (in case you don’t follow me on social media) I was going to see Good Charlotte for the first time in 5 years, not just that, I got meet and greet.

Meet and greet is something contentious in the music scene, right now. Where artists charge an extra fee, so that fans can meet artists without having to wait outside before or after the event. I have always thought it was not a good thing. Having mostly visiting small venues, with no more than 2,000 fans, it has been okay seeing the band outside the venue. I never saw the point. But when bands upsize to bigger venues, meeting them becomes difficult. That is where meet and greets become more popular.

Last night, All Time Low‘s Back To The Future Hearts Tour came to Glasgow’s SSE Hydro Arena, and their support was Good Charlotte. Good Charlotte is a band I have been a fan of for 15 years, and who have been a massive impact on me as a person. This is a band, who’s music has helped me through the darkest periods of my life, where I considered giving up completely.

So if I was going to do Meet and Greet for one band, it was Good Charlotte. Because All Time Low were the main band, their group for the meet and greet was a lot bigger than that for GC. ATL had 56, GC had 5. Yes, 5. We got to meet Good Charlotte and get early access into the venue. Going to the room where we’d meet the band was nerve wrecking. The butterflies were horrendous. But it was great. We had a super casual Q&A session, where it was like the 5 on them at one side of the room, and the 5 of us on the other. I had to pinch myself at one point. Benji Madden then got out his guitar, and we got to pick a song. The one that got the go-ahead was The Motivation Proclamation, my suggestion, as it has always been a favourite song. And they played it acoustically. I believe I did cry at that part. Slightly. And then we got photos. A picture taken by one of the tour managers.

And another one, a selfie taken by Joel Madden (which would have killed me as a 16 year old).

Then there was lots of hugs, more small chat, then it was over. We got a GC bag, shirt and signed poster. It was beyond anything I ever thought it would be. To be able to say thank you, personally, to the band who made me who I am today, was priceless.

We then got out early access to the venue, and got to the barrier. Funnily enough, I got to the same general area that I would get seeing GC in a smaller venue. Stage left. Between Benji Madden and Paul Thomas. Was so happy.

I sang along every word, and the band were as flawless as normal. I have missed them so much.

The set list was as below:

The Anthem

The Story of My Old Man

My Bloody Valentine

Girls & Boys

Riot Girl

Makeshift Love

The River

Dance Floor Anthem

I Just Wanna Live

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

Because I saw the band I loved, I let the bigger All Time Low fans into the barrier, and I went for a drink. This is the way I have always done concerts, the biggest fans deserve to be at the front. I do like ATL, but I didn’t think it was fair to take up barrier space for bigger fans. It’s gig ettiquite.

If you have ever considered doing meet and greet, do it. Other’s may speak ill of it, but that’s because they have never done it. I have achieved something I have dreamed of for 15 years, almost half my life. If you work hard, and you really want to you should do it. It really was one of the best experiences of my life, and it really is a good idea if you are attending a big venue that offers it. Both the Good Charlotte and All Time Low meet and greets were organised by Future Beat, who do a lot of VIP deals for events. If you can, give meet and greets a chance, because it really is an opportunity for people to achieve their dreams.

So, today is the day, if you believe the papers, that Nicole Richie marries Joel Madden. I am excited about this as I was about Paul Thomas and Billy Martin’s weddings. Its another GC wedding, and if you know me at all, you know it is one thing I am obsessional about.

Next year marks my decade as a Good Charlotte fan, and I always would be ecstatic for the boys whoever they settled down with. If you support anyone, its normal to feel happy to see them achieve happiness. But because Joel is marrying someone well known, he is being pulled into the ‘Celeb culture’.

I don’t think I’d be bothered so much if Joel was popular for being the awesome musician that he is, but on some level he is famous for dating someone famous. That is sad, and says so much about society. I know that Good Charlotte’s most recent album, Cardiology, didn’t get a lot of publicity in the UK, but I KNOW Joel and Nicole’s wedding will be featured in all the tabloids. It makes me sad, because the tabloids show a different side to Joel, than the Joel I have loved for ten years. Actually, I wouldn’t say it shows a ‘side of him’ more an idea of him, a picture painted by writers and gossip mongers. They say he is a gold digger, and an abuser. Joel has his own money, his whole career, and from speaking to him he would NEVER hurt a woman.

It makes me think. How many other celebs are being portrayed wrongly in the press. Miley Cyrus, for instance. Once a tween-queen, she is now being slaughtered by tabloids, trying to make her seem like she’s lost the plot. This is a teenage girl. A school age girl. Being stalked by 40+ year old paparazzi, who want to get a picture of her doing drugs or see her flash her underwear. Am I the only person who finds this unsettling? I have no idea what Miley is like, and I don’t believe this persona we see in the press.

I find it uncomfortable seeing famous people going to the supermarket. Its maybe because I wouldn’t take a picture of anyone I didn’t know doing their shopping. So I wouldn’t buy a magazine which has Brad Pitt at Walmart, it doesn’t interest me at all. Celebs are people, who work a job which places them in the public eye. They should be able to go get a paper without being bombarded by ‘photographers’. I have no respect for anyone who makes money out of taking pictures and telling lies about peoples private lives. Its like they scrounging what they can off someone else’s hard work. I don’t know how that is counted as a career choice.

But it makes it all seem so contrived. I mean, Lady Gaga being friends with Perez Hilton? Getting the world’s most famous gossip columnist on your side is a stroke of genius. He won’t say anything too damaging about his pal, just don’t fall out with him.

So basically, what I am getting at is, don’t judge those you read about in OK! magazine, because you really have no idea what they are really like.

And I hope that Joel and Nicole have a good Wedding day, and I hope you guys have a good life together.

Tag: Joel Madden

Last Night…

Celeb-lies?