He Remembered Us!

David Archuleta performing at Mesa Arts Center on April 14, 2018.

Our long-awaited "second date" with David Archuleta finally arrived this past weekend, on Saturday evening. While it was actually our third David Archuleta concert, it was only the second opportunity for Sarah and me to interact personally with David. And it was another wonderful night.

As I've said before, we knew this time it wouldn't be nearly as magical as the hours we spent with him ten months ago, in June of last year. (For that memory, click HERE.) That small, rural venue with a guest list of only ten of us for "Dinner with David," along with the surprise backstage visit after the show, was an informal, intimate experience that couldn't be recreated in this larger venue. And it wasn't, not even close. Nonetheless, David himself made it quite special for us, because he actually remembered who we were!  

David Archuleta poster outside the Mesa Arts Center. We arrived at 5:20.

We booked a Mesa hotel for Saturday night, and then we drove down to the Valley on Saturday morning. Although Mark didn't attend the concert (he didn't want to pay $200 for a VIP ticket), he took the weekend off and went with us. The concert was held at Mesa Arts Center, about a mile from our hotel.

We were issued wrist-bands and this VIP pass when we got there.

The concert itself didn't begin until 8:00 that evening, but the VIP experience was supposed to start at 6:00. We were advised to arrive by 5:30 to check in. We walked into the lobby at about 5:20, not because we were in a hurry to be first in line, but because there isn't much parking available at the Center and I didn't want to end up walking two blocks!

Sarah and I were the fifth and sixth people at the start of the VIP line.

As it turned out, there were only four people in line ahead of us. We got to know a little about them while we waited. One of the girls was actually from our area, a junior at Show Low High School. Another girl was readying her paperwork to serve an LDS mission. Sarah showed them the video of herself with David from last year, when he was explaining to Dylan that it really was him he'd spoken to on the phone. The girls got a big kick out of seeing the video.

The very first person in line was a little lady who was clearly in her sixties and surely David Archuleta's Number One geriatric fan! She was more excited about him than most of his teen-aged fans, as she described following him all over the country to attend his concerts in various states. In fact, I'm 99% sure she's the "granny-bopper" who kept blocking my view during the first concert we attended, every time she'd leap to her feet and try to grab David's hand at the edge of the stage. For that memory, click HERE.

Over the next thirty minutes, the line grew longer and longer. 6:00 came and went, but the doors didn't open to allow us entry until about 6:15. Then, at last, we were all allowed to file in and find seats in the first three rows. Our concert tickets didn't apply here (Sarah and I had second-row tickets), so it was first come, first served. Being at the head of the line, Sarah and I took seats in the first row, with our knees only a foot or two from the edge of the stage.

David sings a few partial songs during the sound check.

David and his band were already on stage, fiddling with instruments while he sang snatches of songs and the crew adjusted the sound levels. Once we were all inside and seated, David turned toward the VIP group, saying, "Look, we have a big crowd here." His eyes roamed over the throng as he walked toward the edge of the stage. Then he looked down at the front row and saw us. His eyes widened and his smile got bigger as he pointed directly at Sarah and me with both hands and said, "Hey, I know you two!"

So Sarah and I totally geeked out, of course, bouncing up and down in our seats, calling "Hi!" and waving at him while grinning like fools.

Some older ladies (not as old as me, but probably in their forties and fifties), sitting to our left, protested, "You know us, too!" He answered, "Yes, you've been to a lot of my concerts, but I just met these girls once before!"

It's true that our previous meeting was quite memorable--even his manager Kara remembered us when we saw her at Nathan Pacheco's Christmas concert and again at this concert--but I also really felt back then that he and Sarah shared a connection over their love of music. 

Then he answers questions from the crowd of about sixty people.

When the sound-check was complete, David opened the floor for questions. The girl we'd met from Show Low told him her parents would be at the concert later, and asked if David would wish her dad a happy birthday during the show. He told her he would probably forget by then, but offered to do it now so she could film it. He proceeded to sing a unique version of the Happy Birthday song that began to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and finished up with a clever little ditty.

The funniest question was the girl who asked if he was dating anyone. He explained that he doesn't talk about his dating life, then turned the tables by asking why she wanted to know. She seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment before blurting out, "Because you're cute!"

After the Q&A, I took this selfie of us in front of the stage.

Eventually, his manager noted that it was time to end the question-and-answer session so there would be time for pictures. David left the stage to get ready, and our crowd began to file slowly out of the auditorium to meet him one-by-one in the hall. This time, Sarah hung back, telling me, "I'm okay being at the end of the line for this." Ultimately, we weren't at the very end, but there were only five or six people behind us.

Then Sarah took this selfie of us with the empty theater behind us.

While we waited, someone announced loudly, "Don't ask David to sign anything. We already have signed eight-by-tens for you. Have your cameras ready." They were really trying to push everyone through this quickly. Sarah was deeply disappointed that she wasn't going to be able to get his newest album, Postcards in the Sky, autographed. She'd brought it with her for that express purpose. I don't know why that was so important to her, but it truly bothered her. As for the pre-signed eight-by-tens, she wanted to give hers to her cousin Mariah, who attended the concert that night.

After the Q&A we got to meet briefly with David and get pictures.

For me, since I had nothing for David to sign anyway, our brief meeting for pictures was amazing. As soon as we came into sight, his face lit up again, as if he were truly glad that we were there. In fact, he kept saying, "It's so great to see you again!" and "I'm so happy you're here!"

Sarah Kinsky and David Archuleta, together again!

After I posed with him and Sarah, I stepped out so they could do a picture with just the two of them. Despite the rush to get everyone through the process, David took a little extra time to chat with Sarah. He even asked her, "Do you still perform with the symphony orchestra?" He remembered that little detail about her!

One of our tickets. We were in seats 19 and 20, second row from the stage.

After the thrill of our VIP experience, we returned to the guise of typical concert goers, and the world slowed down. The concert was still almost an hour away, so we found a place to sit outside and wait. It was a beautiful day, relatively cool with a breeze. Less than a week prior, the Valley's temperature had already hit 100 degrees for the first time in 2018, but on Saturday it topped out around 78 degrees. Thank goodness. (The following day it reached 90.)

My niece Mariah and her husband Dallin also attended the concert.

We were sitting on a low wall, sipping from water bottles that cost $3 apiece at concessions, when we started wondering out loud if we'd be able to find Mariah and Dallin in the crush. At that exact moment--no lie--Sarah looked up and said, "Is that them?" By golly, it was! 

We could see them through the glass, inside the building, walking right toward us! Sarah hurried to the nearest door to grab them, and then they came out to visit with us awhile. It was a small miracle, considering that their assigned door of entry was opposite ours. Mariah said Dallin was lost, but I said he was "directed" so we could meet them. That was the story he stuck with! As for Mariah, she was extremely jazzed because this was the first concert she'd ever attended in her young life! 

Dallin took this picture before the show began.

You can see the backs of Sarah's and my heads in the second row!

One of my pirated still shots of David during his performance.

When we'd arrived earlier, there were signs in the foyer stating that no flash photography or filming was allowed. That's pretty typical and understandable. I was happy with getting some still pictures since my camera does pretty well even without a flash. However, they later switched out those signs for one that said no photography at all! That's crazy. How in the world did they think that was even enforceable, with hundreds of cell phones?

Another of my purloined pictures of David onstage. A little fuzzy.

Sure enough, dozens (probably hundreds) of phones were used throughout the concert, many of them filming entire songs. One girl in our row was told to stop filming, but eventually she was back at it. Mariah said that a girl near them filmed pretty much the entire concert and was never told to stop. We've also seen YouTube videos of the concert posted already.

I'm not much of a rule-breaker, especially if the rules make sense, so I didn't film any of the concert even though I usually like to do that (and most concerts these days do allow it). On the other hand, I'm not above a little civil disobedience for rules that are stupid. I can't see any harm that comes to an artist's brand if people take some still pictures. So, I confess, I did sneak in a few shots toward the end of the concert, when the staff seemed less alert.

The cell phone lights come out, as always, when David sings "Glorious."

As for Sarah, she was quietly doing her own plotting. She was still obsessing over having David sign her CD, so she spent the end of the concert getting up the courage to make her move. As always, David announced his last couple of rousing songs, performed them, and left the stage, followed by a standing ovation and nonstop cheers and applause. Then, also as always, he came back out to perform his two signature numbers: "Glorious" and "Crush." Then the concert is officially over and he starts shaking hands along the edge of the stage.

Sarah was determined to get this CD signed, and she did!

He started on our side and soon was reaching his hand toward me. Meanwhile, Sarah was still by her seat, fidgeting with something, and I was afraid she was going to miss her opportunity to say goodbye. In the moment David reached toward me, Sarah also finally turned toward the stage, so I gave her a little shove toward him. So he smiled at her and held his hand out to her but, instead of her hand, she put his CD into his hand. His expression was precious, both a little surprised and puzzled. I think he might have thought she was giving him a gift or something. I heard him ask her, "What's this?" Then she asked if he'd sign the cover and she quickly pulled a pen out of her pocket. Graciously, as he always does, he gave her the signature that had been so important to her.

Two days later, Sarah found a video posted, in which you can see her getting David's signature at the twelve-minute mark HERE. If I'd known what she was planning to do, I'd have filmed it, too!

David posted this photo on his Instagram after the show. Of course

he's standing in the exact spot to block our faces from the camera! Haha!

It was another amazing concert with great experiences to remember forever. There was more to our Valley weekend, of course, but I'll wait to share that in my next post!