If there is one thing I have learned this week it is be flexible when it comes to GA. After 18 months of planning, you just have to roll with it. I pulled into the parking space at commonwealth, it was a flurry of activity. Trucks were lined up and the inner claw works were just being put up from Winnipeg. They seemed to be behind a bit. I rounded the corner and the GA line had started. They were already giving out numbers. It's was 9:44 a.m. the day before the gig. I had to make a decision. Get in line now? Come back later? I asked GA Joe what his rules were. Took it all in and decided I was in. I got my number.
#12! Never thought I would be that close. It a split second I realized...this was it, my chance had come to be front row for U2. Then I called my friends and told them to hustle down to get their numbers too! I went back to my car and got my chair...thank god I jammed it in the trunk!
I sat myself down and had a moment of "what the hell am I doing? How did I end up here?"
Really, if you told me I would wait more than a day in line for any band I would have laughed at you. And yet...there I was.
Getting to be number 12 means many things. First off, you earn that number. You have deal with the constant media attention, it's like being in a fish tank. You get to meet all the other people in line behind you. We all took turns giving out numbers and explaining the rules, answering a billion questions....well actually it's just the same 3 questions over and over.
It also meant a full 2 days of perhaps the most fun I have had. Sitting around waiting and chatting with U2 fans from all over. It's nice to be able to talk about U2 without having to explain shit. These people, this travelling band of GA family members, they just get it.
I may have been in my home town, but in that GA line I felt like I had finally come home...to a place where everyone knows your name and shares the passion you have. I took a break from 1-2 and went back home and got together all my stuff. Thankfully, I had organized that before I left for Winnipeg. So all I had to do was pack the cooler and load up my car. I got back in line and thought I would be leaving again, but as it turned out, that is where I stayed for the next 14 hours. You'd think it would drag right? Nope. All of a sudden it my reinforcements were there with supper. I looked at my watch and it was almost 6 p.m.
Friends came to visit. The other U2 fans who had seats or Red Zone tickets came by to say hi. It was flying by!
We would take walks around Commonwealth to see the claw build in action. By 8 p.m. a tent city was forming as we all nestled in for a chilly evening. Everybody was having a great time, so many friendly faces and we laughed and laughed. After dark we could see they were doing the light checks on the stage so we walked around again just before midnight. When I saw the Claw all lit up, my tummy did a little flip and I realized this was going to be such an incredible gig. There is nothing like seeing U2 at home. My line mates were so amazing. A kind gentleman, who shall remain nameless, may have snuck some Guinness into the line...which he shared with me. Sitting there sharing a pint...I will never forget that.
I went to sleep for 2 hours then Ernesto, who took the first shift, woke me so I could take the 2nd one - 2:30-5:30 shift. I did it so that Joe (#1) and Christopher (#2) could get a good night sleep, they deserved it, and I figured I would get to sleep during the day. Sitting there in the dark, listening to the wind rustle the trees, and the gentle idling of the trucks, and the cars whooshing by I thought of how lucky I was. I was cosy and packed into my sleeping bag with my touque and mits to keep me warm. I passed the time by listening to music and tweeting. Roll call for the GA was at 7 a.m. By 5:30 we had almost 150 in line.
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