Bonfires and Amplifiers

On May 11th, 2007, Brad Paisley's "Bonfires and Amplifiers" tour came to Bonner Springs, KS. Bonner Springs is a suburb of Kansas City. Earlier in the day, I had called Taylor's manager to secure 5 meet and greet passes. I had to work until 5:00 and the meet and greet was supposed to start as 6:00. I met my mom, my brother Will, his wife Erin, and my friend Margot and we headed to the show. Traffic was HORRIBLE. We were barely moving and I remember thinking, "We are going to miss the meet and greet."  It wasn't a big deal to me, but I really wanted my brother, sister-in-law, and friend to have the chance to meet Taylor. We finally arrived at the venue and I went to will call. I asked for the meet and greet passes and they were not there! Luckily I knew where the backstage entrance was and I was able to find Taylor's manager. We were right on time!

When we were waiting in line, I tried to make a bet with my brother. I told him that if he asked Taylor to sign his bicep, I would buy his drinks for the rest of the night. He chickened out and could barely mutter a word. We chatted with Taylor for a while and took a few pictures.

Left to right: Ann Dark, Taylor Swift, & Margot Levy

Left to right: My mom (Dianna), me (Ann), Taylor, sister-in-law (Erin), & brother (Will)

**Nice fanny pack Mom!**

As Taylor continued to meet and greet people, we chatted with Rick for a while. He gave us ticket upgrades but he only had 4. I gave them to my family and went to sit on the hill for a while. We ended up taking turns in the "good seats." I also had a chance to see Mandy again. She gave me a hug and was as nice as could be.


What an amazing show! After the show, in true Taylor fashion, Taylor stayed to sign autographs and to meet anyone who was willing to wait in line. Since I had already met Taylor several times, I didn't wait in line. However, I did go over to the line and I found Rick. I thanked him for the ticket upgrades and told him that I didn't expect special treatment. He asked if I was going to stick around but I told him that my family was ready to go. He said, "Well, Taylor will want to say goodbye to you" and then proceeded to take me to the very front of the line. I gave Taylor a hug and accidentally stepped on her toes. Luckily she had on cowboy boots on. Hopefully they were steel-toed!