Where to start where to start?? I may be a newbie (1st show Hammersmith Apollo 30 March 2007) but I’ve been making up for it ever since… Three cruises, all the UK tour last time, a trip to New York, are among some of the things I’ve done since discovering this group of guys… And that’s just to see them… There have been countless other trips to visit BNL friends around the country… And that’s what I love most about being part of this fandom… I ADORE the guys, LOVE their music, but it’s the people I’ve met that is the cherry on the cake… BNL fans are special… Generous, giving and there for the experience…

And boy do we get experiences… Every time they come chat with us outside the gigs, I have to remind myself that these guys have sold millions of records, have made a ton of money, and have won awards… But they go out of their way to come say hi, to get to know fans…

• I knew they knew Kirsty and I were coming all the way to New York to come see them, but I in no way expected the huge hugs we both got from all four of them…
• When Sarah couldn’t make it to one of the UK shows last year I took along her favourite shots of her with each guy to get signed… They could have just signed them like they do for any other fan, but they all wrote personalised messages which just made her tour!
• A certain lead singer upon being introduced to a certain person’s parents, telling them she was a “great kisser”
• Having asked for “Take It Back” a few times on the last tour, getting an awesome rendition on the very last night of the tour in Dublin, along with personal smiles and head-nods…
• Ty giving me a MASSIVE hug in Dublin after I’d told him “no I’ve got a streaming cold and don’t want you to catch it”
• There are countless other things that I’ve heard or experienced the guys do for other people but that’s their story to tell.

But as I mentioned earlier, it’s now more about the people I’ve met on the boat, on the tour, and in the queues.  Those people and those experiences are as special as the ones with the guys.  BNL fans are a special breed…  My life is so much richer with the people I’ve met and the experiences we’ve had…  A few examples…

• The Manchester queue and nearly an hour’s worth of entertainment provided by two balloons.  Sounds sad but was SO much fun
• A night off in Brighton where we all consumed what felt like our body weight in alcohol, a doorman was mooned, and we played how many BNL fans can you fit in a Travelodge room
• The now established tradition of the Barenaked Flight over from Heathrow to Miami for the cruise…  We have t-shirts…

Thanks to this band I now have friends all across the world.  Some I see often, some I only see on cruises or trips across the Atlantic, some I’ve not even met…  But they are all very very special to me…  And are all known to me because of Barenaked Ladies…  So if you are coming along to a gig, come along early and start chatting in the queue.  I guarantee you it’ll be a good decision…  You’ll join a fun bunch of decent people who come together because of a shared love of music but stay together because of a sense of respect and friendship.  You couldn’t ask to be part of a better group of people.  I’m proud to call each and every one of them my friends and I thank BNL daily for bringing them all into my life…

End soppy moment

Lou xx

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