The email from the venue said to be there by 4:30 and the VIP experience would start promptly at 5:00. So the fifty or so of us with VIP passes lined up starting around 4. My Uber showed up way faster than expected, so I was there a couple minutes before the next people, up in front of the line. No surprise… I mean, I wasn’t coming there after work or anything, this was the only reason I was in Portland!

Nothing happened at 4:30. Or 5:00. Around 5:35, some woman came out to check all our names against her list, then told us that we were still an hour away from getting in. WTF? She said that Pete and Bas weren’t on site and we couldn’t come in until they were. Not gonna lie, that was a little worrisome, considering the boys are well into their 70s and on a gruelling tour. When the lady came out again, I said, “is anything wrong, are they OK?” She said, yes, they had some delays in the sound check and the guys had to go back to the hotel and shower and change before the VIP stuff. Whew.

Eventually, we got in and I said, “greetings from Canada!” when I walked in and they said, “hey, good to see you again!” I gave them their gifts (shirts with the lyrics to “Bish Bash Bosh” printed on them, since they loved my shirt when I saw them in Newcastle). There was no time to talk, since everything was so far behind schedule, though. After everyone got their poster signed, they took pics with everyone. Bas joked when I came up, “oh, like you need any more pictures with us!” I told Pete that he should love getting his picture taken with me because I make him look skinny!

When the VIP was over, they let the rest of the crowd in. Getting the VIP was 100% worth it, not just for the meet/greet, but because we were already in there when the crowd came in, so we could snag the good spots. There are no seats at these shows, it’s a free-for-all for floor space, and it was a sold-out show.

Brooklyn-based group “Delivery Boys” opened with a half-hour set and while I didn’t know any of their songs, they brought mad energy to the room and got the crowd pumped up. Also, it was very obvious by some of the between-songs banter that they have great respect for Pete and Bas and feel honoured to be chosen to open for them. That got them in good with the crowd, for sure (and they weren’t joking, either. After their set, they came down into the crowd to watch Pete and Bas perform).

Then the real show started. I wondered if they had read the thank-you cards I’d written while the opening act was performing. That answer was an obvious YES as soon as they came on stage. Bas walked right up to the edge of the stage and shook my hand. Pete did too, a bit later between songs. They pointed out Pete’s shirt that he was wearing, what was on it, then told the crowd that I’d given it to them. Pete seemed really happy with it. He walked over near me at one point, tugged on the shirt and gave me a thumbs-up.

I couldn’t have picked a better spot on the floor. I often had to lean backward to keep from butting heads with Bas when he did his verses.

Several times throughout the show, I would catch them looking over at me to see if I was singing along… and of course I was. Bas would smile, with a look like, “yep, he knows that song, too”. Pete came over twice during the show and sang right to me. I know that sounds a little “yeah, right, wishful thinking” but I’ve got pics to prove it.

At one point, they brought some ladies up from the crowd on stage to dance to “Mr Worldwide” - Now… their songs are sometimes full of swagger lines like “you can’t hide it, I know you got a thing for me” and “I know you want me, girl, but look, I’m a businessman and it just won’t work” and people in the comments on their videos will say, “that’s ridiculous, there aren’t any women chasing after them, not even old women” and I’ll respond and say, “go to one of their shows, you’ll see.”

This woman in particular was borderline inappropriate with some of her moves, obviously trying to get the lads to take the bait. She didn’t understand that both of them are staunch family men and would never do anything that might jeopardize that. Pete especially had to keep moving to avoid contact with her. One of the other ladies was next to me in the audience and I had talked to them before the show and told them about meeting the boys in Newcastle. I had mentioned how dedicated they were to their families and this woman understood the assignment when she got on stage. She adopted the little dance that Pete and his “wife” do in their Christmas video, where nobody touches. She got a good, long dance with Pete.

That woman might’ve been the only one in the room who was more excited to be there than me. She was absolutely over the moon after that song was over and was high-fiving everyone. She kept saying, “OMG, I can’t believe that happened!!!”

The show was over way too soon (the venue had a cutoff time), but they came back out for a 2-song encore in their silly “USA” jackets.

Bas told the crowd, “you know, if you check your history… We used to own you. And now you’ve been on your own for a couple hundred years or so and I think it’s time we got you back. We should Make America Great Britain Again!”

I mentioned before that there were a very limited number of VIP passes and we got the meet/greet before the show, a signed poster, first access to the merchandise, and all of that. We also got early access to the venue, so we got the best spots.
But Pete and Bas always, ALWAYS go out into the crowd afterward and sign autographs and take selfies and all of that, whether you had VIP or not.

These guys got their beer bellies autographed and their friend got her boobs signed!

I waited until everyone had their turn, then I told them ‘thanks for a great show, I’ll see you tomorrow.’ and both of them in turn thanked me for the shirt and the card and gave me a big hug. A perfect end to a perfect night and I’m not even kidding when I say that this was the best concert experience I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow!