By Melanie Wolfson
Last night, I sacrificed a night of sleep in the name of Green Day. And with only a few hours to go before I get my chance to meet them, I am shaking in my seat and trying to think of what I will possibly say to them in the event that I don’t pass out.
After hearing that the guys would be doing an album signing at the Best Buy in Midtown Manhattan on the day their 21st Century Breakdown album hit stores, and that wristbands to a meet-and-greet with the band would be handed out to the first 500 people to buy that album, well, I knew I would be there dark and early.
I began my adventure at 1:30 am when I took the last train of the night from my Jersey town into the city and grabbed my spot on the line at exactly 3am. As I got closer to Best Buy, I could already see people crowded around the corner of the store. I later learned that I was the 99th person in line. At first, I thought it was crazy that there had been nearly 100 people on the line by 3 am, but it's Green Day, and Green Day fans are crazy.
Take Rich for instance, the guy who nabbed the first place on line. He’s been waiting since 9am yesterday morning. That’s right ... he's been in line 24 hours and counting. Mad props to that dude. He was prepared ... me? Not so much. And you can read about my night on the mean streets of NYC after the jump.
The majority of people who camped out came fully prepared with blankets, chairs and pillows. I brought a backpack containing cameras, a change of clothes and a PB&J sandwich. That's it. I’m not sure how, but somewhere in between talking to the people around me and tuning into my iPod, I fell asleep on the cold, hard cement for about 15 minutes. I wouldn’t do that for just any band.
At around 8am, Best Buy opened its doors and starting letting people in to buy the album and get a wristband. By this time, the line had grown to well near 500 people. I’m definitely glad I got there when I did.
Because now, even though I'm beyond tired and chugging Red Bulls to avoid crashing out, I’ve got my bright blue wristband on, and am mere hours away from being face to face with Billie Joe, Mike and Tre.
Jealous? I can’t blame you.
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