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George explains what actually happened... The week before Boner-ooh, I was pleasantly surprised with an email from MetClub letting me know I had won the Boner-ooh BBQ contest. I was definitely glad to win that, but when news of the "Secret Shindig" popped up, I knew that it had to be something special, and I was thinking my chances were fairly slim, since I had just won my first contest since MetClub switched to the online contest entry format however many years ago. (OK, so I "won" an opportunity to purchase Fan Can V, but I don't really consider that a contest.) The Monday that they were supposed to announce the winners, I must have checked MetClub 4,000 times during the day. By late afternoon, I had all but given up hope that I had won, and Big Jeff had not heard anything either, but we still had Boner-ooh and the BBQ to look forward to, so there was nothing to be bummed out about. Just before I was heading out of the office, I decided to check MetClub one last time, as there had been a message saying the contest was over yet no mention of winners being emailed. I went to the contest link page where it had originally said I won the BBQ...lo and behold on top of where it said I was a BBQ winner there was a message saying that I had won the Secret Shindig, as well. It would be several hours until I actually received the email from MetClub confirming that I won, so I was nervous that it was some kind of glitch, but finally the email arrived with vague instructions and a guarantee that we would not be disappointed (and we definitely were not).
 Why must Jeff always flip off the camera? Big Jeff and I hit the road for Nashville Thursday morning. We stopped at a walk-up/drive-through only Chick-Fil-A, which was really odd. There was no place eat, and the place had no bathrooms. Hence, we drove over to Hardees and ate in their parking lot, and used what had to be the nicest restrooms I've ever seen in a fast-food restaurant. We ended up at the hotel with a couple hours to spare, but I was nervous we were going to be late or something, so we got back on the road after hanging out for about an hour or so. Our instructions were to meet in the parking lot of small park in Nashville. There were already a handful of MetClubbers there. Super-Ron and Brad showed up not long after we arrived. Speculation was already running rampant about what the big secret was. Apparently, there was also some concern on the part of a few people about leaving their vehicles in the "rough neighborhood" that we were in, which Ron, Jeff, and I didn't really quite understand.
 (L to R) MissionMet winner/MetClubber from Nashville, Rhonda, Big Jeff, Brad, me (striking a pose), Troy, Tracy, German Metallica fan - (Picture from Allan) After a bit of waiting and some picture taking, as well as some other familiar faces showing up, Vickie and Adam Dubin were spotted heading our way. We were asked what we thought the shindig was going to be. I think a couple of us said that we were hoping it was a private gig, while others mentioned the possibities of a listening party or a meet-n-greet. Fortunately, the private gig was the right answer. In fact, the location of the gig was actually in plain sight from where we had been waiting. Not long after we got our "working passes" we headed over to Grimey's Record Shop, where things were abuzz with Metallica. Grimey's features bands in their "Basement," but we started off in the upstairs part of the building which was an old-school record store. We bumped into Tony Smith up there (Jeff literally bumped into him and almost killed him, while getting a pic with him). Tony was totally cool and posed for pics with us.
 Tony Smith and me After hanging in the record shop for a couple of minutes. The dude working the backdoor mistakenly told us we could go downstairs, so we all started heading down but were informed that we weren't supposed to be there yet, so we ended up in line with bunch of random people who were hanging out behind the store. Some of them had passes for the show, while several others were just there for whatever reason. We ended up standing by some dude who was trying to impress his friends with his "vast Metallica knowledge." He even pointed Kirk out to Super-Ron after Kirk had appeared outside for a bit. Ron just went along with and let the guy explain to him that Kirk was the lead guitarist for Metallica. Right after that, Tom (the cool new security guy who is basically Gio's replacement) came by and told us the band would be walking through. He asked us just to let them by and not try to stop them and talk to them. It worked out alright with Kirk and Lars (and even Steve Wiig), but James must not have heard Tom's suggestion, because when he spotted Super-Ron, he stopped in his tracks and struck up a conversation with him. The look on the guy's face who was educating Ron on Metallica and Kirk just a few minutes before was priceless.
 (Picture from a MetClubber from Kentucky whose name I forgot) Not long after that, we were escorted inside. The MetClub contest winners were allowed to go in ahead of all the other people who were hanging out behind the store, which was sweet. There were already a bunch of people from Q-Prime inside, and the place was absolutely TINY. There was no rail space available when we got in, because a bunch of the Q-Prime people were hanging out on the rail. I got behind to guys in button-up shirts who were sending out emails non-stop the whole time I was behind them. I was thinking that they probably weren't going to be staying where they were out for the show, and they ended up moving as soon as the band came in, so we were able to get right on the rail (with some much appreciated assistance from Super-Ron).
 A cool out of focus picture -- me (far left) and Ron (Picture from MetOnTour.com) The show was absolutely phenomenal. The guys were playing right in our faces, and we were singing along, headbanging, and fist were flying. I had noticed early on that I was having some trouble breathing, but having trouble breathing isn't all that uncommon for me, so I didn't really think much of it at the time. After "For Whom the Bell Tolls," Kirk was having some guitar issues, so there was a lot of impromptu stuff going and some banter between the band and the audience. The highlight of the night for me had to have been when they broke into "Frayed Ends of Sanity." Now, I've heard them tease us with a couple licks from "Frayed Ends" before, but this time James turned the mic around and handed it to Super-Ron, and they kept playing. Super-Ron was cool enough point the mic in between us, and we got to sing the first verse, the refrain, and up the "I'm a slave of fear, my captor!" Getting to sing into the mic while Metallica was playing live has been on my list of thing to do before I die for many years. So, I guess after that experience, I was ready to "die"...which came a few songs later.
 Cross this off my Bucket List (Picture from MetOnTour.com) When the band broke into "Puppets," I started having a really hard time breathing, and was starting to get tunnel vision. I figured I'd be alright just taking some deep breaths for a bit to get things back on track, and I made it all the way through "Puppets," and I remember them starting "Sad but True." Right after "Sad but True" started, though, things started going black. I can remember Ron hoisting me up as my legs started to buckle. He said one of the guys had got some water for me and Ron put it in my hand (which I do remember), but Ron said I didn't even lift it up to drink so he raised it up to me, and I started drinking some but then my eyes rolled back in my head, and he knew I was done. Everything was black at that point, but I could still hear and feel somebody carrying me out of the place. The next thing I remember was being doused with water. Somebody asked me if I "had taken" anything, which I assured them I hadn't. They asked me if I was sure, and I said, "Yeah, I'm sure." Things were still hazy at that point, but I was breathing alright and my vision was back. I'm sure I must have looked pretty rough, as several people kept asking me if I was alright. At one point, I saw Steffan with his camera aimed at me, so I suppose there's a chance that I might show up in So What! in all my (lack of) glory. [Ed. (crossing my fingers).] He did ask if I was alright, as did several people from the crew, the MetClub staff, and even Torben (Lars' father). Kirk, Rob, and Lars all asked me if I was doing alright when they came out, and Lars was even cool enough to give me some water.
 "Hey, George. Don't pass out, okay?" (Picture from a professional photographer whose name I forgot)
 "Hey everyone - LOOK! George just passed out because he drank too much iced tea!" (Picture from a professional photographer whose name I forgot) I would later learn from Big Jeff (and then from the LiveMet recording) that James was totally busting on me and was making jokes that I had too much "iced tea." For the record, the only thing I had been drinking all-day was Gatorade and water. Being somebody who has never had an alcoholic drink in my entire life, the humor of James busting on me isn't lost. I still don't know why I had so much trouble in that place, compared to some of the other shows I've survived without incident (including the Tucson show), the Basement show was incredibly tame. When it was all said and done, though, I still left with a smile on my face. I remember telling Vickie and Yeager that I could have been hit by a bus after the show, and it still would have been worth it, and I still stand by that statement. Rob even gave us a "Step-up!" as we were leaving. Thanks to Metallica and MetClub for the most awesome show ever! [Ed. Here's some alternate titles to George's tour report.]
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