On Sunday: November 1st, 2009, the most amazing night of my life happened. It was seriously a dream come true.

At noon that day, my two best friends, Cyd and Ashley, left with me to go to a concert in Des Moines, Iowa. Who was playing? My absolute favorite band of all time: New Found Glory. I have wanted to see these guys since I was in 3rd grade and now I was finally going to be able to.

Amazingly enough, we didn't have any road problems or get lost [thanks to my parent's GPS] and it was also my first time driving that far of a distance and into a larger city. I live about 3 hours away. As we get to the city, we semi-easily find a parking space in a 3-floor complex. We didn't want to drive around the city and get lost, so we decided to walk.

The venue that the band was playing at was in a 3-story building and I knew that, People's Court, the venue, was on either the 2nd or 3rd floor. It was only 4:00 P.M. and the doors didn't open until 6:00 P.M., so we decided to try and find the place so we'd at least know when it was time. For the longest time, we couldn't figure it out! There were stairs and multiple doors and we just had no idea of where to. So we began to ask the bartenders of the other bars in the building. Some of them didn't even know where People's Court exactly was and they worked there! Others told us the wrong directions and some even said that they didn't think the band was playing that night. Talk about complete confusion.

As we ranted out loud, a lady, who was either a manager or part of the stage crew, heard us and told us that the entrance to People's Court was on third floor. We were so greatful to finally find someone that knew and thanked her. Deciding to go get our tickets and walk around a little more, we walked toward the door of the building and I look up to see someone walking past and my eyes meet those of Steve Klein, guitarist of New Found Glory! He gives a small smile and walks on and I look to my left and see Ian Grushka, bassist of the band, pass by us on our other side. I couldn't believe that I was able to see them this close. It left me speechless.

After a bit more of walking around, at 5, we went to go sit at the entrance and wait for the doors to open. We were behind two other girls and were the only ones there. So we sat down on the stairs while the two other girls sat at a table beside the door. I thought that they might have worked there but we started talking to them and they didn't, they just went to this place a lot. Silence came over and I hear a door open, so I glance up and see... Cyrus Bolooki, the drummer of the band, walking down the steps, in between my friends and I. All I could do was stare down after a little bit and my eyes met his black Converse shoes. It made me grin and I know that I should have asked to take a picture with him or an autograph or something, but I was afraid that he was busy or something, so I sat quiet. Honestly, I didn't know what to think, this was my first time ever seeing a band like that, and with it being my favorite! The only other concert I've been to was a Blink 182 / Fall Out Boy / Panic! At the Disco one, and there, you couldn't even get anywhere close to the members.

My heart raced as we waited and I was becoming so excited. To my surprise, there wasn't even that many people there by the time the doors opened. We walk into the venue and it's amazing. There was the stage and a wide open cement floor. We walked to the stage and were right in front, off to the left a bit. There was already a couple peole that had taken the center front of the stage so we decided on this spot. We rested against the stage and took goofy pictures as we waited. I couldn't believe that we could stand right in front of the stage like this. The last concert was so completely different and had so many restrictions. For instance, I was so happy that I was able to use my camera at this one! A few small bands, that were touring with New Found Glory began to play and some of them were okay. One of them, Fallen From the Sky was completely awesome. I got a shirt of them. =]

I enjoyed listening to the small bands, but once the 3rd band came on, I just really wanted it to hurry up and get to New Found Glory. I was getting so pumped!

And then... it finally happened. The moment in my life that I'd been waiting for for way too damn long. As the lights dimmed, we, as in the entire crowd, began to chant out 'N - F - G'. Cyrus Bolooki was the first to come out and quickly get to his drums and then the other members made their way onto the stage and tore into their first song. The crowd went crazy, jumping and screaming out the lyrics. I was in complete bliss and heaven.

Once the first song comes to an end, Chad Gilbert, guitarist, announces that instead of playing the setlist, they're going to play what the crowd wants to hear. People start yelling out different random songs and me and my friends start yelling out, "My Friends Over You". Jordan comes out and leans down and puts the mic in front of my friend, Cyd's, mouth, so she could say it.

The band members laugh and say that they can't do that one just yet. It's pretty much their encore song. They save it for near the end when the crowd is really going wild. Haha.

The concert continues onward and I'm jumping and singing out at the top of my lungs. Jordan, most of the time was standing over me or kneeling in front of me. I was so glad that we had picked this spot. I had thought that maybe center stage would be the best spot, but the speakers block the band from getting close. Where me and my friends were, was the most perfect spot.

As I sang out, I saw Jordan kneeling down in front and looked to his eyes to see them staring directly in to mine. He brings the mic over and puts it right up to me and I'm singing out the lyrics. It was an absolute dream come true. I've had a huge crush on this vocalist since I was in third grade. Haha. I couldn't believe that I was able to sing with him like that. There were a couple more times throughout the concert where he did that to me again.

While jumping along to one song, I glance over and see Steve Klein and he glances at me for a moment and I've got this big ol' grin on my face and he smiles back. Yup, I was in complete giggles.

There were also a few times where I would be singing and Ian and I would catch gazes and start singing and bobbing are heads. Near the end of the show, Ian came forward and handed his guitar pick directly to me. This night seriously couldn't get any better.

Also around the end, I had my hands up in the air and Jordan high-fived me. Gah, I love this band so much. To be honest, I didn't know a concert experience with a band like New Found Glory, was possible. I was expecting barricades, security guards, the works, but there was none of that. It truly was amazing.

My only regret is that I didn't ask Cyrus if he would take a picture with me when he walked by. But, Jordan mentioned that they will be on another tour in February and March with Saves the Day. Definitely going to that show if they play in Des Moines. Who knows what could happen next time?

Heh, wow, so I didn't expect this explanation to be this long. If you read it all, great and thanks! If you didn't, that's alright. =]