Fan View: Fillmore: Fillmore - San Francisco, CA - July 07, 2009

I have been a lifelong fan of Duran Duran but never had the chance to
see them in concert. My daughter, Malina, has grown up listening to
their music and has become quite a Duranie. She even has my entire
DD collection on her iPod. I bought a VIP ticket for the December
2008 Tulsa show, but due to Nick's illness, the show was cancelled.
Because of my teaching schedule, I was not able to attend any of the
remaining shows in the 2008 North American Tour. When I received the
e-mail announcing additional summer tour dates and the "Create A
Concert Poster for Duran Duran Contest!", I knew this was my chance
to finally see them live.

With such artistic freedom in this contest, we had a million ideas.
We created posters for both the San Francisco and London shows, but
knowing the history of The Fillmore, that is where I chose to spend
most of my creative focus. I was very familiar with the style of
posters for which The Fillmore is famous, but I wanted to merge the
original psychedelic style with the sexy style of Duran Duran. I
wasn't happy with my original design, so I asked Malina (my 14 year
old daughter) what she thought. She looked at my original sketch
compared to my digitized version, and told me that there was just
something wrong with it. She couldn't pin point the problem, so I
went on to other poster ideas and even considered scrapping this
one. A couple days later, she came to me and told me that she had
figured out what was wrong. I made the changes at her direction
which resulted in our final design. Without her input, this poster
would probably never have been completed. She has such a natural eye
for design, and I am thankful that she had the courage to honestly
critique my original creation.

I was flabbergasted when I saw that our poster had made it into the
top ten. I literally lost my breath and rushed to tell Malina. The
week of waiting to hear the contest winner announcement was pure
agony. What got us through was reading all of the positive comments
that other DDM members gave about our design. On the morning of June
19th we received a call from an unknown, long-distance phone number,
and my heart just dropped. A lovely lady, who identified herself as
Liz from DDM, asked to speak to Malina. I watched Malina's face for
the faintest glimmer of hope, when I heard her say that she accepted
the prize. Malina was beaming and trying to hear what Liz was saying
as I was shouting and jumping up and down. I was, however, able to
gain a tiny bit of composure to speak with Liz about travel
arrangements. We went out that night with family to celebrate the
fact that we were going to California for the first time and most
importantly, seeing and meeting my favorite band of all time.

The accommodations that were provided to us were outstanding. Not
only being in the beautiful city of San Francisco, we arrived the
evening prior to the show to a beautiful hotel overlooking the city
lights. After a long day of traveling it was wonderful to be able to
sleep in and rest up for the show. Late that morning, Malina and I
made a trip to the historic Haight-Ashbury district where we saw the
former homes of The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix
(one of Malina's idols). That in itself was an amazing experience,
but we had a much bigger event to go to, so we headed back to the
hotel to get ready.

Upon arriving fairly early at the venue, we saw that there was
already quite a line forming. We found the VIP line and were able to
meet several of the board members and hear stories of previous DD
shows and encounters. Jim and Liz began handing out VIP passes, and
it was so exciting to hear the squeals of excitement as the other M&G
winners were announced. Liz did a great job of keeping the crowd
pumped up and excited for the show. The enthusiasm began to grow as
we overheard the band warming up. The anticipation became even
greater as we saw the band exit the venue after the sound check,
catching our first glimpses of the band in person.

The venue was amazing...rich in history and a very small and intimate
setting. I was in awe just to be in a place where so many legends
have graced the halls and played to thousands. As a graphic
designer, I was mesmerized by the photographs and the rows and rows
of posters that lined the walls. From the poster rooms to the
beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, The Fillmore is
spectacular!

Before the show, Malina and I went upstairs to the VIP room where we
had the chance to meet other DDM members for the first time. I
immediately recognized faces from the discussion boards and felt an
instant connection with them through our love of the band. We
actually met another VIP M&G mother/daughter team, which I thought
was extremely cool. Just goes to show how timeless the music is and
how it can bring generations together. Liz brought copies of our
posters to us, which was the first time we saw the design printed at
that size. It was very gratifying to hear other fans asking where
they could get one, or even buy a copy off of us. It was at that
point when the band came back to the venue and walked through the VIP
room. Then it happened. I caught my second glimpse of John and the
waterworks commenced. It hit me like a ton of bricks that John Taylor
just walked by us. I was so embarrassed (not quite as embarrassed as
Malina) that I began to cry. I couldn't control it. It became real
at that moment that my 25 years of waiting to see Duran Duran in
concert was really happening.

There was a mix-up with the M&G happening before the show, and
unfortunately we were not able to get back to our spots up front with
the other VIPs, but none of that mattered as soon as the band took
the stage. The excitement of the crowd flew through the roof as they
began to play Wild Boys. Their live performance was top-notch, and
it was absolutely amazing to hear Simon's voice live for the first
time. I really enjoyed hearing some of their newer music, and I
thought the song arrangements and medleys brought new life to some of
their classics. The set list was fantastic and included many of our
favorites. I started to list them as I was writing, but I loved all
of them! It was such an extraordinary experience to see my daughter
singing and dancing to the songs that I loved at her age.

The M&G after the show was such a surreal experience. I have
rehearsed in my head for years what I would say if I ever got the
chance to meet them, but that all went out the window as soon as
Simon and John walked in the room. We had the pleasure of meeting
and taking pictures with each of the members, as well as getting our
poster and our black satin 1983 Duran Duran tour jacket (prized eBay
find) signed. Although I wish there had been more time to discuss
the design with the band as a whole, Nick was most cordial and
inquisitive about the poster. It was a distinct honor to hear his
words of commendation, especially because of his knowledge and
appreciation of the arts. We were also thrilled to hear band
manager, Wendy, say that she voted for our poster and how much she
liked the design.

I thought this contest was such a wonderful way for fans to express
their creativity and love for the band. It was an honor for us to be
a finalist and winner amongst such creative and talented fans. Thank
you again, DDM, for this once in a lifetime opportunity. We are so
grateful for this experience and we will never forget it.

johntaylorgirl

Member ID = johntaylorgirl  (click my member name to view my profile)