Meet & Greets... the good the bad and the ugly

The Meet and Greet. It's the ultimate access to your favourite band or singer. If only for a brief moment you have an audience with someone who has soundtracked your life. I see why it's such a big deal. This post is timely personally for two reasons. First of all as I have mentioned in several posts here at Norris Approved I will be seeing hard rock band Fozzy in under two weeks and have shelled out for the VIP experience. What really drove me to put this piece together is reports of a Demi Lovato fan speaking out about the shoddy VIP experience they received.

Josh Helfgott whose Instagram post has gone viral since his VIP experience says it so much better than I can. Here are his thoughts on Demi Lovato's attitude during the meet and greet:

Dear @ddlovato , Thanks for taking the time to meet me and my friend Carissa in Seattle. Thanks for not looking us in the eye, asking our names, or saying two words to us. Thank your team for forcing the 15 year old girl, who traveled alone to meet you, to squeeze on the side of another group’s picture. And thanks for keeping your jacket on for photos while your team collected the wet jackets of fans who waited in the rain to meet you. Sorry I am being passive aggressive. I’m angry. I’m angry because I assumed you were in a big hurry - that’s the only reason you would pay no attention to all of your fans, even though we all spent a lot of time waiting to meet you. I even flew across the country. You had to be in a hurry, scrunching 200 fans into 15 minutes. There’s no way, I figured. But as I walked out of the room, I saw you slam your head back against the wall in relief - we were your last picture. Meeting your fans was over. You didn’t run out - you stood there. This isn’t my first meet and greet. I’ve waited in the rain and snow many times for rushed moments and quick pictures. Kelly Clarkson’s was rushed, same style as yours - run us through a line for photos - but she asked for our names and even asked to wear my “Work Bitch” (Britney!) hat in the photo. It took 5 seconds, I was happy. Britney Spears did group photos, same as you. She even surprised us with that fact, same as you. But when my group went in to meet her, it wasn’t a photo. It was a meeting. She spent 10 minutes with our group, she heard all our stories, told us her own, and gave us M&Ms. And I’m not even going to bring up Taylor Swift because that’s going to take us into unrealistic territory, People have bad days, but you didn’t seem to be having one. It’s not fair for me to say. You could’ve been tired. I know I was. As I watched you perform about two hours later at the radio station’s concert, I felt angry at myself. You were in a great mood - greeting the crowd, covering Adele’s new song, and thanking radio for playing your songs. I just wanted you to thank your fans. Disappointed, Josh #demilovato #demi #kissfmfallball #taylorswift #britneyspears #meetandgreet

A photo posted by Josh Helfgott (@joshhelfgott) on Nov 19, 2015 at 8:04pm PST

As you can see Josh has really been affected by his experience. Kudos on him for calling Demi out on her behaviour. I don't know how much he spent but judging from the cost of equivalent VIP tickets for other artists I'm assuming we're at least around the $400 mark. I wasn't there so it's not my place to question Demi on any of her actions that day but it certainly seems damning.

What's sad is that that isn't the only instance I've heard of of artists being blase or downright rude to people who have spent hundreds to meet their idols. A good friend of mine has a similar story from when she met one of her all time favourite bands but that is her story to tell. My point being that it seems that some musical acts take money from their biggest die hard fans and can't even feign that they want to be there. A brief Google search will give you multiple examples of Justin 'Douchebag' Bieber being rude to fans who've spent loads of their hard earned money to meet him.

Then of course there's Avril Lavigne...

Of course we all know that getting a photo with a celebrity means 'just in the vicinity' or 'an arm's length away' from them. 

So what's my point? Well I guess I just feel bad for people who spend so much money only to be sorely disappointed. "But Mike!" I hear you cry. "You just told us you bought VIP tickets for Fozzy!" That's right. I have indeed. So do I think it will be different. I certainly hope so and if previous VIPer's experiences are to go by I have a feeling it will be a truly memorable night!

A quick Google of VIP packages will show you that fans can expect to pay anything from £200 right up to thousands of pounds! Fozzy's VIP package has only cost me approximately £65 a ticket! Now bear in mind that their lead singer Chris Jericho is one of the most recognised and popular pro wrestlers on the planet and already we're talking great value. However this isn't a normal meet and greet by the sounds of things. Oh no. When I initially bought the tickets for me and my good friend Phil, I was buying access to the band's soundcheck, first dibs to the merch stand, a photo with the group and autographs. I've since received an email telling me that there is now going to be a Q&A with the band before the show. Oh and that 'soundcheck' I mentioned. Imagine going to see one your favourite bands do their soundcheck and this happening...

Hamburg Private Show
FOZZY VIP's get a private show where they select the songs. Not everyone gets to front the band, but this VIP in Hamburg did! Don't miss your chance to hang out with us! Upgrade to VIP here NOW: http://bit.ly/1ENEVwy
Posted by Fozzy on Wednesday, 18 November 2015

So yes. 'Holy' and 'Shit' are the words I believe you're looking for. Am I boasting a bit? Yeah I guess I am. Am I excited? Absolutely! Fozzy are a great band. They may not be performing at the MTV Awards but they sure as hell know how to look after their fans. Maybe Demi Lovato should check out Fozzy's Facebook page.

Until next time I'm out. Feel free to share this about or comment below or @NorrisApproved3