In 2007, I turned 13. For my birthday, a close friend gave me a copy of All Time Low’s album, So Wrong It’s Right even though I had never listened to them, because she thought that I may like them. Listening to this album and becoming a fan of All Time Low has brought me some great experiences and even better friends over the past eight years. Unfortunately, it also took eight years for me to finally meet the four men that create the music I hold so dear.
All Time Low, like many other artists, have their own fan club that gives special perks to its members. I have been a member of The Hustler Club (named after their song “The Girl’s A Straight Up Hustler”) since 2011. The main perk of being a Hustler is that you are given pre-sale access to concert tickets, which mean that we get to buy our tickets before they go on sale to the general public. These Hustler-only tickets also come with the opportunity to gain access to the pre-show Meet and Greet event, along with early entry into the venue. All Time Low does not sell Meet and Greet or Early Entry tickets on their own; they are a bonus that is given to the first 100 or so people who purchase tickets, depending on the size of the venue. The first (approximately) 50 Hustlers to purchase pre-sale tickets are given meet and greet, while the next 50 are given early entry. To get one or the other, you have to be fast, and even ordering your tickets in under a minute (which I have done multiple times) does not guarantee you a spot on either list.
So you can imagine my surprise when my friend who bought my ticket to the show texted me saying “Guess who is meeting A.T.L. next month.” I read this text while eating at the Rams Den Grille and immediately called her with tears forming in my eyes. Everyone around me was probably incredibly confused by my sobbing but I was too happy to hold back.
Two days before the show, I received an email from The Hustler Club with instructions for the meet and greet. Of course they write it in a way that is supposed to be informative and straight forward in order to avoid unnecessary questions, but reading it made me nervous. What if we showed up late, would they let us in? What if someone decides not to pay attention to the email and starts FaceTiming their friend and I miss my chance to take a selfie with one of the boys? I was convinced that I was going to make a fool of myself in front of them. What if one of them is in a bad mood that day, or what if they end up being super rude? I was afraid that something would happen that would completely ruin the band for me and I would no longer want to be a fan.
The nerves stuck with me until the day of the show when I was too excited to be nervous. Due to traffic, we made it to the venue with literally eight minutes to spare. We got in the meet and greet line and checked in, and they let us inside after a very intense security check. We waited inside for a few minutes before security began scanning our tickets and we were finally led to the floor of the arena to meet the band.
After what felt like ages (it was really only 15 minutes at most) the band walked out to the floor and we began lining up to meet each of them. I was much calmer that I thought I was going to be – I kept saying out loud, “They are actual people! They are real humans!” I could not believe that they were standing in front of me and I was getting to talk to them.
Other people had met them before or had things to ask or tell them, but I was too star struck to think. All I managed to do was ask them to sign my ticket and take a selfie with me. I nearly died when Alex, the lead singer, said “thanks, love!” as I walked away. I somehow managed not to embarrass myself for 45 minutes, which may be a personal record. The meet and greet was not at all what I expected. It was a lot more laid back and relaxed than others that I had been to; no one was rushed away and we were allowed to have an actual conversation with each of the members. They seemed exhausted from traveling but they greeted every single fan (and their moms) with huge smiles and plenty of hugs. I was relieved that no one was rude, which I had heard happens often with other bands for various reasons. They were so polite and patient with every single fan.
People always say that you should not meet your heroes, but I am so glad that I did. All Time Low has been so important in my life; I have met some amazing people because of them and have had some of the best nights of my life at their shows. It was great to have 45 minutes with them to just thank them for making me happy with their music. Now that I have met them, I will not have to try so hard during next pre-sale to get meet and greet. But I probably will anyway.