New York City was being very kind to a newcomer like me. The Triple Threat Tour made its biggest stop yet, 2 nights at the legendary Madison Square Garden. Man, was I psyched! I got to the arena extra early. I wanted to look at this place that had seen so much history. I took a lot of pictures for myself as the crew setup the stage for that night's show. I had my IPod on and was idly listening to a Rolling Stones live album from 1969. From far across the arena I looked at the staging area and it suddenly hit me; this is where the Stones recorded the album I'm listening to now!
Chuck was on his phone coordinating everything. He called me over as he was ending one call.
"I think it's gonna be extra insane tonight." He said
"Why?"
"I've had a lot of calls from press people trying to confirm if someone's gonna be here." He said as we walked towards the backstage areas.
"And what someone would that be?" I asked, intrigued.
Chuck looked around.
"Britney Spears. Try and restrain yourself." He said calmly.
"No way, really?" I said surprised.
"Oh, yes. I got a call from her people saying she was in town and wanted to meet everyone. I hope the security detail will be enough." He said.
"How would you handle this?" I asked.
"Well, I guess we'll find out tonight won't we?" He said as he walked away.
Showtime came a few hours later.
The backstage area was buzzing with people before the show. I'd gotten quite a welcoming from Jennifer Aniston and I kept my promise to make sure tickets for the show were waiting for her. She was backstage with a friend; she gave me a smile and wave when we spotted one another. Rihanna gladly posed for photos with radio contest winners and members of her fan club. Tigress was their usual flirtatious selves with their fans. Beyonce' had her team in another room. I went out of the main press room for a minute and promptly bumped into 2 enormous men with a tiny blonde in tow.
"Clear the way, move over!" they bellowed as I was pushed aside.
Britney Spears had arrived.
She was ushered into our press room where I could hear people calling her name. I had to get in there and do my job, but the "man-mountains" she had with her blocked my way. I fumbled around for my tour pass while looking for Chuck or anyone from the tour. As I watched through the "man-mountains" the one nearest Britney caught my eye. I looked as best I could at the enormous man near me.
"Zachary?" I said as I caught his eye.
"Yeah?" I heard a deep voice reply
"Zachary Lincoln?" I asked again.
"Yeah? That's my name, how'd you know it?" he sounded a little annoyed at me.
"Z-man?" I said, now recognizing him.
His eyes widened as he recognized me.
"Mister Hollywood, I'll be damned!" he said, now with a big toothy grin.
Zachary "Z-man" Lincoln was an old friend of ours from high school back east. He was a star football player as you'd expect. And he'd been a valuable ally when Chris and I got into a jam or two. When we all graduated he'd gone off to play for one of the Midwest football powerhouses (I couldn't remember which one). And since then I'd lost touch with him. Now I run into him here. He immediately told the others to let me in, just as I'd found my tour pass, what a coincidence.
"What are you doing here, bro?" he asked, offering a massive hand to me.
"Taking pictures for Rihanna and Tigress, just getting paid for it." I said.
Zach was watching the activity closely.
"I need to go to work, I'll be right back." I said.
I immediately snapped off a few shots of Britney with Rhianna and Tigress. She was extremely cute, golden blonde hair, brown eyes and dressed in designer jeans with a vintage Elvis t-shirt. Zach stood close by Britney.
"Hey Britney, how about one with your bodyguard?" I boldly asked.
She laughed and went over to Zach and stood close to him as I snapped off some shots. Zach smiled at me, I know he was thinking back to days gone by. And wondering how he could get revenge on me! The other guards' told Britney it was time to go and she started to leave. Zach handed me a business card.
"Call me at this number in an hour." He said before giving me a wave as the crew left. I looked at the card, wondering what this could mean.
I met up with Chris a few minutes later as we headed to the stage for Tigress' set.
"Guess who's here?" I said.
"Who?" Chris replied.
"The Z-Man. He's working for somebody named Britney." I said.
"Uh-oh! I better hide!" Chris said nervously. "I still owe him money from that Bowl game he played in."
We took up our positions by the stage and went to work as Tigress hit the Madison Square Garden stage. An hour later, it was Rhianna's turn for her set. Once she finished (with an encore of "All Right Now" with the requisite looks in my direction) we returned to the backstage area as Beyonce's team setup her stage. I took this as my opportunity to call Zach's number.
"Hey! Hollywood Jim! Are you gonna be around for Beyonce's show or are you takin' off?" he asked.
"Uh, I'll be around, why?" I asked.
"Cool, come up to the VIP suites, you can watch the show and we can get a beer."
"Great! I'm on my way." I said.
"Bring your hot shot partner while you're at it." He said slyly.
"How'd you know he was with me?" I said, surprised that he knew Chris was with me.
"Hey man, wherever he is, you're sure to be there too." He said with a wiseguy tone.
I couldn't help but laugh.
I somehow convinced Chris to go with me and we headed for the VIP suites high up in the Garden. Zach was there to meet us, it was just like old times again. Zach took us over to a row of luxury seats that looked out onto the stage.
"Britney? I'd like to introduce you to some friends of mine." He said.
Britney stood and shook hands with us as Zach did the introductions.
"Hi guys! Zach tells me you're high school buddies." She said in a bubbly voice.
"Yes, Zach was the star on our football team." I said.
"Oh, did you guys play too?" she asked.
"Uh, no we didn't." I answered.
"You're kidding! You weren't on the team? You look like you could've been." She said to me.
"Well, let's just say that on our team size mattered. And I..."
"He didn't have the size." Zach said.
We all laughed at his bad joke.
"Well, Zach's a good guy, I'm lucky to have somebody like him." She said. "Oh! Showtime!" she said excitedly as the house lights went down.
We all went to the row of seats that looked out on the stage.
"Oh, you sit here, Jim." Britney said, directing me to the seat next to her.
I was a little flattered as I sat next to the lovely Ms. Spears.
"This must be boring for you, since you're working on the tour." She said.
"Actually, this is the first time I've seen the show. We're usually leaving with the other acts when Beyonce' comes on." I said.
Beyonce' hit the stage with her usual flash. I was watching her show closely. After all, she was my boss. But I couldn't help but look at the superstar sitting next to me. Even in the shadows and multi-colored lights, she still looked pretty. She was watching the show as intently as I was. I was really next to Britney Spears. And not by chance, she'd asked me to sit next to her, a place of honor, I suppose. The prettiest girl in school had asked the school geek (i.e. me) to sit next to her in the lunchroom. Like I said, a place of honor. I turned to Chris and he had the same look I did. He seemed to know what was going through my mind.
As the show ended, Britney stood and turned to me;
"It was great meeting you Jim!" she said with that bubbly voice of hers.
