LUCKY FAN MEETS DIERKS IN VEGAS

Alacia represents Utah in our DBC mission to make and keep Dierks Bentley #1! She won General Admission tickets for the free Verizon show in Las Vegas on Friday night, February 26 via the DB Fan Club, but not Meet & Greet passes. Little did she know, she was about to get lucky! Verizon emailed me and asked me to get the word out about the Free show (which I was happy to do) and for people to enter via @vcastmusic on Twitter. They offered a pair of passes to meet Dierks, and lucky Alacia was the first to respond to me via Twitter! Here's her story:

First off I want to thank Ronna and the DB Congress for giving me this amazing opportunity. Friday night was amazing!!!

I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it. I was first on the waiting list to even get general admission tickets. Then someone else declined their tickets and I was in. I was so happy I was dancing at work! Then through Twitter I won VIP Passes. Thank you Ronna. Then all my wildest Dreams came true. I was on my way to Vegas to see my favorite artist--life couldn't be better.

While I was on my way I realized my paycheck hadn't came through, so I had $180 bucks to go to Vegas on, which is just enough for me! While I was driving I thought about Dierks' song, "Can't Live It Down," and how it fit perfectly to my life right now.

"There's times I've wasted money 'cause I know that I can always make more cash, but wasted time is something man, when its gone you can't get it back"

I knew I couldn't waste this opportunity to see Dierks.

When we (me and my friend Kenzie) got to Aliante Hotel and Casino, everyone was super nice. The Verizon people were great to work with. We picked up our VIP passes, and were brought into the venue an hour before General Admission. It was great! We all got our own booths, and we had time to get a drink and prepare ourselves to meet the man of the evening.

We had our Meet & Greet and I decided to go to the back of the line so hopefully I could have a little more time with Dierks. I asked how his plane trip was and if he survived the trip with the sick guy behind him , and if his mouth still tasted like an ashtray from wrapping the sweat shirt around his face from the Jamey Johnson concert. That picture on Twitter was priceless. He then said that he thought the guy had sars or something and we laughed.

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SIDEBAR: Here's the pic and posts Alacia refers to from Dierks on Twitter 2/26/10:

"should i breathe what the crazy sick dude behind me is hacking out or the smoke on my sweatshirt from @jameyjohnson show last night?"

"went with sweatshirt...for four and a half hours. feel like I swallowed an ashtray."


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Verizon took our photos for us and put them in a neat frame, it was great. Dierks did have a little cough at the Meet & Greet but it did not effect his voice at all that night he sounded great!

Right after the meet and greet we decided to opt out of sitting in our booth and headed straight for the stage--we were front and center. The best seats I have ever had for a Dierks Show. He started out the night with "Sideways," a crowd favorite. He proceeded to play all the hits. He even played "Little Heartwrecker" which I had never heard live before so it was great. He twirled my friend Kenzie around singing, "How Am I Doing" and she was on cloud 9. I am pretty sure he made a huge fan out of her and she will be signing up for the fan club now.

My highlight of the show was during "What Was I Thinkin'," when he put the mic in my face and I got to sing it with him. I was so so so so happy :) He ended the night with Last Call and Folsom. He even made a joke about how Robbie was wearing Black in honor of Johnny Cash and he usually wears very colorful outfits.


After the show he signed for almost everyone at the stage. He went above and beyond for his fans which isn't unusual :) He is so great to us fans.

Another highlight was meeting other members of DB Congress. I finally met Smiling29 who is Marci (photo below), she is such a sweetheart and Breckinridgegirl--she is a hoot.

Thanks again to the DB Congress and Dierks for making this a night I will never forget. It was Awesome!

DIERKS BENTLEY IN DAYTONA BEACH

Although Dierks Bentley in Daytona Beach was a free show, it came with a price. Verizon sponsored the event at the V-Lounge--(how appropriate for V-Day weekend), which is normally a "right-on-the-beach" stage behind The Ocean Deck Bar and Grill. But the weather wanted no part of cooperating, and it raised it's ugly gusts up to 40mph, rained relentlessly, and brought with it a chill to the air.

Driving 4 hours from Tampa (normally only 2.5) in the pouring down rain, wrapped up in the warmth of my Dierks Bentley hoodie, and thanking the hubby every hour for doing the driving, all I could hear in my head was DB singing, You Hold Me Together from the Feel That Fire album:

"By now I should've been broken,
On the rocks that rise from life's ocean,
Just another ship lost at sea
By now I should've been scattered
In the wind of my lonesome travels
Like a thousand dandelion seeds
And I should've come unraveled
At the seams like a well worn sweater
But you hold me together"

I knew it wasn't likely D would sing my favorite FTF song that night, but the surrounding images screamed these lyrics to me!

We arrived around 3 pm and scoped out the place. We talked to The Ocean Deck and Verizon staffers and everyone was giving us a different version of what the plans were. Food was good, but no tables, so we shared with another couple--Betty and Warren from IL. Big NASCAR fans! The girls from Verizon posed for a pic:


Winning VIP passes and Meet & Greets via the DB Fan Club was supposed to get us special seating by the stage in addition to the M&G. But due to the weather and high tide, the event got moved in doors--and all hopes of VIP seating were dashed! Not that anyone can control Mother Nature. We found out that Dierks actually made the decision to move it indoors for safety reasons.

First in line for the Meet & Greet--that is a first! Usually I'm last, but with 100 behind us, we wanted to try to get in to the VIP area! Can't you just hear Ricky Bobby saying, "If ya ain't first, yer last!" Brittany and Chris told us there was a photographer to take pics and they would print them for us by night's end. Could not use our own camera, and no autographs.

I brought my copy of the 2009 DB Congress yearbook I made and sent to him since I didn't know if he had received the original. He said he had, but would love a second copy and that he really liked it. So I gave it to him along with a letter for him and one for Tim. Took a pic with hubby and me and time to move on. Shortest M&G ever. Just as well, since we wanted to make our way to the VIP area ASAP!


Big mistake on my part thinking we (the DB fan-clubbers) were the "only" VIPs--there were probably 100+ others. And since everyone inside The Ocean Deck had already been there all afternoon, we had to squeeze through a sea of hundreds to get to the make-shift VIP area--which was a pit of sorts.

Normally I love being in the pit for Dierks, but last night was the worst I have ever been in--literally we were all squished in on all four sides. Luckily hubby is taller than me, so he stood behind me and took photos. About 3/4 of the way through the show, the fire marshall came in and offered a choice: Clear the aisles (what aisles?) and go outside to listen to the show via the Verizon tent speakers, or shut down the show. All those who volunteered to go outside got a free drink. Funny thing is, it got WORSE after that up front! What?

While all of that may have been the "price," the show was the reward! Verizon hosted a quick Q&A with the NASCAR Nationwide series drivers #22 Brad Keselowski and birthday boy Justin Allgaier, Verizon's #12, and they both introduced Dierks!


Dierks and the guys kicked it off with hot harmonies on Dixieland Delight! I've never heard them sing this live--what a treat!


The rest of the set list had the party rockin' just right! A few songs in, and Dierks asked the crowd to shout out requests. Everyone wanted Sideways but he said he had to work up to that one..."I gotta BE sideways to sing Sideways!"


Dierks told us how he loved being back performing in the small bar setting, apologized for having to move it inside but that just got him closer to the bar and asked for a shot of...who knows what. That cup was never empty all night and the Bud Lights flowed freely.


Then (not sure of the order), Life on the Run--D changed up the lyrics and since the stage was so small Robbie had no mic, but was definitely singing his "low low low low" part. In fact, Dierks got playful with a lot of lyrics last night. Like on I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes ("If you need a little bit of help from "Steve"...Sorry, Steve, I've never seen you in a vest before!").


As usual, Every Mile a Memory was customized for the locale ("Florida stars...Daytona night). So So Long and How Am I Doin' were dedicated to all the Ex BFs and GFs. Trying To Stop Your Leaving, Little Heartwrecker, Feel That Fire were all sang straight with lots of that Dierks Bentley moxie-grit emotion! With Free and Easy he interjected, "I keep rollin' like Tim's old banjo," and before Lot of Leavin' Left To Do, Dierks had this to say:



Come A Little Closer and Settle For A Slowdown were the only two slow songs besides 'Eyes, but every word and note was perfection!


Covers included Hank Jr.'s Family Tradition--where the crowd went wild...but it was not my favorite vocal from him--sorry dude, what melody was that?

On the flip side, he started out "I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison, and I went to pick her up in the rain..." David Allan Coe would've been proud! After that verse though, he stopped and said "That's not the perfect country song cos it doesn't say anything about Little White Tanks Tops! Then launched into What Was I Thinkin'...more fan participation.


Closing the night with Last Call: "It's not last call but that's the name of this song," Rod rocked it on the electric guitar. But I really wanted to hear the fiddle from the recorded version! Kristi Jo, where were you?


No stage diving/"surfing" and no fans on stage...absolutely no room. All 5 of them had to stay in the same spot all night! Steve only had half drums--not the full set he's used to.

Despite the pushing and shoving and sardine-ness, if I had been front row on the rail, and had elbow and breathing room, it would have been one of the best shows I've ever experienced.

After the singing, Dierks signed a few autographs, hugged Kasey Kahne's mom and left the stage. I tried to get a set list or a pick--no luck. At the last minute Jay called me back; he had found Dierks' Thomas O'Brien, thick, black, 100% cotton,"towel" and gave it to me. If ya ain't first, yer last!


Met Kasey Kahne's mom, Tammy and got a pic. She was so nice!


We then made our way back to the Verizon tent to pick up our M&G photos and I had totally forgotten about the autographed poster and a swag bag with a t-shirt and other goodies! What a cool suprise! Thanks, Verizon!



It was great to see/meet some DB Congress reps (Keesha, Ann, Lissa). The drive back to Tampa was a lot faster than the ride to the beach. Dierks is always worth it.

Next DRT: Orlando, Feb. 27-Universal Studios Mardi Gras!

~Ronna

FAN CLUB VIP WINNERS POSTED TO SEE DIERKS FREE IN DAYTONA

DAYTONA BEACH VIP PASS WINNERS
Posted by morgan on 05 Feb 2010 in Fan Club

Congrats to our ten VERY speedy winners of the VIP passes for February 12 in Daytona Beach! Each of you will receive 1 pair of VIP passes (that's 1 for you and 1 for a friend) to the Verizon VIP Lounge, allowing you to enjoy a prime viewing spot, a meet & greet, professional photo printed on site, a swag bag and more!

For everyone else, we're sorry we can't give you all VIP passes... But you can still go to the show! Follow @vcastmusic (http://twitter.com/vcastmusic) on Twitter to find out how to attend this FREE show in Daytona Beach.

Winners, you will receive an email within the next week with further information about the concert and how to pick up your VIP passes. Enjoy the show!

JenniferLuvsDierks
Bmsox622
Melika05
MindyNMoss_1241041920
cmr221
Bsassy31
Satman
Dierks1FaninSC
RMC2005 (that's me! woo hoo)
elizabethrogan


You can still enter to win via Verizon Vcast Music .

Contest administered by Ocean Deck. No purchase neccessary. Must be 21 years of age or older to enter. One entry per person (multiple submissions will be treated as one.) Individuals who choose to share a link on Facebook when prompted will receive two entries. Winner picked at random and notified on Wednesday, February 10. If winner cannot be contacted by telephone or email, an alternate winner will be chosen.

WIN FREE DIERKS VIP PASSES FOR DAYTONA BEACH FEB. 12TH!

Just got this email at 6:23 pm from the Dierks Bentley Fan Club! Woo Hoo! I entered immediately!

Hey Ronna!

It may be February, but that's not going to stop Dierks from taking a little beach time! We're excited to announce that Dierks will be performing at a FREE concert on February 12 at Daytona Beach's The Ocean Deck, sponsored by Verizon Wireless!

You're probably thinking that it can't get much better than a free Dierks concert. Well, we have some news for you... It can! We have 10 pairs of VIP passes to give away to DB Congress members. What's a VIP pass? Well, VIP passholders get a prime viewing spot, a meet & greet, a professional photo with Dierks that will be printed on site, an autographed poster and a swag bag with a t-shirt and other goodies!

Log in to Dierks.com and visit the FAN CLUB section (located under "Community") to learn how to win!

We'll see you there!
-DB Congress

Good luck to all my Florida DBC friends!

DIERKS TO GO, ON CMT MOBILE

If you have Alltel, AT&T, Sprint or Verizon Wireless as your mobile phone provider, check out the new CMT Mobile When Country Calls channel.

If you have Sprint, for instance, you will need one of Sprint's Power Vision plans. Power Vision is the name of Sprint's network that delivers video and media content. Select Menu > Media Player > Channel Listing > Sprint TV, and select the CMT folder.

CMT Mobile and Sprint bring you the "CMT To Go" experience on your mobile phone with video clips featuring the latest country music videos, news, original shows and content only available for CMT Mobile viewers.

The Mobile Question for Dierks Bentley right now is: What's his ringtone? What photos does he take with his phone? A CMT Mobile exclusive.

If you get it to work (I have Sprint and I cannot find a CMT folder!), please come back here and post the answer in the comments of this blog! Thanks!