When I met Bret...

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:#aziz#: :;
D: :#aziz#: [/align:1ssgq0rt]

Talk about the first time or all the times you've met Bret here! :#aziz#: While there are plenty of stories of flighty encounters posted throughout the What Goes On Tour threads, this is thread to help collect all those wonderful moments in one convenient place. :#love3#: If you met both at the same time, (lucky you! :#rasp#: ) feel free to post the story in here and in the [url="
When I met Jemaine..."
][/url] thread.



To get things started...

When I met Bret I was outside The Joint venue in Vegas 2009. I had just said farewell to the flighties I met that night, and my mom and I stayed a bit longer to see if Bret would come out. It was getting late, maybe one or two in the morning at that point, but it we waited maybe 15 minutes and Bret walked over to us and a couple other fans there. I was socially functional, but only slightly. I asked for an autograph and a picture. I tried to strike up a conversation, but I don't think it went too far. :#haha#: I told him I was there for my birthday and I remember him saying he was inside gambling. He was so sweet and easy going. After he met with other fans and began walking to the bus, we all said bye and he wished me a happy birthday. :#love3#: I was ecstatic and immediately called Sheila right after. :;
D:


I have several more stories to share, but now it's your turn! :;
D: Embrace the nostalgia!

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:#bret#: :#blowkiss#: [/align:1ssgq0rt]

Aww, great thread! I always enjoy reading people’s encounters even though I may have read them before. Love that macro. :#rofl#: Okay so here’s an account of when I met Bret:

I first met Bret after the Birmingham May 10th 2010 show (my first FOTC live show! :#buttrock#: ). I was waiting outside a multi-storey car park for a possible M&
G with Courtney (onlyalways), Sara (luckym) and Sarah (sargifster). We saw a tinted van drive past and I caught a glimpse of Nigel in there so I was pretty sure they were all in there. Just when I thought there probably wasn’t going to be a M&
G, the van pulled over and out came Bret &
Jemaine.

Bret practically jumped out of the van and rushed towards us! He was in quite an outgoing and hyperactive mood! Initially there were about 7 of us but a few other fans were waiting elsewhere and came shortly so he said to us “Are you the 7 people who enjoyed the show?” :#haha#: As he was talking and receiving gifts from Courtney and Sara, he glanced over at me on a couple of occasions :#loveeyes#: (once when I was trying to take a ‘natural’ shot of him :#haha#: ). It’s a little bit of a blur but the next thing I know, a crowd starting forming around him so people could get their posters signed so I held out my poster and he signed it (complete with the flying guitar :#love3#: ) and I just remember being in awe that I was right next to him. :#cloud9#: He couldn’t have been any nicer towards us, smiling at everyone and appreciating all the attention he was getting.




After meeting Jemaine, I went back to Bret with Courtney to get a picture on her camera. He wasn’t with anyone so I asked if I could get a picture with him and he said “Sure” and we stood quite close to each other with his arm around my waist. The first pic came out blurry so Courtney said she’ll take another. That’s when he suggested, with his mouth close to my ear, “You can put both arms around me if you want”. :#inlove#: I had butterflies in my stomach. I wasn’t expecting that but he definitely read my mind cos I wanted a hug pic but for some reason I was too shy to ask for one. So I put both of my arms around him, he did the same, pulled me in and gave me a good squeeze for the picture. :#cloud9#: I thanked him and that was the end of our encounter.



I had a second encounter with Bret in London which I’ll post soon.

I met Jemaine in May of 2009 but I wasn't lucky enough to meet Bret until the following May, after their gig in Berkeley. I don't really know what to tell about it as it just lasted a few minutes. He literally ran over to those of us standing behind this fence and it was pretty quickly that he came over to me. I found him much easier to talk to than Jemaine, not saying Jemaine is hard to talk to but my feelings for Bret are different so maybe that's why? :#lol#: :#shrug#: I admire him a lot too but it's just different for Jemaine. Bret and I didn't really talk about much because like I said there wasn't really time as he needed to get to the airport to catch a flight. He was nice enough to listen to me give him compliments on the show and thank me. I had enough balls to ask HIM for a hug :#lol#: and it was a really nice, full on hug too. I don't think Bret plays around when he gives hugs. :#love3#: After that I asked him if he would sign my poster and he did, then I asked for a photo and he was so kind to say yes even though he was in such a hurry. It was funny because hellomyfriend said she would be my photographer that night but she had never met Bret before (in case you don't know her, Bret is to her what Jemaine is to me :#lol#: ) so when it came time for her to take our photo she sort of forgot how to use her camera. :#lol#: Bret and I were standing there with our arms around each other for quite some time waiting for the photo and I can't quite remember what he said but something like "
This is a long photo"
and I said "
Oh, I don't mind"
:;
D: I have no idea if hellomyfriend ever got a picture of Bret and I but luckily onlyalways and chrissycubana both did. :#love3#: :#love3#: I thanked Bret for everything and he was off to talk to other fans before being whisked away by the tour manager. I actually really hope to meet both of them again, under less hectic circumstances... it would be really nice to be relaxed and maybe even have a conversation.

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:#heart#: :#heart#: :#cloud9#: :#heart#: :#heart#: [/align:2ui6rb64]

When I met Bret...I was a Jemainiac.

A dark, misty night in Chicago...2009. My first FotC show. Bret came out first and to my amazement, the man was drop dead gorgeous! I honestly hadn't noticed until that moment. :#haha#: He was so very different than what I had imagined him to be, both of them really, but most especially Bret. We chatted a bit, he noticed my shirt, he signed a million things for us, and chatted some more. At some point he went to the bus and brought back a fruit tray and walked around happily serving strawberries and such to our cozy little group. It was a very casual and relaxed atmosphere, and the meet and greet lingered on possibly due to a reporter/photographer that was there. Bret couldn't have been any more gregarious, kind, calm and yet so animated, enthusiastic and generally quite amusing. My heart was stolen that night, though I didn't know it at the time. :#love3#:

When I met Bret...I was a spaz. I couldn't believe it was actually happening, and the anticipation of watching him go from person to person and realizing we were next. I nearly died. Once he came to our group, the first thing I did was squeal (outloud) and full on hugged him. :#blush#: I couldn't stop talking and neither could he, so we continuously inturrupted each other or spoke at the same time. :#blush#: I said so many silly things, but he was so charming and indulgent that I was soon put totally at ease.

When I met Bret...I went home and began to discover Bret. Getting just that tiny, close up glimpse of him as a real person (not the HBO character Bret) was so intriguing that I had to see what he was all about. I learned about all of his many talents and accomplishments and my admiration grew and grew. Now it seems that I will never get to the end of his abilities or my adoration. :#loveeyes#:

I didn't have the pleasure of meeting Bret along the tour this year, though I love hearing everyone's accounts and seeing the wonderful photos! :#excited2#: Thanks for sharing both.

I feel so fortunate (and a bit loony) to have been there when both you guys got to meet Bret. :#love3#: :#glomp#: :#glomp#:

Venus wrote:

Adorable. :#heart#: (And spot the Jemaine! :#rasp#: )

Amily wrote:

:#heart#: :#fit#: :#heart#: :#fit#: :#heart#:

nonchalant obsession wrote:When I met Bret...I was a Jemainiac.

A dark, misty night in Chicago...2009. My first FotC show. Bret came out first and to my amazement, the man was drop dead gorgeous! I honestly hadn't noticed until that moment. :#haha#: He was so very different than what I had imagined him to be, both of them really, but most especially Bret. We chatted a bit, he noticed my shirt, he signed a million things for us, and chatted some more. At some point he went to the bus and brought back a fruit tray and walked around happily serving strawberries and such to our cozy little group. It was a very casual and relaxed atmosphere, and the meet and greet lingered on possibly due to a reporter/photographer that was there. Bret couldn't have been any more gregarious, kind, calm and yet so animated, enthusiastic and generally quite amusing. My heart was stolen that night, though I didn't know it at the time. :#love3#:

When I met Bret...I was a spaz. I couldn't believe it was actually happening, and the anticipation of watching him go from person to person and realizing we were next. I nearly died. Once he came to our group, the first thing I did was squeal (outloud) and full on hugged him. :#blush#: I couldn't stop talking and neither could he, so we continuously inturrupted each other or spoke at the same time. :#blush#: I said so many silly things, but he was so charming and indulgent that I was soon put totally at ease.

When I met Bret...I went home and began to discover Bret. Getting just that tiny, close up glimpse of him as a real person (not the HBO character Bret) was so intriguing that I had to see what he was all about. I learned about all of his many talents and accomplishments and my admiration grew and grew. Now it seems that I will never get to the end of his abilities or my adoration. :#loveeyes#:

I didn't have the pleasure of meeting Bret along the tour this year, though I love hearing everyone's accounts and seeing the wonderful photos! :#excited2#: Thanks for sharing both.

This is the first I've read this! :#aziz#: I had heard about how Bret brought out a fruit tray for the fans after one of the shows last year. The mental image is so sweet and hysterical. That's awesome that you were there. And thats so cute that you guys got along so well that you were nearly talking over each other. :#lol#: :#heart#:

Amily wrote:I don't think Bret plays around when he gives hugs. :#love3#:

He certainly doesn't! :#inlove#:

I actually really hope to meet both of them again, under less hectic circumstances... it would be really nice to be relaxed and maybe even have a conversation.

Ditto that! Birmingham seemed more hectic compared to when I met them in London. I would love to have a proper relaxed conversation with both of them but I wonder if I'd ever feel fully relaxed with either of them. :#lol#: I was a bit nervous but wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be around them though.

Love your pics, Ami! :#love3#:

nonchalant obsession wrote:Bret couldn't have been any more gregarious, kind, calm and yet so animated, enthusiastic and generally quite amusing.

Agreed!

I couldn't stop talking and neither could he, so we continuously inturrupted each other or spoke at the same time.

Cute! :#love3#:

onlyalways wrote: Adorable. :#heart#: (And spot the Jemaine! :#rasp#: )

Yes, I love that Jemaine is in the background of that pic all thanks to you! :#glomp#: I absolutely LOVED the way Bret was towards you in Birmingham too! Both of you were so cute together! :#love3#: :#love3#:

Venus wrote:

Amily wrote:I don't think Bret plays around when he gives hugs. :#love3#:

He certainly doesn't! :#inlove#:

:#happyyes#: :#inlove#: :#inlove#:

Venus wrote:

onlyalways wrote: Adorable. :#heart#: (And spot the Jemaine! :#rasp#: )

Yes, I love that Jemaine is in the background of that pic all thanks to you! :#glomp#: I absolutely LOVED the way Bret was towards you in Birmingham too! Both of you were so cute together! :#love3#: :#love3#:

Awww! :#blush#:

When I met Bret in Birmingham... he was SUCH a sweetheart. :#ded#: (Well still is. :;
): ) Like Vesna said, after the show we were waiting and he came out of a van that looked like it was going to pass us and go on its way, but it stopped! Bret ran to us and made this gesture like, "
Hey! It's me!"
:#rofl#: I believe we all had a face that was a combination of :#aziz#: and . After a few seconds of all of us in shock, Bret said something like "
Well come on!"
to snap us out of it and gave me a hug. XD :#wah#:

Then I think he asked "
So, what do you want me to sign?"
He seemed SO jumpy and excited. Sara (luckym) and I finally got it together and gave him a tshirt we bought him in London. We gave him the bag, and he was about to look inside, then suddenly closed it and asked "
Do you want me to open it??"
:#lol#: :#love3#: We said something along the lines of "
Yes! Please!"
He immediately opened the bag and took out the shirt.

"
Did you get this at Top Man?"

"
Uh, we got it at Top Shop?"
(I had never heard of the store before the trip. I wish we had them here!)
"
Yea, yea"
Then I think he said that it was the same store. He then said that he had seen the shirt at Top Man I think a few days prior and remembering that he liked it. If my memory is serving correctly, he had this almost quizzical look in his eyes but with a small smile as he looked at it. :#love3#:

Things definitely got blurry after that, more people came and I began jumping from Conchord to Conchord to Eugene. :#haha#: We then got him to sign our posters with the flying guitars. And after I took Vesna's picture with him I asked for a picture with Bret and he also gave me a picture hug. :#heart#:



Is that everything? :#lol#: *looks to Vesna, Sara, and Sarah (sargifster)* Bret was just beyond lovely, doing whatever he could for the fans there.

onlyalways wrote:Bret ran to us and made this gesture like, "
Hey! It's me!"
:#rofl#: I believe we all had a face that was a combination of :#aziz#: and . After a few seconds of all of us in shock, Bret said something like "
Well come on!"
to snap us out of it and gave me a hug. XD :#wah#:

Haha, I remember those few seconds when we all just stood there in a state of shock. :#lol#: Loved it when Bret spontaneously hugged you! :#love3#:

Things definitely got blurry after that, more people came and I began jumping from Conchord to Conchord to Eugene. :#haha#: We then got him to sign our posters with the flying guitars.

I know there are some blurry bits during that encounter and I remember going back and forth too to get my poster signed and then take pictures and then meet Eugene. :#haha#: It was probably due to the fact that more people who were waiting elsewhere came over and things started to get more hectic.

Is that everything? :#lol#: *looks to Vesna, Sara, and Sarah (sargifster)* Bret was just beyond lovely, doing whatever he could for the fans there.

That's all I remember! :#thumbsup#:

nonchalant obsession wrote:When I met Bret...I was a Jemainiac.

I had no idea! This was the case for Sheila also. :#aziz#:

Casey (aka Sally here) was at that show (she was the one that gave them the decorated ukes), so it's interesting to hear about that meet and greet from another perspective. Bret feeding fans is so adorable. :#bret#: :#blowkiss#:

Thanks for sharing! :#glomp#: Well, everyone...I just hadn't heard Nonch's account.

nonchalant obsession wrote: At some point he went to the bus and brought back a fruit tray and walked around happily serving strawberries and such to our cozy little group. It was a very casual and relaxed atmosphere, and the meet and greet lingered on possibly due to a reporter/photographer that was there.

YES!
This was a glorious night!!! I remember him calling it "
fruit snacks."
Adorable.

The first time I met Bret, it was very briefly outside of the Chicago theater in the alley, 2008. He was charming, of course, but the meeting was so brief that, when I told him two nights later at another gig that I'd gotten his autograph in Chicago, he apologized for being in "
such a hurry"
and spent a good 10-15 minutes chatting my friend Jessie and me. He even shouted across a parking lot for us to have a safe road trip back home! (Which was 6 hours there and back,by the way. In one day. He was very, very impressed :;
): )

I remember that night so clearly. As evidenced by my detailed account in the Jemaine thread.

Bret was the first that I got to, and it didn't take too long considering the amount of people all competing for his attention. I was so nervous, and worried that I'd find some way to make an ass out of myself. I already have a hard time with strangers as it is, and I was completely star-struck as well so it was twice as bad.

I've never really been attracted to Bret;
I prefer big, really manly men, rather than skinny guys. But when he smiled and looked me in the eyes, I nearly melted into a puddle on the sidewalk. He's got a really warm, friendly look about him, and he immediately puts you at ease. I was comfortable the second he spoke to me. I had his sign a little poster I'd made for my friend Melissa, and he wrote a little note on it. She's got it framed. Somewhere.

I forgot to get him to sign my poster, so after I was done with Jemaine, I made my way back over to Bret and got his autograph. What a sweet guy.



He gives great hugs, too.

I met Bret on May 11th in Manchester.

I met up with Rachel from wtf! at the hostel we were staying in. We walked down to the venue at about 3pm with the intention of just having plenty of time to find the place. It was only 15 minutes down the road! Luckily it was dry so we just chilled out on the grass for a while.

Rachel

There wasn't anyone else around apart from the guy standing by the railings. He seemed to be a bit agitated;
constantly walking back and forth, kicking the ground and stretching himself on the railings.
After about 20 minutes we heard music coming from inside the venue. The guy had run over to the side door so we thought we would take a nose as well. We got chatting and he said he had been there since 2pm. More people started to show up, about 20 or so. While I was talking to the guy he suddenly exclaimed "
Here we go!"
and bounded off down to the stage door. A people carrier had come around the corner, stopped and out popped Bret :#excited#:
Myself and Rachel joined the circle of people who had grouped by the car. We waited while one big group of fans got a load of pictures with him. I happened to be standing behind him when he turned around to us. One of us said hi first, can't remember who, and I had my Video Kid album sleeve ready and asked him to sign it. He said "
Video Kid. Wow, this is really rear (rare :;
D: )"
. As he was signing it I tried to say "
Really? I'm surprised it's rare. It's one of my favourite albums. More people should own it"
, but it came out like "
Oh, I love it it's brilliant everyone should have it I love it it's brilliant it's one of my favourite albums everyone should have it I love it"
( :#banghead#: ). He looked at me and smiled while I went on :#cloud9#:



Rachel then asked if she could get a picture with him. She gave me her phone for me to take it on but if I can recall correctly I said I would take it on my camera so there was no chance of me messing it up not knowing how to use her phone properly and then I would send it to her. I remember Bret agreeing that was a good idea.



After I took it Rachel said thank you and he said no worries and turned away from us. I didn't want to press for a picture as I gotten an autograph. I was looking down at the album sleeve when he turned back to me and asked "
Did you get one? Did you get a picture?"
I was a little dumbfounded. One of my idols was making sure I got a picture with him :#cloud9#: I replied with something like "
Um, yeah can I?!"
:#bret#: : "
Yeah sure"
. I asked Rachel if she would take it. He put his arm right round me :#hug#: and I asked if he would mind doing the crazy Horses gang sign.



I love the fact that I love the picture, as oppose to the picture I got with Jemaine (not the one where we're both laughing at something, love that one). I thanked him and he gave one of those smiles that I call the "
Pretty Cool"
smile (from New Zealand Town) and said "
No worries"


Jemaine was hanging back a bit but we went over to see if Rachel could get a picture. After I took the picture I said that I had had seen them in Dublin the week before and I was the one with the Crazy Horses t-shirt. He laughed and said "
Oh yis, I remember"
. They're tour manager said that they had to go in and off they went.

They did a M&
G after the gig. I hung back during most of it as I already had my pics. As it started dying down I went up to Jemaine to get my Folk the World album sleeve signed. As I walked up he gave me a searching look and said "
You again?"
, and I said "
Yeah the Crazy Horses girl!"
. He laughed again and I asked him if he would sign the sleeve.



I suddenly remembered the question I had been wanting to ask Bret since Dublin: What is the DJz Girlfriend?! Is she an outerzone, amazon, asshole (hardly the last one but you never know)?
I stood over by Bret's side of the barrier. The tour manager said that they were only going to do the last few people then they were going to have to go. I asked her if I could just ask a question. She said "
Yeah sure"
and she thought I meant I wanted to ask her a question. I said "
oh, no sorry. I meant...."
and kind of trailed off. I felt really bad then and I wish I had just asked her something like, was she enjoying the tour herself or had she seen much of Manchester? :#banghead#:
Just as Bret was walking out from the barrier I went up and said "
Could I just ask you a quick question about one of your songs?"
and he said "
Yeah sure"
.
"
Your song DJz Girlfriend on the Video Kid album, what is the DJz girlfriend?"

*bemused look* "
What?!"

"
Well, the lyric goes "
DJzgirlfriendeverybodyknowsthattheDjzGirlfriendisa"
, is it outerzone, amazon.."
(I had to stop myself from saying the last one, lest I offend him!)

Taken by minilea
[size=85:3ybzit9a]I'm pretty sure this was taken while I was listing off the possible lyrics as I remember counting them off on my fingers. I still have my Folk the World sleeve in my hand.

Bret started singing it under his breath "
I'm sorry I just can't remember"

"
Ok no bother. Thank you anyway"

I turned to cross the road to where Rachel and the others were waiting, but they were pointing towards the van and telling me to look. Bret was shouting "
Outerzone! It's Outerzone"

Me: "
Is it? Thank you!"
:#cloud9#: :#love3#: :#thud#:

And sin sin (that's that) as we say in Ireland.

Aww he's so sweet with fans :#love3#:
I really hope they tour the UK again so I can maybe get a chance of meeting him, if I meet him and I'm with any of you guys I'll probably just [s:93yb5bcw]throw my camera at one of you[/s:93yb5bcw] hand one of you my camera and ask for pics

Thanks for sharing your experience and photos, Aimée! :#aziz#: I hope Nik (hellomyfriend) sees it someday because I know that lyric was driving her nuts! :#lol#: That's awesome that that's finally been resolved. :#woo#:

All these stories just make me say what I always wanna say when I think about Bret...

Awwwwwwwww Bret! :#love3#:

That's funny he forgot the lyrics though I'm not surprised. :#haha#: :#bret#: :#blowkiss#:

That's all so amazing! :#love3#:

kipples wrote:[size=150:2xnq1759]I turned to cross the road to wear Rachel and the others were waiting, but they were pointing towards the van and telling me to look. Bret was shouting "
Outerzone! It's Outerzone"

:#rofl#: :#rofl#: :#rofl#: :#rofl#: :#rofl#:

I love his charisma.

And I'm so happy you asked!

Amily wrote:That's funny he forgot the lyrics though I'm not surprised. :#haha#: :#bret#: :#blowkiss#:

Typical. :8-):


:;
): :#love3#: :#love3#: :#love3#: