My Stryper Tour

Twin Cities - October 5-10

2009-10-16T18:26:00.003-04:00

Next stop on the tour was the last for Lizz :( We went up to St Paul, MN to visit some friends of ours. Hadn't seen Zach and Heather for quite a while and it was really cool hanging out and catching up with them. Lizz only got to spend one night with them before I had to take her to the airport and bid her farewell. The next couple of days I pretty much just relaxed and hung out except for making a trip out to the Mall of America, the largest mall in the US. Didn't really check it out in great detail, but it seemed pretty large from the bit I saw and it did have a rollercoaster in the middle!

On the 7th was the Stryper concert in Minneapolis. Got there early and was hooked up with a VIP pass for the night :) Since I was there early I could have had a prime spot in front of stage, but instead I decided to take advantage of my VIP pass and head up to the balcony overhead. I also got to hang out with Kelvin from the Stryper Forum who was also a VIP. It was a great show and fun hanging out with Kalvin and his wife. After the concert Kelvin let me hold a bass guitar that was used by Travy Ferrie (Stryper bass guitarist) in a one off concert they did a couple of years back. It was pretty cool.

After another couple of days rest and hanging out with Zach and Heather it was time to move on... Oh and there was snow in St Paul!

Chicago - October 4th

2009-10-16T18:14:00.003-04:00

Another long bus trip to get us back in time for another awesome Stryper concert. We arrived in the afternoon with just enough time for a quick hangout with our friends, one of whom was having her birthday that day. So off we went to the concert, taking our friend Kim with us to experience her first Stryper show. Word on the street is that she loved it. At the show we ran into Ron Braun - the guy who draws the Stryper cartoon pics.

Dayton, Ohio October 3rd

2009-10-16T18:08:00.002-04:00

Another few hours on the road driving back to Dayton and returning the rental car. Covered over 1000kms going Dayton - Knoxville return (via Cincinnati). Done pretty well driving on the right but wrong side off the road even if I do say so myself. Were experienced some excellent hospitality from Mike (from a Stryper forum) and his wife Christiana who drove us around, feed us, and put us up for the night. Couldn't have asked for better hosts! Unfortunately security wouldn't let cameras into the show, so no photos from that night. One other highlight from that night was getting shown inside the tour bus for a quick tour!!!

October 2 Knoxville

2009-10-09T18:22:00.002-04:00

The drive from Cincinnati to Knoxville was fine. Was supposed to take about 4 hours, but we took a detour and went to the Cumberland Falls, billed as the Niagara of the South. It wasn’t anywhere as large or powerful as the Niagara, but it was still a pretty cool waterfall. After that we carried on to Knoxville for the Stryper show. Turns out that there was a major college football game on in town so downtown was very busy, well very busy for a small town. Unfortunately Flight Patterns had some car trouble and they were unable to make it down to open for Stryper, but we still had Manic Drive who are pretty cool as well. At the show I met up with another Stryper forum friend “Stryper Freak” and his family. This was in a theatre so it was designated seating. Quite different from the other shows, but didn’t distract from the enjoyment of the show.

October 1 Creation Museum

2009-10-09T18:17:00.001-04:00

We took an overnight bus to Dayton, Oh picked up a rental car, and drove down to the Creation Museum just outside of Cincinnati, Oh. Had really been looking forward to seeing this since they announced they were building it several years ago. It is basically a museum that tells history accurately using the Bible as the foundation for interpretation. For example fossils are seen as evidence of the global flood in Noah’s day rather than evidence of millions of years of evolution. It was a really good museum and I highly recommend it to all. It had heaps of models, including several animated ones that spoke their story. As you went around the museum it told the story of man from creation through to babel and then to Christ. They also have a petting zoo and botanical gardens.

September 26-30 Chicago

2009-10-09T18:12:00.002-04:00

Whilst the Stryper tour went up to Canada Lizz and I took off to Chicago to catch up with friends from Moody Bible College. We stayed on campus, Lizz with the girls and me in the boys doom. It was quite fun since I have never experienced doom life before. Although we didn’t get to catch up with all our friends which was a shame, it was great to catch up with those whom we did. Chicago is a pretty cool city. Its one of the largest cities in the US but it doesn’t feel like a massive city. As well as catching up with friends we walked all around downtown, the lake front, to the sears tower etc.

September 25 Mt Clemens (Detroit)

2009-10-09T18:05:00.003-04:00

Up and early to travel to Detroit for the next Stryper show. This time we have meet and greet tickets. This will be a chance for Lizz to meet the band in person. Before the show we met up with Joel (another Stryper forum friend) and his buddy. Whilst we waited to go in another couple of forum members came up and said hi which was cool. Once we were inside we were watching the band go through sound check and Tim started talking to me as he recognised me from earlier, then Mike joined in indicating that he remember (parts) of my TV spot. It was so cool to have the band recognise me and talk to me! During the meeting part Lizz got to meet all the band members except for Michael whom wasn’t feeling well. I also gave the member their New Zealand gifts I had brought over but had left at the hotel the other times I met them. The show rocked again of course. Flight Patterns are rocking as well.

September 24 Cleveland

2009-10-09T18:00:00.002-04:00

We didn’t get up to much in Cleveland. Decided to have a bit of a rest after days of walking hours and hours every day. Went to the show, Stryper rocked again of course. At the show caught up with Mike, another friend from one of the Stryper forums and his wife.

September 21-23 Washington DC

2009-10-09T17:48:00.002-04:00

With a couple of days with no shows and then a show that is too hard to get to we decided to head off to Washington DC for some sightseeing. I will be back later in the tour to see Stryper and ACDC here but Lizz will be back home by then and she really wants to see Washington. We ended up arriving late in the evening on the 21st so simply rested up and spent some time planning on where we wanted to go and see over the next couple of days. The next day saw us head out to the Holocaust museum first. It is actually quite a substantial museum and we ended up spending several hours going through the place. It was very moving and sad to think how on earth humanity could have done this. We then walked over to the Washington monument (the tall pointy thing) and the Lincoln memorial. Our next stop was another place to remember the fallen – Arlington Cemetery. This is where JFK and his family are buried and also thousands of war veterans. We saw the Pentagon from inside the cemetery but did not go into it. After all that walking it was time to crawl back to the hostel and get some rest.

The next day we headed over to Capitol Hill. This is where the US Congress sits. This is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. We were able to go into the viewing gallery of both houses and see them in action. We also went on a tour of the old section of the building. Very cool building with exceptional architecture and statues etc. We then went through a tunnel into the Library of Congress. I assumed that this was going to be a library of legal/political books for the politicians to use. Whilst it included that it was a lot more as well. When ever someone submits something for copyright they must submit an extra copy that goes into the Library of Congress. So every item produced books, articles, music etc is in the Library. Also the architecture is awesome and tells a story. After this we went across to the Supreme Court and then up to the White House. Covered the three branches of government in the one day. After that we went back to the hostel to wait until our overnight bus.

September 18-19 New York & New Jersey Shows

2009-10-09T17:44:00.002-04:00

After a bit of sightseeing it was time to head off and meet up with other Stryper fans before the New York show. It was great to meet up with people that we have known for a while through the Stryper forum but not in person. We met at a place just across from where the concert was being held. At the table was Shagg and Becky, Jeff, Deb, Judy, Yaz, Scott, someone whose name escapes me for now, and me and Lizz. After hanging out for a bit we headed over to the concert to get good spots. This was going to be the first time Lizz sees Stryper in person. The show was a blast, the crowd was really into it and everyone had a blast. Lizz really loved her first Stryper show and can’t wait for more.

The next day after a bit of sightseeing we headed over to New Jersey to meet up with Shagg and Becky to travel down to Asbury Park to see the show at the Stone Pony. Luckily I was able to take in my video camera and was able to take some good footage. You can find that on my you tube page. It was another awesome show and once again we had good spots close to the stage. Having such a great time.

New York - Sept 15-21

2009-09-24T16:57:00.003-04:00

New York city, the city that never sleeps. Well for the first couple of days there thats pretty much all I did. Arrived omn Tuesday night with Damian who was about to fly on to Europe. We caught up with another Upper Huttian Peter Ung. Went to an Irish bar for food and drink and relax after a hectic few days on the road. After that went to see GI Joe at the movies. Was an ok movie, story line had more holes that swiss cheese, and I was falling asleep during it, but otherwise it was alright.

All day Wednesday I spend sleeping in and resting, hardly going out of the apartment except to hunt for food (which wasn't hard as McDs was right across the road). Thursday was pretty much the same, but walked a little further at dinner time. But then that night I got to go to the airport and pick up Lizz :) She will be with me for three weeks. Got the subway back at like 1am, and it didn't stop at the station we were expecting it to, so we got to take a long walk through NY in the early hours.

On Friday my friend Aileen and her friend came down to catch up with us and see some of NY. We went to for lunch and then got driven around more of Manhatten seeing the sights. Saturday Lizz and I walked around more of NY, we went through Times Square, up to the "top of the Rock" observation deck. Great views of NY. Went up through Central Park.

Sunday we walked through the lower end of Manhatten. Walked down through SoHo area, across to Ground Zero, the site where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre were located. There is now quite a bit of construction work going on, look forward to seeing what they come up with. Then through the financial district along Wall Street. After that we went on a sunset cruise (although it was already dark!) as we were given tickets by our Boston friends. Great views of Manhatten skyline at night. The cruise went out to the Statue of Liberty which is very impressive up close. Monday was time to pack up and leave New York. We had a fantastic time. Check out the photos by clicking the link on the previous post.

Patriots Football Sept 14

2009-09-17T14:08:00.002-04:00

As much as a fan of Stryper I am, So is Damian of the Patriots. So off we went to see them play the Buffalo Bills. Game starts at 7pm so we headed off as soon as we arrived (2:30) to avoid the traffic, but to no avail. Already traffic is jammed. People get there real early to tailgate. This is where you have a BBQ party in the car park. Hundreds of them going on. We were going to go to the Pats Hall of Fame, but it wasn't open for game day.

Luckily I was able to get a ticket on game day. We entered the staium a couple hours early and were able to go right down sideline and watch the teams go through some warm ups. The star quarterback Tom Brady missed all of last season after getting injured inteh first game last year and so he got a huge ovation when he came out. Time flew by and it was time to take our proper seats. It took me over 15 minutes to walk from the first level all the way up to the nose bleeds where my seat was. Still it had a really good view of the field.

The game itself was pretty cool. When ever I have watched it on TV it seems to go on forever, with the time outs and clock stopping etc so was expecting the same live. Howeber there is always something going on and never any boring bits. In the second half we were featured on the big screen in a commercial they filmed when we waiting to enter the stadium. The Pats played under themselves for 90% of the game and deep into the last quater needed a score to win, but the Bills scored again leaving the Pats to score twice to win with only minutes left. So a section of the crowd picked up and left. However they missed on hang of a come back. Brady engineered two touchdowns and the Pats won. Man the crowd went crazy. Awesome.

Harfort Sept 13

2009-09-17T13:35:00.003-04:00

Time to get moving again. Today Jon is taking me to Hartford to meet up with Damian, a friend from back home who just happened to be in the region so we decided to meet up. Our first impression of Hartford was just what a dump the place was. Maybe it was just the area we were in, but it was very ghetto, not a place I feel I need to return to in a hurry. But we were not there to sight see, we were there for the greatest band in the universe.

We went down as soon as Damian arrived for the meet and greet again. Got there as they were already starting already. They were joking around with the crowd, asking what to play next. Someone yelled out "Shining Star" (not part of the set list) and they played the opening few lines to it which was cool. Then someone asked for The Rock That Makes Me Roll (which is part of their set list) and they made out that they hadn't played it for years and they would give it a go and played it right through.

After the meet and greet we took off to find food. After driving around Hartford we decided it would be best to bet KFC and head back to the hotel. This time we made it back in time for the openers. Once again they were great. Stryper came out and delivered once again. Again they were able to get through the whole show if only minor difficulties. Still had the two songs missing, I do hope they will reappear later. However, I think this was their best show so far. Mike is warming into the screams a bit more. The music was tight and some (but not too much) funny banter with the crowd. It was also the closest I have been to catching a bible so far lol. Robert continues to rock the drumming. He has this awesome thing he does on "Calling On You." Awesome!

Clifton Park Sept 12

2009-09-17T13:11:00.002-04:00

After waiting over 20 years to see Stryper live for the first time, I get to see them for the second time the very next day! Quite a busy day. After a week in Boston time to pack my bags and hit the road once again. The drive from Boston to Clifton Park is just a few hours. Dropped our stuff at the hotel and headed straight over to Northern Lights to attend the meet and greet/sound check.

This was really cool. Whilst waiting we could hear Stryper inside warming up already. As this was the first meet and greet no one knew what to expect. We could hear Stryper and we just wanted them to open the doors and let us in to see them. Finally they let us in and we poured through the doors and up to the stage. Lots of photos were taken. Oz done most of the chatting from the stage. We heard a couple of beginnings from songs as they checked sound level etc.

After a few minutes of this the sound check was completed and the band members came down to the floor to meet the fans, sign autographs, and have pictures taken. All the band members are really cool. You didn't get long with them as there were many people to get through. It all went pretty smoothly, most people said a few words, took their photo, and got their things autographed. There were a couple of people who thought they could tell them their life story or something and others who didn't seem to understand the concept of lining up and waiting your turn, but on the whole no dramas and it seemed everyone got to meet all the band members.

Since we had been on the go all day instead of waiting for the concert to start we took off to find something to eat with the intention of coming back in time for doors opening to the public. However we found a place with good food and cheap beer, so ended up staying there a couple hours and made our way back to the concert just in time for Stryper.

Stryper came out and blasted through their set list in rapid style. The technical problems that occured throughout the Boston set seemed to have been taken care of and they were able to just get on with playing. For reasons unknown they dropped two songs they had played in Boston. One of which is a ballad, so I didn't mind it was dropped (although it should have been replaced with something else) but the other one they dropped is my favourite song from the new album. I was totally bummed that was dropped. Hopefully they will return in later shows. Despite the shorter set they still totally rocked it out. Great show, can't wait for more.

Kicking into Action

2009-09-16T19:38:00.003-04:00

Now the tour is kicking into some real action.

Saw the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. Good times, the American pastime.

Friday was the start of the real Stryper tour. The anticipation was amense. Got down to House of Blues nice and early. Ran into a couple of people I only know through the Stryper Forum. Great to meet them in person finally. Opening band was Manic Drive they were pretty sweet. Then Flight Patterns featuring the son of Stryper's lead singer. They are also preet sweet! But Stryper was what we were there for, and just wanted them to get on.

Stryper were awesome. One and a half hours of pure rock. They blasted through a bunch of classics and some new songs too. After all the waiting the show seemed to fly by in moments. Unfortuntely there seems to be a few technical issues throughout the night, but other than that no dramas. Everyone was great. Especially impressed with Robert's drumming, man he tears it up. Had a good position in front of Oz, he was realling enjoying himself, ripping up the guitar.

Great show, I'm so stocked to finally see them and even more so that I get to see them again. Can't wait.

More Photos Up

2009-09-10T20:09:00.002-04:00

Hey people,

This blog is not very good for displaying photos so I have started a facebook group to host the photos. I will still be doing this blog and posting some photos here, but with the facebook page I will be able to host many more photos and in better quality. You will not need to have a facebook account to see the photos, just follow the link that I put up and/or save it in your favourites.
I'll have another post up in the next day or so but in the meantime if you want to see some more photos follow the link... http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=173415566144&ref=mf
Regards,
Craig

First Few Days

2009-09-08T17:37:00.013-04:00

Saturday we went for a drive up north of Boston. We partook in a spot of random sighteeing (aka getting lost and driving around) before ending up at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. A beautiful late summer's day with just the right contidions to throw around a football and practice our "Al Bundy" poses.

On Sunday we drove out to Springfield, Mass to Six Flags New England amusement park. Unfortunately due to the nature of the rides etc couldn't bring a camera so no pictures. Plenty of cool rides though. As it is with these things standing in line is the order of the day. Most of the time its an hours wait for a minutes worth of ride! But man what a ride as the saying goes.

Monday was a public holiday over here and we spent the day checking out downtown Boston. Plenty of cool buildings and whatnot to see.

Here is the world famous Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. If you look to the right you can see the House of Blues club.

The House of Blues just happen to have Stryper playing on September the 11th. Looks pretty sweet maybe I'll come back then and check them out :)

Got legal troubles? Here is the offices of Crane, Poole, and Schmidt.

My Stryper Tour is underway.

2009-09-05T14:29:00.005-04:00

Well my Stryper tour has officially started! Have arrived safe and well in Boston after a long but uneventful journey. Left home 5:30 am Friday 4 September and arrived at my final destination 1:30 pm Saturday 5 September NZ time (9:30 pm Friday local time) a total journey time of 32 hours. First thing first so off we headed to Harvard Square for a quick ale at one of my old favourite places “John Harvard’s.” Well that’s pretty much it so far for day 1, no band sightings yet lol. However there have been comments already on my Stryper tee-shirts :) Looking forward to catching up with friends and seeing familiar places in the coming week whilst we count down to the opening show here in Boston.

Before I left our church small group had a Yellow & Black party to farewell me. It was a very fun time and everyone got dressed in Yellow & Black and listened to the new album. There was Yellow & Black balloons and even Yellow & Black cupcakes!!! Thanks guys.

Using the My Stryper Tour Map

2009-08-22T22:16:00.013-04:00

The map at the top of this blog is not only a valuable resource for those who want to follow my Stryper tour tour, but it will also help those just following the band.

The map contains the locations of all the Stryper concerts and also places that I plan on going to in addition to the concerts.

By clicking on either the icon on the map or the left hand menu, details for the event are displayed on the map. This includes a link to the Stryper Forum thread on the concert, details of the venue, and a link to the venue's website. Later links will also be added to any photos, reviews etc that are relevant to that concert. There will be a link to navigate you around this blog.
You can also click on "Get Directions" and enter your address and get directions to the venue

The map also has a function to "Search Nearby" to find locations in the area. For example if you wanted to find somewhere to eat near a concert venue you can search "restaurant."

So there you have it. Following Stryper has never been made easier. Please note that to get the full functionality of this map you need to click on the option to view larger map (right click - open in new window).

My Stryper Tour Tour Introduction

2009-08-15T18:33:00.000-04:00

Hello fellow Stryper fans...

Since it is unlikely that there will be a Stryper tour of New Zealand, there will instead be a New Zealand(er) tour of Stryper. I am calling it “My ‘Stryper Tour’ Tour” (very original I know!). During the time when Stryper are touring the US I will be touring as well, pretty much following the band’s itinerary as much as practically possible and attending as many of the shows as I can. My Stryper Tour Tour is going to be logistically challenging and a bit expensive. So I’m Calling on You, my fellow Stryper fans to help me out if you can.

There are many ways in which you could assist me on my travels. I would love it if people who live in cities that are hosting a Stryper concert would be so kind as to allow me to lodge with them when I am visiting their city to see the Stryper show. I’m a very easy going guy and don’t need anything fancy, a couch or a bit of floor space will do the trick if that’s all you have. If this is not possible you may be able to point me in the direction of a good cheap hotel that you know of in your area or provide some other advice or assistance of some sort. Also if you are planning on seeing more than one show maybe we can coordinate our travels between cities. I would also be keen to hear from those who are unable to help out but are going to shows and would like to hang at the concerts and rock out to the world’s greatest band together. For the period 9/20-10/6 I will be travelling with my wife, the other times it is just me.

If you think that you may be able to help me out or would just like to find out more (with no obligation) there are a few ways to let me know.... post below; send me a message on http://www.facebook.com/Hagues or email me mystrypertour@gmail.com if you do either of the last two make sure you have something Stryper related in the subject line so I know its not spam.

Look forward to meeting you all one way or another on the tour.
Hagues