On the Road
The drive to the venue took me and my sister in-law (Bea) 3 hours due to the horrendous traffic. We took it all in our stride because we were so excited. We played Love & Life and sang along, while anticipating seeing Eric. I must admit I was a little nervous about being the TrueEBfan Press Person!

I told Troylynn when she called me about the contest, that when I’ve met Eric in the past I usually can’t get myself to say any more than “Hello” and “I enjoyed the show”. After that I stand around and grin, while trying to suppress the urge to jump up and down and scream and faint. (all at the same time) Troylynn in her very motherly way said “Girl, You’re going to have to talk.” I promised to do my best not to get tongue tied and sound like a fool. Whew! So I selected my 3 questions and I’d been practicing on my mother, my daughter, my man, and my friends. Poor Bea, she had to hear me practice again in the car.

The Venue
The Norfolk concert was held at the historical Attucks Theatre. Attucks is a state and national landmark. It is distinguished as the oldest remaining theatre in the nation that was completely financed, designed, constructed and operated by African Americans. Attucks was a very good venue to see Eric perform because it has a very warm and cozy atmosphere with great acoustics.

Before the Concert
When we arrived at the Attucks, the doors were locked but the Box office was open. I asked if my passes had been left for me. I was informed that the list had not been dropped off yet. Then I look in through the glass doors and I see Sassy smiling at me. I called her and asked if she would let Kevin know that we were there. In about 2 minutes I saw her talking to Kevin. (I recognized him from the Kyte videos) Kevin let us in and I must tell you that he is a real sweetie. He was really nice to us and checked in with us several times to make sure that we were okay.
After we get our seats, I searched for Linda and Eboni but I didn’t see them. I knew that their seats were 2 rows behind me. Before the show started, Sassy came over and points them out to us. It was nice to finally meet them face to face. It has been a real pleasure making friends with Linda.

The Concert
Eric came out wearing a black jacket, white tee, jeans and sneakers. He had on his shades and a scarf. I could have sworn I heard all of the women at Attucks say in unison and in perfect harmony (while fanning themselves) “He’s Sooooo Fine.” You can see that Eric has been working out and his arms are screaming ……HUGGABLE.

The Songs: (trying to write the songs down in the dark is no joke! )
Spiritual Thang
Femininity
When You Think of Me
Chocolate Legs
Spanish Fly
Love of My Own
Don’t Let Go
Spend My Life With You
Pretty Baby
I Wanna Be Loved
The Hunger
You’re the Only One
Georgy Porgy

By the end of Femininity, the temperature in Attucks rose to about 100 degrees and I could hear someone moaning. (I think it was Linda seeing that it was her first time) When he sang I Wanna Be Loved, it caused some women to alternate between singing the chorus and screaming. Watching him perform Chocolate Legs and Spanish Fly, back to back is not for the faint at heart.(just too too sexy ) This was the first time that I heard him sing Love of My Own. I loved it and it made think about how Troylynn must have felt when he sang it for her. Aaaaw!

Eric and Kimmie have great chemistry and sound beautiful together. After they sang Spend My Life with you, several people gave them a standing ovation. During the song, there were two women across from me who begin to have what my grandmother would have called a “hissy fit”. You know what I mean….legs bouncing up in down, hands in the air and arms flinging, about to fall out of their chairs, appearing to need to be shot with a tranquilizer gun. (sorry that was a little mean…but funny)

Bea, Sassy and I were allowed to go up and take photos. Thank goodness, we had permission because there were 2 photo blocking wardens close by. There were a few ladies who did not appreciate the fact that they were asked to put their cameras away by the photo blocking wardens, but we were allowed to take pictures. Hey, being a TrueEB has its privileges. A funny thing happened though, by the time Eric had sang 3 songs or so Guess what happened? The wardens had been Benet-ized and they forgot that they were supposed to be watching the audience. I saw them smiling and singing along with the rest of us. Cameras began flashing all over the place.

During Eric’s encore of Georgy Porgy, we all ran to the front in that “the women have completely lost their minds fashion”. We gladly followed his lead and did the dance steps and then froze as he instructed. At that point we probably would have done anything he would have asked of us. OMG! It really was a terrific show.

After the Show After the show, we waited while about a third of the crowd went to get autographs and photos with Eric. We went to his dressing room where Sassy had decorated and brought a birthday cake for Eric. He hugged each one of us as we came in. He doesn’t give you that I’m hugging a stranger type hug. It’s more Iike a I’m glad to see you hug. He doesn’t even leave that polite space between you and him. Now that’s truly a beautiful thing!

He blew out his candles and we sang Happy Birthday to him while he smiled and did a little dance. He even ate 2 pieces of cake. Me and Bea were so happy it could have been our birthdays. We all took individual pictures with him and he was his usual gracious and kind good smelling self.

At the end it was time for me to ask my 3 questions. Kevin told Eric that I was the contest winner which got me another hug. (Thanks again Troylynn) Bea videotaped me asking the questions. I did not intend to be in the footage. (so if I messed up you guys would not see me do it) Well, I believe they tricked me because Eric came and stood beside me. I did it! I did it…of course I had my questions written down because my mind is the first thing to go. I did say the album dropped on the 19th instead of the 9th, but he was too close and he was looking at me like I had something important to ask. We all said our goodbyes and sent Eric off with a lot of love from his Virginia TrueEBs.

I feel truly blessed to have shared this experience with my TrueEB sisters. It's a memory I will keep forever!

Pauletta

See what three questions Pauletta asked Eric here.