Get Him to the Nokia

6:03pm

i push the redial option on my iphone for the third time trying to get a hold of a guy named mike. as my call goes straight to voice mail once more, the smell of cinnabon and auntie anne's pretzels invade my nostrils. but this was no time to snack on those delicious treats. i was in the middle of rounding up the artist lloyd and his entourage from the culver city westfiield shopping mall. amp radio had booked lloyd to preform our mtv video music awards concert at club nokia that evening. i was assigned to make sure that he got to the venue on time for his performance at 8pm. how did i end up in a mall with less than 2 hours before curtain call? i was asking myself the same question.

4:00pm

i arrive at the station and get my paperwork / instructions for my task, meanwhile the rest of my co-workers were getting the venue ready for our concert that was to be held that evening. i am given the phone number to mike ( not his real name ), lloyd's manager, to call him and get further instruction. i am told to drive to the marriott at lax and meet up behind the hotel at the tour bus. i grab the car keys, directions to the hotel, and off i went. once i arrived, it wasn't hard to find the giant tour bus parked in the back. the first part of my task was to pick them up, and take them to their sound check at club nokia.

4:35pm

we are now a little behind schedule. my boss asks where i am. sound check is at 5pm. i had everyone in the vehicle ready to go but our main performer. in typical fashion, he was just taking his time. after explaining to his manager that in los angeles we are traffic's bitch, and we need to roll, he was able to get lloyd into the car and we were off.

5:10pm

we arrive. to save time, pull up to the loading zone outside of L.A. Live right in front of this restaurant called 'the farm'.  my co-worker was out front ready to escort them upstairs to the venue for sound check. to avoid a traffic ticket, i drive in circles around L.A. Live. as i make way around the block, i get stuck behind some cars stuck at a red light by the movie theater. i look over to my right, and see this homeless man asking to wash my window. i signal him to leave, but he proceeds to do it anyway. the light turns green, and the cars go, an he is still washing my window. a few cars honk, and the bum backs away from the car and goes to the sidewalk. my boss calls me. he explains to me that they are coming back downstairs and that i need to take them back to their hotel so they can change clothes, get some things in order, and need to be back to the venue by 7:45pm so they can be on-stage for their 8pm start time. i tell him i understand, i pull back up to where i dropped them off, and we go back en route to the hotel.

5:30pm

we weren't in the car for more than 2 minutes before the drummer of the band says that he needs to go the store "lids" to buy a new hat for tonight's performance. that is followed by lloyd saying that he needs a new shirt so he can look 'fresh to death'. i look to the digital clock on the dashboard, and think of the closest mall to their hotel. the culver city westfield comes to mind. for i had sat on the 405 freeway countless times looking at their billboards of promoting products that i don't need but still buy. i let them know where we're headed and we're off. i then hear the sound of a wrapper being crumpled up followed by the question of whether or not i would like a brownie. without thinking i accept the offer and was passed a square. but then it hits me. this is not just your average brownie. for it had that certain stank to it. i respectfully hand it off to the manager in the front seat and inform him that i am on the clock and cannot partake in the baked good. no harm, no foul. with a song 'chin check' by NWA on blast we head over to the mall.

5:50pm

i pull into a parking space, and with a blink of an eye everyone is out of the car. mike stands back with me and we proceed to follow them inside the mall. due to the time of day, there was a lot of foot traffic. with every passing female, the entourage made sure to say hello and proceed with a little more information than some would like. some girls took a liking to it, and others were offended. we make our way to lids. my boss calls, the store was noisy so i walked out to continue my conversation. i inform him that we are at the mall and will be back in time. i hang up the phone, turn around, and everyone is gone. i call mike, no answer. straight to voice mail. the signal in this area is known for being awful. so i stand there in a busy mall feeling like a baby sitter that lost the kid she was assigned to watch. this is where a little anxiety kicks in.

6:15pm

mike calls back. he has the drummer and keyboard player, but not lloyd. we meet up by a kiosk selling cell phone covers. mike finally gets ahold of lloyd and informs me he's on his way. i look over and the drummer had started up a conversation with the cute girl working the kiosk. from the body language toward eachother, i could tell that he had one goal in mind. lloyd shows up, and we take off.

6:50pm

we arrive back to the tour bus and they all get out. everyone gets on the bus, and the manager heads up to the hotel to grab something from his room. by this point in time, my cell phone battery had gotten down to 10%. all the usage from the day had finally taken it's toll. i know that i'll need more than 10% to last the duration of my shift to keep in contact with my boss and co-workers. i keep a close eye on the digital clock on the dashboard and have the a/c running in the car as i wait.

7:10pm

i still hadn't heard a peep from the manager or seen anyone leave the bus. getting a little nervous, i decide to call mike and tell him that we need to leave to make it on time. next thing i know, my battery is at 5%. figuring that there is probably an iPhone charger on the bus, i go and knock on the door. i am welcomed by one of the biggest dudes i have ever seen. looking down at me, without blinking, he immediately shuts the door on me. within seconds the drummer opens the door and says they were 'fuckin' with me' and lets me inside. i said i needed to plug in my phone and that we needed to leave as soon as mike comes down. in the shuffle to find a charger, paraphernalia of all types were being moved around. a think layer of smoke also lingered in the air. 'FOUND ONE!' i hear this woman say, it was under a stack of playboy magazines and one massive bag of weed. the woman passes me the charger, and she looks awfully familiar, but can't put my finger on it. so i went ahead and asked her where she worked to maybe get a clue. she told me that she worked at one of the beer stands at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.

FLASHBACK! a couple nights back i had attended a lil wayne concert at that venue and she had served me beer for the duration of that night. lloyd was the opening act for that particular concert.

all by damned, i say under my breath. my guess is that somehow she had crossed paths with someone from the entourage that evening and she did something right in order to be on that tour bus tonight. i informed her that she had served me drinks at the concert a few nights back. and once everyone heard i was at that concert it was like i had become a member of the family. a seat was offered, among other things that you would only see in a rap music video ( which i declined because i didn't want to lose my job ). they asked me about my opinion of what i thought of their set list and how it panned out. so, i gave them my two cents and that proceeded until mike showed up.

7:30pm

mike finally comes to the bus, and we head out to the car. and off to the venue we went. with a few beads of sweat dripping off my brow from being nervous, i wipe them away and stay focused. i know that i can get them to club nokia by curtain call. it wasn't the ideal time my boss wanted me back, but it was the best i could offer considering that trying to get this group of people together was like herding cats. with the song "natural born killaz" by Ice Cube just bumping through the speakers i use the carpool lane and a few back streets trying to get to L.A. Live. as i made my way around the northeast corner by the movie theater i could see the entrance to the underground parking structure of where i needed to go. looking ahead to find a route to get around, what do i see, but that same homeless man starting his walk toward a car, two cars ahead of me. knowing he's going to distract that driver, and cause a backup, i change lanes, pass the car with the window washing bum, and cut right back into my lane, and go down into the parking structure. i find the industrial elevator that goes to the backstage area of the club and pull up. a co-woker is there there to take them up.

7:55pm

i park the car, and head upstairs. and at 8:02pm lloyd goes on stage and preforms his set to a crowd of excited radio listeners that had won tickets. i go to the green room after the performance to check in because i still needed to get them back to their hotel. i am greeted with some catered food and offered a seat by the big man that had previously shut the tour bus door on me earlier. he told me that my driving skills were not bad for a 'craker'. we fist bumped and went to town on the best chicken wings i've ever had. next thing i know, we're bro'ing out over how awesome the '8 mile' soundtrack is. after lloyd did some interviews for our station, i got them back together and headed back to the car. once we got in, the drummer informed me that we needed to make a stop and pick someone up. i rolled up to this gas station off the 405 freeway and i see this girl walk up to the car to get in. it was the cell phone cover kiosk girl from the mall! apparently the drummer got her number earlier and invited her to the after party. she gets in the car and i proceed to the hotel. everyone gets out, i'm thanked by everyone and get a big hug from the big dude. i was invited up to the after party, but i declined because i had my own after party to attend to with my work family. as much fun as i'm sure that would have been, there's nothing like celebrating with your co-workers after an event that is successful. and i'll tell ya what. that beer had never tasted so good after that day.