On December 19th, 2013, Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, and Mamrie Hart (also known as the Holy Trinity on YouTube) kicked their northwest No Filter [comedy] Show tour off in Vancouver at 7 pm at the Rio Theatre. Being a big YouTube fan, especially a fan of these three women, I asked my sister to buy my ticket for me for Christmas, and we went. And I left disappointed.
Firstly, doors would open to VIP ticket holders at 6 (which included a poster and a t-shirt, I believe) and the non-VIP ticket holders would get to enter the theatre at 6:30; therefore, being a non-VIP, my sister and I waited in an already formed line at 5:30. We did get into the theatre on time, however the show did not start until 7:30, a full thirty minutes after the re-scheduled start time. I half-heartedly joked in that half hour about how they were all divas, although something could have gone wrong in that time and I didn't know about it.
The show went well. I laughed and screamed and clapped to my heart's content. When the show ended, I thought it might have been around 9:30, 10 at the latest. The second thing I was not happy about was that it was only 8:40. I thought that the show was going to be at least 1.5 hours, but I guess with any comedy show, there comes a point where enough is enough.
As expected with any YouTube gathering of any kind, there were fans who wanted to meet with the vlogging stars and many stood inside the theatre waiting for the Holy Trinity to appear once more, to say hi, get a hug, and take a quick picture. But, they didn't show.
Soon thereafter (maybe 5 to 10 minutes), security and management were inside the theatre, telling people it was time to exit the seating area. So we stayed in the foyer. Then, we were told that it was actually time to get out of the entire building, because they were closing up.
I just want to insert here that the only reason I wanted to see the three ladies is because I had letters (and bracelets inside the envelopes) for them, since November of 2012, since I bought tickets to see them at VidCon 2013 in Anaheim this past August. I expected to give the letters to them at VidCon, but didn't realize the sheer volume of people that would be at the convention. I hope there are other people that agree with me out there, but I wasn't willing to spend 2 hours in a line (at VidCon) to get 2 seconds with three people I liked to learn about via social media.
I asked the [possible] manager if he could give something to the women, but he flat-out said no. Many were standing outside the front of the theatre, including myself and my sister, waiting for Grace, Hannah, and Mamrie to come out. 50 fans dwindled down to 20 and then 15. When it came closer to our departure time, a girl and a couple of her friends were saying that Hannah Hart was at the back of the theatre, that they got pictures with her, and that if we ran, we'd be able to catch her. So we did.
Unfortunately, we missed her, and were met by security and the manager. He said that we needed to clear the area because residents around the theatre were complaining about the noise.
First of all, what noise? Because we, the people at the front of the theatre, were not shouting, yelling, cursing, clapping our hands, or stomping our feet. There may have been some LGs in the alleyway, screaming when they saw one third of the trinity, but it wasn't us. Second of all, if he just didn't want us there, he should've just told us. No need for bullshit like, "It's cold out, I know it's cold [rubs his own arms for effect], so you guys should leave." WTF, I am sorry. $25 for an hour of a show and you're trying to *convince* me that I need to leave?
And lastly, clearly he knows nothing about YouTube, or me for that matter, because I would not scream in someone's face for the first time because I love them, I would have left if he asked nicely, and internet people can be persistent.
I got upset and wanted to cry because I was so frustrated with everything, and we needed to leave. I didn't know where everyone else at the show was from, but my sister and I lived 2 hours away by transit, so we had to leave in order to catch the bus we needed to take to make our commute shorter.
I didn't even need a picture or even *meet* the ladies. As much as I want to give them a hug, I would love to just get these letters off my hands, they've been with me for too long. I would've given them to someone who would actually get them to the women, but no one was willing. The letters are extremely outdated now, and will be until I [maybe] get them to the Trinity, but at least they would have the bracelets. My sister and I didn't talk on our way home; I can't speak for my sister, but it was because I was not happy. I did tell her that I wanted to bury the letters so I would never have to see them again (and she added that I should burn them).
A lot of "what ifs" went through my sister's head too, and she shared them with me. For example, what if we considered going to the back alley? What if we asked security/management where the women were nicely? What if we had gone up to them while they were on stage to give them my letters?
All useless, but you wonder and question yourself all the same.
So I don't know why you wouldn't meet your fans in a smaller setting, Holy Trinity. I don't understand.
I'll get over it. Eventually. But for right now, I'm sulking and marinating in my self-pity.
Have you ever been let down by a "celebrity" because of the way they acted or the way they handled "fame"? Let me know in the comments below.