Reznet

$480 for Two Minutes

By Jordan Dresser

DENVER—As I stood in the hallway backstage at the Pepsi Center, I could hear the faint sound of a woman’s voice drenched in a southern accent.

I slowly realized that the voice in the next room was none other than Beyonce herself. I started to get nervous as I waited for the green light from her security guards to enter the room. I couldn't believe that I was about to meet "the hottest chick in the game," as her boyfriend, rapper Jay-Z, once proclaimed her.

I had paid $480 for the privilege of meeting Beyonce and having my picture taken with her. She was in Denver to give a concert, the latest stop on The Beyonce Experience tour. I also paid $160 for a good seat, center stage in row four.

Add in the cost of driving nearly 400 miles to Denver from my home in Fort Washakie, Wyo., on the Wind River Reservation, plus room and board—and the total came to an amount of money that a lot of people might think I shouldn't be spending on a rock star.

Would I get my money’s worth?

My Turn

Finally, a big security guard dressed in all black gave me a nod to step in the room. I walked in very quickly and stood against the wall of the room with my head down. As I looked up and to the right of me, I could see Beyonce standing a few feet in front of me. She looked so tiny, but you still knew that you were in the presence of something great.

She finished speaking to another fan, who like me, paid a lot of extra money to meet her backstage. As he walked out, Beyonce looked over at me and gave me a warm smile. It was my turn.

I had been planning for this moment for quite some time, and I had a million things I wanted to say. But when I was finally face to face with her, my whole game plan went out the window. I was speechless.

She was dressed in an outfit with a lot of green, her hair very casual and silver glitter surrounding her eyes. She was even more beautiful in person, and she seemed very warm and sincere. She was everything that a star should be.

I managed to tell her my name.

She quickly replied: "Hello, thanks for coming." Then she shook my hand and gave me hug.

We then took the picture together, but I didn't realize it was happening until the flash went off.

As I turned to her, only one thing came to mind and I managed to force out one brief sentence: "My birthday is two days before yours."

My birthday is Sept. 2, and Beyonce's is Sept. 4. I know this because her album "B'Day," was released last year on her birthday. A big smile crept across her face, and she quickly said, "Really? Virgo," while giving my arm a playful rub.

Beyonce then thanked me once again for coming, and I quickly exited the room.

Our meeting lasted about two minutes.

As I walked back to the seating area of the stadium to find my seat, I played the whole experience back in my head. I was on cloud nine. I found my seat—center stage in row four—and watched the end of opening act, Robin Thicke.

The Concert

It was then Beyonce's turn to take the stage. She rose up from under the stage in a cloud of smoke with a single light reflecting all the silver sparkles covering her dress. The loud blaring horns of "Crazy in Love," filled the arena, and it was finally official. The concert had begun. Everybody was on their feet and going crazy as Beyonce tore her way through the song.

The concert had nonstop energy, and Beyonce was giving it her all. When she danced, she bounced, grinded and flipped her hair like a young Tina Turner. When she sang, she expressed nothing but true emotion like the great soul singers of the past. She knew how to connect with the audience, and she made you feel like she was only performing for you.

My favorite performances where "Upgrade U," "Me, Myself and I," "Get Me Bodied" and "Speechless"—they’re also are my favorite songs. She ended the show with "Irreplaceable." The crowd sang along.

As I left the concert, I had a smile on my face for the rest of the night. Yeah, some people might think that it was crazy that I paid the amount of money I did to meet Beyonce, but hey, it was my money.

I had a very productive summer attending the American Indian Journalism Institute and working at a reporting internship at The Forum newspaper in Fargo, N.D., and I deserved something nice to treat myself with.

It was a birthday gift to myself. A dream fulfilled for this Indian boy from little Wyoming. Besides, what other reznet staff member can say they got a hug from Beyonce?

It was the perfect end to a crazy summer.

Jordan Dresser, Northern Arapaho, is a senior at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. He is a graduate of the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute and a Chips Quinn Scholar. Dresser has had summer internships as a reporter at the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star, the Fargo (N.D.) Forum and the Salt Lake City Tribune under the Chips Quinn Scholars Program. This summer, he will intern as a feature reporter at The Denver Post.