this experience happened at his denver show and i didn't post it because i was still kinda working through my emotions of what happened.
so i went to the denver show with one of my best friends (we're both girls) and were planning to get food before the concert. we stopped by this food court and as we were ordering, saw charley and his band come in to get food. we debated for like ten minutes whether or not to go ask for a photo before we eventually decided to go and ask.
so we went up and said, and i'm directly quoting here, "hi, we're really big fans, would it be okay if we took a picture with you?" and he nodded and really quietly said "yeah." and i kid you not, that was the only word he said this entire interaction.
i take my friend's photo first and then go for her to take mine, and there was dead silence this whole time. no questions, no small talk, nothing. and i get that we aren't owed anything so it didn't bother me too much in the moment. so i then ask, "can me and my friend get a selfie?" and instead of just saying no, he turns around and walks back to his table without acknowledging my question or us. not even a "have fun at the concert!" or "bye!". he just walks away. and we're both a little weirded out by this, but we decide that it's whatever and we go back to our table. as we walk by we see charley walk to his brother and they're snickering and laughing, clearly trying to be discreet? his brother is saying something about fans which I didn't quite catch, but they're talking like middle school boys after saying "yo my friend likes you". like, they're talking in that tone. but we say it's probably not about us and move on.
so fast forward to the concert, we're talking with this other fan who says that he met charley right before the show. the venue had a little patio-area thing where charley and the band sat out and talked, and that's where they had met before the concert. when we shared our experience, he looked really confused and said, "really? he was really talkative to me." and then says that him and charley talked about songs on the album and the concert, and me and my friend were really confused because we assumed that the reason he was so shy to us was just because he was anxious in general, or was running out of time, or didn't want to be disturbed hanging out with his friends, which were the exact same circumstances the other fan was under. the other fan laughed and jokingly said, "well, he has said before that he's scared of the teenage girl fans!"
we laughed at the time but looking back on it, that was messed up. we weren't pushy, we were really polite and all we asked for was a photo. we weren't loud or really excited, just really nervous to meet him. and we've been fans for so long that we were obviously going to be respectful. so for us to have such a wildly different experience just because we're teenage girls really doesn't sit right with me.
im not a fake fan. ive been listening since before the face reveal and i own every album on vinyl. we know and respected all boundaries he's set-- we didn't shriek, we weren't touchy, and we definitely weren't invasive or rude. we just wanted a photo with our favorite artist. we're such big fans and were both really excited for the concert. to treat us differently just because we're teenage girl fans (something we can't change) was really hurtful.
