I just came back from the Grand Opening of the Future Shop in Edmonton South Common. What a gong show! Traffic cops all over the place, hundreds of cars and people all over the place..security officers, barriers, and hundreds of people not only in the small parking lot, but hundreds more all lined up outside by the truck trailers..

And what was the big draw ?   GENE SIMMONS ! Hundreds of crazy fans stood in the freezing rain since 4am to meet the legend. I got there at about noon.. with my camera and my book I wanted signed. And there we wait. And we wait some more. Thank goodness there is a Tim Horton's across the street in WALMART. It came in handy. Kudos to Future Shop and United Protection Services for doing an outstanding job in crowd control and supplying hand warmers for everyone. I have had the experience to know when dealing with crowd control the key is planning it out and ensuring all angles are covered and safe.If done right, no one should get hurt ( ex: The Walmart employee who died by trampling ). The only complaint I do have is while allowing only 20 or so at a time into the store, was where do we go from the front door? There was no sign, no marked areas or aisles.. basically it was follow the person in front of you and hope they go to the right spot.

Hundreds of people, including yours truly stood in the freezing rain as this line up shows , it was a long line. While I stood there, I get a phone call from a friend. " Is that you in the Eskimos Jacket in the line up outside Future Shop?". I said ABSOLUTELY !

Then another phone call.. " Hey ! Are you nuts? That's you in that line up? I just drove by and for some reason I looked over and saw you. Let me park the car, I'll join you. And so a few minutes later, I was joined by a friend. Finally we moved in closer to the side of the building. It should not be too much longer. About 15 minutes later, we were inside. We were wet, cold and happy to finally feel some heat.

So while waiting in line ( Gene was around the corner of where we were standing  ) a FUTURE SHOP employee took a photo of my friend and I doing our best Gene Simmons imitation and not too bad either... you can really tell how soaked we got in the freezing rain:

And here is the final shot... actually I will say this. Gene Simmons was in a great mood and was very cordial and started small talk while he signed my book and the photo I was given before I went up. I love the band KISS, I love the show Gene Simmons Family Jewels. And this was truly a great day to meet a man who is a genius when it comes to marketing and promoting. He is a legend and it was an honor meeting him.

So why do I have that look on my face? We were talking a bit when I noticed the picture was being taken in mid sentence..

Even though it was a quick meet, I was still happy to have met the man. It made my day. Now would I do this again in minus 10,20 or 30? Doubt it! I doubt many people would show up! But then who knows! People do crazy things.

So thanks Future Shop ( Futureshop.ca ) and Gene Simmons ( genesimmons.com ) !