Fame in Conversation - Niki Ververelli

Fame in conversation is something that happens for me on a daily basis, with multiple occurrences. I read various gossip blogs, US Weekly, OK Magazine, People magazine and instead of my friends doing the same, they just ask me what is going on. Sometimes I wish that I held the same attentiveness for the rest of my studies as I do for entertainment news.
On Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 I was one lucky girl that had the chance to go see Placebo at the TLA on South Street. Placebo is a rock band based out of the UK and very popular throughout Europe and Japan. They sell out arenas such as Wembley over there, but are hardly known on this side of the pond, hence the small venue size. My first taste of Placebo was on the 1999 Cruel Intentions soundtrack with their hit single “Every You Every Me”. Subsequently, I really became a fan of their in their music when watching MTV while in France almost four years ago and have enjoyed their music ever since. They are very popular in Europe and mingle with the elite of the music industry and the lead singer, Brian Molko, has been rumored to have dated models and other celebrities.
It should be no surprise then to have seen another celebrity at the show. As I sat on the second floor bar level with my mom (yes, I go to shows with my mom) and we discussed anything and everything, I caught a celebrity sighting from the corner of my eye. Bam Margera and his new wife Missy were climbing the steps up to the bar area. Just about everyone around me was oblivious, but I almost choked on my Diet Coke at that instant. For those that are unaware, Bam was first a pro-skater followed by CKY, Jackass, Viva La Bam, and most recently, Bam’s Unholy Union fame. Back to the story… he walked up the stairs with Missy and another gentleman who looked like a bodyguard, stayed for a few minutes, and walked back down the stairs. It was in his walk down that I confirmed it was really him and was very excited.
My first conversation regarding my celebrity sighting was with Christina. Christina is 22 years old, a senior here at Drexel University, and also my best friend and cousin. While talking to her after I came home later that night in her room, our conversation was going pretty normally when all of a sudden I remembered that evening’s brush with fame. I screamed “OH MY GOD GUESS WHAT!” and recounted my celebrity sighting. This brush with fame had a bit more impact on Christina because not only is she a fan of his television shows and of Bam’s favorite band from Finland, HIM, but she too has met him before. After I explained my experience, we discussed her experience in meeting him and compared notes if you will. After the introduction of my brush with fame, the conversation turned towards celebrity gossip in general and what was going on in Hollywood and internationally.
My second conversation about catching a glimpse of Bam was with my friend Dave. Dave is 21 years old, a junior here at Drexel, and a good friend of mine. It should be said that Dave is an openly gay man and very interested in celebrity gossip in general. We were talking after class the following Thursday, April 12th, and as we were walking towards Starbucks, I was reminded of my encounter. Just as before, I yelled “OH MY GOD GUESS WHAT!” and told the whole story of Bam coming upstairs and then going back down. And again, Dave told me of a story where his sister saw Bam at the King of Prussia Mall. We compared stories and then moved onto more celebrity gossip.
In each conversation regarding my brush with fame, I told my story and the other person had a Bam encounter to share as well. I think that by my sharing my story it caused an instantaneous reaction for that person to share one of their own, as if to balance the whole experience. It is not very surprising that my friends have met Bam also, considering he lives in West Chester. After I brought up my moment at the Placebo concert in both conversations, I actually felt like I had the complete and honest attention of both of my companions. They were focused totally on everything that I was saying to get each detail clearly. Furthermore, the energy of the discussion elevated dramatically. It was as if I could not speak fast enough to recall my experience seeing Bam. In both conversations, the encounters with a celebrity acted as a stepping stone to discuss more celebrity news. Until the next stumble upon Hollywood…