My experience as Matthew’s personal assistant actually began with a phone call from Gunnar a few miles outside of the small Iowa town of What Cheer on August 5.  After Gunnar filled me in on the itinerary for the afternoon/evening, it was on to the What Cheer Opera House to meet with Ralph Gatton, the show organizer, and Michelle, the other PA for this show.  Ralph gave us a tour of the very historic venue showing us the backstage area and where the merchandise table would be located.  Since soundcheck wasn’t scheduled for a couple of hours, I took the opportunity to check out the town (OK, that only took 5 minutes) and get checked into my motel.  Soon it was time to head back to the opera house for soundcheck.  While I waited for Ralph, Michelle, Matthew and Gunnar to arrive, I was able to watch the band that would open the show go through their soundcheck - they even asked me if I wanted to grab an instrument and join them but I graciously declined! Before long, everyone arrived and Matthew and Gunnar began their soundcheck.  They both made sure I knew I could take photos of anything and everything and I definitely took advantage of the opportunity.  Soundcheck was fairly short since this was an acoustic show and after the guys took a look around backstage, it was time for the short walk to one of the local churches where Pastor Francis and other church members had made us a traditional Iowa dinner (i.e., too many carbs!)  After a great meal and stimulating conversation, we bid our hosts goodbye to walk back to the opera house.  Once Michelle and I had the merchandise table ready, we headed backstage to talk about the setlist, hang out, and watch Matthew and Gunnar get their guitars ready for the show.  It was great listening to them play bits and pieces of the songs they were going to do and having the chance to talk with both of them in a more casual setting.  The ultimate for me was having Matthew indulge me with my own private performance of one of my favorite RED37 songs.  I totally forgot I was sitting on a toilet while he sang (I SO regret not having a photo of that)!  Before long, it was time for the guys to change and get ready to play to a packed house of almost 600 people.  After making sure they had everything they needed on stage, Michelle and I went out to watch the show.  I took tons of photos while enjoying my first acoustic Nelson show - the acoustics in the opera house were fabulous and their harmonies were flawless.  After a 75-minute set, it was time to take care of the swarm of people eager to buy pictures and CDs and have photos taken with Matthew and Gunnar.  It was so fun to watch the guys interact with the fans (many new and a few regulars, too) and hear all the positive comments as everyone waited to meet them.  After packing up the merchandise table, Michelle and I helped out backstage with whatever we could - I also took this opportunity to have the guys sign several items I’d brought along - which they did so very graciously - and to have photos taken with everyone.  Thanks, Matthew, Tami, and Gunnar for making my PA experience one I will absolutely never forget!