UPTOWN — If there's one thing to admire about Miley Cyrus fans, it's that they are committed.
And Paige White just might be the most committed. The 22-year-old from Champaign was first in line for the Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz concert at the Riviera Theatre, 4746 N. Racine Ave, the pop star's first stop on her latest tour.
To secure the spot she arrived at 11 a.m. Wednesday — about 33 hours early for the show.
"She's my favorite person in the entire world, and this was my chance to see her up close and personal because I can't afford front row seats," said White, who also makes her own pop/rock music, which is influenced by Cyrus.
Playing the general admission theater, which holds about 2,500 concertgoers, is a departure for the singer, whose last tour stop in Chicago landed at the United Center.
Fans lined up Thursday morning for the 8 p.m. show. [DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]
The show at the Riviera is general admission and doors open at 6 p.m., according to the Riviera's website.
"I just want to be up close and personal with her because she's my hero," said White, revealing a tattoo of Miley's name and signature on her wrist. "She's been my hero for 10 years. I had no friends, and she was the only person to get me through the times."
White shows off her tattoo of Miley Cyrus' signature. [DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]
Temperatures have dropped from the 60s to the low 40s since Wednesday afternoon, but White isn't moving from her corner under the canopy of the Riviera where she can hide from the high winds.
"I'm literally freezing," White said from under a few blankets and jackets used to protect her bare legs from the cold concrete.
"I just got ready, and I'm literally wearing nothing. I've got no pants on, just spandex," she said emerging from the warmth of blankets to show her Miley-inspired outfit for the concert still several hours away.
It's not just the ladies, who've caught Miley fever.
A few feet away, one of White's new besties, Mario Hart, 19, of Chinatown, said he's yet to change for the show and "I can't feel my toes."
The 19-year-old arrived around 2 a.m. Thursday morning (or late from White's perspective) when a friend told him people had already begun camping out, he said.
"I wanted to come see her because of the creative direction she's going in. Shes just doing her own thing and not caring what people think," he said.
Hart said he's been a fan of Cyrus since she was a Disney star, but he began to grow as a fan as she departed from the network.
"[Her new album] is messy. It was all over the place, and that's what I like about her," he said. "I need to be up front. No phones in my view and be close enough to see everything."
Paige White and Mario Hart were first in line to see Miley Cyrus' Riv concert. [DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]
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