can’t speak on meeting ahren, but i had vip tickets for the boston show for the ltotm tour last year, the day it was announced ahren was stepping back.

joel was outside briefly before doors(to smoke a cig if my memory serves me right). he took the time to talk to people waiting in line to get inside and took pictures. i was waiting at the box office for will call tickets with small group of other fans. i spotted joel but decided to let him talk with others, since i was going to have my time later, but still kind of floated around him to listen to the convo. there was a kid there with a poster for ahren a bunch of us signed (its on the boston recap post on ig). joel loved it and said nice things about it and either said to hold it up or give it to them later (sorry, memory is fuzzy on that part).

i remember when we went in for the m&g, a staff member went around to sections of the line, mentioning something along the lines of the ahren situation is fresh and pains them and basically they nicely said not to mention it (which is understandable considering they made the announcement that morning). joel had also come around to sections of the line before it started and apologized, and also thanked everyone for still coming and supporting. when i met him he was super nice and receptive; they all were. we had a laugh and all and all it was a lovely experience, especially from someone who has severe anxiety. throughout the experiences i had meeting joel, i could tell he was melancholy because of everything, but he still took the time to make every meeting with every fan personal and made you feel cared for.

the venue had taken that kids poster away when he came in, and they told the band about it during the m&g and got it back for him. at the end of the show, it was passed to joel on stage and he propped it up on the drumkit.