Working at the Save Mart Center allows Clint Barry to see random things that most members of the public do not.

Barry, who has sold tickets and merchandise at the Save Mart Center since 2004, doesn’t usually get to see bands perform while he works at his table, located in the foyer. But he does get a sneak peek at the performers.

“One time when we were setting up, we saw Gwen Stefani running laps,” Barry said. “She ran about four laps around the main level.”

Stefani, a toned and fit fashionista who formerly fronted the band No Doubt, was running in her dark blue jogging suit. Her two bodyguards ran alongside.

“We were staring,” Barry said, “but trying not to at the same time.”

Barry, 22, is a business major at California State University, Fresno. He works inside the Save Mart Center for a company called Event Merchandising Inc., or EMI, which handles sports and concert products.

Barry unloads, sets up, displays and reloads the merchandise for the events. He also works part-time for the Save Mart Center as a ticket seller, but he enjoys selling merchandise more than selling tickets.

“The thing I hate the most is that sometimes we don’t even get out till 3 a.m.,” Barry said. “We have to stay until the show is over and everyone leaves.”

Barry sells merchandise ranging from stuffed monster trucks to T-shirts and CDs. He works at a variety of events from Professional Bull Riding to concerts featuring artists like the Rolling Stones.

“Most of them I don’t really like,” Barry said, although attending one concert did change his mind.

Barry worked a concert that included headliners Def Leppard and Journey.

“I never really listened to Journey before,” Barry said. “But after the show I thought, ‘I must get their record.’”

The well-known stars are not the people who stick out most in Barry’s mind. It is the fans of the stars that give Barry the most memories.

“The country fans are always drunk before they get there,” Barry said, laughing. “I always see the girls stumbling in their high heels.”

It’s the “country crowd” that is Barry’s favorite to witness.

“Once I had some kid, he was about 5 years old, crawl under the table, steal a stuffed monster truck and run away,” he said.

Although Barry’s company lost money from the child stealing, he said he “couldn’t yell at a kid who wanted a $15 stuffed truck.”