Concert Central

Tonight, we'll go to our third concert in 5 days. We're seeing the Police. We bought these tickets ages ago for a date that was months and months ago but Sting got the flu and they had to reschedule. I read a review this morning from someone who saw the Police about a year ago and then last week. Apparently, all of the bad reviews that I read a year ago no longer apply. Sounds like the guys have finally gotten their stuff together and the shows over the past week or so have been amazing. I'm glad because I'd hate to be disappointed after the two awesome shows we saw over the weekend.

On Friday night, we saw Coldplay. They were really good. The two opening acts were not. Whatever, I bought a Sudoku game on my cell phone and found a way to amuse myself. We were in the second to the last row but we totally enjoyed the concert. We danced a lot and sang along. Chris Martin is completely insane as a dancer. He looks like he's having a fit-- oh, yeah, and a whole bunch of fun. Coldplay played for about an hour and a half. The quality of the music made up for the brevity (I remember my mother seeing 4 hour Bruce Springsteen shows when I was a kid...where have those days gone?)

We decided last Friday during the day that we really wanted to see George Michael on Saturday night. Donna had sent Michelle an email recommending the concert. She saw him in Houston (or was it Dallas...somewhere in Texas) the previous week and sent the most glowing concert review I've ever read. We had considered buying tickets from the day we got Donna's email but we kept hedging and wondering if we should save the money instead (someday we'd like to buy a condo...really). So I took the plunge on Friday, told Michelle that I really wanted to go see George Michael and we bought $25 seats, again in the second to the last row and this time, in a section even further from the stage.

As we walked into the Wachovia Center, we noticed that the escalators were not working. The guy at the bottom took a look at our tickets, pointed to a long line and said, "Get in this line for relocation." Michelle didn't have any idea what he was talking about but I did. I couldn't remember when this had happened before but I had experienced this (I realized later that it was the Transiberian Orchestra performance in 2006). They didn't sell enough tickets to warrent having the upstairs open so they moved EVERYONE from the upper level to the lower level. After hearing that there was no line on the other side of the arena, I took Michelle's ticket out of her hand, told her to catch up with me, and raced around to the other line where we were given tickets in the first section to the right of the stage in the 5th row. Seriously. I felt bad running around the arena and leaving gimpy Michelle with the arthritic joints to hobble to catch up with me but boy was it worth it! 5th ROW!

George was awesome. He took a 20 minute intermission but played for about 2.5 hours. He did so many songs from when I was a kid, I couldn't help but remember my sleepover party in the 4th grade when I first got my Faith tape and we danced around the house to Monkey and Faith. I remember even further back, standing in my neighbor's living room dancing along to Wham songs. Wake Me Up Before Go-Go and Everything She Wants! Oh my Lord, the memories. I have to say, I think it was the best concert experience ever. His voice sounds amazing, better than ever. He still dances as well as he did 25 years ago. The seat were incredible. I danced to every song that could be danced to and sang along to the rest-- Praying for Time, Kissing a Fool, Careless Whisper.

The fact that the concert was so incredible totally made up for the fact that we were surrounded by drunken middled aged women who had deluded themselves into thinking that if only George Michael saw how much they adored him, he would run away from his partner and marry them. I actually heard a woman in the ladies' room after the concert say "Sometimes I wish my husband was gay. I just want him to get me the way George gets us." Um, hun, if your husband was gay, you'd have bigger problems than his not "getting" you. Good grief!

Here's hoping that tonight is just as fun!

Comments

[spacewoman]

I am so jealous. Seeing George Michael the summer before 9th grade was easily the best thing that happened to me in 1986-1989.

Just found your blog and read through the front page. Imo, the 30s are so much better than the 20s (gray hairs and extra pounds aside) that it's really a cause for celebration. Someone told me that 30 is a huge turning point for a woman, when you finally get yourself together and feel like a confident adult, and I have to agree. Welcome to the old folks' club!

PS Congratulations on your beautiful nephew. What a cutie!

[la güera]

Summer of '88 I saw Sting and George Michael in Denver. I can't believe that it's been 20 years since then!

Have you seen David Gray in concert? He has a funny constant head-bobbling thing that he does.

[Donna]

Ha! I'm pretty sure I was one of the gushing middle age women! Not drunk though.... We had some really fun, very young gay boys with us and gushed together. They were so cute, not much older than Billy and all dressed up like George. (Morgan complained that her brother was a serious disappointment after an evening with those kids.)

I read an interview recently in which a perplexed and somewhat irritated George complained that straight women just didn't seem to realize he's gay. There was a lot of that going around at the concert.

I'm so glad y'all went. Michelle says you danced your butt off.
Love,
Donna

PS: Yeah for blogging again. I missed you.