More to Be Thankful for on Thanksgiving!

Often the first big snowstorm of the year here occurs on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  In the past our holiday travel back to see family in Chicago was often treacherous or sometimes had to be aborted at the last minute. As a Midwesterner, I’ve never enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner outdoors and sometimes entirely missed the Thanksgiving gathering altogether when Mother Nature didn’t cooperate. But this year we were invited to make use of a good friend’s empty Phoenix condo for the holidays.  Iowa had not yet sen snow but it was cold and drizzly so we wasted no time accepting this wonderful offer. Jim, I, all 3 daughters and 2 boyfriends rendezvoused in sun country and spent three fun days together.

Our friends invited us to their gorgeous Fountain Hills home for Thanksgiving dinner with them, their 3 sons, 2 daughter-in-laws and one delightful grandchild. All 15 of us enjoyed the Thanksgiving feast in 70 degree weather, out on their patio looking out at a panoramic vista of Red Mountain and the desert landscape! What a treat to dine, with the whoe family, al fresco in late November, with bougainvillea and other dry climate flowers blooming around us!

On Friday we made the most of the great weather with dips in the pool, outings to the “Butte-Hole” rock formation (lol) and the Phoenix zoo, and lunch outdoors at the Four Peaks Brewery (loved my grilled fish tacos!). That evening we headed to the Phoenix Theatre to see the musical comedy “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” 

which was lots of fun, and a late night supper at California Pizza. Saturday there was some more patio lounging, Phoenix shopping, and enjoying a “Texas-style BBQ” and country western band out on the golf greens of the local country club, and dancing to a classic rock band inside once the evening temperatures turned chilly. A full weekend, no?

It was such a good time that no one was quite ready to head back home on Sunday; we even had some tears as we separated to fly our different airlines back to Detroit, Chicago, Des Moines and Waterloo. Jim, I and Sam have the latest flight so won’t get home until after 11 tonight. I didn’t miss the traditional snowstorm one bit!!

Mighty Martina McBride in Moline

This Friday I was on the road to Quad Cities to see Martina McBride on her Shine tour at the iWireless Center in Moline, IL. I had decided to attend the show rather late, but luckily found 2 good singles on Ticketmaster not too far apart (row 6 and row 8 on the floor!). My daughter Sara drove down from Chicago to join me and requested that I bring her beau Sam with me from Iowa, so that he could spend his Thanksgiving break with her. I was happy to do so and we all hoped to all have dinner together before the concert. But rush hour traffic out of the Windy City is terrible, especially on a Friday, and poor Sara missed not only dinner but the first of the opening acts even though she left work at 3:00! So Sam and I had dinner together at a popular bar near the arena. Then he went to wait for Sara’s arrival and I headed to the iWireless.

The opening band was the Lost Trailers. I wasn’t familiar with their music. They had a lot of energy but a little too much old country twang for my taste. Not surprisingly my favorite song in their set was Mellencamp’s Hurt So Good, which they rocked.   

Somehow I had gotten confused by some early tour promotion materials and totally expected Trace Adkins to be accompanying Martina. I don’t know exactly where I got that idea into my head, but was I rather surprised when Blake Shelton walked out instead - lol! But Blake was great and the crowd loved him. He is quite personable and I enjoyed every one of his songs. But gosh darn it, my memory for details is not very good for artisits other than Keith!

This was the opening show of Martina’s new tour and she has definitely stepped up the production features of her performance since I last saw her live. The first thing I noticed was the big curtain hiding the set-up details during the break after Blake left the stage. Very similar to Keith’s big curtain, but white rather than black. However Martina’s curtain doesn’t do the same “disappearing act” that Keith’s draperies did. Unbeknownst to me, her curtain would continue to be a major feature of the set throughout the show.

Like the last time I saw her, Martina included some Keith music during the break, which I appreciate. When it was finally time for the show to begin, the lights and the curtains provided a dramatic build-up to Martina’s entrance. Through the curtains we saw a bright spinning, growing image of the world  and then Martina’s silhouette appeared in front of it and began to move towards us. The curtains were drawn back as she emerged to the front of the stage. She had 2 gradually sloped ramps to either edge of the stage, which she used throughout the evening (although a bit more slowly in her high heeled boots than Keith’s usual pace across the stage). She was in fine voice and thrilled us with a mix of songs from her new album as well as old favorites. She chatted with the audience several times, saying she had picked Moline to be first on her tour because she felt safe here.

My daughter and I found Martina's clothing choices a little odd. I guess the layered look is in but she had some rather strange looking overshirts and leggings in rather subdued or even drab colors that I did not think were terribly flattering. The only bright spot in her couple costume changes was a sparkly vest, until the encore, where she came out in a bright green John Deere teeshirt that fit her well and pleased this John Deere community.

The curtains re-appeared and were used to good effect several times during the show. At one point Martina and 2 of her band members played a few songs sitting on stools in front of the closed draperies, creating a sense of greater intimacy and closeness. Meanwhile the particular lights they used caused an ever-changing silvery iridescence behind them - very nice. At another point the curtains served as a screen on which a townscape was projected while the moon shining above slowly traced its path across the night sky. I believe this immediately preceded Martina (who had been absent during this dierama) re-appearing at stage edge, singing from a seat in a huge baby blue crescent moon. The moon proceeded to lift her high up above the audience and then all the way over those seated on the floor to a satellite stage at the rear of the arena. There the moon slowly lowered until she could dismount onto the stage. Martina joked that now we could all honestly say that we had been mooned by Martina McBride - lol! She performed about 3 songs from this stage, which slowly rotated as she sang. She did not ride the moon back to stage but instead returned along the arena perimeter, shaking hands and greeting fans as she did so.

Martina really put her all into her final big songs - Anyway, and, during the encore, Independence Day. What a big voice from such a tiny gal!! The crowd went crazy with applause and gave her a standing ovation. She said that the rest of her tour stops would have a hard time matching what she got from her friends in Moline.

Sadly I had forgotten to charge my camera battery so only caught a few shots before it went dead.

Blake Shelton - Goodbye Time

Dierks Bentley and Gloriana Put on a Great Show!!

(It was a busy weekend and I am actually one review behind. Friday night , before heading to see Keith in Chicago, I attended another show, right here in Iowa).

We don’t get too many concerts here in town (Cedar Falls/Waterloo, IA) so I was excited when they announced that Dierks Bentley would be playing the same small McElroy Auditorium where I first saw Keith about 4 years ago. I was ready when the tickets went on sale but was surprised to find that only General Admission tickets were available online. I have been to several shows there and always had reserved seats before. Ah well - I bought a couple for my friend and myself. Later my youngest daughter said she and a friend wanted to go as well, so I went back online to buy another pair. They were having a “Buy 4 for the price of 2” sale so, what the heck, I got 4 with each ticket just $9.50!

I thought my daughter might have additional friends needing tickets but everyone else had bought their own. So I ran a contest among my 320 students this semester to give away the two remaining tickets.

It turned out that they made the concert general admission so that the entire main floor could be standing room only. Apparently some fans had lined up early in the morning to be sure of getting close to the stage. None of us wanted to stand all evening so we headed for the risers.

I was totally unfamiliar with Gloriana (in fact I thought that might be the name of a female soloist!) but was pleasantly surprised by this fun and energetic group, who at some moments reminded me of Lady Antebellum and at others, Little Big Town.

Dierks had endeared himself to our community by spending part of the morning skating, in full gear (although he did tweet that he couldn’t find his protective cup - lol), with our local Black Hawks hockey team. The team was tickled and said Dierks wasn’t bad on the ice. He showed us some photos during the concert and also got good coverage in the newspaper. He began his set in a flannel shirt over a red teeshirt, but by the end of the evening he had shed the flannel. I was glad to see he has some of those curls back in his hair.

I have seen Dierks open for Keith and for Kenny but this was the first time I saw him headline a tour. He did a good job and seemed to have picked up many pointers from Keith’s shows. Dierks was full of energy and almost constantly on the move on the stage, making sure to go to the far right and left stage edges to interact with and serenade those in the risers. He does a lot of jumping (like Keith and the guys jumping towards the end of their show) throughout his set - a regular Energizer bunny! Dierks had a catwalk even in this small auditorium and interacted a lot with the fans along the edges. He sang all of his hits as well as his new music - it was a nicely paced show.

He even played, with 2 members of his band, a short set out at the very end of his catwalk (sound familiar?) which was kind of a fun combination of songs, most of which I have uploaded on YouTube. They started out with “Just a good ol’ boy”, then went on to “Family Tradition”, which really got a big response from the crowd, then “My Dixieland Delight”, throwing in several appreciated references to Waterloo. Dierks finished his end of the catwalk set with “My Last Name.” Nice medley Mr. Bentley!!

Dierks took time to chat a little with the audience about his past visits to Iowa and his skating in the morning. He proposed a little toast to the fans and his band and country music, but had to borrow a beer from one of the guys next to the catwalk to do so. He said “I owe you one” to the guy and then asked “You don’t have swine flu do you?” lol.

Anyway, late in the show he actually did come out with 2 fresh beers for the guy and his buddy! 

Like Keith, Dierks also took time to express his gratitude to his fans and also gave his thanks and dedicated a song to the men and women of the armed forces.

Got a Lot of Leavin'

Every Mile a Memory

Just a Good Ol' Boy

Family Tradition

My Dixieland Delight

Keith Urban Close Up at Joe's Bar

Preface (from Wednesday afternoon) - Woo Hoo!!! My daughter Sara, who now lives and works in Chicago just won tickets to Keith Urban's private show at Joe's Bar Saturday from the downtown Verizon Store!! I screamed into the phone when she called me, I'm tickled to death and Hubby and I will make a weekend of it (as long as he doesn't have to go see Keith lol). My sister had tried to win yesterday at the Lake Zurich store but there were 150 trying for the 25 pairs of tickets so she wasn't lucky, and my brother-in-law was set to try at the Plainfield Verizon Thursday! I'm convinced my "Keith Karma", as we call it, was the result of me paying-it-forward this afternoon. I ran a contest among my 320 students this semester for 2 free tickets to see Dierks Bentley and Gloriana here in town Friday night. Not 10 minutes after I awarded the free tickets, I got the call from Sara!

Saturday - Well today was some crazy day. We couldn’t leave Iowa until Saturday morning and the special show at Joe’s Bar was scheduled for 1:00 with doors opening at noon. Being a general admission venue I just knew fans would begin lining up early, but there was nothing I could do about it. We had planned to get the first 100 miles or so out of the way late on Friday when I got home at 10:45 or 11:00. My niece Carly needed an emergency ride home from the University of Iowa to Chicagoland, So Jim and I got to Iowa City about 12:15 am, spent barely 6 hours in our hotel bed, then picked up Carly at 7:15 Saturday morning. Although I kept the pedal to the metal, Saturday traffic and roadwork meant that we didn’t drop off Carly on the southwest side of the city until 11:10 and still had to meet my daughter and get to the northside before show time. When I finally arrived and met Sara, nearly 200 people were in line in front of us (I later learned that some had been there since 8 am!!). We waited in the glorious sunshine - it was amazingly close to 70 on this 14th day of November in the Windy City!. They had put some special effort into trying to avoid the scalping of tickets to this Verizon event. Each winner had a personalized letter, with an identifying number on it. When we entered they checked Sara’s ID against the name on the letter and made sure her numbered letter matched what had been given out at the Verizon store, and only then gave us plastic Verizon VIP tags to hang around our necks. Sara’s friend had won a pair of tickets as well so we had two Urban virgins with us who would have their first Keith experience in a very intimate environment!

Joe’s Bar was set up with about 9 long tables perpendicular to the stage, each seating 16 people and a few more bar stools here and there. Those 200 people in line in front of us had more than filled all the tables, so the last 100 of us were in the standing room only area beyond the tables. I chose to stand at the end of of the center table, right in line with Keith’s microphone, so had a great view. It seems like we waited forever -apparently the meet and greet and photos with Keith that some contest winners had scored were taking longer than planned in a mezzanine area just above us. It was nearly 1:30 when our hero finally made it down to the stage, preceded by Chicago Bears Tight End Greg Olson who apparently had been at the meet and greet. Not sure if Greg is an avid Keith fan or whether they just met at Joe’s Bar (Greg was involved in a charity event there Friday night). Although, as a bar event, they had checked to make sure we were all 21 or older (ha!), I saw some extra special VIP take two little girls up to the meet and greet. Does Greg Olson have kids?

Today Keith looked very much like his photo on the Verizon posters - he was wearing almost an identical shade of plaid shirt (but short-sleeved and without a teeshirt) and was just as yummy as could be, We had been warned ahead of time not to take flash photos or shoot video or we might be removed from the event, so I was a bit nervous about using my camera. My attempts at non-flash photos were almost complete failures, so I eventually took my chances and switched to the video setting. But I didn’t want to be too obvious so I held my camera in front of my chest rather than in front of my face, so pardon if my focus is not as steady as usual!

The “brief acoustic set” of this new type of Verizon event is longer than a backstage experience performance but quite a bit shorter than the “No Frills” shows earlier this year. Apparently they had pizza available to us (kind of like a BSE) in the back room but I don’t think many people were willing to leave the spots that each had staked out to go get food (I certainly didn’t).We were treated to 5 songs and perhaps 8 or 9 “questions” from the audience. Sitting on a bar stool on stage first said that it was nice to be back in Chicago and that they had begun the tour right here (the Joe’s Bar “No Frills”) and now were ending the tour here, so had come full circle. He said he’d play a few songs and then have some time for a few probing, deeply personal, inappropriate questions - hee hee. Keith then asked what we wanted to hear and about 100 shouted out song titles. Keith sang Days Go By and then my request : ) I’m In, which was just wonderful! Then took a few “questions”. The first was more of a longish testimonial on what Keith’s music had meant in one fan’s life and a few were requests rather than true questions (Will you sign my poster, sign my license plate, take a picture with me...)( and Keith was very tolerant and obliged). (The audience was already envious of those who got him to sign things, but really were green with envy when he invited the photo requester up on stage and gave her a hug and maybe even a a little kiss on the cheek!)

But a few of the questions were interesting: “Have you written any songs for Sunday yet, and if so will you record them?” Keith said no, he hadn’t written any songs yet. He had composed a little piano piece for her, but that was it. He then was asked if he would play it. He quickly said “No, that’s personal.” but then followed it up with “Its for piano - it just wouldn’t work on guitar.” He was asked who he would most like to collaborate with in the future. Keith didn’t exactly respond to the question as asked, but did volunteer that he might be collaborating with John Mayer in 2010. Interesting! When asked if he could play with any band, which would he choose. Keith said he thought playing with the Beatles would be interesting. Another asked what were his 3 favorite songs to perform and he said that he really didn’t have favorites. Keith tried calling on a male in the crowd, but apparently the guy’s wife or girlfriend usurped the opportunity to talk to Keith! But I was happy she did because what she did was praise Keith for always thinking about his audiences and going out to the small stage to give those in the rear a bit of personal attention and how wonderful and awesome he was to do that. Another asked what was the craziest thing that ever happened on tour and what was going through his mind during it. He said that hands down it was Taylor’s prank and what was going through his mind was what the hell is going on?, who the hell are these people? when did Kiss arrive? “I actually thought it was them for a moment!”

Then a few more songs - Kiss a Girl and Jeans On (!!! I was so pleased to hear this one!!!) Keith smiled a lot and complimented our singing. And a couple more questions: When asked if he could join any band, which would he choose. Keith said he thought playing with the Beatles would be interesting. He started joking with the question asker because she had her questions written down and suddenly I realized another diehard Iowa Keith fan “Jeans-on-gal” had also managed to win a ticket to this Illinois event! We are two peas in a pod when it comes to being crazy, highly motivated Keith followers! Another gal asked if he was writing yet for a new album and he said they will just start writing in the next couple months and would probably get into the studio early next year. I waved my arm like crazy but never got to ask if there would be any arena shows next year.

Before he sang Stupid Boy Keith thanked the audience for coming out and again thanked Chicago. He said he had been coming to Chicago since the Ranch days - some 14 years and Chicago had always been good to him.

It was over way too soon - thirty five minutes after he entered the room Keith slipped out the side door. I had hardly gotten past that initial stunned gawking phase (“He’s here, he’s here”!) to the point where I could settle into and experience the music and then it was time to leave. So short and sweet and such a tease. My daughter thought she saw Keith in one of the SUVs with darkened windows outside of Joe’s as we left. I couldn't see anything but looked longingly at the SUV as it pulled away nevertheless. How will we make it to the first of the 2010 shows????

Days Go By

I'm In

Kiss a Girl

Jeans On
Stupid Boy

Praise for Itzhak Perlman

This Sunday violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman made a return visit to the University of Northern Iowa campus. I had a conflict the last time he played here so was pleased I was able to attend this  year's show. Throughout the evening Mr. Perlman and his very talented pianist had the rapt attention of the audience which filled the Great Hall of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center and received several standing ovations. Although the entire performance was wonderful, I particularly enjoyed the 7-8 lesser known pieces that Mr. Perlman played during the encore and his droll sense of humor as he chatted with the audience - a quality which has, no doubt, endeared him to his audiences nearly as much as his amazing musical abilities. How anyone can move that bow so lightly, so quickly, so perfectly is beyond me - I couldn't keep my eyes off his finger and hand movements.

Gary Allan and Jack Ingram in Mankato

I had plans to get together with my sister this weekend in scenic Galena, IL midway between our Iowa and Illinois homes. But at the last minute our date fell through and I was looking at a weekend home alone while hubby was in Tucson on business. Meanwhile I was really feeling concert deprived - over a month since my last Keith concert - so I went looking for what was available nearby. Success! Gary Allan was playing just a couple hours away in Mankato, MN. Could I find a decent ticket? Happily it is often possible to find isolated singles and Ticketmaster had one in the 8th row of the floor so I was set.

Saturday it was sunny and 65 degrees - you’d never guess that it was November in Minnesota! Although all the colorful leaves had left the trees in our last couple weeks of rainy, windy weather it was still a lovely ride that flew by as I listened to my book-on-tape (well CD actually these days). I found my way to downtown Mankato but was uncertain where the Verizon Wireless Arena was so pulled into a parking lot to check my maps. A young woman was walking by so I asked her if she knew its location. She laughed and pointed right behind me! Like a homing pigeon I had honed in on the concert venue without even realizing it! LOL

I walked around the neighborhood looking for an interesting spot for dinner but found only bars - lots and lots of bars. So I ended up in “Olives” in my hotel lobby which turned out to be surprisingly good. After my “Dirty Blue” martini (with bleu cheese stuffed olives) I had a wonderful French Brie and dried cranberry salad with baby greens, soft, plump berries, long thin crackers and a wonderful cranberry viniagrette and fresh baked crusty French rolls.

Two opening acts preceded Gary Allan. First the Eli Young Band played five songs. Although Eli is kind of a cute teddy bear of a guy, their sound system was not the best and probably didn’t show their music to its best advantage. I liked a couple of the songs but I (and much of the audience I think)  was kind of lukewarm about their overall performance. Next came Jack Ingram and he immediately did better job of getting the crowd on their feet and singing. It has been years since I last saw him at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville and I was favorably impressed! Lots of energy and interacted well with the crowd. I liked that he actually chatted with us a little (something that Gary did not do later on). Jack dedicated his second song, That's A Man, to the soldiers at Fort Hood and their families and friends and all the men and women who take on the very tough job of serving their country. Later on, for his song Barefoot and Crazy, he pulled off his black boots (and balanced them, heel to heel, on top of his microphone!!) and told us we could get barefoot and crazy too, if we liked. The floor in my section was swimming with beer from the ‘ladies’ around me who could not, in more ways than one, hold their liquor, so I chose not to join in. Although later more than once beer rained on me so I suppose I should have just gone ahead and ‘waded”! Jack talked about his earlier visits to play in Minnesota, including playing on the kids’ “puppet stage” (as he called it) at the Minnesota State Fair in the nineties - lmao!!

Jack also talked about how his mom finally believes he has “made it” because now he has a fan club and how she is even asked him what favorite dessert he wanted her to make at Thanksgiving - a sign to him that now he is no longer the black sheep of the family (hee hee). Jack took a little different approach to building his fan club last night - he announced that anyone who joined his fan club at the concert by buying the fan club “Jack Pack” out at the merchandise booth would get a bracelet which allowed them to come back stage for a meet and greet after the show! I actually would have done so if it were the usual fee for joining a fan club, but when I checked at the merchandise booth the Jack Pack was $60 because it includes a teeshirt, CD and other goodies. I’m not a teeshirt person so I passed by the somewhat tempting offer. 

Perhaps my favorite of Jack Ingram’s songs was “Barbie Doll” because he had so much fun with it and got the whole audience into it (see clip). Jack was gracious enough to bring out the Eli Young Band for another song and paid them several compliments. Fun performance tonight Jack - hope to see you again! But please share yourself more equally with fans on both the right and left sides of the stage! You spent far too much time over at stage left!

Gary’s stage set up was fairly simple and attractive - a centerstage stairway where I assumed he would enter (a la Keith’s ramp last tour) and layered draperies at the back and on either side of the stage. The stairway and the platforms for the drummer and the keyboardist were all lined with lumiere type ‘candles”. Near showtime one of the crew came out and stuck what looked to be incense sticks in many of these candles, although I can’t say I ever caught a hint of fragrance like we sometimes get at Keith’s shows. No catwalk or stage extension of any type (although seating charts had shown one). There was a single video screen about the size of a small movie theatre screen. Before Gary came out the video screen showed something that looked like the movie rating screen that appears before a film or a preview, saying:

The Following Show Has Been Approved For All Audiences.

Rating: COOL       Some content may not be suitable for uncool people.

I have seen Gary Allan many many times when he opened for either Keith or Kenny, but I was curious to see how and what he would do now that the is headlining his own tour. I love many of his songs and was really looking forward to his performance. Gary strolled down those centerstage stairs at 9:30 without much build up or fanfare, starting right in on his first song. As is usual for Mr. Allan, he began with a thin leather jacket over his tee, but then removed it by the third song. He was wearing super-frayed, distressed jeans. The show progressed quickly from that point on, with little pause between numbers. From my front floor position in this rather small arena the sound was way too loud - made me want to plug my ears. It seemed to get a little better by the second half of Gary’s set, but maybe my auditory receptors were half stunned by then! I enjoyed all my Allan favorites and a few new acoustic songs I was unfamiliar with, but some of Gary’s newest were too hard rock for me - especially at high volume. It was a nice change to watch a band member in a kilt (one of Gary's guitarists)! : ) I liked that Gary brought out his opening acts for a fun song towards the end of the show. I also liked the special touch when, at the end of the encore, Gary's shaggy black and white dog was waiting for him at the top of the centerstage stairs. Gary gave him a rub in greeting and then they both departed! : ) 

Gary please share yourself more with all of your fans!! Even more so than Jack Ingram, Gary spent 3/4 of his set at stage left - I kept wanting to wave him over to at least centerstage if not to stage right where I was sitting.  I never saw him really play to the risers or say anything to those at the rear of the venue. Such a sharp contrast to the way that Keith acknowledges every area of any arena and really tries throughout an evening to spend quality time everywhere that he possibly can. And I have to say that even though I really like Gary and his music, there were other sharp contrasts that detracted from the show. I did not care for some of his background visuals. I understand that as a more beginning artist he does not have a huge production budget, but I would drop the silhouettes  or images of buxom women with spread legs and wielding machine guns (???? am I missing something about their relevance?) and some of the jerky low quality graphics at the beginning of the show. (Later numbers had much more beautiful and intriguing backgrounds). Also Gary is a very serious performer - as in very sparing with his smiles and sometimes almost looking like he was irritated to be there! I just didn’t get a sense of joy or that he loved what he was doing except for one brief comment that “If you treat me good I’ll play all night.” That was one of his very few comments to the audience - he really didn’t chat or engage with the crowd except for a couple handslaps. I missed that personalizing of the show.. He did scold security for harassing folks approaching the stage and told them to back off. But even that was done in a different tone that what I was used to. Gary phrased it “Back off, let them have fun - this is MY party!” (whereas Keith always refers to a show as the fans' “This is YOUR night - do what you want.”)

So my trip and the concert were very enjoyable but not “the best I ever had!”

(sorry for the drunken arm wavers in the clips below)

A few longer clips I put on Youtube:

Right Where I Need to Be

Learning How to Bend

The Best I Ever Had

Half of My Mistakes

Jack Ingram - Stars

October has been a "Broadway shows" month for me. This week the national tour of Mamma Mia came to the wonderful Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at my university for a weekend of sell-out shows. 

A group of about forty of us got tickets for last night - a perfect way to celebrate "Thnak God It's Friday"! I played Abba songs before all of my classes this week, trying to get some of my students to expand their cultural horizons and try out a terrific Broadway musical without going to NY, NY.

This was actually my third time seeing Mamma Mia live, but obviously I don't mind repeating experiences that I enjoy (LOL)! There is something special about going to a musical where the songs are all familiar and already part of one's personal history.  (I am anxious to see Jersey Boys sometime for this reason.) The cast was just bursting with energy and my only regret was that their Iowa audience, though enjoying themselves, was too reserved to join in - even during the encore set of songs performed by the entire company. I wanted to sing and dance along - really get into the musical experience - but when I let loose with some of the moves during Dancing Queen I couldn't get any of my row to join in.

Although the style of Abba's music may be dated, many of lyrics are timeless as is the feel-good enthusiasm of so many of the songs. Some of my favorites in the show:  

If you change your mind, I'm the first in line

Honey I'm still free, Take a chance on me

If you need me, let me know, gonna be around

If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down

If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown

Honey I'm still free, Take a chance on me

Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie

If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Take a chance on me

Take a chance on me

Are you singing along like me?

Love me or leave me, make your choice but believe me

I love you

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

I can't conceal it, don't you see, can't you feel it?

Don't you too? 

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

And then the song that both opened and closed the Mamma Mia storyline:

I have a dream, a song to sing, to help me cope with anything

If you see the wonder of the fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels, something good in everything I see
I believe in angels, when I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream

Perhaps not as well known among Abba's songs but the sentiment spoke to me and sounded like something Keith might sing. Speaking of Keith, it has been a month since my last show and I am already jonesin' for a concert. So jealous of those Franklin, TN folks who were treated to an acoustic set!!

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you
Mamma mia, does it show again
My my, just how much I've missed you

Yes, I've been brokenhearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go
Mamma mia, now I really know
My my, I could never let you go

I told my Keith-Urban-fan buddies that I was going to see "Defying Gravity" performed live in Des Moines last week. I couldn't resist, since that is the title of Keith's most recent album and there is certainly little I would like more than to get to see him and the band perform every track live! We only got to see some of the songs performed during this year's tour. Hit the Ground Running, Sweet Thing, Kiss a Girl, Only You Can Love Me This Way, and Til Summer Comes Around were on the set list at every show. If Ever I Could Love and Standing Right in Front of You were included early in the tour, but apparently the show was running too long and, sadly, they were dropped from most of the later concerts. I was lucky enough to see Keith sing "I'm In" at a backstage experience, and some East-coasters were treated to "Thank You"as the US tour came to a close. I hope we get to see the remaining tracks (and also I'm In and Thank You) performed live in the spring. So far Keith's presence at only a couple summer festivals has been confirmed. More arena shows pretty pretty please Keith!!

Anyway, the Defying Gravity that I was actually seeing live is one of the songs in the Broadway musical Wicked, now on its second tour to various US cities including our state capitol Des Moines. My daughter Anne goes to Iowa State University, not far from Des Moines, so she and I had a "girls' night out" to see Wicked there. We are both fans of the Wizard of Oz and couldn't resist the temptation to see another side or alternative view of that famous story. I picked her up from her part-time job and we made a quick visit to her new apartment so I could meet her kitty Warhol and see her furniture finds. Then off to the big city, grabbing a quick dinner in Ankeny on the way (where for the very first time I saw my daughter eat chicken noodle soup! can you believe it!? All of my daughters are pretty peculiar eaters, especially given that Mom will eat just about anything that will hold still long enough = LOL).

I had begun reading the Wicked novel some time ago but then accidentally left it behind at the Mohegan Sun Casino Hotel and never got around to getting another copy. So I had been introduced to the main characters and was excited to see how the story would unfold.

The large Des Moines Civic Center was sold out for Wicked even though it had been playing in town a couple weeks. We had decent seats in row U of the sharply tiered main floor so could see perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale of how Glinda (of "good witch" fame) and Elphaba (later to be THE Wicked Witch) had become unlikely best friends while in school and the various storylines that provided new insight into the origins of the Cowardly Lion, TinMan and Scarecrow. The songs of the musical fit the tale and were enjoyable even if not destined to become classics. The dialog contained many quick references to the old Wizard of Oz as well as more modern day issues so you had to stay on your toes to catch them all (I like smart theatre!). It was a thoroughly entertaining evening I would recommend to anyone who had the opportunity to catch this fun and thoughtful play.

Crossing Borders for Keith Urban: Terrific Toronto!

I was as excited and giddy as usual about the prospect of seeing Keith in Toronto, but also felt a bit of heartache that this would be my last show for who knows how long. I nearly had a heart attack when my first flight was slow getting into its gate and I almost missed my connection to Toronto. As I ran down the long terminal hallway at Chicago’s O’Hare, I heard them announcing over the loud speakers “Would passenger Walsh please board immediately at gate B22”. “I’m coming!!” I screamed even though I’m sure the gate personnel could not hear me.

Big city Toronto is a paradox in many ways. First - no jet-bridges for either my arriving or departing flights (what a pain dragging my suitcase down that little ladder of steps from the plane and then up two flights of stairs into the terminal!) but then my bus downtown was equipped with free high speed internet and an electric plug at every seat! Downtown skyscrapers sit in pretty close approximation to little neighborhoods where the French and English of Canada intermingle with almost ever other language imaginable.

The weather was chilly and rainy when I arrived, with low hanging clouds hiding the tops of some of the tall buildings. It didn’t look like I’d be able to admire the views from the CNN tower this weekend! I had picked my hotel for its proximity to the Air Canada Centre without really realizing what a famous and formidable bastion it was - the Fairmont Royal York takes up most of a square block. I certainly hadn’t realized that it actually connected to the ACC via underground tunnels through Union Station - which turned out to be really convenient! It was still raining Saturday night but I didn’t even have to wear a coat to go through the tunnels. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Friday night I chose the cozy environs of the hotel over venturing out in the inclement weather. The Fairmont has a bar in which many tables look out into its very busy lobby and who knows what famous couple may wander through that lobby! So first I settled there and treated myself to one of their “award-winning” cocktails. And they deserved their awards for the artistry and subtlety of their mixologist’s hand! I tried a “Pear-Cinnamon Sour” which tasted just like the essence of a juicy fresh pear with a pleasing bit of tartness, served in a martini glass topped with a cinnamon-y foam and a thin full cross-section of a Bosc pear set on its rim. Yum! It was so good and so pretty that I had to try another of their “epic” (as they call them) drinks. Being a chile lover I chose a “Mandarin Sting” made with fresh squeezed Mandarin orange juice and “hand-crushed” serrano chile. Might sound scary but it was just wonderful, with the serrano giving it a fresh, fragrant, green, herby-more- than- hot tinge to the orange juice that was so seductive. The drink was topped with a thin slice of chile this time. Good thing they gave me a great bowl of bar munchies that kept me from getting too silly. I just had a pleasant glow when I went down to the hotel’s lower level to Benihana’s. I had been to the big grill tables of Benihanas elsewhere but never realized they had a sushi bar. So forget about the grill tables - I was going for sushi, one of my food loves. Here too the chefs were truly artists as they constructed the most beautiful plates, first of 5 kinds of sashimi and then a maki roll which looked like a Chinese dragon with scales of thinly sliced avocado. Even my wasabi was pretty, garnished with the tiniest little 3/8 inch marigold.

I complemented the sushi chef and he beamed and bowed.

Saturday weather was still drippy so I took the subway (which also can be accessed from the Fairmont without going outside!) two stops down to a big mall called Eaton Centre. Browsed all the levels (bought a couple Godiva chocolates : ) and, when the rain paused, took a walk through the very international surrounding neighborhood, and had some Chinese for lunch. My fortune cookie predicted “Good fortune will come your way today,” and I hoped it was right.

Almost show time! I was too excited to be really hungry but grabbed a cup of seafood chowder in the hotel since I didn’t know what would be open after the concert. Then I followed other concert goers through the underground shopping area, food court and Union Station until I saw the entrance to the ACC. I made it to my 10th row Seat 1 with just enough time to meet the woman who had sold me her extra ticket and chat with her family a bit. We enjoyed Lady Antebellum (I must say that although I like their own songs, I really love their performance of Mellencamp’s Hurt So Good because it really gets the crowd going). I dashed to the bathroom as they finished their set because I was hoping that during the break there might be the opportunity to move up to the stage or catwalk from row 10. Well, it didn’t happen during the break. Security seemed quite tight on my left hand aisle and there seemed to be something extra going on at this venue. Several of Keith’s top managers whom you never see out front, came down my aisle escorting quite a few gents in suits up to the stage area for a while.( Happily they did not stay ‘cause they didn’t look like a fun crowd; ) Also it seemed Keith’s crew were intentionally keeping the area by the left-hand ramp clear of standers, maybe because they had a cameraman set up in the first set of stairs of the left risers. I think they were doing some special filming all evening, including capturing some shots of Keith coming out on the catwalk for Hit the Ground at the start of the show. They also did a lot more audience shots last night. Could they be making up a special video to send out before the CMA awards? Didn’t they do that last time?

So I watched Hit the Ground from the 10th row (look at the 2nd clip catch the crazy thigh action at the very end). But then, to my surprise, once they got the shots they wanted during HTG, the crew actually came down my aisle and INVITED us to now come up to the ramp area!! So I did! And since no one had been allowed to populate that spot earlier, I scored a primo location right on the ramp edge! I was so tickled! Great views and Keith passed in front of me on that ramp no fewer than four times!

Each one of the guys came down on that runway at least once and Brad and Brian came shooting past, sliding to ramp’s bottom during Sweet Thing. Jerry and Brad also strolled down the ramp and out into the audience during the Better Life. Good fortune had indeed come my way.

Keith leapt into Days Go By with a huge shout-out “TORONTO!! Here we go!” Stupid Boy was just stunning and I enjoyed seeing Keith, as he bowed low and breathed out a big “whew” following that seering solo, followed it (while still bent over) with a big grin at the roar of approval from the audience. When he chatted with the audience afterwards he did his playful bows and kowtowing to those in the VIP boxes. During Blacktop he made his first trip onto my ramp almost paralyzing me with the dilemma of what to do! Take a photo? Just smile and greet him? Reach out and “greet him”? Well, the last impulse won out but boy he was on the move. So somehow what began as a reach to pat his arm didn’t get there in time so turned into running my hand down the back of his leg as he passed! :0

Better half signaled that Keith would be going to the satellite stage, but no way could I leave my position tonight. But I caught some good shots of the other guys, and a few of Keith on the big screens. Keith was very impressed with Toronto’s singing and told everyone they sounded beautiful after Making Memories. He also talked a little about it being the last show in Canada and how Canada has always made them feel so welcome. He concluded with “Whatever is in the water up here is working - so keep drinking it!” He added a bit of a special ending to Only You Can Love Me, taking his oh-ooo’s way up into the falsetto range. When he returned to the main stage I knew he’d be heading up my ramp again, so this time pledged to have my camera ready. I tried my best but he was was still too fast for me to catch him going by, so I ended up with a shot of him already up on stage. Foiled again : )

Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me was great although I do miss a little some of the playful interaction with band members that used to occur during that song. But that song triggers some of the very best of Keith’s moves, doesn’t it? Sweet Thing got a great crowd response and gosh, was that Keith looking over his shoulder at me again? (I can only hope) (I need a shirt that says “ Yes -it’s me AGAIN!”). Til Summer Comes Around was beautiful, but if you watch Keith closely (how can you not?) he must have been enjoying the audience because he keeps smiling during this song about heartbreak!

Tonight’s prelude to Raining on Sunday was some really pretty picking with Flamenco-like guitar flourishes - so nice! But perhaps after Til Summer Comes Around Keith had unconsciously run his hand through his hair as he sometimes does when he is warm, so for ROS he had a bit of a “bed head” - something you don’t see too often (see clip). The guys were on stage behind Keith accompanying him during the ROS closing and I just had to film them because they looked so good (see clip).

I tried to limit my videoclips because I didn’t know whether Lady A or Keith would be doing something special for their last Canadian show. Keith did bring Hilary out for his tennis ball antics. He was in green sweatband and wristbands tonight, Hilary in red. Her swings were a bit wimpy (and later in the evening she apologized to Keith “I hope I didn’t ruin your tennis game.” ; ) If you’re interested, here is a link to the lyrics of the rather naughty tennis song they have been playing during these little tennis interludes:

http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/cityofangels/thetennissong.htm

A couple extra tributes to Canadian musicians added to tonight’s show. First Brian came out with his baby blue guitar and did a new solo following his introduction - Bryan Adams’ Run to You. And then Keith chose to precede Tonight I Wanna Cry with the chorus from Gordon Lightfoot’s Sundown (I used to listen to Gordon for hours on end!).

When Keith brought Lady A out again to sing Seven Bridges Road with him I thought it was cute that Hilary was still wearing her red tennis wristband. She is probably just like any of us might be if we caught one of Keith’s wristbands at the show! She may still be wearing it right now! : )

We got to hear a little of Keith’s deep “Elvis” voice during I Told You So, when he sang “Just come on home Priscilla” like the King. In You’ll Think of Me, Keith began the emotional build up by slipping in “I’m gonna bet ya (that you’ll think of me), then he let out a bitter, sneering “And all your pathetic reasons” before he got to his impassioned “I hope when you see my face it gives you hell, it gives you hell!”

I was chanting to myself “Come down this ramp, come down this ramp” as Keith was playing his light-up guitar before You Look Good in My Shirt. Hurray - he did! But once again that man was too fast for me and my camera. I almost missed him on his trip back as well but not quite : ) - got a little “Vitamin K” to tide me over!

I caught 3 picks from my runway spot - none from KU but fun just the same (although the friendly security guard next to me probably thought I was going to hurt myself diving for those little things each time they were tossed out!).

I must compliment the audience - when I replayed them singing Tonight I Wanna Cry with Keith they truly sounded like a sweet professional choir! Maybe some of you have heard of the Morman Tabernacle Choir? Well this was the Urban Tabernacle Choir and Keith’s “tabernacle” is any arena in which he plays - his “choir” automatically shows up!

Keith was sweet and gracious at the end of the show as usual. “Good God Ontario! What an amazing, amazing night! Tonight was off the hook! We had the best time playing for you guys!” and “As I mentioned this is our last show in your incredible, incredible country and you have been unbelievably good to us.” After thank yous he closed with “Be good to yourself, believe in yourself! Everything that you need is right inside you!”

Physically exhausted after standing by the ramp for two hours I collapsed back in my tenth row seat for a few moments before tackling the walk back to the hotel and was joined by several friends from the boards who were similarly pooped. Too bad we didn’t find each other earlier in the evening! We had barely sat down when security shooed us out so they could fold up the chairs! Mercy! Us ladies need to recover a bit after spending the evening with Keith!

I was surprised to find that the underground tunnels between the arena and hotel were filled with enterprising young people selling various Keith Urban souvenirs, probably without permission. Shirts, pictures, posters - all a bit different from the offerings of the official merchandise booth. I confess I bought a shirt and a 10 X 12 print - it had been such a glorious night!

My fancy hotel bar was still open, so I stopped for dessert and a nightcap while I replayed the show in my mind. Chai-scented creme brulee (yum) and a tropical drink tasting of passionfruit called Lychee Love garnished with a Lychee on the thinnest of bamboo “picks” which was twisted into a decorative knot at one end. Seemed a fitting ending to an evening of musical passion and love.

Postscript: In the morning I headed to the airport. Luckily I went 2 hours early as they recommend for international flights, because there was quite a long line to go through customs in the Toronto airport. I patiently snaked my way through the rope-separated aisles until I made it up to the desk of one of the 7 customs agents on duty. When I came into Canada they had questioned me about the purpose of my visit and now she asked again “What were you doing here in Canada?” “I went to a concert at the Air Canada Center.” I replied. “Who was playing?” she asked. “Keith Urban” I said. And she stunned me by saying “Keith Urban? He just went through here a little while ago!” and then added “All by himself.” I think she meant that he didn’t travel with an entourage - just alone, like a normal person. But I also took it to mean that Nic wasn’t with him at Customs. Although we had heard she was going to come to the Toronto show, I’m wondering if perhaps their plans changed. Although Keith dedicated MMOU to his wife, he made no mention of her being present as he often does. And from my front stage view I saw no signs of frequent glances offstage as sometimes happens when she is watching from the sidelines. And now this bit of information from the customs agent. Has anyone seen tweets or reviews mentioning Nicole-sightings in Toronto?

Heavens, how much more exciting working my way through those long customs lines would have been if I could have kept my eyes on Mr. Urban the whole way!! I came so close to a “real world” encounter.......

A few of my clips are up on You Tube:

Sweet Thing

Stupid Boy Solo

Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me

End of Somebody Like You

A Bit of Sundown Before Tonight I Wanna Cry

Tennis with Hilary and Keith Brian's New Solo

Tiny Tidbits for the Truly Addicted (very short clips):

Thanks for all the great 2009 shows Keith!!