I absolutely have to start the note commenting on what was most
important to me on this day, and that was celebrating the life of my very close
friend Ryan's mom. We had a very moving memorial service in the afternoon, and
I'm so glad I was able to attend and walk down memory lane with her.
Onto Amy...2 of Amy's daughters came, my friend who went to soundcheck got to
sit 5 feet from Corina. So...expectations were quite lowered the moment we
walked to the theater. It was a very old worn down place, in a frightening place
in town. Several of us came together, and we were clinging to each other on the
way out of the car hoping not to get killed:) Then we saw the line of people, I
was like is this the right place? Tuxedos, suits, and people who were clearly
not in my generation or Amy's. Nothing wrong with that, but a way different
crowd than in Irvine. The first 14 rows went to the people supporting the hospital. The week before the show, they opened the front row, and 2 of our friends bought tickets. There were 4 unsold front row seats for the night, and I was tempted to sit in one of them, but didn't. This actually turned out to be a good thing - you will see why later.
As the evening started, we decided to be respectful of the people supporting the benefit and didn't stand or dance for any of the songs at the beginning like we did the night before. Of course everyone did the dip and sway for Everywhere I Go. But for the most part, everyone sat there like Amy was singing to a painting of an audience. However, when Sing Your Praise came on (my favorite song, and my favorite to dance to), our feet couldn't help but start jumping. Boy I'm glad we did - it was amazing, after several of us started dancing, the whole back half of the theater started to follow! Now we figured it out, the first 14 rows were all the people there for the benefit, and everyone in the back were the Amy fans who were there for Amy. So after that, the energy level you could just feel it rising...and the back half of the auditorium was rockin' the rest of the night. People started to dance in the aisle, and it was just amazing. I asked Chris Rodriguez after the show, and he said he could see everyone in the back dancing. Amy even made a comment at one point during one of the dancy songs...something like "I wonder what it's gonna take to get the front rows moving...this is as dancy as it gets" (Totally paraphrased, and she said it much nicer than I paraphrased). So our 2 friends in the front were stuck sitting the whole night while those of us in back got to move.
When Amy introduced the band, she noted that Gary wasn't there. She did the same
in Irvine. She talked about how they get along great, but thought it would be a
little too awkward for her, Vince, and Gary to have him back on the road. I miss
him in the band, but what was neat was hearing Amy talk about it. She's
mentioned the divorce and re-marriage in a number of interviews, but this was
really the first time from my perspective, that it felt like she was actually
comfortable talking about the subject. So that was really neat - it just feels
like there is so much life in Amy, and that spirit hasn't been visible in her
since 1992. Oh...on the band, the 2 others who weren't there were Michael W.
Smith and Donna McElroy. I have never seen a show with Donna, but wish so much
those two would go on the road with Amy again...maybe someday...
After Angels, and before the last song pre-encore, Fight, 3 girls walked down to
the pit to dance. I haven't seen anyone do that since my second Amy concert ever
(House of Love, Las Vegas right after House of Love in Anaheim which was a more
mellow crowd). Security QUICKLY started to escort them out of the pit. This was
my favorite part. Amy ditched her mic (she really needs a chordless), ran to the
front of the stage and told security it was okay to let them stay. I told Amy
after the show this was my favorite part. So within about 30 seconds, about 40
of us were down in the pit, and I have not sweat that much at an Amy concert
ever (I'm told this was commonplace at her 1980s concerts).After the show, I was blessed to have a Meet and Greet pass. What a privilege, especially since I skipped soundcheck earlier. I got to give her a bag of potato chips, and she seemed so excited when I pulled it out of my bag...made it worth mom driving to 3 stores to find them. In a normal show, I'd have no problem walking up to stage and giving to her, or shouting out something like "are you hungry?" But in this show, there was actually momentum, and I didn't want to interrupt that. Hasn't been like that in years! Was also great to spend a few minutes and tell her thank you for the great show, and how this was just better than anything I'd seen. Of course, when I left, I thought of all the things I wanted to say, but that's okay...gotta make it quick or Justin starts to get a little antsy, and don't want to make him unhappy. But we did chat briefly, and she said thank you for coming 2 nights in a row. I'm still surprised when she remembers my face...I"m pretty sure she doesn't know my name without prompting though. I mentioned 2 was nothing, and some of the other people I was with are following her all through California, but I wouldn't be back until the end of the week for a couple shows then next month on the East coast. She said thank you for all the support, but warned the setlist would basically be the same. I said no worries, it was great to hear these songs, and suggested she could change it up by adding Mountain Man - she laughed then said she'd do it at a soundcheck. I don't know if she really will or not, and I won't push her, but she's so thoughtful just to think of that idea.
All the other Grantheads are off to Visalia tonight to see Amy, but I'm headed home to work on some stuff for the Volleyball club and get ready for this week of travels and work. Look forward to seeing her later this week in Morgan Hill and Modesto, then next month on the East Coast.
