Idina at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, MA (08/11/08)
Well, after an awesome fan dinner with awesome people (Heather -DeeLove_x3- and her mum, Michaela -IfIDeGreenifyYou- and her mum, Sarra -x3DefyingGravityx3- and her mum, Elysse -MusicIsLife437-, Tiffany -polyxena- and her friend Emily) it was time to head to Berklee, I couldn't believe this was finally going to happen. I was going to see Idina, live! When we got into the venue, I got the tour shirt, which made me very happy, and also, the state abbreviations have been modified and now they're okay.
When I got to my seat, Elysse was sitting on my left and we were so close! Third row, really awesome view. I got to say hi to Elaina (GoGreen101), too.
The opening act, Chris Mann was really great, I didn't think I'd be capable of enjoying an opening act this much, but I did. He has such a powerful, beautiful voice, and I like his lyrics as well. He kept us warm, because every now and then, he'd say 'You guys know that Idina Menzel is right here, backstage, right?' and we just went crazy, it was so awesome. After maybe 30 minutes, he left, then, they rearranged the stage and when this girl left a cup of tea on the stage, I knew it wouldn't be long before Idina came out, mainly because her tea would get cold, lol.
Then, she was announced as 'Tony award winner from Rent and Wicked...' and I love what they say about not taking pictures unless you have permission from Idina herself, haha. It's like they're so awesome, laid back and funny but at the same time they have to get their work done, you know? Then the band came out, and we just waited for her to come out... it was like she took AGES to come out, my heart felt like it was 8 times bigger than it is and was about to explode inside my chest. So, the music starts playing as background music, not too loud, and she finally comes out and she's so, so beautiful, really... pictures just don't do her justice. She's so gorgeous, incredibly slim, good looking... I could go on forever... and she's like 'How is everyone doinggggggggg?' and we just go crazy, but something seems to be wrong with her earpiece and she's like 'erm, yeah, let's do this again', so she goes backstage and gets back to the stage, running. She starts dancing in this really clumsy, adorable, cute way. Now I know what she means when she says she can't dance, but I really love that she's not shy when it comes to it and that she keeps going. It's so adorable. I love her face when she's at the stage as well. So, so wonderful to see her enjoy being there. It's such a gift being able to witness such thing.
So the music starts playing louder, and the first song is 'Don't let me down'. It's one of my favourite songs; I guess I can really relate to the lyrics... I think it's easy to do that. Anyone can, especially when you're in a moment in your life when you or people expect something from you and stuff... anyway, I loved her perfect, flawless voice, her little dances, so careless. So unplanned, yet so perfect.
After that, she went into 'Here' without saying much, I think, she kept dancing away, which I loved, and the 'uhs' were so great. She said something along the lines of 'This is how much I love you guys... UH!' and we just laughed and went crazy, then she said 'Tell me how much you love me', and we all went 'uh!', then she said, 'Tell me how much do you want to have sex with me!' and I guess because some people laughed and other people actually did the 'uh!', she went 'I don't know what kind of sex that is!'. When the song was almost over, she did some more 'uhs' and it was great because she kept teasing us, when she was meant to do an 'uh', she just went up to the mic, and it looked like she was going to do one, but nope. She just stood there with a teasing look on her face and a big smile, it was so cool. After all that, she said 'It's been a while since I've seen my husband, so I'm feeling a little frisky.' Oh, Idina! Haha!
After this song, I think a few 'I love you!' ensued, and when the first one did, she replied really loudly, because she was in a great mood, she said 'I LOVE YOU TOOOOOOOOOO!' but you could tell that after the 23942030th 'I love you', she was kind of annoyed but nothing serious because she's just that awesome.
When the next song started, I knew it was 'Heartbreaker' straight away, I was so psyched. I looked forward to listening to it live, so this was great. I think at the beginning of the song she was kneeling on the floor but she got up and she rocked out all through the song, she's such a rock chick. This song really fits her voice, so versatile. Also, I wish I could find a recording of this because I can't remember what word, but she said it with a really heavy English accent and I found it really funny (at least that's what it seemed like to me). One of the highlights of the night.
The next song was 'Where do I begin?', she sat on the stool the whole time, she was in her own little world, I don't know, I don't like talking about her personal life, but you could really tell that she's missing Taye (well, that's obvious, she's been on tour for a while now), apart from the fact that she talks about him all the time and I think that's very sweet. Lovely song, one of my favourites, too.
One of my favourite parts of the show was 'Devorah/Rise up'. I was looking forward to it. I had heard 'Rise up' before, but decided a long time ago that I didn't want to listen to the Devorah story unless I listened to it live, so it was a big moment for me. What to say... I loved it. It was so wonderful the way she told it, the sentiment, how she told us that story... you know, here in Spain, we don't get many Jews (they are less than 0.05% of the Spanish population), so I didn't really know much about this religion, before I found out about Idina. I loved it. I also loved the fact that Devorah's husband was called Barack. I love that things are always connected in a lovely way.
Her sister's story just made me think how beautiful she is, inside and out, and I love how she's always willing to share such personal things with us, I really look up to her for doing that. I found myself tearing up during this part of the show. Rise up is one of my favourite songs, too. I have an older sister and we didn't get along much when we were younger because we had to share a room (that can be really hard, haha) and I guess our personalities just clashed, also, we were two teenageish girls trying to figure ourselves out, so it was messy... now, I don't go a day without speaking to her on the phone or sending facebook messages or whatever, and we go overseas together, so this song reminded me of my sister so much... I mean, she was the first person I told about this trip and she was so encouraging. She's always been there for me. So I could relate to parts of this song, specially this one: 'Me I'm like a winter tree, brittle without her leaves. And when the mighty wind comes, I know it's you who'll shelter me.' The emotion of this song spread through the venue, it was a beautiful, intense moment.
After 'Rise up', she talked about how she became a wedding singer and was driving around illegally, everybody laughed at that, haha. I knew she wasn't going to do the whole wedding singer skit but that's okay because, wow, what an awesome show! She said that, back then, she got to sing really horrible songs like 'The electric slide' and 'Everybody dance, now!' ahaha and she really sang that, I died laughing! But that salad time was the coolest because she got to sing songs she really liked because no one really paid attention to her. And she went on to sing 'Embraceable you' sitting on the stool, next to her keyboard player... what a lovely, intimate moment. Yet another moment when Idina goes into her own little world. Beautiful song.
After the song is over, Idina tells us about how she got so tired of this wedding singer job and just quit one day, like on a whim, and she said something like 'the boys at the bar mitzvah were like "where's the singer?" and then they became men' haha it was hilarious... and she went on to talk about how she got her first professional job at a theater, in this play called 'Rent'. Of course, everyone went crazy. Then she sat on her stool and started getting REALLY distracted with her necklace, and started beating it against her microphone and THEN someone actually rang a cowbell, you should have seen the look on her face, she was really shocked, haha. She started singing 'I am forbidden...' She started singing 'No day but today', but this girl in the audience was singing before Idina was, so Idina said 'Do you mind if I sing by myself?', hahaha. What a beautiful rendition of this song... this is another song that I haven't really heard Idina sing before (as in youtube, I kept myself from doing so), so it was great to have this little surprise. At the end of the song, she laid down on her stomach the floor and called up the girl that was singing before and sang the last few lines of the song with her. Such wonderful magic when everyone in the audience got to sing with her at the end of the song... 'no day but today' over and over. It's like she was casting a spell... and she was really trying to make us see the point of this song. I loved the look on her face and the way she moved her hands when she said 'Only tonight.' She was trying to make eye contact with people when saying 'No day but today'. She's just too much. So great.
'Brave' was next, this is probably the song that I've listened to most since I found out about Idina, so it was special for me... and when I started planning this trip I just thought about this song all the time and it made me feel better... it's such a powerful song. I think, it doesn't matter what kind of music you're into, you're bound to like this song because it's so peaceful yet powerful and it really gets its message delivered, you know? Her voice... just wow. It's crystal clear when you listen to it in a CD, but, live... well... wow. The power it has, how incredibly talented she is and how many things she can do with "just" her voice. We're so lucky to be aware of her talent. She sang this sitting on the edge of the stage.
When the song is over, someone (a girl) asks 'Will you marry me?' and Idina says 'Suuuure... we'll travel, I'll show you around, we'll go to Paris... but what are you, 13?' and then other girls started saying their ages, like '18!', '21!' and then, this guy goes 'I'm male!' and Idina says 'Yeaaah, thank you... are you straight, though?' and the guy goes 'Straight enough for you!' and Idina replies 'If you are, then you were probably dragged here by your girlfriend, so I guess you're either gay or in trouble right now.' Hahaha!
'I feel everything' was next. She started singing it normally, but after the chorus, she stopped singing and said that she wrote this song after an argument with her husband, that they were screaming, well, she was screaming and he was just sitting there, which is just as infuriating, haha, and that she came up with the melody for this song while she was showering and on her way to the studio. So, it wasn't meant to be like we hear it on the CD because when WB heard it, they said 'no f*cking way' so she found a way for it to be in the CD by scaling it down, and she asked us if she could play it for us the way she originally planned it, and we, of course, said YES. Rock on! The girl can rock out! It was awesome, her voice really works with about anything, wow... at one point, she went to one side of the stage and started beating on the wall, it was hilarious. When the song reached its peak moment, she slowed down again... after a few minutes, the song stopped and she looked at us with a teasing look on her face and said 'but it's more fun the other way' and rocked out to the heavier version for a long while. We all went berserk! She then said that the fight with Taye was obviously over and the way she saw it now was the way a teenager feels when they live in a house where they don't know what to expect when they get home and they magnify everything and everything gets to them. These weren't her exact words, but I loved the way she explained all this.
Then she started munching sweets so she can start salivating because going from hardcore to the next song was kind of hard, so while she got that saliva going (lol), she told us about how she's been to a wedding in Italy and how the girl was Polish and there were vodka shot glasses next to the glasses and that it really got interesting after a few hours, haha. Someone asked about the PBS special and she got really happy about that, and she talked about the Macy's day parade and, well, you already know all about that, she said that she's going to be lip-synching because you can't really sing live there. She was really bummed about not being able to bring her sister and nephews on the float with her, though.
Next song was 'Company', which she sang on the rug, it kind of reminds me of 'Embraceable you', like it's in the same line, if you know what I mean. Such a great song to show off that wonderful vocal range of hers. And she did. We were in awe.
When it was turn to start 'Forever', she must've got something wrong, because she had to start twice, lol, but it was great, I love that the music doesn't really start until she's almost halfway through the song. And I love the energy of this song, starts so calmed and it just starts rising... wonderful ending, when Sharon and Holly sing 'Forever, forever, forever...' and Idina just goes 'Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!' getting really carried away. She rocks so much.
When the song was over, she was still laying on the ground, and she lifted her legs in the air and said 'well, it's been a really good week! ', clearly, she was talking about Obama and the whole election, but she said she was bummed about what happened in California, so we all clapped, because, seriously. WTF. 'I stand' was next, and I love this song so much, and I love that it kind of merged into a breathtaking cover of 'Get up, stand up', I literally had to refrain myself from standing up because yeah. Eventually, Idina told us to 'GET UP!' and that was so awesome! We all sang along and clapped, what an amazing vibe she casted in that venue! It felt really great to sing that song at that very moment with her, everyone singing along and dancing, really wonderful.
Idina then started saying how wonderful we've been and how lucky she is to have such great fans and that she really appreciates all the letters, presents and everything they do for her and that this song was for us. And she started singing 'For good', a capella. So amazing. I may have cried a little, again... I love the fact that she says 'friends' instead of 'friend', so she makes us feel really important and that she really thinks about making us feel loved. She's so down to earth and thoughtful. She knows how to touch people's lives and how much we love her.
It was great that 'Gorgeous' started because, well, an extra song, haha. And this is one of my favourites. My favourite line is 'I'm gonna stop to find your voice' and it's been on my mind this whole trip, it just holds so much meaning for me... So I was happy that she sang this, and well, I love her dancing and I could look at her dancing all day long, haha. After this, she left the stage with a bunch of presents and the standing ovation was really long. In the meanwhile, some crew guys rearranged stuff at the stage.
Then, she ran back to the stage and sat on her stool again, so she could sing 'No trace of us', from Nero. I really love this song, it's so haunting, the lyrics are so astonishing and elaborated. I really hope this project evolves and we can get this recording or something. Beautiful song.
After this, Idina sat on her stool and Sharon stood on her right side and Holly stood on her left side. They start singing 'Kiss from a rose', and, well, I have no talent for music whatsoever, but I just think it's very easy to get confused right from the start, but they did great, what a great song to cover. It still reminds me a tiny little bit of 'Sour girl' by the Stone temple pilots (the melody does). This song fits Idina's voice just perfect. When the song was over, Idina said that that was dope, and then she wondered if people said dope anymore. Then Holly kind of said 'No' with her head, so Idina said 'That's fly, then... no, that's dope.' I guess she changed her mind. She's such a dork.
As expected, 'Defying gravity' was the last song. She started singing this standing in the middle of the stage, but then she sat on the stage, right on the edge. She loves to connect with her audience and it makes her so humble and you can tell she enjoys singing this song so much... it really is a great way to show off for her gorgeous voice. It is like a dream come true being there, Idina singing that song and all of us singing along at the end. I have no words. It's like we're under her spell.
So, after the show, we went to the stage door, many people were out there already and it was raining, I think people actually left before the show was over, which I think is absolutely crazy, but eh, whatever floats your boat. We waited for a while but it was okay because someone dressed up as a bowling pin came up and entertained us, and also, the awesome Chris Mann came and talked to us for a bit and took pictures with us, and the guy that plays guitar for him (sorry, I am so bad with names). I'm so glad the crowd behaved and everyone kept a nice queue and, eventually, Deb came out and said Idina would be coming out in a short while if it didn't rain, because, well, she can't control the weather, and that no pictures, no mobbing and that she'd get through everyone if we all behaved. I couldn't believe this was going to happen. Idina came out, I could see her at the beginning of the queue and instead of us moving forward, it was her that moved towards us, it was so neat. Some girls started going up around her and taking pictures and Heather and I had to tell them not to mob her or take pictures. I got really pissed, lol. I was like 'I'm a waitress, I can be very b*tchy!' ahaha. They were all 'So sorry!' I think I scared them a little. So, Elysse (MusicIsLife437) was right next to me and I was like 'you go first, I need to calm down a little', because I couldn't think straight. So Elysse went first and then it was my turn and Idina was right in front of me and I got all teary eyed (I'm just an emotional person) and Idina was like 'Hi!' and I said 'Hi... I came from Spain just to see you' and she and Deb said at the same time 'You did NOT!' haha, and I said 'I just needed to see you, you're just such an inspiration' and she said 'Aww, thank you' and hugged me and after that she asked what was my name and I said 'Lora, but really, it is Luh-oo-ruh' (the way we say it in Spain) and she said 'Laura' the way I did, looking straight into my eyes, in such a caring, loving way... I don't know, it filled my heart. She started signing my CD and I told her I was going to the New Jersey show the day after and that I'd see her there as well and she said that was really cool, she thanked me for coming and said she'd see me tomorrow.
After that, I met Tiff, who was out from her meet&greet, she offered to give Idina my present, which was a silver tin box, which was like a postcard, with writing on the top of it, and inside were Spanish Christmas sweets, and a note. She said Idina loved the box straight away (the outside of it, anyway, because she could use it to store stuff).
I love how Idina's shows just flow, if you know what I mean, they have a natural flow, and she walks you through them. It's such a unique thing, I don't think you get shows like these with many other artists. I felt so lucky to be able to witness such thing. This has been so important to me, the way she came into my life, all of a sudden, I don't know how to explain it, but I guess I don't have to, because, if you're reading this, I guess you feel the exact same way (well, unless you're not an Idina fan, haha). Thanks for reading this, too. And if you were a part of this amazing journey, thank you for making me feel so great the whole time.
My CD
The ticket :)
Some pics of the show:
Beautiful Idina
'No trace of us'
'Defying gravity'
Saying bye bye
Standing ovation
Me with Chris Mann, Idina's opening act
I'll try to finish the Union, NJ review today and then I'll get writing about my awesome US-London trip! I want to go back! *whines*
When I got to my seat, Elysse was sitting on my left and we were so close! Third row, really awesome view. I got to say hi to Elaina (GoGreen101), too.
The opening act, Chris Mann was really great, I didn't think I'd be capable of enjoying an opening act this much, but I did. He has such a powerful, beautiful voice, and I like his lyrics as well. He kept us warm, because every now and then, he'd say 'You guys know that Idina Menzel is right here, backstage, right?' and we just went crazy, it was so awesome. After maybe 30 minutes, he left, then, they rearranged the stage and when this girl left a cup of tea on the stage, I knew it wouldn't be long before Idina came out, mainly because her tea would get cold, lol.
Then, she was announced as 'Tony award winner from Rent and Wicked...' and I love what they say about not taking pictures unless you have permission from Idina herself, haha. It's like they're so awesome, laid back and funny but at the same time they have to get their work done, you know? Then the band came out, and we just waited for her to come out... it was like she took AGES to come out, my heart felt like it was 8 times bigger than it is and was about to explode inside my chest. So, the music starts playing as background music, not too loud, and she finally comes out and she's so, so beautiful, really... pictures just don't do her justice. She's so gorgeous, incredibly slim, good looking... I could go on forever... and she's like 'How is everyone doinggggggggg?' and we just go crazy, but something seems to be wrong with her earpiece and she's like 'erm, yeah, let's do this again', so she goes backstage and gets back to the stage, running. She starts dancing in this really clumsy, adorable, cute way. Now I know what she means when she says she can't dance, but I really love that she's not shy when it comes to it and that she keeps going. It's so adorable. I love her face when she's at the stage as well. So, so wonderful to see her enjoy being there. It's such a gift being able to witness such thing.
So the music starts playing louder, and the first song is 'Don't let me down'. It's one of my favourite songs; I guess I can really relate to the lyrics... I think it's easy to do that. Anyone can, especially when you're in a moment in your life when you or people expect something from you and stuff... anyway, I loved her perfect, flawless voice, her little dances, so careless. So unplanned, yet so perfect.
After that, she went into 'Here' without saying much, I think, she kept dancing away, which I loved, and the 'uhs' were so great. She said something along the lines of 'This is how much I love you guys... UH!' and we just laughed and went crazy, then she said 'Tell me how much you love me', and we all went 'uh!', then she said, 'Tell me how much do you want to have sex with me!' and I guess because some people laughed and other people actually did the 'uh!', she went 'I don't know what kind of sex that is!'. When the song was almost over, she did some more 'uhs' and it was great because she kept teasing us, when she was meant to do an 'uh', she just went up to the mic, and it looked like she was going to do one, but nope. She just stood there with a teasing look on her face and a big smile, it was so cool. After all that, she said 'It's been a while since I've seen my husband, so I'm feeling a little frisky.' Oh, Idina! Haha!
After this song, I think a few 'I love you!' ensued, and when the first one did, she replied really loudly, because she was in a great mood, she said 'I LOVE YOU TOOOOOOOOOO!' but you could tell that after the 23942030th 'I love you', she was kind of annoyed but nothing serious because she's just that awesome.
When the next song started, I knew it was 'Heartbreaker' straight away, I was so psyched. I looked forward to listening to it live, so this was great. I think at the beginning of the song she was kneeling on the floor but she got up and she rocked out all through the song, she's such a rock chick. This song really fits her voice, so versatile. Also, I wish I could find a recording of this because I can't remember what word, but she said it with a really heavy English accent and I found it really funny (at least that's what it seemed like to me). One of the highlights of the night.
The next song was 'Where do I begin?', she sat on the stool the whole time, she was in her own little world, I don't know, I don't like talking about her personal life, but you could really tell that she's missing Taye (well, that's obvious, she's been on tour for a while now), apart from the fact that she talks about him all the time and I think that's very sweet. Lovely song, one of my favourites, too.
One of my favourite parts of the show was 'Devorah/Rise up'. I was looking forward to it. I had heard 'Rise up' before, but decided a long time ago that I didn't want to listen to the Devorah story unless I listened to it live, so it was a big moment for me. What to say... I loved it. It was so wonderful the way she told it, the sentiment, how she told us that story... you know, here in Spain, we don't get many Jews (they are less than 0.05% of the Spanish population), so I didn't really know much about this religion, before I found out about Idina. I loved it. I also loved the fact that Devorah's husband was called Barack. I love that things are always connected in a lovely way.
Her sister's story just made me think how beautiful she is, inside and out, and I love how she's always willing to share such personal things with us, I really look up to her for doing that. I found myself tearing up during this part of the show. Rise up is one of my favourite songs, too. I have an older sister and we didn't get along much when we were younger because we had to share a room (that can be really hard, haha) and I guess our personalities just clashed, also, we were two teenageish girls trying to figure ourselves out, so it was messy... now, I don't go a day without speaking to her on the phone or sending facebook messages or whatever, and we go overseas together, so this song reminded me of my sister so much... I mean, she was the first person I told about this trip and she was so encouraging. She's always been there for me. So I could relate to parts of this song, specially this one: 'Me I'm like a winter tree, brittle without her leaves. And when the mighty wind comes, I know it's you who'll shelter me.' The emotion of this song spread through the venue, it was a beautiful, intense moment.
After 'Rise up', she talked about how she became a wedding singer and was driving around illegally, everybody laughed at that, haha. I knew she wasn't going to do the whole wedding singer skit but that's okay because, wow, what an awesome show! She said that, back then, she got to sing really horrible songs like 'The electric slide' and 'Everybody dance, now!' ahaha and she really sang that, I died laughing! But that salad time was the coolest because she got to sing songs she really liked because no one really paid attention to her. And she went on to sing 'Embraceable you' sitting on the stool, next to her keyboard player... what a lovely, intimate moment. Yet another moment when Idina goes into her own little world. Beautiful song.
After the song is over, Idina tells us about how she got so tired of this wedding singer job and just quit one day, like on a whim, and she said something like 'the boys at the bar mitzvah were like "where's the singer?" and then they became men' haha it was hilarious... and she went on to talk about how she got her first professional job at a theater, in this play called 'Rent'. Of course, everyone went crazy. Then she sat on her stool and started getting REALLY distracted with her necklace, and started beating it against her microphone and THEN someone actually rang a cowbell, you should have seen the look on her face, she was really shocked, haha. She started singing 'I am forbidden...' She started singing 'No day but today', but this girl in the audience was singing before Idina was, so Idina said 'Do you mind if I sing by myself?', hahaha. What a beautiful rendition of this song... this is another song that I haven't really heard Idina sing before (as in youtube, I kept myself from doing so), so it was great to have this little surprise. At the end of the song, she laid down on her stomach the floor and called up the girl that was singing before and sang the last few lines of the song with her. Such wonderful magic when everyone in the audience got to sing with her at the end of the song... 'no day but today' over and over. It's like she was casting a spell... and she was really trying to make us see the point of this song. I loved the look on her face and the way she moved her hands when she said 'Only tonight.' She was trying to make eye contact with people when saying 'No day but today'. She's just too much. So great.
'Brave' was next, this is probably the song that I've listened to most since I found out about Idina, so it was special for me... and when I started planning this trip I just thought about this song all the time and it made me feel better... it's such a powerful song. I think, it doesn't matter what kind of music you're into, you're bound to like this song because it's so peaceful yet powerful and it really gets its message delivered, you know? Her voice... just wow. It's crystal clear when you listen to it in a CD, but, live... well... wow. The power it has, how incredibly talented she is and how many things she can do with "just" her voice. We're so lucky to be aware of her talent. She sang this sitting on the edge of the stage.
When the song is over, someone (a girl) asks 'Will you marry me?' and Idina says 'Suuuure... we'll travel, I'll show you around, we'll go to Paris... but what are you, 13?' and then other girls started saying their ages, like '18!', '21!' and then, this guy goes 'I'm male!' and Idina says 'Yeaaah, thank you... are you straight, though?' and the guy goes 'Straight enough for you!' and Idina replies 'If you are, then you were probably dragged here by your girlfriend, so I guess you're either gay or in trouble right now.' Hahaha!
'I feel everything' was next. She started singing it normally, but after the chorus, she stopped singing and said that she wrote this song after an argument with her husband, that they were screaming, well, she was screaming and he was just sitting there, which is just as infuriating, haha, and that she came up with the melody for this song while she was showering and on her way to the studio. So, it wasn't meant to be like we hear it on the CD because when WB heard it, they said 'no f*cking way' so she found a way for it to be in the CD by scaling it down, and she asked us if she could play it for us the way she originally planned it, and we, of course, said YES. Rock on! The girl can rock out! It was awesome, her voice really works with about anything, wow... at one point, she went to one side of the stage and started beating on the wall, it was hilarious. When the song reached its peak moment, she slowed down again... after a few minutes, the song stopped and she looked at us with a teasing look on her face and said 'but it's more fun the other way' and rocked out to the heavier version for a long while. We all went berserk! She then said that the fight with Taye was obviously over and the way she saw it now was the way a teenager feels when they live in a house where they don't know what to expect when they get home and they magnify everything and everything gets to them. These weren't her exact words, but I loved the way she explained all this.
Then she started munching sweets so she can start salivating because going from hardcore to the next song was kind of hard, so while she got that saliva going (lol), she told us about how she's been to a wedding in Italy and how the girl was Polish and there were vodka shot glasses next to the glasses and that it really got interesting after a few hours, haha. Someone asked about the PBS special and she got really happy about that, and she talked about the Macy's day parade and, well, you already know all about that, she said that she's going to be lip-synching because you can't really sing live there. She was really bummed about not being able to bring her sister and nephews on the float with her, though.
Next song was 'Company', which she sang on the rug, it kind of reminds me of 'Embraceable you', like it's in the same line, if you know what I mean. Such a great song to show off that wonderful vocal range of hers. And she did. We were in awe.
When it was turn to start 'Forever', she must've got something wrong, because she had to start twice, lol, but it was great, I love that the music doesn't really start until she's almost halfway through the song. And I love the energy of this song, starts so calmed and it just starts rising... wonderful ending, when Sharon and Holly sing 'Forever, forever, forever...' and Idina just goes 'Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!' getting really carried away. She rocks so much.
When the song was over, she was still laying on the ground, and she lifted her legs in the air and said 'well, it's been a really good week! ', clearly, she was talking about Obama and the whole election, but she said she was bummed about what happened in California, so we all clapped, because, seriously. WTF. 'I stand' was next, and I love this song so much, and I love that it kind of merged into a breathtaking cover of 'Get up, stand up', I literally had to refrain myself from standing up because yeah. Eventually, Idina told us to 'GET UP!' and that was so awesome! We all sang along and clapped, what an amazing vibe she casted in that venue! It felt really great to sing that song at that very moment with her, everyone singing along and dancing, really wonderful.
Idina then started saying how wonderful we've been and how lucky she is to have such great fans and that she really appreciates all the letters, presents and everything they do for her and that this song was for us. And she started singing 'For good', a capella. So amazing. I may have cried a little, again... I love the fact that she says 'friends' instead of 'friend', so she makes us feel really important and that she really thinks about making us feel loved. She's so down to earth and thoughtful. She knows how to touch people's lives and how much we love her.
It was great that 'Gorgeous' started because, well, an extra song, haha. And this is one of my favourites. My favourite line is 'I'm gonna stop to find your voice' and it's been on my mind this whole trip, it just holds so much meaning for me... So I was happy that she sang this, and well, I love her dancing and I could look at her dancing all day long, haha. After this, she left the stage with a bunch of presents and the standing ovation was really long. In the meanwhile, some crew guys rearranged stuff at the stage.
Then, she ran back to the stage and sat on her stool again, so she could sing 'No trace of us', from Nero. I really love this song, it's so haunting, the lyrics are so astonishing and elaborated. I really hope this project evolves and we can get this recording or something. Beautiful song.
After this, Idina sat on her stool and Sharon stood on her right side and Holly stood on her left side. They start singing 'Kiss from a rose', and, well, I have no talent for music whatsoever, but I just think it's very easy to get confused right from the start, but they did great, what a great song to cover. It still reminds me a tiny little bit of 'Sour girl' by the Stone temple pilots (the melody does). This song fits Idina's voice just perfect. When the song was over, Idina said that that was dope, and then she wondered if people said dope anymore. Then Holly kind of said 'No' with her head, so Idina said 'That's fly, then... no, that's dope.' I guess she changed her mind. She's such a dork.
As expected, 'Defying gravity' was the last song. She started singing this standing in the middle of the stage, but then she sat on the stage, right on the edge. She loves to connect with her audience and it makes her so humble and you can tell she enjoys singing this song so much... it really is a great way to show off for her gorgeous voice. It is like a dream come true being there, Idina singing that song and all of us singing along at the end. I have no words. It's like we're under her spell.
So, after the show, we went to the stage door, many people were out there already and it was raining, I think people actually left before the show was over, which I think is absolutely crazy, but eh, whatever floats your boat. We waited for a while but it was okay because someone dressed up as a bowling pin came up and entertained us, and also, the awesome Chris Mann came and talked to us for a bit and took pictures with us, and the guy that plays guitar for him (sorry, I am so bad with names). I'm so glad the crowd behaved and everyone kept a nice queue and, eventually, Deb came out and said Idina would be coming out in a short while if it didn't rain, because, well, she can't control the weather, and that no pictures, no mobbing and that she'd get through everyone if we all behaved. I couldn't believe this was going to happen. Idina came out, I could see her at the beginning of the queue and instead of us moving forward, it was her that moved towards us, it was so neat. Some girls started going up around her and taking pictures and Heather and I had to tell them not to mob her or take pictures. I got really pissed, lol. I was like 'I'm a waitress, I can be very b*tchy!' ahaha. They were all 'So sorry!' I think I scared them a little. So, Elysse (MusicIsLife437) was right next to me and I was like 'you go first, I need to calm down a little', because I couldn't think straight. So Elysse went first and then it was my turn and Idina was right in front of me and I got all teary eyed (I'm just an emotional person) and Idina was like 'Hi!' and I said 'Hi... I came from Spain just to see you' and she and Deb said at the same time 'You did NOT!' haha, and I said 'I just needed to see you, you're just such an inspiration' and she said 'Aww, thank you' and hugged me and after that she asked what was my name and I said 'Lora, but really, it is Luh-oo-ruh' (the way we say it in Spain) and she said 'Laura' the way I did, looking straight into my eyes, in such a caring, loving way... I don't know, it filled my heart. She started signing my CD and I told her I was going to the New Jersey show the day after and that I'd see her there as well and she said that was really cool, she thanked me for coming and said she'd see me tomorrow.
After that, I met Tiff, who was out from her meet&greet, she offered to give Idina my present, which was a silver tin box, which was like a postcard, with writing on the top of it, and inside were Spanish Christmas sweets, and a note. She said Idina loved the box straight away (the outside of it, anyway, because she could use it to store stuff).
I love how Idina's shows just flow, if you know what I mean, they have a natural flow, and she walks you through them. It's such a unique thing, I don't think you get shows like these with many other artists. I felt so lucky to be able to witness such thing. This has been so important to me, the way she came into my life, all of a sudden, I don't know how to explain it, but I guess I don't have to, because, if you're reading this, I guess you feel the exact same way (well, unless you're not an Idina fan, haha). Thanks for reading this, too. And if you were a part of this amazing journey, thank you for making me feel so great the whole time.
My CD
The ticket :)
Some pics of the show:
Beautiful Idina
'No trace of us'
'Defying gravity'
Saying bye bye
Standing ovation
Me with Chris Mann, Idina's opening act
I'll try to finish the Union, NJ review today and then I'll get writing about my awesome US-London trip! I want to go back! *whines*