inauguration kickoff concert
yesterday, jonathan and i ventured down to the national mall to hear the kickoff concert at the lincoln memorial. the concert was scheduled to start at 2:30 so we headed down there around 1:00 or so and the crowd was unbelievable. there was no way we were going to get close the lincoln memorial, but there were jumbotrons and speaker towers set up, so we headed across 17th street up toward the washington monument and joined the crowd there. for a while there was still "breathing room," but it filled in quickly. by the time the concert started, people were packed in between the lincoln memorial and the washington monument - maybe even farther down the mall. at some point, two people with a video camera and microphone came up to jonathan and me and did a quick interview about why we were there. trying to describe why i was there seems so simple, but i had to try to not cry. the feeling is really overwhelming. anyway, i'm not even sure who they were - they said something about doing reporting for the virgin islands. so for all i know, i'm in some USVI report. hehehe
the concert was fun. the obama's and biden's were there and both spoke briefly. and lots of celebrities did historical readings - denzel washington, tom hanks, queen latifah, steven corell, jamie foxx, martin luther king III, samuel l jackson.... and lots of musicians were there performing a song or two - bruce springsteen, mary j blige, bon jovi, james taylor, john mellencamp, josh groban, garth brooks, will.i.am, usher, shakira, stevie wonder, and U2! believe it or not, garth brooks' performance was one of the best. he sang the "bye bye miss american pie" song (can't remember what the actual title is and don't feel like looking it up) and "you know you make me wanna shout!" that was awesome! it was really cool to see thousands and thousands of people singing along and yelling SHOUT throwing arms in the air.... really fun.
i've posted a bunch of pictures in my scrapbook. since we were so far back, most of my pictures are of the nearest jumbotron with the lincoln memorial in the background. here's a link: pictures from inaugural concert. clicking on any of the pictures should open a larger version.
the concert was fun. the obama's and biden's were there and both spoke briefly. and lots of celebrities did historical readings - denzel washington, tom hanks, queen latifah, steven corell, jamie foxx, martin luther king III, samuel l jackson.... and lots of musicians were there performing a song or two - bruce springsteen, mary j blige, bon jovi, james taylor, john mellencamp, josh groban, garth brooks, will.i.am, usher, shakira, stevie wonder, and U2! believe it or not, garth brooks' performance was one of the best. he sang the "bye bye miss american pie" song (can't remember what the actual title is and don't feel like looking it up) and "you know you make me wanna shout!" that was awesome! it was really cool to see thousands and thousands of people singing along and yelling SHOUT throwing arms in the air.... really fun.
i've posted a bunch of pictures in my scrapbook. since we were so far back, most of my pictures are of the nearest jumbotron with the lincoln memorial in the background. here's a link: pictures from inaugural concert. clicking on any of the pictures should open a larger version.