A Tale of 3 Cities: New York

[Regina]

Was Dickens this self-centered?

Nevermind. I just stole his title, not his style (although he was known to ramble).

So, I had the opportunity for first row seats in MSG but already had a seat in second row, which I kept. I knew this was my last concert of the tour (well, this leg) and I wanted to step back a bit (a wee bit) and let myself get maudlin, if I felt like it. And you know, I wanted to see them as I had in the beginning of the tour--with the whole stage available to view. In front row, I could not see Mick or John until the end of the show (not that I was complaining about that since I'm there for Stevie and Lindsey). But, anyway...I wanted the whole picture this last time and hopefully will get another shot at the mini "world within a world" next time around.

I met up with Silver Girl, a lovely lady I'll call G (once again, because I don't know how comfortable she is with being on the net), C (our gentleman friend from Bridgeport) and Farrah. We hung out a bit before the concert at the box office and then went inside. Did you know that MSG has a somewhat less seedy bathroom for those in the first sections? I was amazed and sort of pleased. No lines.

I took my seat and relaxed while the my buddies took position at the stage. I took the opportunity to scope out my seat mates.

To my left were four people who got comp seats. I thought, this is a bad thing. They were much more middle-aged than I am (heehee! Notice I'm not using the O word) and I thought I'd get yanked down in my seat whenever I stood up and I had NO intention whatsoever of sitting for a second during the concert. But, I was pleasantly surprised. They knew every single word of every single song and they were having the time of their lives. And they never sat down either. So, I was wrong. On my right was a guy who was the spitting image of the character Billy Myles on the X-files. I mean it. Except for longer side burns, he could have been a near twin. And bless him, he's a worse white person dancer than I am. And I'm BAD. His version of dancing was just poking out his pelvis every once in a while. Later on, he did a kind of stiff armed movement when he was really excited. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it--he could have been a perfect match for me. And we could have gotten married and amused our friends at community dances for decades to come. ****. I missed my chance.

In back of me were five guys who were work buddies. Probably stock brokers or something but they were SO much fun. I was listening to their conversations and one of them said, "now, look--whatever happens here tonight remains between us. No one at work has to know about this." And they were hooting and a'hollering. One of them caught Lindsey's white towel and immediately proceeded to wipe his own sweat on it, too. But, they were having fun without getting overly drunk or obnoxious and they sang along but ON KEY. God Bless Them!

I was watching the lighting guys and how they set up the stage--all that good stuff.
And then, there they were again.

I wrote lots of notes for Tracy (whose bear attended the show since she had to work) and I will work from some of those. Now, I'm not a tape recorder and I may have quotes wrong or some details might be a bit off so don't get your girdles in a twist.

Stevie came out and said "New York, just as we pictured it." Which is pretty much her intro for NY. She said that in Jones Beach two years ago with TISL.

Stevie seemed to be having a "hot flush" right before Beautiful Child because she stepped up to the mic (and this is after Second Hand News, I guess, and all her bam-bams--which reminds me, in Bridgeport, she spent an inordinate amount of time straightening her ribbons so they would bam-bam just right). Anyway, she stepped up to the mic and said "Ay-yi-yi" while fanning herself. Then she spoke of how she wrote this song a long time ago "a long, long time ago" in 1979 for an album called "Tusk" which was "quite an album" or something like that. It was funny. Then she launched into it. And it was probably the best version of Beautiful Child I've heard so far. And it was the turning point for her in the concert, I think. Not that she wasn't performing well...because she was. I thought she looked slightly more tired (just like she hadn't slept well or something--not energy wise) than she had in the other shows but when she was mid-way through Beautiful Child, she knew she had us--and didn't let go the rest of the evening. GDW was fabulous with lots of held notes at the end and Stand Back was just a twirl-a-thon. Amazing stuff. And we won't even discuss Silver Springs just yet;-)

So, I finally discovered what happens from the other side during SYW. Stevie is not talking to Lindsey--she's just kind of singing along "do-do" ing with the music to Lindsey. I guess he really likes it because when you're to the left of the stage, you think they are having the most interesting conversation in the world and you're missing it.

Landslide was dedicated to NY and someone named Liz Rosenberg, I think. She said she's a dear, sweet lady or something. She dedicated it to NY for "reasons some of us know." And it was lovely. She also dedicated Goodbye Baby to us. At one point, when Lindsey was thanking us and someone yelled "thank YOU" he really did seem a little verklempt, which was nice.

The reeboks were there at the beginning but were replaced by the mid-sized (for Stevie, anyway) boots. And I must say that when she struts across the stage with those things on--her cleavage jiggles. It's quite a show that just doesn't happen with the reeboks.

There were many, many appearances of the Buckingham Belly during the show. But I couldn't see his belly button. Does he have one (she asks innocently)? I would give him two gifts--a nice lasagna to fatten him up a bit and a bottle of self-tanner. Other than that, he's perfect.

And speaking of people in desperate need of a sandwich or something--geez, Louise. Are Sharon and Jana the skinniest things on God's green earth, or what? Yeesh. Mindy--by the way, worked her last two shows before going off to have her baby boy (in Bridgeport and Philly) and I forgot to mention this but when Mick was saying goodbye to her and mentioned her baby during those two concerts, Stevie was kind of jumping up and down for her, smacking her tambourine and applauding. It was cute to watch.

Stevie sways when she's behind Lindsey during his solo on Landslide.

On Beautiful Child she added the word "Can" To "Even if I CAN never hold you again."

(Told you these were random)

Say Goodbye was actually beautiful in MSG. Had that hollowish sound in the background from lack of too much cheering that I love with this song. And very little audience interruption. Thank you NY for behaving for once. (Hey--I live here, I can say stuff like that). And that was one of the tough moments--saying goodbye to that song. It's my absolute favorite on the new CD and hearing it live has been an experience.

The Tusk thing. I snuck in a camera. I took odd pictures and have no idea if they'll come out because the security guard was standing almost right in front of me (so, yes, I had some nerve to take any at all). But I did take a couple when the tusk dance started and then I just took the camera away from my face and watched. It's great fun and then, of course, because I was in Philosophy 101 again--I hooked it up with a thought I had during Silver Springs. During the middle--Lindsey is doing his solo and has his head back with this dreamy smile on his face and he looks like he's just literally loving the sounds he's making with his guitar. And Stevie is off doing her little hand over her face dance, twirling slowly and she loves what she does. And that's them--you know? It's what they do and what they love the most. And they are two separate worlds that collide and converge once in a while. Sigh. I'm making myself mopey again.

OK--After Lindsey mops his hair on Stevie's back on GYOW(?), Stevie puts her hand right where his head was (probably checking on sweat content for the night and if the jacket really needs to hit the dry cleaner yet).

Taku was leading the clapping (by banging on a tambourine) before Don't Stop. Never noticed that before, either.

Personal notes--G gave Lindsey a rose which he took and held between his teeth. Hopefully, my picture of that will come out but it was a disposable camera and anything can happen with those things. He also threw the black towel at her and later, she let me touch it, so I have second hand Lindsey sweat on my fingers (well, I did until I washed my hands--which was the minute I got in my house so...nevermind...but the feeling remains even after the sweating fades).

And my dear friend Farrah got to shake Lindsey's hand. If you saw someone floating over Queens last night--that was Farrah.

I was so happy for both of them. Apparently, there were a few rowdies around yesterday but I was in a very good spot. Security did escort quite a few people who tried to get up there so it didn't get packed-packed.

And yup, I did tear up during Goodbye Baby and even moreso when they took their bows. I know how fortunate I was to not only see them five times (six if you count the Today Show) but to have fabulous dream seats for each show. I never took or will take that for granted. I feel truly blessed for that. And it was very much a dream--this tour. As a fan, I rediscovered the Mac when they had just finished their Dance tour so I never saw them. Seeing them up there has been such an experience and they lived up to everything I fully expected of them. I know a lot of people were worried about them at the beginning based on their tv performances but I truly did believe they'd be fabulous and they not only didn't let me down as a fan, but exceeded my expectations.

And because this whole darned review is as personal as I get, and I'm sure it's the same with many of you guys--they made a huge difference in my life. Their music and words came in at a time when I was afraid to breathe and they changed things for me. They truly did. I'm a different person than I was back then. I can't say it wouldn't have happened the same way anyway--but I do recognize the huge contribution they made in changing my attitude about many things--including myself. And as I said before, the friendships made along the way have been a surprise bonus that is cherished every day. So, being able to just be there and see them and acknowledge them and think about all of this at the same time has been the highlight of my year.

So--thanks FM. Enjoy Europe. Stay safe and let me get my finances in shape and we can do it all again next year, ok?

[Gypsy-Rhiannon]

Originally posted by Regina



Landslide was dedicated to NY and someone named Liz Rosenberg, I think. She said she's a dear, sweet lady or something.

Stevie's publicist

Pip

[Gypsy-Rhiannon]

Excellent review BTW!

Pip

[GardenStateGirlie]

Originally posted by Gypsy-Rhiannon
Stevie's publicist

Pip

Liz Rosenberg is also the name of Madonna's publicist. If they share the same publicist, Stevie has balls the size of China with all of her recent snarky comments..... *I <3 Stevie*

[Gypsy-Rhiannon]

Originally posted by GardenStateGirlie
Liz Rosenberg is also the name of Madonna's publicist. If they share the same publicist, Stevie has balls the size of China with all of her recent snarky comments..... *I <3 Stevie*

Yep... she is Madonna's publicist too.... go Stevie!

Pip