Months of planning... do you hear me... months of sneaking and planning and keeping huge secrets and plotting and planning. What do I forget? The memory card to my camera. I told Todd my "big secret" in advance so he wouldn't also buy tickets to the James Taylor and Carole King concert.
I left out the part where I made a pretty substantial donation to Taylor and King's favorite charities to secure us VIP stage seats and access to the sound check and meet'n greet. Just two days before the show, the VIP passes finally arrived and I wrapped them up for Todd. I thought about surprising him, but would have struggled to explain why we had to head to the show at 3pm - plus, he deserved to get his head around the whole idea in advance.
I made sure the camera was charged and laid it out with the car keys - there was no way I was forgetting the camera. I failed to realize that the sony-specific memory stick was still in my computer and not in the camera. What good is a charged camera with no ability to record a photo. It was fight or flight - I'd either melt down or find a memory stick in time to make the sound check. We ran in 90+ weather to a record store in downtown Cleveland - the guy looked at me like I was crazy. He told us to cut through The Arcade to a Radio Shack in what I'm sure would have been a great neighborhood. As I'm ready to bust into a full out sprint, Todd realizes that his phone is a sony and in turn has a memory stick. Evening saved.
After the sound check, which was amazing, we headed upstairs in the Q for hors d'oeuvres and an opportunity to meet James and Carole. We were able to have the concert program autographed, but couldn't take photos. Thankfully, one of my favorite James shots of all times from 1970 was in the book. I asked if he would sign it and he said, "only if I can draw my cigarette back in". I about melted right then and there... I'm not typically big on autographs, but he drew on the photo - I was sold. I was so happy to give this experience to Todd - it helped me realize why I work so hard every day.
Most of the fans there, especially in those seats, were in a very different place during the time of the original Troubadour shows in 1970. Most importantly, they were alive :) One of the couples asked how long we had been fans of James... when did we start listening to him - I'm guessing the womb.
Still in shock over these seats...
For this tour, they decided to try and re-create the club feel of the original Troubadour shows in California. The stage was a rotating circle with a total of 60 tables for two surrounding the stage. Table light and all, I couldn't even tell that thousands of people were behind us - it was phenomenal and I'm forever spoiled - this is the way to see an artist. Since we had a table, Todd had to have nachos.
Almost every single member of the band from 1970 was on the stage with James and Carole 40 years later. How amazing... here's Kootch on guitar, Leland Sklar with the best beard ever and Russ Kunkel (a man with serious rhythm) - my Dad would have loved this... hopefully I can take him next time.
Their background vocalists were amazing in their own right. My favorite was this guy - mainly for his shoes... he was from Cleveland!
For the first set, the group was dressed to impress...
Seriously - I took this photo with a point and shoot. I wish I was back there now.
When they came back for the second set, the stage started going the other direction and it was a casual feel... for a moment, it almost seemed as though we were sitting around listening to our friends jam. The only thing that made it even better was the smile plastered on Todd's face. I've never been more proud of one of my schemes.
For the first encore, I was upset that the stage again headed in the other direction... he was almost to us again. However, I soon realized that a greater power was pulling strings for me. Just before James came back out for a second encore, Todd said, "you can close your eyes". I hadn't even noticed that James hadn't played Todd's all-time favorite song yet. Sure enough, the stage started coming our direction and James sang "you can close your eyes" right in front of us. I'm tearing up now just thinking about it. I will remember it, and the look on Todd's face, the rest of my life.
Five minutes with Carole and we were fans... what an amazing friendshp these two have. I'm forever grateful that they dreamed up a way for us to help charities like the National Resources Defense Council and share in this experience with them.
this old world must still be spinning 'round and I still love you,
jamie.
0 comments:
Post a Comment