About the concert
When I first heard "Dust and Ashes," I was horrified by that gargly sound that Josh was taught to make while singing that. I feared it would damage his voice. I know he worried about that also and was told that it wouldn't hurt him.
I've come to really love the soundtrack of Comet, though. I've listened to it many times.
I tweeted him recently asking if he would be willing to go back to singing the way he used to, but he didn't reply. I thought that's what I wanted.
Last night he did go back to singing those quiet songs that he used to sing. His voice was great, the band was great. The music was all that style that I thought I wanted to hear, but I felt restless.
Of course, I've always preferred his more experimental numbers, like "Now or Never" and "Voce", so I wasn't necessarily hoping for just this mix, but I also loved his Broadway performance. Here's the set list from Up Close and Personal https://twitter.com/skysong263/status/929615269135355904
He said also that he needs a break from the Pierre character, because he felt that he was taking that depressed alcoholic home with him, to his detriment.
Yet, yet... I guess I can't go back. They say that, that you can never really go back.
Of course, in this case, the band was stripped down. It was Tariqh and Mark and a string quartet (NB only one woman), so it wasn't his full orchestra sound: no percussion, less bass. I like percussion, though I feel Josh often overdoes the bass, so possibly if this were with a larger orchestra I would have felt differently, but I'm not sure.
Now about the venue
First up: The McKittrick Hotel is not a hotel. Confusing. They have shows there.
Second: the number seven subway, which stops quite near that site, was not running, so right off my schedule was off, well that and all the last minute phone calls I got trying to go out the door. I live in the suburbs, btw.
So I took the subway to seventh and 23rd. When I got there, I checked the online bus time app and learned that all the M23 buses were eastbound with the nearest one at eighth ave, heading east. I decided to go by Michael's, which is near there, to by a frame. They were having some kind of sale with a really intimidating line that looked about at least a half hour long, so I left and by that time the bus was closer and I got there about 6:15, when we were supposed to get there by 5:45. This was after the weirdness the night before when the train home was detoured due to bridge demolition.
So I wasn't in the best mood when I arrived. Plus I had blisters on my feet leftover from a long walk in bad shoes Thursday.
The venue was on the second floor.
The space was very dark throughout. The main approach corridor had an uneven spot that was a tripping hazard. Early on they had someone stationed there to warn us. Later on there wasn't anyone, so I did trip there, but did not fall. The extreme darkness was an issue for at least one elderly fan who couldn't see in the dark. Does Josh realize that older people lose night vision?
We sat on chairs with bent oak backs. This type of chair tends to be sturdy, but uncomfortable. The chairs were crowded very close together.
The place was dimly lit with hanging light globes that changed colors. There was some kind of fog machine. Once upon a time, a crowded bar like space would have always been smokey. Now no one wants smoke, but they still want the look. I find that odd
The layout of the seats was slightly different from the way it looked on the online seating chart. There was a pole between me and the place where Josh was supposed to stand. They had pre-researched this problem and proactively offered to move me, but I didn't like the place they chose, so I stayed in the original seat. I was able to move to see him around the pole. He also went to the piano, which was unobstructed. The organizer there said he was at the piano more than they were told he would be.
I went to the bathroom during Caruso, which I wouldn't have done if I had realized how short the concert was. They had said that the concert was from seven to nine, like the typical Josh concert: two hours. I was upset that it was so short after we spent so much money.
The organizer told me that the money was to be able to get closer to Josh in a small venue. Of course I was spoiled because I was front row center at the Allen Room and this time I wasn't as close. The sound was good, at least.
They did the whole bit about bagging cell phones again. I wasn't planning to record this concert, but I realized I could have perfectly well brought a second recording device and done it, if I had wanted to, but it seemed fairly futile at this concert, because he's performed most of these songs so many times before.
Apparently, they had to cut the concert short if we were to have dinner at 9, because they were using the same room for dinner as the concert. Therefore we had to go out and stand in crowded, narrow passages outside the room, so they could rearrange.
This is where things really got insulting, as if I weren't already insulted by being made to stand out in the cold the night before, or being chilled even inside, because they left the doors to the venue open while slowly security checking everyone. I've been to any number of continuing legal education courses that included presentations and lunch. In all of those situations, they either had us listen to the presentation while sitting at tables that were suitable for lunch OR they had lunch in a separate room. The idea that we would pay $1400 and then have the concert cut short and be made to stand around in narrow, crowded corridors, because they wouldn't spring for a proper facility is just outrageous. If I pay $1400, I expect to be pampered.
The entire weekend had a crowded cattle like feeling about it. I had had these vague fantasies that we might actually get to talk to Josh, given that the event was called "up close and personal," but not really. He was mostly elsewhere.
Well I got to speak to him briefly, when he signed my copy of his book. I found out, to my disappointment, that he hadn't noticed my #QuixoticQuest. I'm going to start saying that with a hashtag in the future. I've blogged about my #QuixoticQuest extensively, copying him, and I thought -- back when he had less followers -- that he actually read some of those blogs. Maybe he just forgot, or doesn't recognize me in person. Sigh. In case the reader hadn't noticed the #QuixoticQuest, here's the explanatory blog http://skysong263.blogspot.com/2015/05/trying-to-organize-information-about-my.html?m=1
Well I got to speak to him briefly, when he signed my copy of his book. I found out, to my disappointment, that he hadn't noticed my #QuixoticQuest. I'm going to start saying that with a hashtag in the future. I've blogged about my #QuixoticQuest extensively, copying him, and I thought -- back when he had less followers -- that he actually read some of those blogs. Maybe he just forgot, or doesn't recognize me in person. Sigh. In case the reader hadn't noticed the #QuixoticQuest, here's the explanatory blog http://skysong263.blogspot.com/2015/05/trying-to-organize-information-about-my.html?m=1
I suppose I might have said more to him, though I'm not very assertive. Some people would have dragged it out more. He was very formal in the way he addressed me. There was an opportunity to shout out questions during the concert. I had submitted written questions the night before, after consulting my blog of unanswered questions http://straightarrow372.blogspot.com/2016/02/questions-for-joshgroban.html but those questions didn't get answered, alas.
About Josh
Josh's hair was shorter than I've ever seen it. He said he was going to shave his beard soon also, because he's going to be playing a cop named Frank Caruso in a Netflix series soon. He said this just before singing Caruso, remarking on the synchronicity between the names.
I was reminded of how very thin he looks in person. He doesn't look so thin on camera, because cameras flatten images, which makes people look fatter. He reminds me of a physics professor I used to have in college, with this beard. Somehow he seems to look nerdier with age. We always knew he was a nerd, but having him look so much like my physics professor now is remarkable to me.
I've been talking voice lessons again recently. I was very conscious of his vocal technique, which sounds to me to be exactly what my teacher is trying to get me to do, but which I haven't quite figured out yet. Of course, he's been much more serious about voice lessons and for a lot more years than I have.
I'm still kicking myself about the media review Friday, wishing I had given the first song a higher grade, and fearing that somehow that will throw Josh off in his decision making.
Some tweets with pix:
No comments:
Post a Comment