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Impressions
By
Marguerite |
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| Wang
Theater |
This was my first Charlotte concert, and it was unbelievable!
I traveled there by train, then by subway, etc. I was with my 11-year-old sister, who, having never listened to Charlotte's music, was not as enthusiastic as I was, but nevertheless we went inside the theatre at seven thirty (the concert) started at eight. To our dismay, we had terribly
disagreeable seats: they were very high up, and of course I had a big-haired lady in front of me, so that was not much help (I can't help being short!)
I wanted to get inside the theatre early, but my sister refused, etc., etc., so finally we were there at seven thirty: and faced a huge crowd. My plan to get to see the stage door for reference was completely ruined!
I began putting off hopes of meeting Charlotte and getting her autograph and giving her the note I wrote the night before as the concert started.
It opened with a very great program by a guitarist, who was wonderful, but whose name I don't quite remember, and then came Charlotte! She looked magnificent, but unfortunately I was so high up I could not see very well (I wear contact lenses for very strong nearsightedness + astigmatism) but even with my contacts I couldn't see her face, only slightly.
The concert was MAGNIFICENT. She opened with "Tonight" from West Side Story, and finished with "Bridge Over Troubled Waters", and then did 2 songs for encore: Danny Boy (which sounded BEAUTIFUL, much better than the CD - I don't like the accompaniment there as much), and Summertime, one of my ultimate favorites. I loved her expression of "La Pastorella", also: she added some new twists. Although, I don't know if that was her very best performance of that difficult piece: she seemed a second late for some parts, but still it was absolutely lovely. My sister mentioned to me that the high notes were "glass shattering". Indeed, they were gorgeous!
I stood up at the end of the concert so much that my little sister started yelling at me to sit down, unfortunately Charlotte did not see me from way up there. She changed her costume three times during the show, my favorite was the sparkling backless blue gown, it was quite gorgeous and she looked so well in it even from that high up.
During intermission, I saw an acquaintance of mine, a bit annoying one (just a tad), and was irritated to find that she had a better than I did. However, the end of my story makes up for that!
After climbing back up to our seats, we finished the rest of the concert and then made a mad dash for downstairs. We dodged crowds of people, and since most of the audience was made up of middle-aged or elderly ladies and men, we were able to squeeze by the ones that were willing to let us, and with great difficulty managed to push through the orchestra seats, where we saw a group of a bit strange-looking teenagers, who were
apparently being herded into some hidden door near the stage.
Without thinking, I joined them, and made sure my sister did not escape. I wasn't sure if backstage passes were required: my sister kept saying that they were, but I did not see anybody with a pass; not to mention, I did not see anyone checking passes, but the girl insists that "those big fat guards over there" were checking passes. Either way, we kind of hitched onto the group and went downstairs, in a very not-so glamorous area, and stood there for a little while.
Then, I saw Charl's mother! I was so "Oh-my-goooosh" that I couldn't even say anything. She walked right past us, and so did her dad. I held my "Charlotte Church" CD cover tightly, along with a permanent marker and the note that I wrote to Charlotte the night before.
I saw a young lady talking with a girl with a Welsh accent and I was in the middle of telling my sister "That must be one of Charlotte's friends" when I realized that it was Charlotte! I have seen billions of her pictures but she had her hair pulled back completely, no bangs, and she looked totally different, I almost did not recognize her.
Anyway, she chatted with this lady for an insane amount of time, like 20 minutes, while my sister and I stood there helpless because we had to go soon. "We have to go!" she kept telling me. So I told her to go back up and tell that I will be staying down here until I speak to Charl. Being very shy, obviously that was a big accomplishment for me, since I don't have a single drop of assertiveness in my blood.
I caught bits of the lady's conversation with Charlotte, and she kept saying, "Yeah, I said once that I thought Prince William was handsome, and the British media made it out that I have a crush on him," she said, "and now at that concert I'm not sure how to tell him I don't fancy you," she laughed. She talked with this lady for SO long I nearly almost left because I really had to go. Finally, the lady and her group left and Charl turned to me, and of course, all this speech I had planned just kind of disappeared; I meant to say something about
CharlotteChurch.net, etc., or something, but I was just at a loss for words, and my sister was also just standing there like a mummy (not even a "hi" or anything), so I made out, "Charlotte, you were PHENOMENAL!" She smiled, "Oh, thank you!" She actually looked a LOT older than me, even though she's not! Sigh, the joy of being tiny. "I have a note for you!" I said, and gave her the note, and she thanked me again. I held out my CD cover, which was by now all wrinkled in my purse: "Would you mind signing this for me?" She signed it in big bold letters while I was just kind of standing there in a trance, and then, tapping my shoulder, she thanked me again, and my sister and I left. I in joy, she just in
sleepiness.
Of course, we couldn't find our way back, went out the wrong door and ended up on the stage. We had to ask one of the guys how to get out, so we madly were rushing around under the stage, until finally we got to the front entrance, where all the doors were locked. Some elderly usher lady screeched, "Where did THOSE two come from?!" as she held open the door for us, but I was too excited to even care.
Even though my CD cover is all wrinkled from the excitement and the words in my note probably sounded fake (although it was the most sincere thing I ever wrote), and my sister bugged me all the ride home, all I can say is...WOW!
-Marguerite
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