|
Impressions
Thanks
to Jeff |
|
 |
| Avery
Fisher Hall |
I arrived at Lincoln Center around 6:30 pm which gave
me enough time to check out the area. The big courtyard with the fountain in the center of it is
surrounded by Avery Fisher Hall, Metropolitan Opera House, another building I can’t
recall its name. LC is really one of NYC’s hot spots. I walked around AV
Hall and came across what I thought was the “stage door”. The door faces
65th St. My plan was to get to the door after the concert in hopes of seeing
Charlotte leave and get her autograph.
I had enough time to check out AV Hall’s lobby. It was about 6:45pm and the
crowd in the lobby was still small. At that time a table was being set up to
sell Charlotte goodies; CD’s ($23), mouse pads ($23), T-shirts ($17), hats,
and autographed pictures. The prices were not cheap. I overheard one
teenager, she was probably Charlotte’s age, tell her parents that why should
she buy the CD here when she can buy it cheaper at a music store. There was
also a large poster of Charlotte’s concert event being displayed by the front
doors of the Hall. Many people were having their picture taken next to it.
I was doing a lot of people watching. The crowds were getting larger and
beginning to line up by the escalator on the right. I stayed out of this
line – I hate being in lines. Also, I would say it was mostly an older crowd
meaning not too many teenagers or younger ones there.
The anticipation was getting to me. It was passed 7:30pm going on 7:40pm and
they were still not seating us. At 7:45pm they finally began letting the
crowd go their seats. I avoided the long line to the escalator and headed
for the stairs on the right where the line was much shorter. I handed in my
ticket but was afraid the ticket lady would rip it in half right through
Charlotte’s name. Luckily she only ripped one small piece atone end like she
knew I did not want the ticket ruined. I headed up the stairs, passed the Orchestra and 1st tier levels and up to my
seat on the 2nd tier. There was a fantastic (CC uses this word alot) view of
Broadway from that level. My seat was in the back row on the right. The Hall
seemed quite large but I had my binoculars. I’m glad I had them and used
them during most of Charlotte’s performance since I was somewhat far from the
stage.
It was a few minutes after 8pm and the Hall was not full. There were open
seats in the Orchestra level and a few of the box seats on each tier (there
are 3 tiers) were empty. Some of those seats I think filled up after the
concert started. Six of the 9 seats in my row remained empty throughout
Charlotte’s performance. I had thought the concert was sold out but maybe it
was and those people just did not show up. Don’t get me wrong, the crowd was
large and very enthusiastic. And finally, about 8:10pm, Charlotte came out onto the stage- Wow! She had
on a stunning light purple and pink dress that made her shine. Her hair was
straight and parted on her left side. I can’t remember exactly what she said
to the audience but she introduced the Jess Cook Trio. Jesse Cook played for
about 25 minutes and he told us between songs that he has performed with
Charlotte for the last few concerts. He was very funny when he said that he
and his 2 “band” member’s ages together are exactly 100 years older than
Charlotte.
The Trio left and the 40 piece Orchestra came on. They sounded “small” in
comparison with the size of the hall.
Charlotte entered from stage left singing “Tonight” from West Side Story and
her next song was “Somewhere”. She was very energetic and delightful when
she spoke to the audience and she has a wonderful Welch accent. She then sang
“Dream-A Dream” (the orchestra was a bit overpowering during this song) and
then followed up with “If I Loved You” which I think she said was a song
that her Grandma wanted Charlotte to sing for us. That concluded the first
set.
After a 20 min intermission, Charlotte came out wearing along blue sparkly
dress that made her look fantastic. Charlotte began with a Welch song
accompanied by only a harp. She did not use microphone and apologized if we
could not hear her that well. She told the audience to come back in 5 years
meaning that her voice will be stronger then. I heard the song without any
problems from my back row seat. Then she sang a Celtic song “My ____ Love”
(not sure of the title) and then brought down the house with “La
Pastorella”. There was a long standing ovation that seemed to maybe surprise
her a little but her smile was from ear-to-ear and she curtsied several
times. Charlotte put a lot of energy into that song. She ended her second
set with “Pie Jesu”. Also, I think it was some time during in the second set
that she made the audience laugh when she said “I love New York (pause)
shopping”. She was hoping her Dad would let her do some more NYC shopping.
Her third set began with a song called “A bit of Earth” (new song for me).
She was wearing a red gown during this set. “Bali Ha'i” was next which
Charlotte said, if I remember correctly, that this is her favorite song.
Maybe Charlotte can clear that up for me. I really liked “Bridge over
Troubled Water” especially when she sang “water” with her Welch accent. It
came out as wa_ tah. I think this song ended the third set.
She came out for 2 curtain calls that the audience just loved. The first
song was “Summertime”and the last was “Danny Boy”. I was somewhat saddened
when Charlotte sang the last note from “Danny Boy”. I guess I was hoping
she would sing to us all night.
I think she really enjoyed performing for us.
Thanks Charlotte for a “fantastic” performance. -Jeff
Post Concert (Autograph Hunt):
The door where Charlotte exited AV Hall from is about 25 ft from 65th St
where her SUV was waiting. There is an awning that covers the sidewalk from
the door to the street. I had gotten to this area about 10 min. after the
concert. I’d say there were about 15 people waiting for Charlotte at that
time. For me this was good because it gave me a better chance to get to see
her closer up and to get her autograph. About 20 min after I got there I saw
Charlotte inside the door having her picture taken with various people. The
crowd outside the door had grown to about 30 people but still it did not seem
too crowded. Some people had concert programs for her to sign but I had my
“CharlotteChurch” CD so she could sign the little booklet that comes with
the CD.
Her father had come out about 5 min before Charlotte came out. He is tall. He
walked a young girl, probably Charlotte’s friend, to the SUV. He went back
inside. Charlotte then came out and was immediately surrounded by about 10
people. She said something like “I will try to sign as many autographs as
Ican”. I saw outstretched arms with pens and programs all around her. Her
security, some big guy dressed in a suit, stayed very close to her on her
left side. I was somewhat nervous for Charlotte because the people who first
surrounded her seemed very aggressive. She moved slowly towards the SUV while others asked for her autograph. Her
father was close by along with the security guy. They had gotten passed me so
I had to swing around to catch up to them. I finally handed Charlotte my CD
booklet. She signed “Charlotte” on it! She signed several other autographs
after that and then was escorted into the SUV. She sat in the back next to
her friend. The SUV then left. That’s my autograph experience in a nutshell.
I can tell that Charlotte wants to give back a lot of herself to her fans.
Thanks Charlotte.
-Jeff
|
