3
« on: December 29, 2015, 01:33:07 am »
I know my review is late but I didn’t find time before to feed back my first concert of Vanessa Carlton.
First I was all excited to see her. At last ! I went from Paris to Chicago then from Chicago to Louisville despite exorbitant airline ticket prices. I planned to see her twice: at the Zanzabar in Louisville and at the HIFI at Indianapolis.
I arrived in Louisville the day before the show. I knew nothing about the concert hall. I was so surprised when I found myself before the pub. I thought it was a real hall but it was not but I was happy with it! It was wonderful to experience Vanessa close up- and approachable! For my pleasure it was going to be an intimate concert. I was so stressed out that I started to drink much to try to relax . So as you can guess, I was not really myself that night! Anyway…
I met some other Vanessa’s fans before the show. They have loved Vanessa for many years. We spoke about their favorite songs of Vanessa: Fair-weather Friends, Get Good, London… It was the first time I had met some other Vanessa’s fans. Here in France she is not famous at all. People are acquainted with A Thousand Miles but very few know who the singer is. Besides it was interesting to see who her audience was. And she reaches a diverse audience, which I have to say surprised me a lot! I must confess I thought I was going to see many prepubescent girls!
The concert started with Joshua Hypslop. I found he was great, he is a good guitar player and his music is really enjoyable. Good but not brilliant. But he was the perfect guy to introduce Vanessa. We waited 30 minutes after Joshua’s performance before Vanessa came on stage. I had never noticed beforehand how beautiful she was. She wore a wonderful leather jacket. Her clothes were quite simple but elegant. She arrived with a guy of about 30, very slim, with bleached hair and brown eyes, also wearing casual clothes: Skye Steele.
The concert started with Carousel. Everybody seemed to know the song by heart. So we were singing the song altogether. I paid attention to Vanessa’s reactions. She was surprised to see everybody singing her songs. So was I ! During the concert, I told myself how she had lived this turning point in her career. She sold millions of albums, has a worldwide pop hit (A Thousand Miles has 100 000 000 views on Youtube all the same!), has 3 Grammy-nominations, sang all over the world and released five critically-acclaimed albums. And she was performing in front of an audience of 80 people. I really did not expect it. I thought she was more famous in the US.
Here is the tracklist.
1) Carousel
2) Tall Tales for Spring
3) Unlock the Lock
4) White Houses
5) Take It Easy
6) Willows
7) House of Seven Swords
8 ) Operator
9) Blue Pool
10) Nothing Where Something Used to Be
11) River
12) I Don't Want to Be a Bride
13) A Thousand Miles
14) Get Good
15) The Marching Line
It is really different to see her performing online from seeing her performing live. She has become a really good vocalist, a moving and talented singer. Her voice was clear, powerful and moving. I didn’t expect it either !
After the show, I went outside to breathe a bit, to let off steam and above all to regain my composure. I was speaking with the girls I had met when Vanessa crossed the street and became closer to us. A girl shouted to her that I was waiting for her and that I came from Paris especially to see her. She smiled at me and gave me a hug. In France we are not used to hugging someone to say hi. So i felt very embarrassed but relieved to meet her. I could not bear not to speak with her. I started to explain to her how much I love her songs. I grew up with her music. I also quoted few lines of Operator explaining this song is one of my favorite songs. “We should call your little brother, tell him to be good, tell him that you really love him, you don’t but you should”. I added that Who’s To Say meant a lot to me and that I owed her much. I was terribly uncomfortable. I dreamed about that moment so many times but the more I talked to her, the more terrible my English was. What a pity! My English was giving up on me just when I needed it most. Anyway I think she understood the general idea. I asked Skye to take a photograph of us. He took once, I saw it but it did not please me at all so that I asked him to take another one.
To finish with, I also had the chance to speak more with Joshua and Skye. I spoke about music with Joshua. This guy has definably good tastes in music. Skye and I also talked one hour about everything and nothing. This guy is really a good person. It is good to know Vanessa is in good hands.
Seeing her was a dream come true. It is always something special when you meet someone you have admired for ages, since I am about 11 I think. Meeting her was on my bucket list. Now I can check it !
Show Posts
unlock the lock