I just have to say that I am no longer upset that they cancelled the Chicago show, because I probably would have never experienced what I experienced Sunday night!
At the eleventh hour, Lindsay (linylou) found 4th row pit tickets, and we split them. But we were never in them all night, because as soon as the crickets started, we bolted for the stage and planted ourselves in front of Lindsey! I was in total shock. Denver security has apparently always been really tight, and usually doesn't let fans even stray into the aisles, much less up to the stage. But the band had told security they wanted the fans up there, so they didn't stop us. It was me, Lindsay, Denise (sorry Denise, can't remember your screen name!) and Lauren (new member here -- posts on the Ledge), just a few feet from Lindsey all night!
When the band came out, Stevie and Lindsey were holding hands as usual, but Stevie didn't look so well. We found out from another fan that she had food poisoning! For the first several songs, she looked really unsteady and like she would hurl at any moment! Lindsey, on the other hand, was very energetic and playful throughout the show. We were lucky enough to reap some of the benefits!
When Lindsey first took his position on stage, I held up a picture I had brought with me of my 3 year old son watching Lindsey on TV and imitating him with his own toy electric guitar. (They are both banging on their guitars). Lindsey came over twice to see what the picture was. The first time, he couldn't make it out. But the second time, I think he finally got it... Denise told him it was my son, and I told Lindsey that my son loves him. He nodded and got a big smile on his face! For the rest of the night, he was pretty playful with us. In general, he took turns flirting with all the girls on his side of the stage. As Sheri mentioned in her review, there was one girl in particular that Lindsey paid a lot of attention to. She was the Come girl, naturally, and he flirted with her shamelessly! He even brought out a second towel and handed it to her after throwing the first into the crowd (which was caught by Lauren's husband, who was standing right behind me!) But we didn't feel too neglected, because although he did focus on her a lot, he did spread the attention around.
As I mentioned, he was particularly playful. Right before playing big love, he tried to build up the anticipation. He cracked his knuckles and shook his hands several times, with a teasing grin on his face, before he started playing. Also, when Tusk was just starting up, he was grunting at us, and lifting his arm up and down at us.
As Sheri also mentioned, there wasn't much interaction between Stevie and Lindsey, except for the "scripted" stuff. I think that was partly due to Stevie not feeling well. But I also think it's gotta be getting pretty old for them. During the staged stuff, Lindsey was even making certain faces/gestures. While Stevie's hands were on his shoulders during Landslide, he was glancing at her hands with a mock look of surprise/interest. And during the Tusk slow dance, he shrugged his shoulders at one point when he was facing the crowd, as if to say "I don't know". During the boxing match, Stevie really didn't participate at all, other than to move way out of Lindsey's way. He ran across the stage at her twice before the slow dance, and she didn't participate at all.
One thing that made me feel like Lindsey was sympathetic to Stevie's health... when she left the stage right before Come, he briefly grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze, as if to say "hang in there".
As for Stevie, she was a real trouper. Even being sick, she kicked ass on Gold Dust Woman, Rhiannon and Stand Back. I was surprised to see her do the twirls during Stand Back, considering how she felt. I was half expecting her to just fall over when she finally came out of those spins! And Sara was great! She sang it beautifully. And she is simply gorgeous with her hair up and the red cape. And I loved seeing the old video behind her during the song. I think she looks even more gorgeous now then she did then!
Some other highlights for me were:
1. Stevie kept getting tangled up in the streamers on her microphone. This happened two or three times, and she almost took the microphone stand down each time. She would laugh every time it happened. Those were probably the only genuine smiles I saw from her all night.
2. During GYOW (I think?), Lindsey flubbed by continuing to sing when he wasn't supposed to. He had been looking at us at the time, and quickly looked away. I was wondering if he was embarassed (we all laughed pretty loud when that happened), or if he was just trying to regain his concentration.
3. Somebody in front of the stage did or said something that made Lindsey laugh while singing The Chain.
4. I wasn't far enough to the right to play Lindsey's guitar, but Lauren and I got to touch his hands! During one song (I can't remember which one), we were motioning for him to come over by us. At the end of the song, he knelt down in front of us, with his arms outstretched and his hands on the speaker directly in front of us. Each of us took one of his hands. We stayed that way for about 15-30 seconds. It was incredible! I was surprised how soft his hands are! Being able to touch him more than made up for not getting to play the guitar!
5. Lindsey would occasionally look me in the eyes and sing a line to me, while I sang back to him. (He did this with most of the girls up front -- did I mention he was incredibly flirty/playful?) Those eyes are incredible!
6. Lindsey autographed the picture for my son. (As several of you know, my son is a huge Lindsey fan at 3 years old.) The picture is getting framed and hung on his bedroom wall!
7. While Lindsey signed the picture, I got to tell him that he was incredible. I thanked him for the autograph, and he thanked me back!
8. Did I mention standing so close to that gorgeous man/guitar god?
Overall, the concert was great. Stevie was a little off due to her health, especially in the beginning, but still was great considering the situation. She found the energy when she needed it! Lindsey seemed to be having a great time, and played incredible guitar as usual. John was John... in his own world while playing great bass! And Mick also seemed to be having a pretty good time. But you could tell they are getting tired. And as much as I loved the show, it seemed like each one of them at some point were just going through the motions. I can't blame them, though... it's gotta be monotonous (sp?) as hell to play the same songs night after night for as many shows as they've performed this past year.
Hope I haven't rambled on too much! Since this is the first time I've ever been so close to the stage, I was so wrapped up in Lindsey that many of the songs are just a blur for me. I mostly remember the details about interacting with Lindsey. Hopefully, I haven't bored you all too much with those details!
I did sneak a camera in, and got a few good shots. Unfortunately, my digital camera broke a week before the show, so I took my 35 mm with only one roll. Many of my pictures turned out blurry, probably due to my shaking and them being in motion. But I did manage to get about 6 good shots. I will forward them to Nancy to post, once I'm able to get them scanned.
- Mary
At the eleventh hour, Lindsay (linylou) found 4th row pit tickets, and we split them. But we were never in them all night, because as soon as the crickets started, we bolted for the stage and planted ourselves in front of Lindsey! I was in total shock. Denver security has apparently always been really tight, and usually doesn't let fans even stray into the aisles, much less up to the stage. But the band had told security they wanted the fans up there, so they didn't stop us. It was me, Lindsay, Denise (sorry Denise, can't remember your screen name!) and Lauren (new member here -- posts on the Ledge), just a few feet from Lindsey all night!
When the band came out, Stevie and Lindsey were holding hands as usual, but Stevie didn't look so well. We found out from another fan that she had food poisoning! For the first several songs, she looked really unsteady and like she would hurl at any moment! Lindsey, on the other hand, was very energetic and playful throughout the show. We were lucky enough to reap some of the benefits!
When Lindsey first took his position on stage, I held up a picture I had brought with me of my 3 year old son watching Lindsey on TV and imitating him with his own toy electric guitar. (They are both banging on their guitars). Lindsey came over twice to see what the picture was. The first time, he couldn't make it out. But the second time, I think he finally got it... Denise told him it was my son, and I told Lindsey that my son loves him. He nodded and got a big smile on his face! For the rest of the night, he was pretty playful with us. In general, he took turns flirting with all the girls on his side of the stage. As Sheri mentioned in her review, there was one girl in particular that Lindsey paid a lot of attention to. She was the Come girl, naturally, and he flirted with her shamelessly! He even brought out a second towel and handed it to her after throwing the first into the crowd (which was caught by Lauren's husband, who was standing right behind me!) But we didn't feel too neglected, because although he did focus on her a lot, he did spread the attention around.
As I mentioned, he was particularly playful. Right before playing big love, he tried to build up the anticipation. He cracked his knuckles and shook his hands several times, with a teasing grin on his face, before he started playing. Also, when Tusk was just starting up, he was grunting at us, and lifting his arm up and down at us.
As Sheri also mentioned, there wasn't much interaction between Stevie and Lindsey, except for the "scripted" stuff. I think that was partly due to Stevie not feeling well. But I also think it's gotta be getting pretty old for them. During the staged stuff, Lindsey was even making certain faces/gestures. While Stevie's hands were on his shoulders during Landslide, he was glancing at her hands with a mock look of surprise/interest. And during the Tusk slow dance, he shrugged his shoulders at one point when he was facing the crowd, as if to say "I don't know". During the boxing match, Stevie really didn't participate at all, other than to move way out of Lindsey's way. He ran across the stage at her twice before the slow dance, and she didn't participate at all.
One thing that made me feel like Lindsey was sympathetic to Stevie's health... when she left the stage right before Come, he briefly grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze, as if to say "hang in there".
As for Stevie, she was a real trouper. Even being sick, she kicked ass on Gold Dust Woman, Rhiannon and Stand Back. I was surprised to see her do the twirls during Stand Back, considering how she felt. I was half expecting her to just fall over when she finally came out of those spins! And Sara was great! She sang it beautifully. And she is simply gorgeous with her hair up and the red cape. And I loved seeing the old video behind her during the song. I think she looks even more gorgeous now then she did then!
Some other highlights for me were:
1. Stevie kept getting tangled up in the streamers on her microphone. This happened two or three times, and she almost took the microphone stand down each time. She would laugh every time it happened. Those were probably the only genuine smiles I saw from her all night.
2. During GYOW (I think?), Lindsey flubbed by continuing to sing when he wasn't supposed to. He had been looking at us at the time, and quickly looked away. I was wondering if he was embarassed (we all laughed pretty loud when that happened), or if he was just trying to regain his concentration.
3. Somebody in front of the stage did or said something that made Lindsey laugh while singing The Chain.
4. I wasn't far enough to the right to play Lindsey's guitar, but Lauren and I got to touch his hands! During one song (I can't remember which one), we were motioning for him to come over by us. At the end of the song, he knelt down in front of us, with his arms outstretched and his hands on the speaker directly in front of us. Each of us took one of his hands. We stayed that way for about 15-30 seconds. It was incredible! I was surprised how soft his hands are! Being able to touch him more than made up for not getting to play the guitar!
5. Lindsey would occasionally look me in the eyes and sing a line to me, while I sang back to him. (He did this with most of the girls up front -- did I mention he was incredibly flirty/playful?) Those eyes are incredible!
6. Lindsey autographed the picture for my son. (As several of you know, my son is a huge Lindsey fan at 3 years old.) The picture is getting framed and hung on his bedroom wall!
7. While Lindsey signed the picture, I got to tell him that he was incredible. I thanked him for the autograph, and he thanked me back!
8. Did I mention standing so close to that gorgeous man/guitar god?
Overall, the concert was great. Stevie was a little off due to her health, especially in the beginning, but still was great considering the situation. She found the energy when she needed it! Lindsey seemed to be having a great time, and played incredible guitar as usual. John was John... in his own world while playing great bass! And Mick also seemed to be having a pretty good time. But you could tell they are getting tired. And as much as I loved the show, it seemed like each one of them at some point were just going through the motions. I can't blame them, though... it's gotta be monotonous (sp?) as hell to play the same songs night after night for as many shows as they've performed this past year.
Hope I haven't rambled on too much! Since this is the first time I've ever been so close to the stage, I was so wrapped up in Lindsey that many of the songs are just a blur for me. I mostly remember the details about interacting with Lindsey. Hopefully, I haven't bored you all too much with those details!
I did sneak a camera in, and got a few good shots. Unfortunately, my digital camera broke a week before the show, so I took my 35 mm with only one roll. Many of my pictures turned out blurry, probably due to my shaking and them being in motion. But I did manage to get about 6 good shots. I will forward them to Nancy to post, once I'm able to get them scanned.
- Mary
