George Michael is Back
At least he was on Tuesday, I'm pretty sure, because I saw him in the flesh at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid. Very very good show. The first half was actually transcendental, the second half lost me a little bit. Maybe it was the cheesy re-working of "Freedom." (I mean, there's already the original and then "Freedom 90", is he going to do "Freedom 06"? Hope not.)
The first several songs gave me chills, and when he did "Jesus to a Child" and "Praying for Time", the emotion in the stadium was palpable. He really nailed the upbeat tunes like "Faith" and "Amazing", as well. And "Father Figure", well, how could you go wrong with a song like that?! OK, I'm biased, because it was during that song that I first slow danced with a guy at the Boardwalk in Lincoln, Nebraska, but still. The only glaring omission was "I Want Your Sex." Isn't that the song that really catapulted him to fame? I guess sex was the thing that dragged him into the gutter, as well. Maybe he's turned over a new leaf.
It's funny, because as I was heading to the show, I'm like, I don't need to write an entry on this, too cheesy, too nostalgic. Then, as soon as I heard his voice and felt that energy, I was like... cheesy or not, this is good stuff!
Michael started the 25LIVE tour - his first in 15 years - a few days earlier in Barcelona and will go on to tour a total of 28 cities in Europe. I initially sat next to two women from L.A. who had flown all the way to Madrid just for the show. A few minutes later, the group that was supposed to sit where I was kicked me out, and the usher showed me to my real seat - in the family and guests of George Michael section! Very strange, because I knew about this concert months ago, but it seemed kind of expensive and I figured I'd try for tix at the last minute. They must have opened up some of the best blocks at the end, because I just went online and purchased it two days before the show.
I thought for the first half that I was sitting behind Tori Spelling, but I'm not really sure what her face looks like this week, I'll have to check into that. Then, later in the evening, she noticed I was checking her out and started kind of flirting with me, then I noticed that she was speaking perfect Spanish, so doesn't seem very Tori-like, but who knows. Anyway, I'm sure there were important people there, but as usual, I couldn't figure any of them out and was too busy watching the show to spend to much effort.
I didn't bring my camera, because I'd read on the venue website that they were forbidden. I don't know why I paid attention to this, because I know by now that they never seem to check things like that here, VERY laid back. Well, they didn't check at all, and when I looked down on the floor, it was like a sci-fi flick with everyone holding their little monitors up. I was bitter, but fortunately, we have YouTube, so I can share someone else's videos with you.
FAITH (thanks to triumphjack)
FASTLOVE (thanks to holendezfeliz)
PRAYING FOR TIME (thanks to Likethecars)
Right before he broke for an intermission, Michael did his song "Shoot the Dog", a harsh critique of the relationship between U.S. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He had a huge blowup Bush doll inflate on stage, which prompted screams from the crowd, but then, to top it off, he unzipped Bush's zipper, and a dog wearing a British flag (Blair, of course) popped out. It was too much. I tried to capture with my #@$%&*! picture phone. Not the best pics, but you get the idea.
Blow-up Bush
Bush Being Blown by Blair
Overall, I was sooo glad I spent my last 80 euros on that ticket. Now I've earned more, so you'll be happy to know I can eat and other important stuff like that. On my way out of the concert I snapped a shot of the cool Dali sculpture and Stonehenge replica in front of the Palacio de Deportes.
Dali Sculpture at the Arena Entrance
I went underground to catch the metro home with George Michael nostalgia floating through my head. Sigh, those were the days...
UPDATE 10/3/06: Mr. Michael was arrested in London shortly after the concert in Madrid for possession of an illegal drug (marijuana) after being found slumped over the wheel of his car in an intersection. More info here. Poor guy, always getting his ass into trouble one way or another.
At least he was on Tuesday, I'm pretty sure, because I saw him in the flesh at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid. Very very good show. The first half was actually transcendental, the second half lost me a little bit. Maybe it was the cheesy re-working of "Freedom." (I mean, there's already the original and then "Freedom 90", is he going to do "Freedom 06"? Hope not.)
The first several songs gave me chills, and when he did "Jesus to a Child" and "Praying for Time", the emotion in the stadium was palpable. He really nailed the upbeat tunes like "Faith" and "Amazing", as well. And "Father Figure", well, how could you go wrong with a song like that?! OK, I'm biased, because it was during that song that I first slow danced with a guy at the Boardwalk in Lincoln, Nebraska, but still. The only glaring omission was "I Want Your Sex." Isn't that the song that really catapulted him to fame? I guess sex was the thing that dragged him into the gutter, as well. Maybe he's turned over a new leaf.
It's funny, because as I was heading to the show, I'm like, I don't need to write an entry on this, too cheesy, too nostalgic. Then, as soon as I heard his voice and felt that energy, I was like... cheesy or not, this is good stuff!
Michael started the 25LIVE tour - his first in 15 years - a few days earlier in Barcelona and will go on to tour a total of 28 cities in Europe. I initially sat next to two women from L.A. who had flown all the way to Madrid just for the show. A few minutes later, the group that was supposed to sit where I was kicked me out, and the usher showed me to my real seat - in the family and guests of George Michael section! Very strange, because I knew about this concert months ago, but it seemed kind of expensive and I figured I'd try for tix at the last minute. They must have opened up some of the best blocks at the end, because I just went online and purchased it two days before the show.
I thought for the first half that I was sitting behind Tori Spelling, but I'm not really sure what her face looks like this week, I'll have to check into that. Then, later in the evening, she noticed I was checking her out and started kind of flirting with me, then I noticed that she was speaking perfect Spanish, so doesn't seem very Tori-like, but who knows. Anyway, I'm sure there were important people there, but as usual, I couldn't figure any of them out and was too busy watching the show to spend to much effort.
I didn't bring my camera, because I'd read on the venue website that they were forbidden. I don't know why I paid attention to this, because I know by now that they never seem to check things like that here, VERY laid back. Well, they didn't check at all, and when I looked down on the floor, it was like a sci-fi flick with everyone holding their little monitors up. I was bitter, but fortunately, we have YouTube, so I can share someone else's videos with you.
Right before he broke for an intermission, Michael did his song "Shoot the Dog", a harsh critique of the relationship between U.S. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He had a huge blowup Bush doll inflate on stage, which prompted screams from the crowd, but then, to top it off, he unzipped Bush's zipper, and a dog wearing a British flag (Blair, of course) popped out. It was too much. I tried to capture with my #@$%&*! picture phone. Not the best pics, but you get the idea.
Overall, I was sooo glad I spent my last 80 euros on that ticket. Now I've earned more, so you'll be happy to know I can eat and other important stuff like that. On my way out of the concert I snapped a shot of the cool Dali sculpture and Stonehenge replica in front of the Palacio de Deportes.
I went underground to catch the metro home with George Michael nostalgia floating through my head. Sigh, those were the days...
UPDATE 10/3/06: Mr. Michael was arrested in London shortly after the concert in Madrid for possession of an illegal drug (marijuana) after being found slumped over the wheel of his car in an intersection. More info here. Poor guy, always getting his ass into trouble one way or another.
posted by Chromest*r at 2:20 AM
1 Comments:
Thanks for sharing your concert experience. I love George Michael's voice and enjoyed reading your blog. Happy to hear that he is still touring abroad.
RaShonda
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