On February 1, 2013, I attended the Jackie Evancho concert at the Wang Theater in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It was a magical night. Jackie's performance was superb. It was one of the best concerts I have ever attended. I made enough great memories to last for a lifetime.
On my way home from the concert, I started thinking about the concert in Providence, scheduled for May 9, 2013. The left side of my brain ("Lefty") and the right side of my brain ("The Right Stuff") got into a huge argument.
Lefty: Why on earth would you even consider going to the concert in Providence? You just witnessed Jackie at her finest. These wonderful memories will be with you for the rest of your life. What if Jackie is tired? What if she's not perfect? You will have ruined some perfectly good memories. Besides, it's only three months from now. It will be exactly the same concert. She'll probably sing all the same songs. Heck, she'll probably even wear the same dresses.
The Right Stuff: Are you kidding me? This is a "no-brainer" (Sorry Lefty, please excuse the expression). So what if she sings the same songs? How many times have you listened to the CD? 100? 200? No need to answer! Besides, she's getting better by the day! Three months is practically a lifetime for Jackie. And so what if she's tired? So what if she's not perfect? Do you really care???? Of course you don't! Think of all the places she'll be touring soon - Europe, the Far East, Down Under, maybe even South America. It could be YEARS before she gets back to New England.
Well, my right brain won the argument, and I decided to go to the concert. I don't remember if it was that night, or maybe the next day, but I sent an e-mail to my buddy GEB1 (aka George) at the Jackie Evancho Fan Club site. We exchanged several e-mails over the next few days, but for the sake of brevity, I have condensed our discourse into a single chat session. And, well, I'm loosely paraphrasing the dialogue, from memory:
Me: Yo, "Jebby!"
George: Hey, "Fischerman!"
Me: 'sup, "Dawg?"
George: Nuttin'. Nada. Zip. Naught. Zilch…You?
Me: Same old, same old. Like "Pepe Le Pew" the skunk would say, things are "come see, come saw."
George: Huh?
Me. Sorry dude. French stuff. Never mind!
George: Oh…
Me: So, "Big Guy," got any spare ducats for the Big Show in Little Rhody?
George: Hey, does Carter have little liver pills?
Me: Awe-freakin'-some! How many?
George: They come 1,000 to a bottle.
Me: Not the pills, "Georgie-san," the tickets. How many spare tickets do you have?
George: Oh, right-o, "Steverino." Sorry. I got Twins. Double Trouble. Pocket Aces. Two tickets to Paradise…
Me: Fascinating, "Mister Spock!" Report details please!
George: Primo. World-class. Top Drawer. Top-of-the-Line. Top-notch. Top…
Me (interrupting): "Jorge!" Ingles, por favor! English, please!
George: Oh, OK. Front row center, of course.
Me: Gee, "Mr. Wizard." That's swell!
George: Hey, that's how we roll, son. That's how we roll.
Me: But, "Oh Bearded One" - I'm goin' stag, flyin' solo. Well, anyway, just my echo, my shadow, and me. Know what I mean? Can you do me a single?
George : Major Tom to Ground Control, that's a nugatory.
Me: Bummer!
George: Sorry "Slick," double or nothing. My Daddy once told me I should never split Aces.
Me: (Short pause - about 3 microseconds). OK, "Major," I'm all in! What's the body count?
George: Two Benjamin Franklins, One Ulysses S. Grant, and an Andrew Jackson.M
Me: (To myself): "270 bucks? For a re-run? Holy @#$%!&! "
George: You still there?
Me: Uh, yeah, sure. So, uh, how do want the money? Plastic? PayPal? Wire transfer?
George: Check please. Snail mail.
Me: Oh George - You're so old-school.
George: Yep. That's me. Mr. "Old School" himself. Listen, I gotta run. Got some stuff comin' in on Snapchat. I'll tweet you my mailing address. Hashtag #ProvidenceOrBust. Ciao, Fischerman!
The Review:
Part 1. Tickets, tickets, and more tickets.
Well, I got my two tickets in the mail from George. My wife is not a fan, so I decided to call my twin sister, Stephanie. She professes to be a fan, and even came with me to Jackie's concert in New York City, in November, 2011. HOWEVER, when I told her I had front-row seats to the concert in Providence, and I asked her if she would like to come with me, her response was "I'll have to check my calendar!"
CHECK YOUR CALENDAR???? ARE YOU KIDDING??? What could possibly take precedence over a Jackie Evancho concert? Triple by-pass heart surgery? That could always be rescheduled. Attendance at the annual Nobel Prize awards ceremony to be awarded a Nobel Prize? MAYBE - but only if it was to be awarded the BIG ONE - The Nobel Peace Prize. Anyway, my sister's calendar turned out to be clear, so fortunately for family harmony, she agreed to go with me.
I'm sure most of Jackie's dedicated fans know who Debra Crosby is. Debra hosted the talent show in Salem, Massachusetts, where Jackie competed in 2009 and early 2010. Through the generosity of several members of this group, Debra was furnished tickets to Jackie's concert in Boston, last February, where Debra and the Evancho family enjoyed an emotional reunion at a private meet and greet.
So anyway, I called Debra to ask if she was interested in attending the Providence concert, and she informed me that another member of the group had already given her two free tickets, for balcony seats. Debra does not live far from me, and the ride to Providence from the area north of Boston is about an hour, so I offered her a ride.
Unfortunately, due to scheduling difficulties, I had to inform Debra a few days later that I would not be able to give her a ride. I was feeling guilty about that, but it wasn't long before another group member called me and told me that he had two tickets in the third row that he would be willing to give for free to a worthy recipient.
We agreed that I should offer them to Debra, so I was able to make it up to her for not being able to give her a ride. Subsequently, just a few days before the concert, two more free tickets were made available to Debra by yet another generous group member, so Debra was able to attend the concert with FIVE other people who had been involved in the talent show.
Does Jackie have a great group of fans, or what????
Part 2. The Fan Gathering
The fan gathering was held in a small Chinese restaurant near the theater. It was a very informal event, because the traffic coming into Providence from Boston and points West was horrendous. Fan arrival times varied from about 4:30 PM to after 6:00 PM..
I made some notes about the fans in attendance, but they are not entirely legible, and since it has been more than four months now since the concert, I may not remember everybody. My apologies if I omit your name, or get your hometown wrong. I was there, of course, with my twin sister Stephanie, having traveled to Providence from Boston.
Also in attendance were Jim Clark, from Connecticut, with his guest Dennis Dostert. Len Rausch from Roanoke was there, as well as "Jack Buckeye" from California. Also, Brian Percy from Hartford, CT, and Bob Derby from Pembroke, MA, with guest Dana Peterson, and I believe one other person whose name I can't read. Sorry! Also, my good buddy George Bedarf, hailing from the Boston area.
Two very special guests in attendance, all the way from Finland, were Bjorn and Ritva Otsby.
Additional fans in attendance were Debra Crosby and Terry Murphy. Terry was Debra's assistant for the Talent Quest talent shows in 2009 and 2010 in Salem, MA where Jackie competed.. Finally, Kent Ringler attended the concert with his mother Shirley, but they were unable to attend the fan gathering.
Part 3. The Concert.
Here are my notes from the concert, written the next day:
Overall, what a night it was! Jackie's performance was very energetic and very emotional, but at the same time very intense and very focused. She was in complete control of her voice, her gestures, her movements around the stage - everything. The only disappointment of the evening? She didn't wear "The Dress."
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| "The Dress" |
In keeping with her current custom, she was barefoot. The blue dress is full-length (floor-length) so it was not obvious that she was barefoot.
For the second half of the concert, Jackie wore the white dress that she wore in Taipei, with low high-heels. The white dress is not floor-length - not even ankle-length - so the shoes were very visible. When she returned to the stage for her first encore, she was barefoot again, and this time it was very obvious, so apparently, Jackie felt that an explanation was in order. She explained to the audience that the high heels were hurting her feet, so she took them off. That drew enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Sorry, ladies, I did not take any notes about how Jackie wore her hair.
In fariness to Jumaane Smith, who played the trumpet during Jackie's performance of "The Summer Knows," I should say a few words about what he was wearing. He wore a tuxedo jacket with small white polka dots - hard to describe - and wide peak collars. Also, patent leather shoes. In a word or two, he looked VERY SHARP!!
The orchestra was first rate, and conductor John Mario was his usual awesome self.
Here is the Song List with my scratchy notes, written in "real time" in the dark.
Orchestral "overture" (two pieces) - not sure what - I think from "Carmen."
Pure Imagination: Beautiful as always.
Jackie said a few words here, welcoming the audience.
The Impossible Dream: VERY INTENSE!
The Summer Knows (with Jumaane Smith on trumpet); Jumaane was SMOKIN'!!!
Georgia (Jumaane Smith solo on trumpet): The high note was amazing. VERY emotional.
My Heart Will Go On - Jackie sang it more slowly than usual, also very emotional. I liked the slower speed.
Ombra Mai Fu: Absolutely pitch perfect, as usual. As good as I've ever heard her sing it.
The Lord's Prayer: Well done, but I don’t think she'll ever top her performance in Dallas.
Intermission
Pirates of the Caribbean (The Orchestra): Stirring, fun, exciting. The crowd loved it.
When You Wish Upon a Star ??? (Sorry, I took no notes)
Se (Cinema Paradiso): Very energetic and beautiful at the same time. I don't know how she does it...
When I Fall in Love: Very moving - I was totally entranced.
What a Wonderful World (Jumaane Smith solo on trumpet): Jumaane dedicated this song to the late great Louis "Pops" Armstrong. He did a decent job - the song works OK as an instrumental, but it needs a voice - Jackie's voice. I hope some day they'll do it as a duet,
Imaginer: Absolutely EXQUISITE!
At this point, Jackie thanked the audience for coming. In my notebook, I drew a heart. I don't remember for sure, but I think that meant that Jackie told us that she loved us!
Reflection: As she had been doing at previous concerts, she dedicated this song to her mother. The low notes in this song, and actually, all throughout the evening, were amazing. Her voice had noticeably matured just in the 3 months since the Boston concert. The end of "Reflection", like much of Jackie's singing that night, was INTENSE!
Encores:
The Music of the Night: Another incredible performance. Poised, confident, every note right "on the money." She used the whole stage, and her movements back and forth across the stage were so graceful and so rhythmic, and so in sync with the music, that I think it is fair to say she was virtually dancing while she was singing. It was magical. The high notes were spectacular.
O Mio Babbino Caro: What can I say about this song? Jackie has been singing this song for at least 5 years - probably longer. She was in complete command of the performance. This was my fourth Jackie Evancho concert, and everytime I have seen her sing this song live, I swear it just keeps getting better and better.
Well, that's my belated review of the Providence concert. I am very happy to say that I am fortunate enough to be going to Jackie's concert on October 11, 2013, in Worcester, Massachusetts. This should be a very exciting night. It will be the opening concert of the 2013-2014 tour. We all know by know that Jackie is currently working on a new CD. I haven’t heard any mention of a release date, but whether the CD has been released by then or not, I'm hoping that we will be treated with several new songs from the CD, as well as some of the old favorites. I'm very much hoping for "Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)".
I'm also counting on two fabulous new gowns!
Oh, and don't forget Jackie's recent "Tweet" about "enhancements" to her concerts. It will be very interesting to see what she meant by that Tweet.
I will write a review of the Worcester concert, and I promise that it will be posted before the end of that weekend (including the Monday holiday - Columbus Day).
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