Everything about last night was awesome, amazing, unforgettable! The blouse-throwing was a highlight...Leonard and the band loved it - totally chuckling- and yes Leonard did lose his place in the song, causing adorable, vulnerable, little-boy-face-Leonard to make an appearance.
Bonnie and Sharon E. and others in the front row (we see them dancing up a storm and flinging blouses in Albert's wonderful video) did a great job of getting ALL the blouses that were thrown toward the front, onto that stage. I flung mine (from 4th row) accidentally onto the head of a lady in the first row who momentarily seemed to wonder what the heck was going on, but she caught on quickly and tossed it up to the stage.
The pre-party and after party were wonderful. It was great to meet so many people for the first time, and see old friends again. Maarten, the name tags are gorgeous and I will treasure mine. Audrey, it was wonderful to share in your excitement being at your first show! Meeting some of the band members was UNREAL. The first for me was Rafael Gayol...who charmed me into incoherence within seconds. I asked him to sign my program, and I remember digging for a pen which seemed to take forever and of course you feel their time is SO valuable, that they are SO nice to even be doing this at all, so of course the panic starts to set in when you can't find the pen.
But I finally found 2 in my mess of a bag...and oh-so-gleefully presented him with a skinny Sharpie AND a thick one, and started BABBLING about how I had planned to bring a silver pen too, because it would be better for signing on the black backgrounds. Dork! He was so sweet though...and posed for a pic with me which I need to retrieve from the man who took it.
Hattie and Roscoe were also at the pre-entry and were so gracious. Roscoe in particular is very approachable; he makes you feel like an old friend! It's no wonder he is musical director...he is the heart of the band.
Want to write more about the show...Leonard was god-like, of course. And the afterparty! More band members! Just appearing in the hotel lobby! Sitting down chatting with us! Like I said, UNREAL. But meeting all the forum members was even better. So many nice, intelligent, and funny-as-hell people in one room was kind of overwhelming! I wanted to spend hours with each of you and felt like one day was not enough! Also want to share a funny story about mean ushers at the venue...we had to overpower them in order to get back to our seats during Tower of Song.
Must rest now...got home at 5 am. Will write more later! Will share some pics too. Maybe video as well, though I think it's crappy quality.
Esther
