I enthusiastically revealed in an earlier post a most phenomenal Christmas gift purchased for me by my adorable gal-pal Amy. Yep…she got me tix to a Christina Aguilera concert, and I’m jotting down here my musings on the mind-blowing trip we just experienced.
We left on a Thursday night last month, right after one of my Financial Accounting classes, and headed out on a road trip toward the concert venue in Cleveland, Ohio. Driving at night, not much traffic, jammin’ to some favorite tunes (thank you, God, for Sirius)…man, it was so relaxing. In a previous employ I spent many hours driving back and forth across US HWY 50 between Bedford & Cincinnati, and it seems not much has changed since last I whip-surfed that blessed asphalt. Somewhere over on 275 we had “a Big & Rich time”, and decided that one thing would help make it a perfect night, so we “had a bowl of that Skyline chili along the way.” It was aj’s first stop-off, her only other experience with Cincinnati style chili coming in the form of Skyline’s MUCH inferior rival, Gold Star. Blah!...who can eat that stuff. Skyline rocks! I even asked the (um, attractive!) waitress which was better, and she agreed Skyline gets the nod;) But, the highlight of the chili-stop was when one of us (I don’t remember which) asked who the best drummer on the planet is, and we both enthusiastically responded with “BARCH!”, and followed up with an emphatic high-five. Yep, Brian Barchman of the world-famous band Junk is the real deal…and you gotta see it to believe it! That first night ended somewhere around Columbus…just an hour or so from the concert venue…
We awoke to Friday the 13th, but this was to be no spooky day. After a quick share (we do that a lot) of Momma’s Pancake Breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we were off toward Cleveland and the Wolstein Center where the HWOTP would be belting out tunes in semi-clad grandeur in just a matter of hours. If I was excited (and I was, so why do I say if?), I kept it stoically hidden behind a stoned-faced determination. Nothing, and I repeat NOTHING, was going to stop me from layin’ blue eyes on the blonde bombshell. About mid-afternoon we spotted the Wolstein, staked out our entry point, and were off to find are snazzy jazzy razzle-dazzle of a place to stay-The Wyndham Cleveland at Playhouse Square. We located it, put my spectacular $400 car in the hands of an awe-struck valet, and strolled into the place like we were rock stars. Man, life is good. A swim & a shower later, it was time to begin the leisurely two block jaunt to the concert hall. The weather was a spot chilly, but that would be the only inconvenience of a perfect day. After standing in line for a spell, turning down some dude sellin’ $10 concert shirts (note to self: GET ONE OUTSIDE NEXT TIME, DORK!), and making the dreaded mistake of uttering the words “American Idol” in line behind a simple girl with nothing better to do than listen to strangers talk behind her and then butt in on the conversation. I really wasn’t annoyed, I’m just funnin’…but she did know a helluva lot more, it seems, even than the 2nd place Idol-addicts, the Jabels. Anyway, we got in the stadium and headed toward our seats, when I was encouraged to take a peak at a cool tattoo (or was it a necklace, aj?) on a chick’s chest. Yip, Amos, they were nice;) And then (hussssssshhhhhhh)…it was all about to happen. The opening act was Dannity Kane, which was a’ight. Next came the Pussycat Dolls, who ain’t right (which is a compliment, btw). Damn! That’s my short review. And then, the world stopped spinning…a light breeze began to blow…and I saw her, “an apparition in white”…
I simply call her “my obsession”, and the majority of folks smile and nod and offer up a simple “everybody has one”, with only a small minority of dishonest souls who are scared of anyone seein’ inside of ‘em says something akin to “there comes a time to grow up” and other snide comments. To the latter a response is not worth the bandwidth, howsoever small, so I’ll ignore them here as I do in person;) But my obsession she is, and when I first saw her silhouette on the stage before the lights came on and the music began to rip, I knew she was worthy of the admiration. For the next 2 hours she belted out hits, new and old alike, in a dizzying display of well-planned sets and mind-boggling choreography. I’ve been to concerts before, and I’ve been mesmerized by the musical talent of such bands as Rascal Flatts, Bon Jovi, System of a Down & others, but this was different somehow. This was as much a production as it was a concert, and gave a whole new meaning to the term “show”. From a critical perspective, in my opinion the whole production was flawless. Her singing is somehow even better in person; the dancing was elaborate and never missed a beat; the costumes were gorgeous and appealing; the stage decoration was very detailed and snazzy; and Christina is certainly a very beautiful woman. Wow, I was and still am in absolute awe.
I could say more and more about the concert, so if you’re interested then just get a hold of me and we’ll discuss it over a favorite libation, something fitting for a conversation about a goddess. But for sake of time & space I’ll finish up this post with a quick summary of the (only slightly) inferior activities that followed our concert experience.
We left the show and walked into downtown Cleveland amidst a throng! Billy Joel was in concert down the road, and had just let out, & the Indians had just played their home-opener at Jacobs Field, and had also just finished, so a confluence of the three crowds descended on the eateries and drinkeries of the area. We settled in a most fascinating bar called Panini’s and ate some of the delectable fare and chatted it up a bit.
The next day we set out on a whirlwind three day road trip that took us to some interesting places. Our first stop was in Buffalo, New York, where we dined at The Anchor Bar, the location of the original Buffalo Hot Wings. This was my 2nd trip to the restaurant, but hopefully not my last. We then headed up to Niagara Falls to take a quick glimpse of the falls before sundown. We were next to American Falls, and looking across to Horseshoe Falls I noticed the place I stood the last time I was there was all covered over with several feet of snow and ice. It was quite extraordinary. Our late night run-around landed us at the Seneca Niagara Casino where our string of bad luck gambling continued, then on to a club for some dancin’ and gettin’ wild.
Then on Sunday we decided to cross over into Canada for the day. We made it through the border search legally, and then we moseyed around the Canadian side of the falls before journeying up to Toronto, which was an uplifting experience, then across the Canadian highways to Detroit, then a stop-off for the night in Toledo. Holy Toledo, it was a happenin’ Sunday night and we had a blast in that city.
Monday was our day to head back home, and thus cap off the excursion with a relaxed pace drive across the northeastern Indiana countryside. All in all, I must say the journey was spectacular, and I hope to do it again.
We left on a Thursday night last month, right after one of my Financial Accounting classes, and headed out on a road trip toward the concert venue in Cleveland, Ohio. Driving at night, not much traffic, jammin’ to some favorite tunes (thank you, God, for Sirius)…man, it was so relaxing. In a previous employ I spent many hours driving back and forth across US HWY 50 between Bedford & Cincinnati, and it seems not much has changed since last I whip-surfed that blessed asphalt. Somewhere over on 275 we had “a Big & Rich time”, and decided that one thing would help make it a perfect night, so we “had a bowl of that Skyline chili along the way.” It was aj’s first stop-off, her only other experience with Cincinnati style chili coming in the form of Skyline’s MUCH inferior rival, Gold Star. Blah!...who can eat that stuff. Skyline rocks! I even asked the (um, attractive!) waitress which was better, and she agreed Skyline gets the nod;) But, the highlight of the chili-stop was when one of us (I don’t remember which) asked who the best drummer on the planet is, and we both enthusiastically responded with “BARCH!”, and followed up with an emphatic high-five. Yep, Brian Barchman of the world-famous band Junk is the real deal…and you gotta see it to believe it! That first night ended somewhere around Columbus…just an hour or so from the concert venue…
We awoke to Friday the 13th, but this was to be no spooky day. After a quick share (we do that a lot) of Momma’s Pancake Breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we were off toward Cleveland and the Wolstein Center where the HWOTP would be belting out tunes in semi-clad grandeur in just a matter of hours. If I was excited (and I was, so why do I say if?), I kept it stoically hidden behind a stoned-faced determination. Nothing, and I repeat NOTHING, was going to stop me from layin’ blue eyes on the blonde bombshell. About mid-afternoon we spotted the Wolstein, staked out our entry point, and were off to find are snazzy jazzy razzle-dazzle of a place to stay-The Wyndham Cleveland at Playhouse Square. We located it, put my spectacular $400 car in the hands of an awe-struck valet, and strolled into the place like we were rock stars. Man, life is good. A swim & a shower later, it was time to begin the leisurely two block jaunt to the concert hall. The weather was a spot chilly, but that would be the only inconvenience of a perfect day. After standing in line for a spell, turning down some dude sellin’ $10 concert shirts (note to self: GET ONE OUTSIDE NEXT TIME, DORK!), and making the dreaded mistake of uttering the words “American Idol” in line behind a simple girl with nothing better to do than listen to strangers talk behind her and then butt in on the conversation. I really wasn’t annoyed, I’m just funnin’…but she did know a helluva lot more, it seems, even than the 2nd place Idol-addicts, the Jabels. Anyway, we got in the stadium and headed toward our seats, when I was encouraged to take a peak at a cool tattoo (or was it a necklace, aj?) on a chick’s chest. Yip, Amos, they were nice;) And then (hussssssshhhhhhh)…it was all about to happen. The opening act was Dannity Kane, which was a’ight. Next came the Pussycat Dolls, who ain’t right (which is a compliment, btw). Damn! That’s my short review. And then, the world stopped spinning…a light breeze began to blow…and I saw her, “an apparition in white”…
I simply call her “my obsession”, and the majority of folks smile and nod and offer up a simple “everybody has one”, with only a small minority of dishonest souls who are scared of anyone seein’ inside of ‘em says something akin to “there comes a time to grow up” and other snide comments. To the latter a response is not worth the bandwidth, howsoever small, so I’ll ignore them here as I do in person;) But my obsession she is, and when I first saw her silhouette on the stage before the lights came on and the music began to rip, I knew she was worthy of the admiration. For the next 2 hours she belted out hits, new and old alike, in a dizzying display of well-planned sets and mind-boggling choreography. I’ve been to concerts before, and I’ve been mesmerized by the musical talent of such bands as Rascal Flatts, Bon Jovi, System of a Down & others, but this was different somehow. This was as much a production as it was a concert, and gave a whole new meaning to the term “show”. From a critical perspective, in my opinion the whole production was flawless. Her singing is somehow even better in person; the dancing was elaborate and never missed a beat; the costumes were gorgeous and appealing; the stage decoration was very detailed and snazzy; and Christina is certainly a very beautiful woman. Wow, I was and still am in absolute awe.
I could say more and more about the concert, so if you’re interested then just get a hold of me and we’ll discuss it over a favorite libation, something fitting for a conversation about a goddess. But for sake of time & space I’ll finish up this post with a quick summary of the (only slightly) inferior activities that followed our concert experience.
We left the show and walked into downtown Cleveland amidst a throng! Billy Joel was in concert down the road, and had just let out, & the Indians had just played their home-opener at Jacobs Field, and had also just finished, so a confluence of the three crowds descended on the eateries and drinkeries of the area. We settled in a most fascinating bar called Panini’s and ate some of the delectable fare and chatted it up a bit.
The next day we set out on a whirlwind three day road trip that took us to some interesting places. Our first stop was in Buffalo, New York, where we dined at The Anchor Bar, the location of the original Buffalo Hot Wings. This was my 2nd trip to the restaurant, but hopefully not my last. We then headed up to Niagara Falls to take a quick glimpse of the falls before sundown. We were next to American Falls, and looking across to Horseshoe Falls I noticed the place I stood the last time I was there was all covered over with several feet of snow and ice. It was quite extraordinary. Our late night run-around landed us at the Seneca Niagara Casino where our string of bad luck gambling continued, then on to a club for some dancin’ and gettin’ wild.
Then on Sunday we decided to cross over into Canada for the day. We made it through the border search legally, and then we moseyed around the Canadian side of the falls before journeying up to Toronto, which was an uplifting experience, then across the Canadian highways to Detroit, then a stop-off for the night in Toledo. Holy Toledo, it was a happenin’ Sunday night and we had a blast in that city.
Monday was our day to head back home, and thus cap off the excursion with a relaxed pace drive across the northeastern Indiana countryside. All in all, I must say the journey was spectacular, and I hope to do it again.
2 comments:
I was wondering when we would get your account of the trip. Sounds like a great time. Now that you have been to a Sam's Club sized concert you're going to have to go with me to see Over the Rhine. It's quite the opposite of what you described, but it would do you good to have some caviar to go with your Double Whopper With Cheese.
I kid, I kid. Put that ax away - no executions for blasphemy today, please.
Thanks for the comment. I'd love to go with you to see Over The Rhine...fyi, they were recently featured on Sirius 60 (the country channel) on their Friday night program Y'alternative. It was quite cool...I was impressed. I've been too busy to write a detailed account of the trip, so I finally finished it up yesterday. It was a terrific time...and yes, even though you didn't ask, she IS just as attractive in person as in photo's. Peace!
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