Montclair Moments

Connecting One to One

Where should I begin this review of the Montclair concert? At the beginning?  I don’t think so. Perhaps the best way to begin is with David. He is, of course, the center of the event, the reason for my being in Montclair.

On the way to the venue, the weather was terrible, icy roads, pouring rain, dreary skies. But none of that quelled the anticipation I was feeling all day. Finally, sitting in orchestra row K, the lights blinked and Benton Paul came onstage with his band. I had never seen Benton perform, and I was completely surprised by his style. I think he’s found a new fan in both me and my sister. And then  we had the 30 minute wait for David while Benton signed CD’s in the lobby.

I had talked to my sister enough over the last few days, so I turned around to see who was behind me. Four young teenagers sat together, talking, and I think I said something like, “Please don’t scream any louder than I do,” and there began a fun conversation.

Benton Paul (for Sayuri)

Jackie, Chris, Robert, Sayuri (who is actually more of a Benton Paul fan, but that’s okay) and I talked ‘David talk’ for the full 30 minutes.   We discussed vlogs, songs, videos on youtube and our fangirl/fanboy chat made the time sweep by. Jackie’s mother had given her a ticket to the concert for her birthday, and it was the first time any of them were able to go to see David live. I told them about TDC, and Chris was able to bring the site up on his cell phone.

This was a great bunch of kids. Smart, sassy (in a good way) and interesting, they represented to me one segment of David’s fandom that I don’t often get to spend time with. I’ve asked them to write a little something for us, so we’ll see if they have time between finals and Christmas to put their thoughts together on their first DAVID LIVE concert.

And then the lights flashed again and David’s band came out on stage. David appeared in his tux (gah!) and began the Christmas segment with Memories of Christmas. I wasn’t very fond of that song when I first heard it on the CD, but David, as usual, breathes even more life into his music in a live venue.

Every song he sang was filled with depth and emotion or movement and joy, reverence and solemnity. And then he sang Ave Maria. There was no sound around me but that of David’s voice. I have watched the videos, and I know there was some screaming, but that night, I didn’t hear any of it. David grabbed my heart and didn’t let go. Before the song was over the tears were slipping down my face in recognition of the beauty of that song as only David can do it.

A few more songs and it was over. How could it be over? It seemed to go by so fast. Streams of people headed for the exits and I noticed the remarkable diversity of the crowd.  But most remarkable of all was that stepping outside, the clouds had cleared and the sky was full of stars and the 4 hour drive I was making to get home that night turned out to be swift and easy, clear roads and the ice storm was gone. (Twice when I’ve seen David, the weather was terrible before he came on stage, and cleared while he performed – Hershey had summer thunderstorms  and Montclair had a wintery mix – that’s just a little woo woo for me!)

And speaking of storms, I cannot end without telling you about the dinner before the concert. Happy had organized a group to meet at an Italian restaurant across the street from the Wellmont Theater.  I was a little nervous about meeting Bliss. Storms, Bliss – he and I had had a few awkward and nasty moments on TDC’s comments section.

But there was no need for trepidation. As soon as we met, and without a moment’s hesitation, we hugged and Bliss asked, “Are we speaking to each other?” with a gleam in his eye and the rest of the night we talked almost non-stop. There is no doubt that Bliss has a deep and respectful love of David and that is a connection between us that could not be denied. At the end of the dinner we both thought we’d check and see just how nasty we might have been to one another, each of us embarrassed that the other person was actually NICE! LOL  So here’s a shout out to Bliss!

David somehow brings us to new connections and in some cases, old ones repaired. People who love David have something in their hearts that David ignites. Whether teens at their first concert or two older fans, we relate to one another through David, one to one to one…

~ marlie

09 Christmas Tour . Marlie7 . Profiles