2004.07.10 - Santa Fe, NM Palo Soleri Amphitheater

[boris]

Kiyomi -- you make me a happy person! Now I'm not the only one here anymore repeating all over again how much I would enjoy reading about impressions from the concerts ... I know that OL has many admirers all over the world, every now and then you can see one commenting in the blog. I'm sure they also would appreciate every bit of information they can get ...

Speaking of which, a big thank you goes out to those who so willingly share! You Fanmencos know who I mean! A special muchas gracias to our admin for having brought this place to the light. There was a need for it. Other people will join, I'm sure. And of course the biggest motor was + is the master himself, allowing with his blog to get near him as much as hardly any other artist does ... it always impresses me anew ...

I guess Carolynn is having sweet dreams right now, the concert being over for some hours.

[Kiyomi]

Boris, I couldn't agree more!!!

[Carolynn]

I’ve been mulling over the events of last night for the past 24 hours. It was actually about this time when I got home last night. I doubt I’ll be able to adequately put into words all of my impressions, but here goes…<br>
My first worry was the weather. The wind kicked up. Dark clouds filled the sky. Oh man! After all the anticipation for this concert, I was really nervous. But, as OL talked about in the blog, the night turned out to be perfect as the clouds and wind exited at the appropriate time.

I noticed the buses parked off in the distance while walking in from the parking lot. I also noticed a silver Prius parked by one of the buses. : )

OL and the band came on to the stage unannounced, sat down and started playing. I’m not going to talk about the songs that were played except to say that songs from “La Semana” and “Nouveau Flamenco” and “Transit” made it into the set-list. (That doesn’t give too much away, does it Adam?) It was still a bit light outside as they started playing. My 2nd row center seats put me almost at eye level and straight across from OL. Really fabulous!

My date for the evening wasn’t very familiar with OL, nor had he ever seen OL in concert. It was interesting to hear his comments through out the show. He loved Ron and all of his percussion toys! He thought Ron was IT! He also commented about what a good bass player Jon is. During and after the show he just kept saying how good they are and how much he enjoyed it.

I’m always amazed at how much OL seems to be enjoying the concert himself. He smiles. He sways. He nods. He closes his eyes and drifts off into the music. And the rest of the band does the same. At different points they make eye-contact and smile at each other like they are just having the best time. And there seems to be so much respect for each other and the musical talents they bring to the stage. It’s a privilege to be a part of that.

After the intermission, it was dark and things felt much more intimate and cozy. The songs pulled at my heart so much more. The applause and occasional movement of people around me brought me back to the reality that my date and I weren’t just sitting in someone’s living room enjoying these four fabulous musicians.

As usual, OL didn’t speak much. He did talk about “La Semana” being available in “regular stores” in August, and that they were also working on a deal to get Jon’s “Transit” out there sometime this Fall. “Transit” was played on the monitors before the concert, which OL also referenced.

It was such a great night. It was fantastic. It was dreamy. It was real. It was unreal. It was special. It was warm. It was cool. So many feelings. I’ll be glowing for many days to come…<br>
"Nothing too elaborate, just two or three pages of your deepest and most intimate feelings about the show and it's relation to your existence." So Matt, how'd I do?

[boris]

Great, I'm going to read this for a second breakfast. Some sleuthing: the "Santa Fe Fan community" who attended the concert: Carol, Ann, Tomomi + Carolynn ... you all were there! Not all Fanmencos yet, I know, but nice to imagine. The concert at BB King's will be great in this respect. We'll have a true Fanmenco gathering there, Kiyomi meeting Adam. Maybe I should check flight prices to NY ... but there won't be any tickets for the concert left, I guess ...
So, Thanks a lot, Carolynn, for now. I come back to this concert after having read it.

EDIT: This is why I'm so greedy for a setlist: not being able to attend one of the concerts myself, maybe never in my life, I like taping the songs as they were presented in an original concert - or maybe putting mp3s in that order on a stick (I have no Mac) -, then listening to the music, closing my eyes + imagining that I was there myself.

This is BTW another reason why I participate in Adam's Song Showdown: I put mp3s of the songs in the order Adam gave us + listen to the music once again from another ankle. I have to admit that I wasn't doing this always but sometimes. And it becomes more + more interesting now that we collected some of our favourites.
This also makes me rediscover continuously certain fabulous songs of OL like "Untitled (La noche)" or "A secret garden" that get buried under the lots of brilliant songs he has already published or disappear somehow because you notice only the album as a whole...

[Adam Solomon]

Carolynn, thanks a lot for the review And yes, you spoiled much too much for me! lol...nah, that was actually fine, and if you want to put a setlist in the setlist thread for Boris's sake, please do so! Sounds great, looking forward to Pt. 2!

[Kiyomi]

Carolynn, thank you very, very, very much!! Now I close my eyes and imagin as if I were there, too..... I'm also very happy for you that you had such a great time . Is your heart sitll pounding? Ooooh, I really can't wait to fly over to NYC... Adam, I see you there, right?

[Carolynn]

Kiyomi -- Yes, my heart is still pounding! I get butterflies, too. I've not slept well since then, strangely enough. That night was just so... Hmm, no words to really discribe. I'm really still sifting through it all in my mind. Too much to wrap my brain around for one night. Magic!

[Adam Solomon]

Kiyomi, NYC it is ;D;D;D

[Kiyomi]

Yes!!

[Matt Callahan]

Well Carolynn, it was a fine review but, you're dating a guy that doesn't know OL's music very well? I'm more than a little concerned about this.

I'm glad the show meant so much to you. Glow on.

[Adam Solomon]

Carolynn, show him the light!

[Carolynn]

He is now an OL fan! I told him about the upcoming Christmas album, and he already wants a copy! ;D Don't worry guys, I will educate him in "the way!"