My parents fell in love to the music of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and all the other smooth sounds of the Rat Pack era. When I was growing up I thought all those songs were for "old timers" but then I heard a man named Harry Connick, Jr., sing some of those songs back in the 80s and what I once thought was geeky quickly became cool.
I love most all music genres, but the one I never tire of plays endlessly on my Pandora radio: Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, Michael Buble' mixed in with Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, and Dean Martin. Those soothing songs relax me and aside from songs that tell the gospel story, they rank at the top of my list.
About four years ago, I suprised my friend, Jan, with tickets to see Harry Connick, Jr. for her birthday. It was a fabulous concert and one of those nights that make a lifelong memory. Well, when it was announced last year that Michael Buble' was coming to Louisville on March 14, we both salivated at the prospect of going, yet neither of us had the excess funds to put towards the pricey tickets. Jan would periodically remind me, "We're going!" Yeah, right, Jan. One day, though, she shocked me. Her sweet Mom, Monica, had purchased two tickets for Jan as a Christmas present for both of us to go. The countdown began.
Last night, the evening had come to witness Buble' in action. The venue was Freedom Hall, our largest indoor arena here, but an "intimate setting" was promised for the event. We arrived, picked up our tickets and headed to our seats...in Section 338. They were about as far away from the stage as you could get (as verified by the fact there were few people in our general area.) But, we were pumped to be there and figured we could sing as loud as we wanted to and wouldn't disturb anyone. At a few minutes after 8pm, the opening act, Naturally 7, began. They were 7 guys (clever, eh?) who sang and also used their voices to create the sounds of instruments. We were laughing and enjoying the evening and ready for the star of the show.
As Naturally 7 ended, the lights came up and we prepared for the reason we were there. About that time, the usher came up to us and spoke words that forever would change our night. "Ladies, we had a group of tickets on the floor we just couldn't sell. So they asked us to offer them to those of you in this section. If you'd like to move to the floor, you can." Jan looked at me and I didn't hesitate. "Thanks! We'd love to!" We didn't need anything else to fuel our excitement, but this just about put us over the edge.
The concert was even more amazing than I expected. I'll admit that I've been a fan of Harry much longer than Michael and didn't know if Buble' could pull a concert off as well as Connick. But, he made me a believer. With a full orchestra and the almost uncanny mix of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Elvis Presley, he was unbelievable as a singer and entertainer. I won't be as bold on here to give my very fleshly commentary of Michael Buble', but let me just say, you have to thank God for creating all that is Michael Buble'. If only he was a Christian, I'd marry that man.
There are many highlights from the concert, but probably my favorite was his singing of the hit song, "Home." As he dashingly sat perched on his stool crooning to me (and 6999 other folks), the video rolleing behind him highlighted various Louisville landmarks. I'm a hometown 'Ville girl, and that just hit the spot.
Until a godly man strolls into my life with an appreciation of this throwback to the "good ole days," I'm saving my last dance for Michael...
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