Concert Diaries Chapter Three ~ WPLJ Summer Blast Off

I'm a short person.  In this crowd, I can see the security guy's buff forearm and the hair of the girl directly in front of me.  Thank goodness for monitors.  But all of this matters not ... I am in the same room as Gavin DeGraw.  And there will soon be music.

It's a different sort of concert.  Scott and Todd, the morning DJ's are live on the radio--and essentially so are we.  Their banter and schtick are pretty well known in the New York area and they're at it this morning like any other morning.  And there is business to be done, commercials to air and weather reports.  The crowd is restless with this and there are piercing shrieks for an appearance from Ed Sheeran way too close to my ears.  The pushing has not stopped either.  You really have to plant yourself in order not to land on the floor.  

iPhone pictures are not the greatest and I was pretty far away
but happy to be there nonetheless.

And then ... that familiar musical intro into Sweeter.  One by one the band members appear on stage ... James Cruz on bass, Ian O'Neill on drums, Eric Kinney the new keyboard player and Billy Norris on guitar.  The musical buildup increases until finally Gavin DeGraw takes the stage and the performance is well and truly launched.  This is so familiar to me now  ... bang, angel, devil, take your body to the other side ... I can do it all ... I know it all and yet I'm not tired of any of it.  I love it -- every note, lyric and gesture, every bit of banter.  Not much "banter" at this show, though, because of the live radio aspect.

After Sweeter, comes, of course, In Love With a Girl and I think, this is just like a real show.  I was expecting only a few songs since there are others performing too.  I wasn't expecting Gavin to go first so I'm a little disappointed about that.  The third selection is one of my favorites, Soldier.  It's one of his too and so appropriate for Memorial Day Weekend.

And then he and the band are gone.  Courtney and I look at each other.  That's it?  The thought crosses my mind for the umpteenth time that I've lost my mind.  Sitting in the cold dark night for three songs that I've experienced many times before.  But wait, Scott and Todd are saying Gavin will be back.  Relief!  It's not over.  

Mark Ballas of Dancing With the Stars is next.  He comes from a musical family and plays guitar and sings.  He has a strong flamenco influence from his dad.  He plays an original song and a couple of covers and I don't remember them ... probably not a good sign for his breakthrough into the music business.  It was his birthday.

More radio business and more Scott and Todd.  We hear that Sara Bareilles is running late and taking a helicopter out of the City.   Sound check and then it's Ed Sheeran's turn.  It's just Ed and his guitar.  He starts with Lego House.  I like Ed Sheeran.  I think he's a good songwriter although so many of his songs seem melancholy and I wonder why a man so young is writing so much sad music.  I can't name the other two songs he did.  Ed's talking in his charming English accent but the crowd is loud ("I love you Ed" and "Marry Me Ed" throughout the room) so I can't hear him.  But I hear two words:  Gavin DeGraw.  It seems he's said he grew up listening to Gavin DeGraw.  I do like Ed Sheeran after all!  And then Scott and Todd are saying they should do a song together.  Gavin comes on stage and there's some consulting done and Gavin does his charming thing and they banter about what to sing.  Ed starts it off: "I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to do lately ..."  Wait--they're singing a Gavin DeGraw song?  Together.  And here comes Billy Norris to help them on guitar.  Well, this is exciting.  It's a little bit of a laid-back rendition compared to how I'm used to hearing it live but it's wonderful.  And they transition right into Ed's big hit The A-Team.  Billy keeps going over to Gavin, I think to feed him lines.  I'm not sure Gavin really knows this song.  But again, it's wonderful.  After mutually complimenting each other, Gavin leaves the stage and so does Ed.

The Sheerios begin leaving.  Really?  Didn't you hear that Gavin is coming back?  Don't you want to hear Sara Bareilles sing her new song?  Well, apparently not.  Courtney grabs my arm.  People leaving can mean only one thing:  we're moving on up.  She's good at this.  We're not the only ones with this idea so there's a strategy involved.  Pretty soon, though, we're in a much better position.  

Scott and Todd remind everyone of the reason for Memorial Day.  They invite a corporal from South Jersey to read a letter that either he or someone else had written.  It was hard to hear but the gist was pretty moving.  Then they played Bruce's Born in the USA.  Stand on a pier at the shore, the restored shore, in a crowd that knew how much New Jersey has been through in the last couple of years and play Bruce to them--watch what happens!  I'm sure I wasn't the only teary one.  

We have moved up!

More radio business, thanking the sponsors and then time for Gavin again.  Candy.  I love that song.  I wonder why it wasn't released as a single.  Then the familiar introducing of the band members while singing Thank You which isn't really a song.  It's a giant thank you note to whomever needs to be thanked but always, always the fans and the crowd.  Clearly because it was already on the set list, we got I Don't Want to Be again--but Gavin's live version of it.  Rocking, loud, exciting, emotional, raw.  That was followed by Chariot and finally Not Over You, the current closer.  It was so much like a real show.  He thanked New Jersey and New York, the radio station and the other artists with his ever-ready charm.  Seventh heaven.

Sara Bareilles performed (I have to point out she was in her signature fedora as well) Love Song, another song I wasn't familiar with, a gorgeous, gorgeous cover of Sitting on the Dock of the Bay and then her new single, Brave.  I love this song.  It's really almost an anthem.  She wrote it to encourage a friend who was having trouble coming out but it really applies to anyone who needs to be encouraged to be who they're meant to be, to say what they need to say and live the way that makes sense for them.  I play it a lot.  It's been helping me lately to stay the course of this weight-loss journey.  Now that I'm within sight of my goal (107 off, 10 - 15 more to go), things have slowed down substantially and it's easy to become discouraged.  She tells me to get my brave on and I feel empowered to keep making the right choices:  Exercise, eat right, dance as much as possible.

And then it was over.  9:30 last night until 10 AM this morning; I wished it could go on forever.  But I know I'll relive much of the morning on YouTube.  The videos will be up before I get home.  I'm certain of it.  Courtney left to drive home and pack for her family's vacation.  I walked to the motel to check out of a room I never stayed in.  I brought my bags to the car parked at the boardwalk but I didn't want to go home.  Not yet.  I needed to stay in that cocoon of sheer bliss that I experience after a live encounter with Gavin DeGraw.  It's some sort of high.  And it lasts for days and days in my case.

Walking up Ocean Avenue to the parking lot, I'm surprised to see Justin Schiada walking toward me.  Not nervous this time, I say hello and am incredulous when he responds to me with my twitter name (@GSKath).  That's pretty amazing to me.  We talk about his music for a couple of minutes but he's got a plane to catch back to the west coast.  I appreciate his taking the time to chat so much.

I walked the beach.  Cold and wet, it's still beautiful.  The surf was pounding.  The boardwalk was filled but not crowded and I decided to take myself out to lunch at one of my favorite spots.  But no--Governor Christie was there being interviewed by every media outlet in this state and New York as well.  The shore is open for business and he was promoting it.  Good--it's what we pay him for.  I walked on, taking pictures and musing at how much the Governor gets in my way.  So back to Jenkinson's for fish tacos and then it was time to drive home.  

Because there was another adventure to be had today ... a quick dash to New York for the night.  A fun night, but a little disappointing as the band I was told might play did not.  But the best burger in New York was still the best burger in New York. And the company was great.  Barely making the 1 AM bus, I was home around 2:30.

And I had not slept in 45 hours.

Gavin DeGraw and Ed Sheeran performing I Don't Want to Be and The A-Team

Gavin DeGraw, Not Over You, WPLJ Summer Blast Off, May 24, 2013

Daily Record Coverage - Local paper with ties to the Shore has a nice article, pictures and video.