Concert Diaries Chapter 22 ~ A Blitz of a Day

Passing MetLife Stadium on the way.  SuperBowl site.

It was a spectacular day--Saturday was.  Having had two weeks of horribly cold, unbearably cold weather, it was in the 40's on Saturday.  Perfect weather for a day in New York.  My son had given me tickets to see Motown on Broadway for Christmas.  Of course, when he bought them, he didn't realize it was also Superbowl weekend and that the City would literally be crawling with every manner of football fan from happy families to loud and boisterous packs of roaming men decked out in Sea Hawks lime green and blue and Broncos dark blue and orange.  We decided to head in early for lunch in case their were parking issues.

I wanted to go back to Celsius in Bryant Park because Brenda and I had had a good time there in December.  Since it was also my birthday on Saturday, I got my wish.  Celsisus was still standing and will be until March (go soon, it's got really good food) when it will disappear until next year.  We sat outside on the deck under our little heat lamp and watched the skaters on the temporary rink in the center of the Park.  Pop up restaurant; temporary rink.  This is New York.  There was a "ringer" occupying center ice on Saturday.  We enjoyed her laybacks, Bielman spins, flying camels, double lutzes and scratch spins.  Some of these moves aren't easy to do with inexperienced wobbling skaters weaving all around you.

In the nave of St. Bart's

After lunch we headed back to Times Square to check out the Superbowl festivities.  We arrived at Broadway to find a huge crowd gathered to watch the governors of New York and New Jersey, Cuomo and Christie, "hand off" the superbowl to the govern or Arizona.  Neither of are Christie fans and the crowd was incredible so we walked north.  There was a ridiculously long line of people waiting to have their picture taken with the trophy.  We decided to get the heck out of Times Square and get some shopping done.  Barnes and Noble on Fifth Avenue didn't have what my son needed so we enjoyed a longish walk to 54th and Third where we found the books he needed.  Down the street we picked up some things he needed for his trip to Mountain Creek the next day.  Heading back towards the Theater District we ducked into St. Bartholomew's on Park Avenue for a few minutes.  He was pretty young when we went to services there and didn't remember how beautiful that church is.

Times Square and an ad for Motown.

We had to pass through the insane football crowd again and it took a while.  We decided to go for a quick dinner at the bar at the Marriot across from the Lunt Fontaine Theater which is where we needed ultimately to be for the early curtain of 7:30.  The Marriot was teeming with football fans too and a special party was going on in the 8th floor restaurant next to the bar.  

Motown tells Barry Gordy's story:  how he founded the record label and managed the careers of so many of the performers associated with it.  From Diana Ross to Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson Five, the stories and music went on and on.  The actors sang dozens of songs from the 25 year span of Motown's heyday.  Each one brought back a memory especially the songs from the seventies, songs by Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder and others.  Songs evoke certain times for me.  A lot of these brought me back to high school and college days.  The first act's early Motown hits reminded me of my preteen years just outside the Motor City, Detroit, in my hometown on the Canadian side of the river.  It was a really enjoyable step back in time--perfect for a birthday celebration.  By the end of the show, people were out of their seats as though at a concert and yelling at the stage for Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder.  And, truthfully, it was more of a concert than a play.  And that was okay with me.

Always enjoy Gavin in my living room.

Originally, I'd had tickets to a second event that night.  The late-night Superbowl Blitz concert sponsored by VH1 at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair.  It was the sixth Blitz concert in as many nights.  They'd covered all of New York's boroughs and wound up with this final show in New Jersey, because, as many people apparently failed to acknowledge, the game was actually played in New Jersey in the stadium that is home to both New York football teams.  This is a conundrum that baffles most New Jerseyans, Jets and Giants fans alike.  But I digress ... the Superbowl Blitz concert with Gavin DeGraw (yes, Gavin DeGraw) was starting at 11:00 PM and was to be telecast live on VH1.  I was beyond excited to spend the day with my favorite guy and then the night seeing my favorite singer.  However, it was not meant to be.  When the tickets arrived, they stated that all attendees had to arrive at the venue by 9:30.  Impossible for me since I was at the theater.  I reluctantly released the tickets (after much back and forth emailing with the ticket provider).  My wonderful son got us home in time to see the concert on television.  

Hey, I know these people...

So the last hour of my birthday was filled with the music I love, the excitement of knowing that lots of people were seeing the performance across the country and the attendant twitterfest.  Seeing many of my friends scattered throughout the huge audience, some in the front row made the experience that much Sweeter.  Gavin outdid himself with energy and passion.  His set list was reminiscent of last summer's tour set.  At one point during his cover of Justin Timberlake's Mirrors (the cover he's included in the set list--he usually does one--since July), he went into the audience as usual.  Balancing precariously on the edge of the curve of the stage, it was like watching a little Cirque du Soleil.  Twitter reaction was worried--would he fall?  It's one thing to stand on someone's chair but there was precious little stage to stand on where he was and those of who know every nuance of his performances could tell from the slight strain in his voice that it was an effort to keep his balance and keep on singing.  

Many thanks to my son for such a fun day.  Of all the fun things that happened on my blitz of a day, the best was spending time with him*.

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*He's totally camera shy ... I never have any pictures of him.

Behind the scenes at Motown.

Gavin DeGraw at the Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ,
VH1's Superbowl Blitz.  Make A Move

There is really nothing quite as pretty as
New York at night.  Don't you agree?