Friday, October 17, 2008

The Diamond in Dallas

Last night, as a continuation of the birthday celebration, I boarded the train and headed east.


A concert for the generations was on tap. I left my rule-following tendencies behind in the west and captured these shots as the legendary lyrics from this man got the crowd on its feet.






"Forever in Blue Jeans" and "Sweet Caroline" were by far the biggest crowd pleasers. Sadly, the crowd didn't respond as much to the newer hits, including "Pretty Amazing Grace," whose lyrics run deep and strike a chord with me.

Neil put on quite a show, but so did the crowd. The audience included young girls about five years old to those in wheelchairs with oxygen tanks beside them (no joke, three of them rode over on the train with us). Some of the audience members probably should have gotten a check-up from their doctors before coming to the concert because one lady (who was completely sober) almost fell while attempting to stand up to dance, and one man sat with his hand on his heart throughout the performance. And you'd have thought that Neil was as good-looking as Patrick Dempsey by the way the middle-aged, married women were swooning and fanning themselves. It was a sight to behold!

I can now cross Neil off my "Must See Before He Dies" list and move on to others, like Josh Groban, who are on my "Must See Before I Die" list.

10 comments:

Momma Bean said...

"Must See Before He Dies" I am still laughing. What fun!!!

Kris said...

Love it! I'm glad you had a happy birthday! Love ya! K

Krista Sanders said...

Your last sentence is is extremely funny.

Britta Coleman said...

Oh my goodness! I heart Neil Diamond! So fun that you got to go. My favorite ND hit is definitely "Forever in Blue Jeans."

Britta Coleman said...

Oh, and happy belated birthday!

Barbara Martin said...

That is an interesting way of choosing concerts. Fits right in there with "The Bucket List".

Lynda Meyers said...

Well, I can't say I love Neil Diamond but I'm so glad you had fun! What a great birthday gift...

Anonymous said...

Hope you enjoyed it.

I got dragged to his concerts as a kid, and I didn't like admitting it in public, but the guy is a heck of an entertainer. He's written some of the greatest songs in American pop culture history.

I can't hear his songs anymore without some pretty extreme memories being triggered.

kasogayle said...

My aunt got tickets to see him for her birthday this year and was SO excited!!!! Glad you had a good time!!!

Alyssa said...

MB & Krista - Glad you enjoyed my attempt at humor!

Kris - Thanks!

BC - You should have gone to the concert and destressed from teaching writing. All the laughing, singing, and dancing was a great stress-reliever.

Barbara - Thanks for stopping by. I had forgotten about the bucket list; that works for this, too.

MR - It was lots of fun.

A - I did enjoy it. The powerful connection between music and memories amazes me. You'd have enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

KG - I've been surprised at how many people went ga ga over the fact that I had tickets. I never knew he had such a diverse fan base.