Being the concert connoisseurs we are, we purchased tickets to Josh Groban back in May. I had seen him in his first tour back in 2002 up in Ames and it was a completely different experience then most. I have been to my fair share of concerts, but they are usually more up beat where you can dance around like a fool and sing the songs at the top of your lungs. Josh, well, he is more of a sit down and enjoy type of guy.
After a very emotional and mentally exhausted day, okay, past few weeks, we headed out to dinner. We decided to go to the Drake Diner because a good ole burger just sounded amazing. We still had about an hour before concert time so we found a spot on the street (for free!) right near Wells and went for a walk. It was so beautiful outside and it was nice to just have some quiet. We were heading back up to the venue when we noticed our surroundings a little more. One, we were passing everyone on the side walk and we were walking at a slow pace for us. Two, there were a lot of older people around. We got to the stop light and that is when I took my first glance. I felt like we were smack in the middle of a retirement community. I would say 75% of the concert attendees were over 55+ and ordering off the Senior Citizen menu, 23% were woman 19-30 with their moms or grandmas, and the rest of the 2% were, well people 30 and under. We just took it in stride. The venue may have been full of depends and smelled like Ben Gay but none the less it was a good concert.
The opening act was ELEW. He as phenomenal. I can't express into words how talented this man is. I'm a sucker for piano music. It's so soothing and comforting. ELEW, well it was more, knock your socks off then soothing. He gives a new vibe and feel to rock music on the piano. He did covers of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Teenage Dream', a medley that including The Young and The Restless theme, Charlie Brown theme, The Nutcracker, and a few other TV shows. He then did a rendition of "Clocks" by Coldplay. Now, Chris Martin is amazing. So much in fact that I would never try to re-create his work. He started playing and I think he surpassed Coldplay. It took my breath away. His talent is beyond words. A few times we could play with his right hand and then strum the inside strings of the piano with his left hand. It created a guitar/piano vibe. I will definitely need to look him up on iTunes when I get the chance. Here is ELEW in action:
After a very emotional and mentally exhausted day, okay, past few weeks, we headed out to dinner. We decided to go to the Drake Diner because a good ole burger just sounded amazing. We still had about an hour before concert time so we found a spot on the street (for free!) right near Wells and went for a walk. It was so beautiful outside and it was nice to just have some quiet. We were heading back up to the venue when we noticed our surroundings a little more. One, we were passing everyone on the side walk and we were walking at a slow pace for us. Two, there were a lot of older people around. We got to the stop light and that is when I took my first glance. I felt like we were smack in the middle of a retirement community. I would say 75% of the concert attendees were over 55+ and ordering off the Senior Citizen menu, 23% were woman 19-30 with their moms or grandmas, and the rest of the 2% were, well people 30 and under. We just took it in stride. The venue may have been full of depends and smelled like Ben Gay but none the less it was a good concert.
The opening act was ELEW. He as phenomenal. I can't express into words how talented this man is. I'm a sucker for piano music. It's so soothing and comforting. ELEW, well it was more, knock your socks off then soothing. He gives a new vibe and feel to rock music on the piano. He did covers of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Teenage Dream', a medley that including The Young and The Restless theme, Charlie Brown theme, The Nutcracker, and a few other TV shows. He then did a rendition of "Clocks" by Coldplay. Now, Chris Martin is amazing. So much in fact that I would never try to re-create his work. He started playing and I think he surpassed Coldplay. It took my breath away. His talent is beyond words. A few times we could play with his right hand and then strum the inside strings of the piano with his left hand. It created a guitar/piano vibe. I will definitely need to look him up on iTunes when I get the chance. Here is ELEW in action:
Now onto Josh. He was amazing. It was a concert that I sort of needed. A sit down, non-sing-along, that you can just close your eyes and join. His voice is so on point, there is no difference between CD and live. I was sort of sketchy about it because, well, his music isn't the get up and dance, and you can't really sing along to it (unless you were the girl right behind us...ugh) but it was a completely different then I thought it would be. He is quite hilarious. He made so many jokes and was really into talking with the crowd. He interviewed random concert goers, and of course out of the thousands there, he asks one girl what she does and she responded "we breed rabbits", he didn't let that go throughout the whole concert. There was a proposal on stage, which she probably felt liable to say yes, but she did. At once point he built a Casa De Groban with inflatable couches and pulled a long time married couple and two single girls to sit on state for a few songs. He gave them wine, and then realized the girls were not 21, so he gave them milk. The provocative dancers were replaced an amazing orchestra and Josh showed his talents on the piano and drums. I did get emotional when he sang "War at Home" but who wouldn't, and he did close the concert with "You Raise Me Up" which holds dear to my heart. All around it was a great evening, with great company, and a fantastic show. Here are some photos, they are taken with Michael's phone...lol. We didn't bring a camera in.
ELEW
Josh Groban
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