Saturday 2 May 2009

David in London recap



Crazy. What a crazy day indeed. I had 2 hours sleep last night, I was so hyped up I couldn't close my eyes let alone fall asleep. I think ill put this plain out there for those who dont want to read the rest of this story, a short paragraph that sums up my feelings as of now. David is amazing. If you havnt seen him live, go. You will never get the true feeling of his aura and his essence until you do. David is a force. Fierce

So my day begins, a nice early start to friday morning. I jump on the train and get the train up to London. Great to see London in sunny weather for once. I get picked up at London Victoria station by Anne (she did the cellcast) and Annalisa who has flown over from Italy for 5 shows who runs a great italian fan site. I arrived at the Hammersmith apollo and there were people aready in line. So we decided to join them nice and early. We stood in line and was soon joined a few hours later by Nesquick (does those funny videos on FOD) and continued our long wait in the hot weather. It got to about 4pm and I see this lady walking through the ever growing line handing out small David flyer card things with some adverts for fansites. Intrigued, I walked over to her and asked who she was, she stood up looked at me and responds 'Are you chenson?'. Yep, you guessed it my jaw dropped. After a short discussion, it turned out to be Geri who lurks on FOD and has visited this blog too as well as being a friend of Richard Parkinsons. She had flown over from Utah to see 2 shows here. She introduced us to her friends shortly after, all who had flown over from the USA. I was stunned that people flew over and they were the nicest people. More on them later and a few pictures too.

So after have a long chat with some fellow Archies, literally 10 minutes before the doors were about to open, and we had secured a very favorable place in line, I catch a glimpse of Jeff over by 1 of barriers. After some persuading and deliberation and the fact I was the only one who had met him before, I jump over the barrier and go and say hello to Jeff. Jeff was as welcoming and as warm as he was in the past (and has also lost some weight, go Jeff!) and we had a good chat about the concert and some other stuff David related and I cleared up some information with him that I had been dying to know for a while. He then introduced me to their neighbours in SLC who happend to be in London at the time and is very good friends with David and the Archuletas. Jeff said some very nice things about me to them so I spent the entire time blushing haha. I then managed to get Jeff over to meet all other Archies who were in the line and we had a chance to have a good chat with him. Only problem was, the doors opened and we started losing our place!! Oh well, it was worth it to talk to Jeff. He also told us he would arrange with David to come out after his set to come and spend some time with us. What an amazing thing to do for us. As I told him there and then, he does a phenomenal job with the fans.

So we enter the venue. Despite losing our place in line, we still managed to get close to the front but over the left. It felt strange going to a gig for the opening act. David swiftly came on stage. I was so intrigued to see how different it felt in the 9 months it has been since I last saw him, how much he has changed and grown. The major difference is his confidence. His confidence on stage has grown leaps and bounds since last time. He has become a consumate performer. He has found a way to channel that enthusiasm and passion into his performance and he no longer seems restricted by inhibitions. He really just goes for it, no holds barred. When you are moving around the stage as freely and as comfortable as that, it makes it a whole lot easiar for the audience. David had the warmest reception to any opening act I have ever seen for sure and Ive been to a ton of gigs! This group of girls standing behind me, who had no idea who he was, were saying he is too good to be an opening act. The audience were into him from start to finish. Jumping in Zero Gravity, swaying in ALTNOY and singing along in Angels and also a little bit in Crush. He could easily have been the headliner with the reaction he was getting. He claimed afterwards he wasnt at his best but I didnt notice any mistakes. He nailed the ALTNOY bridge and hit the high note in TMH comfortably.

The highlight deserves its own paragraph. Angels. This song with just David and a piano is quite remarkable. Yep, I cried. Not only did I cry, I had a group of girls in front of me laughing at me for it but I didnt care haha. I tried so hard not to, I was biting my lip but i just couldnt help it. Not much tears me down but Davids voice on that song, well, no words. The emotion, the passion. An indescribable feeling to witness in person and I am so glad I get to go back to that on Tuesday and then again on Saturday. It is truly addictive, a drug. This was the song that got to show David as the amazing vocalist he is. If I had 1 criticism, is I do not think the set list has enough songs in it that demonstrate his true vocal skill.

We then exited the show straight after Davids set. I bumped into Jeff very quickly and he said David would be right outside in a sec. So we went straight over to the barriers again and out he came. David walked up to our group first. I introduced myself and he was looking at me funny and I said 'I was at Bridgeport' and he replies really fast 'Oh yeah I remember!! How you doin?'. So yeah, that was pretty shocking (i had quite alot of shocks that day lol). There was only about 12-15 of us and he spent a long time with all of us. So much has been said about David as a person. The fact he can come outside and be nothing less than a genuine and kind human being makes the whole experiance that bit more special. His open honest character makes him seem so accessible. Ive met the boy twice, for short periods of time yet I talk to him like hes my actual friend. I think the same can be said for everyone. Thats what makes him special too. David spent about 25 minutes with us and then left. Going off on a tangent for the moment, if you saw my previous post about David meeting Mike Portnoy, well Jeff let met know that Ray, the tour manager, was Dream Theaters tour manager for 6 years and is good friends with Mike. Ray came outside with David and I managed to have a good chat with him about that. Ray told me Mike's daughter is a huge fan and Mike is hugely appreciative of what David is and does. Ray and I agreed how crazy it is that 2 musical worlds can collide like that.

LAST PART COMING TOMORROW.

20 comments:

anne_a4l said...

awwwww chens ur recap was soooo sweet! gah fond memories...croydon here we come! :D

kizzi said...

chris - great recap! love the photo. Can't wait for your next installment. David is fierce!

davidfanLIZ said...

chenson - I felt like I was there with you. Great stories. Glad you got to see Jeff, and delighted that you had some time with David!

pastel said...

Hi Chenson...Pastel from Canada and I have never posted at your site (I'm at FOD) but I have to tell you that I loved your encounter story. I have seen David at 6 concerts and met him once for a few minutes but I was thrilled that your group got a good chat with him. It is a bit surreal, but so natural at the same time, isn't it? You International Archies so deserve the time with him. You did a great thing in getting Jeff to meet your group; great leadership Chenson! Enjoy the rest of the tour!

Ed D'Great said...

Chenson, can't wait for the part 2. I'm overjoyed to hear that the group of girls behind you said David is too good for an opening act. He truly is. If I have tne means, I would have gone to UK to watch him there. It's nothing like seeing him live.

Thanks for your story. And I can't help but be amazed, as well a grateful for being a fan, that fansites for David are popping up everywhere, David so deserves. I'm so very impressed that so many people are dedicating their time and efforts for the sake of David. It not anymore mind boggling to me, we love David and we want him to prosper and we're sure he will, he already does.

qbaloo said...

Thank you so much for your review! I'm thrilled for you that you're having such a great time at David's shows and that you got to meet him. Getting the background info on Mike Portnoy much have been so special for you.

Every time I read accounts from people who get the chance to meet David and he's is warm and kind (as usual) to them it totally makes me proud to be a fan.

Have a great time at the rest of the shows!

TOfan said...

Thanks, Chenson! Always love reading your posts but this one was really special ... can't wait for the next part!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing experience! So glad you guys got to spend some quality time with David. I only got to say thank you when I met him. Lucky bunch! Looking forward to part 2, thanks so much.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chenson, I'm from Canada and just want to let you know, that was a great recap. Your so lucky to met David and chat with him. I went to his SLC Utah concert in March, was not able to see him upclose cause I'm too far from the stage but to hear him sing live is the most amazing experience.

Georgeann said...

Chenson, Great recap! Loved reading about your experiences with David & the concert! Can't wait for the next part!

Anonymous said...

Hi Chenson, thanks for sharing your story with us, loved the recap of your story. It sounds like you had an awesome time, so glad Jeff was able to get David to come out and meet all of you guys. Have fun traveling to your next venue, stay safe "-)
pam05/fod

JeffR said...

Chenson, loved your recap of David in London. Thank you for finding the words to express what it is about David we all feel but always have trouble finding the words to describe. I know what you mean about "Angels". I'm thrilled you got to speak to Jeff and David once again. Can't wait for part 2. I must check out your site more often.

archangel48 said...

Chenson, I'm anxiously awaiting part 2! I'm so happy for you that you are able to witness the phenomenon of David! He has given it his all while over there and I have much appreciated the videos and pictures that everyone has so graciously supplied us with! Thanks!

Josie said...

Chenson-if you felt like talking with David is like talking with an "actual friend", then reading your recap is like listening to an old friend. You're a wonderful David fan and I'm thrilled for you! ♥

watchtower said...

Awesome review Chris! Glad you had fun at the tour. Better get hurry with that next installment of yours lol. Enjoy the rest of the shows!

gemzone said...

Chenson I am missing you and everyone else. It was so fun meeting you. You ROCK!!! I can't wait to read the rest and hear about the reat of your concerts. Tell everyone hello for me. Love ya, Geri

chenson said...

the last part will come as soon as I have all the pictures and time to write it! LOL

lyrix said...

I teared up after reading the part about how you had teared up during Angels. It is so wonderful to read about all the feelings and emotions that I have felt while listening to David, has happened to others too. Thanks for your post and I'm looking forward to reading about your adventures during the other concerts.

Anonymous said...

Awesome review Chris! Glad you had fun at the tour...nice post..Thanks for sharing..cheers!!

___________________
Andrew
Loans in a low rate and we make it easy to repay it too

Anonymous said...

Haha I'm reading this 4 yrs later, still amazing read after all these years! Wonder if you're still a fan! Thanks!