Somehow, it seems only fitting that I post under Adam's instagram of the Hollywood Bowl - "A Dream Come True" -
After all, it was much like a dream to me, too.
I was at this historic venue once, when I was about seven years old. I attended a symphony concert with my grandparents. You might imagine how unimpressed I was with classical music at that age! But, I've always remembered the venue - and to be there, now, with the banner 'QUEEN', a deep blue sky, and then a heavenly sunset and crescent moon peeking out over the trees, was a dream, coming alive. I never imagined Adam would be here. But I should have!
Here's the blow-by-blow; it's not all about Adam, so feel free to scroll . . .
I flew into Burbank from the SF area with three friends - each of whom I met in 2010! One friend lives only a few miles from my house; yet, we met in Canada, when she offered to take my photo with Tommy and Longineau. Another friend - met her at the Costa Mesa concert - picked us up at the airport. We were prepared to party! What we weren't prepared for was a 100+ degree temperature!
The five of us found our way to Hollywood, where we stopped at the local grocery store (just so happens Adam frequents it - but, hey, there aren't that many grocers in Hollywood) for wine, fruit, cheese, wine, wine, wine . . . Soon we arrived at our destination in the Hollywood Hills - with a terrace view of the Hollywood sign - where we unloaded our 'stuff' and began the amazing 48-hour odyssey of Adam and Queen. Too hot for a hike in Runyon Canyon! More 'Topian friends showed up - we sat in the shade, reminiscing and full of anticipation for HB#1. Fashion choices for this night had to be revised. It was just too hot to wear too much! As the afternoon became comfortable and easy, so did we. We left for the venue with plenty of time to spare. Good thing! Gridlock!
VIP for Hollywood Bowl went like this: Tickets picked up at will call (didn't ask for my ID); photos taken just outside the VIP patio entrance (I think anyone who wanted a photo; irregardless of 'VIP' status could do so); two drink tickets each (beer or wine or soft drinks only); and one table of chicken sliders, olives, grilled vegetables, and nuts. The best part of the 'menu' was the people! We greeted friends from past concerts; talked with the servers about the concert that was soon to take place; and had group 'prop photos' taken. We looked pretty ridiculous, but I know I'll treasure every photo, someday!
Actually, we wanted to get inside. Wanted to be in the presence of the stage. Wanted to look up, rows and rows up. This place reeks of history - entertainment history, and as I took each step and walked into the arena I thought of the 'legends', and how Adam and Queen would now be among them.
My seat for the first show was in the very first row. I remember the moment the tickets came up on the ticketmaster presale. I almost clicked away, because I'd rejected every seat on my screen for at least 10 minutes. Then, magically, cosmically, universe be blessedly, these tickets appeared. Fingers shook as I put in my credit card information - I could not believe my luck!
Lucky again, as sweet Bamafan sat right next to us! In concerts past, sometimes the folks around have been unfriendly. Unfriendly can turn beauty into a beast. Joy to mere perseverance. This night was joy! Being so close, we could not see all the amazing visual spectacles as they appeared - but one visual spectacle came over and stood out proudly - Adam Fucking Lambert! He was so close! I blushed (I really did!) as he thrust his way around in the red zipper pants right before my eyes! He also came over, frequently, to wipe his brow and take a sip of H2O near Spike and the keyboard. There was something new - each time Adam came over to 'refresh' he would blow or breathe from or talk into a device that looked like a microphone. I really don't know what it was. Hmmm . . . further investigation will ensue in Seattle (
).
Adam sang hit after hit after hit. Boggles my mind, how the catalogue of Queen has so many emotive, intricate, blow your balls off songs. Each and every one was a Command Performance. I began to believe I'm seeing a man who is in control of every cell in his body. When he performs, nothing misbehaves. His body is so aware of it all - of air, of sound, of movement; of mood; of light; of energy; of environment. He belongs to the stage; the wires and cables, the lights and the electricity . . . he owns it all; and even Brian and Roger look to his cues and delight in his direction, his force, his will, his joyous command. We, the audience, are the thundering herd that Adam moves, here and there; it's a magnificent cattle drive and we roar because the pasture is so pure - the ground so solid.
Even when things - in my perception - became a little rocky, at the end of HB#1, nothing really changed. I think a sound issue - a glitch in communication in sound mix between one side of the stage and the other - created a quarter-tone dissonance, making the feed for the true pitch a crapshoot. IMO, this is why they cut 'Spread Your Wings' from the encore, and went straight to the tried and true.
After the show, it took over an hour just to move from our 'VIP' parking spot onto the street. The evening was balmy, though; peddlers were selling 'knockoff' t-shirts that sold for $40 in the venue for $10 along the sidewalks; I reveled as I once again looked at the sign at the entrance to the Hollywood Bowl - "Queen & Adam Lambert - SOLD OUT!". Once back at our 'Hollywood Digs' we stayed up through the wee hours, watching video, emailing & texting friends and family . . .
Next morning, I was ready for a hike!! Up with the sun, it was already 80+ degrees by 7AM! I've hiked Runyon Canyon before, and I think there's one tree somewhere along the trail - that's it. There was no way I could rally the troops, get started by 10, and not fear heatstroke! So, we settled for brunch at a tiny, 'if the walls could talk' restaurant at the entrance of Old HollywoodLand - and then took a drive through the tiniest, winedy-est streets to the trail of the 'HOLLYWOOD' sign. We went as far as we could go . . . there is a little posting of a memorial to a young lady who fell off the sign to her death about 80 years ago . . . and marveled at the castles; the homes built on foundations of iron poles dug into the cliffs; stairways that connect these little streets; built before cars traversed there.
What to do on a day too hot to hike? We went to the movies!! Hollywood movie theaters are just not like what I have in my town. They have little restaurants, in-house memorabilia museums, wine and coffee bars, cushy reclining seats . . . We sat in air-conditioned comfort, snacked, and watched 'Wonder Woman' - which actually was a very, very good movie!!
I know I'm giving a 'too detailed' synopsis of the HB experience - but I can't stop now. I'm having such a good time!
We did the 'get ready' thing - and almost too soon we were on our way to last night's performance.
This time, no VIP. On the terrace. Our seats were spectacular! Even if they were about half-way up the venue, they were front-and-center; and our little terrace 'booth' was shared with a mom and daughter - a delightful duo.
From these seats we could see everything that was lost to us by being in the front row. The entire stage was spectacular. Video images came alive. A most beautiful sunset morphed into the lasers, the smoke, the images - like shooting stars. Adam was the comet among them. The sound was PERFECT.
Brian and Roger were great. I noticed a little scrape-ye-ness in a few notes of 'Lost Horizon'; I wonder if Neil and Brian came together in 'Under Pressure' to synch the sound because it hadn't quite 'meshed' the night before in the last songs . . . these are the two TINY things I noticed as I experienced the concert of a lifetime. These moments were gone in an instant - they only remain as a comment because I want to be precise in what I say here. Even a diamond is rarely perfect.
I have never experienced such a concert - such a performance! It grew with every song. Hit after hit after hit after hit. Intoxicating beyond belief! I have never heard such purity of voice. I swear, if the Aurora Borealis could sing, the colors would come from the soul of Adam. I could not stay in my chair. The people around me danced, too. We shined; we danced in the light of Queen, of Freddie Mercury's compositions, given new life and a new day. We danced in the joy of Brian and Roger. We danced in celebration of the greatest performer and joyful interpreter of love and life!
I know - I've read the comments that address what Adam says to the audience about Freddie; his legacy; and the meaning it has for him. I will never presume to know what is in the head of the (now) red-topped queen I love so much.
But, I believe Adam can talk to the crowd and make this speech every day, because it is sincere. He fucking adores Freddie; and I fucking adore Adam.
We need to be out and proud about what is in our hearts. If it's said too much, be like my aunt who would tell me sweetly that she understood; she had heard it before. But don't silence that voice, because it speaks the truth. The truth about love. And that, my friends, is what it is all about.