Happy 4th of July!

"You gotta talk to the one who..."

So, I got this email from a friend -- there were free tickets to see Sheryl Crow live -- kind of. Down in Brooklyn, by the Fulton Ferry, with the skyline of Manhattan behind her, Ms. Crow was going to film her piece for Macy's 4th of July Special. I didn't think we could still get tickets, but we did! So me, and my two roommates, trudged off to Brooklyn. We were supposed to wear "festive wear" but what does that really mean? A red, white and blue tutu? I looked okay.

Once there we stood around FOREVER, and then were let in where a small stage was set up in front of the water. Nice. There were probably only about a 100 of us, and we had to crowd in close to the stage, standing the whole time. I wasn't as close as I'd have liked to be, but when she finally came out, another hour later, she was still fairly close (closer than almost every concert/play I've ever been to), and the group was small enough where you didn't feel like one in a jillion.

It was kind of surreal, to be at a "concert" while cameras were running past you, whizzing inches over your head, and hanging from cranes in a corner or two. A guy would basically instruct us to start clapping, and then she'd start in on her song "Light in Your Eyes." When the song was over, she'd shout out, "Happy Birthday, America!" or something of that sort. Admittedly, I'd never heard the song before, but I did really enjoy it. So, she'd begin, and then seconds after beginning....she'd stop. She had to fix her hair (blowing in her face), they wanted to fix her lipgloss, they had to change the guitar strap, etc. It was both interesting and frustrating at the same time to watch this all unfold, and then to hear the same song...over...and over.

She did have a nice break by singing a nice and slow version of "If it makes you happy." I don't think it'll make it to the show though. Then she started up with the "Light in Your Eyes" again. By this time, I had heard it enough times that I was mouthing the words along with her. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spot one of those on-foot camera men, and he is RIGHT there, just off to my right, but pointing the camera my way. I knew that I shouldn't look directly into the camera, so I just continued to sing along and smile. Maybe I'll be on TV! Or, more realistically, maybe the really pretty girl in front of me will be on TV. That could very well be where he was aiming his camera. Oh well, I guess my hair will make it to the tiny screen.

Yes, it was fake, frustrating, and took a long time, but it was also interesting, fun, and kind of weird. Sheryl Crow sounded great too, something you always worry about when seeing an artist live. But her voice was clear and controlled (god, I sound like Simon Cowell). I enjoyed the experience, if anything. It's opportunities like this that just come up in NYC and is one of my favorite things about living here.

As my roommate says, "Stuff like this doesn't fall into your lap when you're in Peoria!" So true.