Valuable quotes

"No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow." ~~



"The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you've already lost." ~~



Cree Prophecy - "When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money." ~~


Monday, October 17, 2011

Jackson Browne at Sovereign Performing Arts Center, Reading PA

It seems just amazing to me to be saying we've just been to our eleventh Jackson Browne concert on Tuesday, October 11th, 2011, but that is exactly what we've done. Even funnier was that until we were driving home from this concert we didn't realize it was number eleven. We thought we were attending number ten! But as we chatted and talked about each of the concerts in the past, it became evident that we'd left one out.

I'm not sure where it fell in the list of concerts...probably around mid way, we attended two concerts back to back in Binghamton NY and in the confusion of that, with same sets and same venue, we just missed counting them as two. However...this was number eleven and it was as enjoyable as numbers one, two, three, four, etc, a la!


I would like to say I had wonderful pictures and great listenable video from this concert but alas I don't. They would not allow cameras or recorders in the theater and I thought for awhile I would be okay - I had my trusty Blackberry Torch with me & could still get pictures and video with it. Well, for the first time since I bought it, the Torch let me down. Not only didn't it video any more that 3-5 seconds of video at a time, but even the camera nose dived. It refused to zoom and then my screen froze. So...the entire concert is residing in my mind alone.

It was a beautiful night to be going anywhere and the theater was just as spectacular. Incredible inlays on floors and ceiling everywhere, with a grand marble staircase and stained glass everywhere.

The building was built in the early 1870's and it appears to have been well taken care of but for a few pieces of stained glass missing here and there.

Acoustics were fine and there really wasn't a point that you couldn't see the stage perfectly. We were center and back about midway up the theater. I only wish I could have gotten one good photo of Jackson because he was in fine form - very talkative and sharing funny stories for each song and cute antidotes throughout the evening. He has always had a remarkable rapport with his audiences.

He didn't have many new songs to share with us but seemed happy to do most of his hits for the audience. He didn't even have a set list but asked the audience to call up what they'd like to hear. It doesn't get much better than that.

There was one thing that was a bit worrisome to me at least and that was that his voice cracked on him often. He assured everyone that he wasn't ill but that he'd had a pork chop with mushroom gravy for supper and there was a mushroom hanging on his tonsils. While it was a very cute story, it wasn't all that reassuring to me, but my husband told me not to be such a worry wart so I'll try not to be.

He played one long set, took a fifteen minute break and then played a much longer second set, working his way through all of his eighteen guitars he had on stage with him, plus his piano. And then of course a three song encore. The entire evening was magical, as it always is with Jackson. I hope I live long enough to see another nine concerts, providing he continues to do them.

And last but not least, What would have been a wonderful photo if my camera was able to zoom. Jackson sitting on a single chair and playing Take It Easy. Thank you Jackson, for all the pleasure, all the music and all the incredible memories you've given me over my lifetime. I'm shooting for concert twenty but right now I'd be happy to see concert twelve for a full dozen!!

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