So you want stories? Well Harry was down under in Sydney, Australia in
October '94. I was there studying at UNSW and blew off the day of class
to trek to North Sydney to a shopping mall in Chatswood to see Harry and
have him sign my CD! He was really overwhelmed by the crowd that turned
out to get his autograph but he did stay and sign everyone's SHE albums.
When it was my turn I went up and asked him when he thought he'd be in
Chicago next (that's where I'm from) since I'd never been able to get to
a concert and his Aussie visit was just promotional. Well he was stunned
by an American accent and gave the greatest, "Oh... WOW!" and then said
he'd be there in the spring sometime. I even got some pictures--tho not
very close.
Then this spring ('95) he was on the college tour and I got second row
tickets for his concert at U of Illinois. I knew his style had changed
and really loved the new funky sound but I was still BLOWN away by the
show. Harry is a fantastically energetic performer and he seemed to be
genuinely enjoying the younger, University of Illinois crowd. He
encouraged people to get out and dance in the aisles--which we did while
he truly brought the house down!
Harry played a full three hours, treating us to some fantastic bass and
electric guitar jams that just made everyone crazy. His band, Funky
Dunky, is seriously talented and totally in tune with Harry's new groove.
In between sets Harry stopped and just went off on the awful hotel he'd
been stuck in--he really has a funny sense of humor and had the crowd
roaring!
I'd brought some copies of my pictures with labels saying they were from
Australia and the date. When I tried to throw them up on stage though,
all the people in the front row grabbed them and kept them! Oh well. It
was the best ROCK concert I've ever been to. It was great because the
venue was fairly small (1500 cap.), the great crowd really got into the
music, and the best live performer I've ever seen--Harry Connick, Jr.!
