Clarkston, MI
August 9, 1999
Review #1
submitted by Sarah Oliver
This is hard to type out, but I'll try to get it all down... First of
all, Monday morning I won 2 tickets and 2 backstage passes on the radio
for the concert that night! I was soooo excited all day! I finally
figured out what to wear: jean shorts, cream shirt, green/khaki short
sleeved overshirt, and my button, which said, "Harry Connick, Jr.
Rocks!". I looked pretty nice! :) We got there and went to the
ticket booth to get our tickets. We had won FRONT ROW TICKETS!!!! My
friend and I went to our awesome seats RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE PIANO!!!!
We were sooo close! We could reach out and touch him! I couldn't
believe it. I wish the night could have gone on forever... It was a
fabulous concert!!!! He did sing "Danny Boy" while playing the piano
and was right there in front of us! That was the highlight of the
evening for me, along with a great rendition of "Mind On The Matter". He
looked down at our direction a few times. He was really funny when he
talked. He made fun of the people who got up and went to the bathroom
in the middle of song (of course it was the people in the first few
rows). That was hilarious!
After the concert, we went to the spot were the radio people told us
to meet them for the passes. We looked, and looked, and finally my dad
said, "Is anyone here from 95.5 FM?" He said it loudly twice and then
some guy looked at us and was like, "That depends..." He got a smile
on his face and dissapeared into the pack of people. It turned out
that there were a ton of people there from that station! Their whole
sales staff was there!!! I know it was them because of several
reasons...First of all...that guy that spoke up sat behind my friend
and I and was saying something to his girlfriend about Harry being on
the station earlier that day(which he was), another reason was because
of what he said in answer to my dad's question...there's another
too...I'll get to that in a bit...
We finally got security to go backstage and figure things out for us
and they let us go back there. I don't know how they did...maybe they
talked to Harry, maybe they just let us back there so that my dad would
shut up! Who knows? All I know is that we were on our way to see him!
We weren't leaving without seeing him! We got back there and stood in
line. We were the last people. Harry came around the line and signed
things and talked to people for a while. When he got to us he shook my
hand and then signed my CD cover and ticket. He did the same for the
rest of our group and then we told him that we loved the show. Oh, he
also told me that he thought my button was cool. :) he,he I told him
that I play the harp and he was like, "Oh, there's always room for a
good harp player." :) Then he said to this pack of people, "All 95.5
people come on over for a picture." So that had to be them!!!! Ugh!!!
What losers!!!!!!!! Then we had my bro, Mario ask for a pic with him.
He said, "Sure, where's the camera?" So we got a picture taken with
him!!!!!! It better come out!!!! :) I also got a cool tee shirt.
WHAT A COOL EVENING AND AN AWESOME GUY!!! :)
My dad called the station today and talked to the program manager.
He said that he was really sorry and that he is going to send me a
"Harry collection" in apology!!! What a cool thing to get! :) So...I
think that that's about it. I was so happy, nothing will top it!
Review #2
submitted by Robert Wagner
Ever been arrested at a Harry Concert? Well, I wasn't exactly arrested,
but my attempt to find Harry after the concert put me in a place I guess
I wasn't supposed to be, and Security made sure I knew it! At every
concert I've been to (Pine Knob, Michigan on 8/9/99 was #6), he has come
out to greet fans and sign autographs, even in the dead of Winter.
There was no obvious area for him to do that at this amphitheater, so I
kinda explored! It was extra disappointing, since I was celebrating my
birthday that night.
Anyway, the concert was fabulous - especially with first row center
seats. I was able to invite an old friend who surprised me by being in
town from New York. I'm very grateful to the Fan Club for making them
possible (even if they didn't get me VIP passes!).
Harry sang plenty of old favorites, both from his albums - with minor
variations, some I had never heard live, and brand new ones. It was
very exciting to hear songs that have meant so much to my partner and
me. My personal favorite was a (mostly piano) rendition of Danny Boy.
This one had the feel of some of the music I've often heard at black
churches - lots of soul! Audience members called out "Sing it Harry!"
when he'd get some really great chord progressions going.
One of the best things is how he spotlights his band members and doesn't
demand all the attention. I've always admired that when he performs.
The talent that he attracts is amazing.
It was very nice to meet another fan club member last night, and the new
Bulletin Board sponsored by Columbia House has proven to be a great way
to get in contact with other fans. Thanks for pointing us to it,
Chris! I've always wanted to meet other big fans.
Review #3
submitted by Amy Gilbertson
Well, after being a gigantic fan of Harry for many years and reading every
review of his latest tour several times, I FINALLY went to see him last
night in Detriot. What a fabulous experience! Every fantastic thing that
your posted reviews said to expect at his concert all happened and then
some. The trio that opened up for him was very good (although they again
were treated rudely by the late arriving fans despite the postings on your
site.) When Harry did come out to play and entertain, he appeared to be
tired, but that all changed quickly. He began filling the audiences' ears
with every type musical sounds that those instruments and his piano could
muster. Those musicians are so talented. The whole night my face hurt due to
me smiling from ear to ear. Your reviewers hit the nail on the head when
they explained how very much of an entertainer he is. Between lyrics of the
song "Love for Sale", he made numerous comments about people leaving their
seats and the quality of the stage. The entire audience was captivized with
his candor and jokes. Near the end of the concert he had heard that Chuck
Daly was in the audience so he singled him out and pretending like no one
else was around, said " Just between you and me Chuck, you can come down to
New Orleans anytime and stay at my place." Although it is hard to tell from
an e-mail, he is very funny. Anyway, to make a long story a bit shorter, I
had heard that if you are dedicated and determined enough, if you wait long
enough you may get to actually meet him and maybe some of the band members.
Well, the line to see him was all VIP pass holders and we were told that no
one would be able to see hime except those people. So, we discovered a
different route to find the buses and began waiting. We waited quite a while
and after seeing many of the members get on the buses we were greeted by a
security guard telling me and my girlfriend that we were trespassing. We
were escorted out of the arena through the stage (pretty cool part really)
by three other burly security guards who didn't seem to understand that we
were human just like those VIPer's and that it was just as much of dream for
me to meet him as it was for them. To boil it down, the concert was beyond
everything that I could have imagined, but the some of the people
surrounding Harry need to realize that we don't see him everyday like they
do, and chill out a bit. Harry Connick Jr. is a phenom and we just would
like to say that he took a second his time to chat with those who find him
so intriguing. Harry himself would seem to have no problem with that, it is
the people around trying to protect him (but taking their jobs a bit too
seriously), that create such a an abrasive atmosphere.
Review #4
submitted by Jessica Raetz
Whereas Chris said this was Harry's best concert, I might have to disagree.
But honestly I would agree that he had a few beers before the show. Harry
was acting a little strange. Anyway, I got there right as he was coming on
stage. GREAT 2nd row center seats (care of the fan club-THANKS!!) And he
came out and played "Nowhere With Love" and a bunch of other older stuff that
I hadn't heard (and I have all but one of his albums), more jazzy pieces. I
didn't write down the entire set-sorry. Harry and the band were all dressed
in matching light gray short sleeve shirts and dark gray pants. Harry was
quite lethargic at first, but then he got more into it. They played "We Are
in Love" then Leroy played and sang "What a Wonderful World" that was great.
Then they played "Cry me a River," and Harry was back to his old self,
telling jokes and making fun of the amphitheaters acoustics, and making fun
of people who got up to go to the bathroom while he was singing. Then Harry
told a story about New Orleans and playing piano in New York, and he played a
solo New Orleans tune that didn't have a name, then he went right into "Danny
Boy" and it was AWESOME (sorry Chris!)-he put a really strong southern jazzy
blues-ish flavor on it. After that he got the crowd really riled up by
playing "Mind on the Matter" and continued with "It Had to Be You" and then
"Come By Me." The Encore was a song about New Orleans that I don't know the
name of, he played it because Chuck Daly (the basketball coach who took the
Pistons to the world championships) was sitting 5 seats away from me and
Harry changed the words to New Orleans has.....(something)..."and if Mr. Daly
would come down there we might even have a basketball team too." It was a
relatively short show, under 2 hours. It was really good, not his best that
I've seen, but I was hoping for a lot more of his old big band stuff, so
maybe my expectations were too high. One other thing that put a damper on my
night was that he didn't stay after to meet fans. The last 2 times I've seen
him, he stood out in the freezing cold until the last person got an
autograph, but not tonight, oh well....I'll just have to live with the
awesome up close pictures that I got!
