I would have brought you pictures and soundbites, solid proof that I was there, that I
actually saw her, that I was actually in the same room with her (dear god, I still
can't even believe it myself!), but no cameras aloud folks. And I was too afraid to
bring in a tape recorder, though I realized not too far into the concert that I could
have easily gotten away with it. But I was there, on November 11, 1997. And I am
damn proud that I can say that. I did buy a twenty dollar T-shirt and you can check
out the ticket that I am so proud to possess down below.
Like I said, my pal Tim and I, and
my dad and two of his work friends all journeyed to the concert together. We sat
down in our seats just in time. Didn't have to wait long at all for the opening act,
Rory McLeod to jump out onto the stage. That man was damn amazing. He's from England
and he's pretty hard to understand. But he's a one man show and he can whistle and
hum and play guitar and harmonica and spoons and tap his feat for percussion and sing
pretty much all at the same time. Lively jumping songs. Tim and I were still in our
seats at this point though we were itching to see Ani and be able to hop up and dance.
After only a few spectacular songs, McLeod left the stage, and we were left to sit and
wait for God knows how long until Ani finally appeared.
We didn't dare leave the auditorium during the intermission, but we did stand up and try
and see if we could spot our friend Paige,
who also had tickets to the concert. My heart skipped a beat when she came running up
to us. We gave each other a surprised and excited hug and she introduced me to her
friend Lisa who had come with Paige. We exchanged phrases like: "I can't believe we're
here," "I can't believe you're so close and we got our tickets so much time apart from
each other," and "I can't believe we're really going to see Ani in just a few minutes."
Suddenly the lights went down and we returned to our seats.
We heard through the darkness Ani singing Gravel. And when the lights came up and
the music increased with a boom and we saw Ani standing there in the light, everyone
stood up. Tim and I ran into the aisle to meet Paige and Lisa there. We were
screaming: there she was, right there, on the stage. Everyone was shrieking and we
were no acception.
The four of us spent the rest of the concert standing in the aisle at the far side of
the auditorium with a perfect view of Ani and Andy. We danced the entire time,
screaming all the while. Ani would stop and speak to the crowd between every few
songs. One memorable speech concerned the last time the band visited Tucson. Ani
and everyone trecked on down to the Congress (a bar downtown). She told us of this
black guy they saw all decked out in seventies garb with a huge fro. "And I was
thinking: is this just a special night, or does he dress like that all the time?
Because I don't know what the deal with this town is, man. I mean, what's going on
here? I mean, the war is over, man." And of course we all laughed because we all
knew what she was talking about. She played Willing to Fight, The Slant, Coming Up,
Napolean, Out of Range, Cradle and All, Anticipate and so many more.
The most memorable moment for me was when Ani flew into yet another rendition of
Shameless. That song (though it sounds so incredibly sappy) has great significance
for me. It was the first song I ever heard sung by Ani. She appeared on LATE NIGHT
WITH CONAN O'BRIEN and I was swept away. I had never even heard of Ani up to that
point, but I loved Shameless. That one song made me want to buy Dilate, and I
asked for it for my birthday. I got it and loved it and listened to it over and
over. I've always loved that song, and it really made an impression on me when I
heard that song at the concert. I think I screamed the most during that song. It
started off all funky and messed, barely recognizable, but when she leaped into
the heart of the song, I was mesmerized.
Even though she played for quite a while, the concert certainly wasn't long enough
for any of us. She came back out for only two encores before the lights in the
auditiorium went back up. A couple of times during the actual concert I leaned
over to Tim and Paige and just said: "I STILL can't believe she's standing RIGHT
THERE!" And we were devastated when it was all over. Even though I had been dancing
with extreme energy during the whole thing, I wasn't the least bit tired. I was
soaked from all the sweating I'd done, but I wasn't tired. Tim had nearly completely
lost his voice, but I was still going, barely. The concert started at seven-thirty
and was over by ten-thirty. And I could have gone on for hours more.
That night, I had such a rush that I hardly got any sleep. It was actually the
worst night's sleep I ever had and I had to go to school the next day. But it was
so incredibly worth it. I had the greatest and most memorable time of my life.
If you get the chance I would more than definitely recommend that you go go GO!
You'll have an absolute blast.
