enthralledMichael Arden at Upright
I love anything that Michael does and I truly do love the way he draws audiences in to his performances with the heart and feeling he puts into his songs. He's real and genuine when he sings and bares all to his audience. When Michael sings in these cabaret settings, you really feel like he's showing you a piece of his heart. He sang a few Joni Mitchell songs for the first set ("California" - which he said was to celebrate his 1 year anniversary of moving to California :), "He Comes for Conversation," and "A Case of You.") :)
The second set were songs that mostly dealt with water (he explained that oddly enough, that's how it turned out.) :D Among them was the beautiful "River in the Rain" from Big River. Just amazing!! But I think the number that I enjoyed the most that he sang was "Not Afraid." :) :) :) "Not Afraid" was the song he wrote for his musical "Easter Rising" which he almost NEVER sings. It was gorgeous! And Michael sang it the way I'd always hoped to hear it -- and of course he should, it's his song after all! Just absolutely beautiful!!
Matt Cusson (who also is AMAZING!) and Valarie Pettiford also performed sets that night as well (and Ty Taylor appeared as a guest performer). It was an all-around amazing night!!
One last thing I have to mention about the concert... David Elzer was there, and the sweetheart that he is, he gave up his seats for us and we had AMAZING seats up front and had the best view of the show. David knows how much I like Michael and he was sweet enough to upgrade our seats...) How amazing is he? I love him! ♥
With Michael after the show! He is always such such a pleasure to see!
Ahhh! Shane Scheel was SOOOO nice! :) He and I spoke about Hawaii, Chad Kimball,
and a bunch of other things! I ADORED Shane!! :)
It was SO nice seeing Chris again!! I just ADORE the Upright guys!! They're both
SOOO nice!! :)
With Matt Cusson!! What a talented and amazing performer he is!! He said he had a few
shots between sets and I told him it made his performance that much better! :)
Insanity with Matt... he performed on NO sleep flying directly in from being on tour
with Brian McKnight. :)
David Burnham at Ramsey's!
Last night Mark & I went to see David Burnham's concert at Ramsey's. David sang a mix a songs from standards to broadway songs, to things in between. What I really love about David, and his concert is that he's SO funny and entertaining. VERY different from Michael in presentation, David is a showman and he does it VERY well. He's likable, endearing, and just hilarious on stage.
Couple of my favorite moments - David sang "Run Away With Me" - which is one of my favorite songs -- EVER! It was gorgeous in his hands and he told me later that he was recording it for his new CD that will be coming out soon! I can't wait! :D Another favorite moment was when he brought out a little "King & I" prince doll and said it was modeled after him since he was the voice for the cartoon version of the character in the animated version. :) He sang a song from the show with the doll propped up on the chair and when it was done, he had the doll bow... VERY cute.
Probably the most touching moment was when he spoke about his mother, who passed away, but had (since he was 8) encouraged him to follow his dreams and to do what makes him happy. VERY touching and SO lovely... When he finished the song and blew a small kiss to heaven, I don't think there was a dry eye in the house.
The concert was AMAZING (in a much different way from Michael's...) It was entertaining, funny, and showcased, not only David's amazing vocals, but his personality and his showmanship as well. :) We enjoyed it SOOO much!! :)
David is AMAZING! He remembered EVERY person's name who came to the concert!
When I went up to him he said, "Sheri!! You came all the way from Hawaii!"
What an amazing person he is! I adore David!
Surprise of all surprises was getting to see Tami there! She sang "Suddenly Seymour"
with David. I'd seen her at the break between sets and she was trying to keep a low profile.
I wasn't too sure why until I saw her up on stage. She was fabulous!
And I finally got to meet Janet Miller in person!! It was SOO nice seeing her there!
Janet is the choreographer for Wonderettes and she and I have been speaking online for
a few years now, it was SO wonderful to finally meet her! She was the sweetest person! :)
Two fabulous concert performances by two of my favorite musical theatre performers!! What a great way to start and end our fabulous trip here in LA! We have a couple more days here,... but no theatre left. Today I'm taking Mark to the Star Trek Exhibit on Hollywood & Highland and we're eating a nice long dinner at SoupPlantation. :) Should be an incredible last day in LA. :) Have a nice week, all! HUGS!