Wow! /bravo/ /bravo/ That's all I have to say about the show! I wanted to share some observations and my story about ending up BACKSTAGE talking to some of the dancers.
Observations:
During Smooth Criminal headlines read 'He's not caught' or something close to that and 'It's not over.'
The famous picture of Michael behind the camera was big on the screen and strangely out of place.
The sequence was similar to This is It.....beginning with Gotta be Startin' Something but ended with Can you feel it! Gotta tell you, I COULD feel it.
I must add that I had FRONT ROW seats (yes, I bought them the minute they went on sale and sold my first born to pay for them!!!), which will explain how we ended up backstage after the show. But I digress.
One thing I noticed was that Michael's parts in all the songs were different, but only different to someone who might be looking for differences. But the weird thing is that the music (other than Michael's voice) was a live performance. There were back up singers (WAAAYYYYYY way out of sight, I might add. I could barely see them even in the front row!) and all the instrumentals were live. It's certainly possible, I'm sure, to sync up tracks with live vocals and maybe a musician can help us with that. But if that's the case, why would his voice vary so much in volume and (forgive me Mike if I'm wrong), but he might have missed a couple of notes. If they were using old tracks (and I must say the songs were seriously rearranged and strewn together in ways we've not heard), wouldn't they have perfected the voice variations?
Then there was the 'hologram.' That was very strange because it was projected against an undulating piece of fabric rather than a solid unmoving screen. And perhaps it was because I was too close to the image, but it seemed less like a hologram than a deliberately fuzzy projection. It was very brief and the image made a circle so I could only see the face for a moment, but it looked most like the new face of the Arno Bani photos. Again, these are very limited impressions and I'd love for someone else to comment.
To my story now. OMG! My daughter went out and bought a sequined jacket amd 6 inch sequined heels. She is, frankly, quite a beautiful young woman and was particularly radiant last evening. AND she has forever been an MJ fan, defending him from detractors even as a young girl. Bottom line is she caught the attention of one of the performers who invited us (I get the free ride as her mom!) backstage.
I knew better than to try and extract information (hard as it was) because my daughter would have kicked me in the knees if I had. But I will say this. These lovely young people were all extensions of Michael. They treated me with equal graciousness and respect as they did my daughter. They thanked us profusely for coming to see them and told them how much WE meant to them. I imagine meeting Michael would feel quite similar. There was no pretension, arrogance or indifference about them. When they left to get on the bus to the hotel, I received some of the most heartfelt hugs I have even felt in my life.
We left Oakland at 11:30 and began the 5 hour drive home, most of which I did. I arrived home and luxuriated in the comfort of my own bed and was finally able to process the whole weight of this event. It was then that I saw it, if indeed it is true. We all recall Michael pointing to Orianthe and saying It is YOUR time to shine.
If Michael were visible on stage, only he would shine. He can't help it anymore than the sun can help overshadowing lesser lights. By stepping back into the shadows, he was able to relinquish the stage to the new generation so that their lights could be seen and appreciated. It was also in that moment I felt the most divine sensations of bliss and happiness.
As an aside, my daughter said, "Mom, this feels like heaven. If this is what heaven feels like, I want to go there.' And this morning, she texted me that meeting these dancers has inspired her to dance again. And isn't that what Michael does best. Inspire us to keep dancing.
I am so grateful to Michael I can barely speak and yet I know he would respond with a thank you just like his amazing protoges.
bearhug