Atlantic City, NJ 6-09-07

[Judy]

I can't believe I missed posting this on the anniversary!

This was the year I turned 50. Lisa from Fastlane helped me talk myself into going. As it turned out, they were in the seats next to me the first night. I decided to treat myself to a Don concert for my birthday. AC came up & I had a chance to go to two shows. I was ecstatic! I had only ever had one other plane ride in my life. I had one layover. When I got on the first plane and we got in the air, I started getting sick. All the way to Georgia (Yes, I had to fly from MN to Atlanta to get to Atlantic City!) I kept trying to figure out how I was going to get the rest of the way to AC to see Don without getting back on a plane. Finally I just talked myself into getting back on the plane. I kept saying, "Come on. It's Don. You HAVE to do it." I felt sick on that one, too, but I made it to AC without incident. The ride back was turbulent, but I must have been used to flying because I wasn't sick.

I actually went to both shows. The first show was the 8th. As far as Don, the first show was the better of the two. He gave it his all that night. I think he kind of ruined his voice for the second night. We got I Will Not Go Quietly as an encore the first night, but not the second. This was the first time I ever had such good tickets. My seat was fifth row, but really is was third row because it was the center section. I was in seat 3, just a little to the left of his microphone.

I get hot very easily. My face is usually red at a concert. I turn into some kind of furnace when people sit next to me, plus they already have it hot in there...so the music for Everything is Different Now starts. I go, "Oooh, I love that song!" I don't know if he heard me or it was just a coincidence, but he picked up the microphone and headed over & stopped right in front of me! You wouldn't know it from the stuff I say on here, but I'm really shy. Really! My life is an open book, but I'm shy in front of new people. Anyway, he was smiling and I was already smiling, but when he started smiling I started smiling wider, then he smiled bigger and I smiled bigger and he smiled bigger again and I smiled bigger again. You know the expression about your face cracking? I really thought mine was going to. Seriously. I felt like the edges of my mouth were going to crack. So as I said, my face was red, and every time he smiled bigger I could feel the heat getting more intense on my face. I kept saying to myself, "Look away, Don. Just look away. No, don't look away!" He sang the first four lines of the song while looking at me. I think he had to walk away. He looked like he was going to laugh if he stayed there any longer. That was way cool. And the music was just awesome. I have the bootleg to prove it. I just love Scott on the drums! He does some kind of a double beat or something on HC. Don's band can do that song just as well as the Eagles any day.

As I said, the next night Don's voice wasn't so hot, and my seat that night was not in front of him. As it turned out, it was in front of Frank Simes, and I was in the second row. I've got to tell you, looking at Frank Simes creeps me out a little bit...but I had so much fun that night! He was so engaging to the audience and it was a blast dancing to his guitar playing. I don't know a thing about guitar playing, but I know what I like. There's a long since gone YouTube video from around Oracle time last year that just happened to land on my computer somehow. It's one of the best performances of EWTRTW I have ever heard. It's one of the best endings I have ever heard Frank do to the song. One day I was watching it and I noticed one on his guitar strings was broken! I am still wondering how the heck he played that ending, and so well! He had a broken string that night, too. He gave the signal to the guitar tech and no one came. He looked around a bit trying not to be obvious, but he couldn't see that far behind him. When he looked back, he looked at me, and I looked to his side & shook my head no to let him know no one was coming yet. He gave the signal three times before someone finally came. Just as the tech was finally getting there, Don noticed he wasn't getting any guitar from Frank. It was quite a while. I bet the tech got a chewing out from one of them.

Anyway, I had a great weekend. I went to two Don Henley concerts, found out that I can't live without really good seats, met a bunch of Eagles fans, and learned some things about Don Henley I didn't know prior to that.

Oh, I almost forgot! We went to the B Bar, I believe was the name of it, at the Borgota. A bunch of us had met up after the concert & gone there. We were taking up quite a big area. Really areas. Some people started leaving and we started moving out of one of the areas. I was still sitting at the edge of the area, though. They started roping it off. We were all excited thinking the whole band was coming down. As it turned out it wasn't for them. It was for James Gandalfino (?)--Tony Soprano. They had just in the last week or so played the final episode. His "brother-in-law" Bobby was there. I can't remember who else, but there were 8 or 10 guys. People in the bar were lining up to congratulate him. I got a little bored watching that. By the time I looked back the line was gone, and it was the 8 or 10 guys and lots of cute, young girls.

[sodascouts]

Sounds like a wonderful experience - thanks for sharing it!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Wow Judy - somehow I missed this thread when you first posted your review. I just now saw it and it was definitely worth reading. I was supposed to go to those shows, but something came up and I couldn't make it (I can't remember what exactly). That is so cool that you got that Dontact and it's so fun to meet up with other hardcore fans. Way to go!!!