July 13/08 Canandaigua NY Reviews & Discussion

[Eagle Feather]

canandaigua here we come!!! we're looking forward to seeing everyone at tomorrow night's show!

it will be our third! there's never enough melissa!

see ya there!

love,
eagle and golfie

[Eagle Feather]

Set List for Canandaigua, NY ~ July 13, 2008

All There Is
Chrome Plated Heart
Into the Dark
California
Royal Station 4/16 - harmonica
Brave & Crazy
Unexpected Rain
Bring Me Some Water
I Want to Come Over
Must be Crazy for Me
Angels Would Fall
Please Baby Please/I'm The Only One
If I Wanted To
Lucky
I Run For Life
2001/I Need to Wake Up
Message to Myself/Come to My Window
All We Can Really Do
Kingdom of Heaven
Open Your Mind

The Awakening:
The Universe Listened/Imagine
That/What Happens Tomorrow?

Encore:

Not Tonight/Like the Way I Do


Great Show!! Thank you, Melissa!

love,
eagle and golfie

[nybabe58]

Wow great setlist!!!!!!

[Eagle Feather]

Wow great setlist!!!!!!

(((nyb)))!!!

it was!!! great music and a beautiful evening - we were blessed with a perfect night!!

love,
eagle

[mleaddict]

i have to agree, it was a gorgeous night and a rockin' concert. i was able to get right up to the stage when the security guys let the rush in...first time ever getting up there. i was in awe, as i was right dead center in front of MLE! absolute heaven!!!!

[Eagle Feather]

there appeared to be several media in attendance at the show last night. here's the first review from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

here's the direct link:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/app ... -1/COLUMNS

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July 14, 2008

Etheridge Rocks Rowdy Faithful at Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center

Jeff Spevak
Staff music critic

Beneath rainbow squares hanging like signal flags in the Village People Navy, Melissa Etheridge was greeted Sunday night like the rock star that she is. Her venue-shaking rasp filled the pavilion at Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center, calling for rock-band accompaniment from the opening "All There Is."

It's the 21st century; women rock with the men. So how strange it is, as her life has taken on added depth, and with her skills seeming as strong as ever, that Etheridge's record sales have fallen so precipitously since 1999. And that a mere 2,000 — a nicely rowdy 2,000, at least — were on hand for this still-vibrant performer. Yet 9,000 showed up for the washed-up reprobates Motley Crue a couple of weeks ago at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. No justice, no justice.

Etheridge's songs on this night were arranged as the travelogue of her life, from the early days of "Chrome Plated Heart" as she described herself as "a Midwestern kid with a strange attraction to Charlie's Angels."

"Remember how you could pack everything in your car?" she asked as the lead-in to "California." That wasn't a comment on the small size of vehicles in the early '80s, but her lack of material goods as she made her leap of faith from Kansas to the West. "I ended up playing some of the women's bars," she said, "because there was no room for a woman with a guitar. And I ended up socializing ...."

With her guitar slung around her neck, Etheridge whipped out her harmonica in an oh-so-Springsteen way. Relationship songs like "Bring Me Some Water" and "I Want to Come Over" became exorcisms of guitar jams.

And then, all-too suddenly, the 47-year-old Etheridge's story came to "I Run For Life," and her battle with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2004, perhaps you recall her dramatic appearance at the 2005 Grammy Awards, a show that hasn't had a true dramatic moment since: Celebrating Janis Joplin with "Piece of My Heart," the unexpected sight of a bald-headed Etheridge, the result of her chemotherapy, was brave and crazy, and hugely uplifting.

"I know there are survivors in the house," she said Sunday to a smattering of cheers to the affirmative. "There always are." Etheridge, who now has a full head of hair again, makes it clear that she was never a victim, as the show reached its conclusion in an upbeat vein, and moments of realization, with "Open Your Mind," "The Awakening," "Message to Myself" segueing into the longing of "Come Through My Window" and "I Need to Wake Up," from the Al Gore film An Inconvenient Truth. The story since her cancer has been, she said, "Life is now ... right now.

"We have control of so much."

JSPEVAK@DemocratandChronicle.com

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eagle

[bambi57]

AWESOME.....that is all I can say! She is truly amazing, I had seen her before many years ago, she totally outdid herself. 3 hours of non-stop music....where can you go nowadays and get that kind of talent and length of concert. You can just feel that it all comes from her heart, it just pours out in her music...and I am sure that she is the same at every venue and every concert. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!!!! An added bonus...I even got to shake her hand. I love where she is in life and what she stands for!!!!

[Eagle Feather]

we'll post a mini-review and some photos as soon as we can get them downloaded...


eagle

[Janet]

She was AS ALWAYS Incredible last night!!! I will never get enough Melissa Live! I was surprised how many empty seats there were....she should have filled the house...I wonder if there wasn't enough publicity in this area.

I have some great pictures...as soon as I can I will post them

[laura]

I can say that the only thing i was disappointed in was the lack of attendance. The promotion on this venue never really got air time till 2 weeks before.
As far as the concert, you made me cry, laugh,and rock. Melissa is by far one of the best performers out there. She can move you to tears and turn around and shes got you standing up rocking. I have seen her 4 times live, she has never not given a good show. I was afraid with the cancer news this would be the end of touring. Thank you god for giving your blessing and returning her to her fans.
If you've never seen her, this is a must see. She never gives a bad show. Doesn't matter if its 2000 or 20000, you always get the best. I left that concert last night with a renewed sense of life. I was so moved that even now i have tears in my eyes thinking of it. Thanks for the good time and great music, see you next time you're in my neighbor hood.

[symphonic1]

Wow! That's an AMAZING set list!!!! Does anyone have any video of her doing "Royal Station 4/16"? I love that song! I hope she does it in Chicago!!

[This_Moment]

Oh Man!!!! "Royal Station 4/16" !!!! What a Treat! and to hear her play the Harmonica with it....Very Exciting everyone!

[dogrescuergirl]

Oh Man!!!! "Royal Station 4/16" !!!! What a Treat! and to hear her play the Harmonica with it....Very Exciting everyone!

OMG a treat indeed!! That song is in my top 5 of Melissa's. I have one more show in Toronto and I'm hoping hard that she plays it that night.

[originalangie]

All I can say is what a wonderful rocking show. It may have been empty at the back but we never saw that from the front it was packed with fans rocking out, even if some of them were a little over enthusiastic the t-shirt for example "I love Vaginas", was hysterical.

A woman desperately tried to give this to MLE, her reply was "I think everybody pretty much knows that" lol

[Janet]

LOL!!! I wondered what was on that shirt!!!

[originalangie]

LOL!!! I wondered what was on that shirt!!!

When the shirt was folded up a little Dawn thought it read "I love angina" lol which would have been rather strange

[mleaddict]

Yeah, that shirt was a little crazy. My aunt and I were sitting a couple rows behind her and she was saying how she got it as a gift but couldn't bring herself to wear it so she thought MLE might get a kick out of it. I guess she did!!

[MicheleW]

Oh I love Royal Station 4/16!! I remember her singing that
during the Live and Alone tour. Just awesome!!

[Janet]

Here is a slide show of my pictures

[mleaddict]

Those pictures were great! Oh I want to see her again this tour so bad!!!

[Janet]

Me too But there is nothing close enough to me to make it in a day

[Eagle Feather]

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i just love it when she plays the harmonica...

[Eagle Feather]

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[Eagle Feather]

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[Eagle Feather]

more tomorrow....


eagle

[Janet]

AWESOME!

[amazingsmile1]

I was there...front row and she was absolutely amazing! I was fortunate enough to be in the front when the rush to the stage occured as well. After the girl threw her bra on stage, I removed it and Melissa mouthed "Thank you" to me. Then when she was slapping hands...she grabbed my hand and put her guitar pick into it!!!! I almost died! I will frame that and never forget that moment!

[Eagle Feather]

We left our home under grey skies at 1 p.m., and it took us three hours to reach the border into the States. It took us twice as long for some unknown reason, and we were anxious to get to Canandaigua. The weather turned out to be beautiful, and once we crossed, it felt like we flew from Buffalo to Canandaigua. You drive through the town of Canandaigua on your way to the venue. It’s beautiful, and the road you come in on is lined with turn-of-the-century mansions with leaded glass windows and vast front porches. The first word you think of when you see Canandaigua is green.

We finally arrived at the venue and picked up our tickets. We had fourth row seats, right on the centre aisle. The seats were perfect for this venue, as the stage was quite high and there was a large space between where the stage ended and where the seats began, heavily patrolled by security guys. Being a bit further back and up allowed us a much better view than those seated in front of us. As I said, perfect. (Thank you M.E.I.N. )

We had a chance to speak to Philip, Fritz and Mark before the show! They looked great and were totally ready, and so were we! We saw Angie (UK!) and Dawn at the edge of the stage, and we hung out together . We began to strategize since we didn’t want to sit - we wanted to dance! It was Angie who suggested we adopt a “foreigner vibe” and we agreed. Since it’s now been four years since I immigrated to Canada, sometime I do feel like a foreigner! We made a pact and hoped that we could get others on their feet. Angie and Dawn were in the row ahead of us and off to our right side, but we could see each other clearly from our vantage points.

We took our places right at 7:30, knowing that Melissa would be starting very soon. We hear “All There Is” through the speakers on the stage, and then Fritz, Mark, Paul and Philip came out, and we cheered, and then Melissa! Everyone was on their feet and cheering! Melissa started with Chrome Plated Heart – and my heart skipped a beat. It is one of our favourite songs! We were ecstatic! Melissa couldn’t have picked a better song to get us all moving!

There was a woman in the front row with a t-shirt that she wanted to give to Melissa! When Melissa finished her first song, the woman held it up so that Melissa could read what it said. The t-shirt was black, and on it was “I Vaginas,” and when Melissa saw it, she just cracked up. As Angie (UK!) posted before, Melissa exclaimed, “Everyone knows that!” and declined the t-shirt, and then we were all cracking up!

Then Melissa started her next song…and everyone sat down. Except for us four “foreigners.” Then Angie and Dawn sat down for a moment, and I thought all was lost. I thought about sitting but then I said no…I won’t do it – I want to move and dance if I want to. Golfie felt the same way. And then seconds later Angie and Dawn stood back up, and we were up to four again…and then some fans I believe Angie and Dawn met at Melissa’s show in Hawaii also stood up, so then we were six. If we can just hold on, I know we can get a good showing of people on their feet and dancing. The two girls sitting next to Golfie stood up with us. When Melissa started to sing California, more people got up and stayed up.

Melissa started to sing Royal Station 4/16, and Golfie and I looked at each other and couldn’t believe our good fortune – Melissa was playing harmonica!

Melissa’s band is excellent, and she calls them the best band in the world! Paul is the new (although not so new now) guy who plays the keyboards, and he is very nice and posed for photos when we saw them in Hyannis! Fritz is incredible on drums, always moving, and there’s no better bass player than Mark Browne, always into the music! Philip is a master of the guitar. It is an extension of his body, and he plays it that way!

When you see Melissa and Philip play together with their guitars, it’s something you can’t forget. They have all kinds of “positions!” I took a few pretty cool photos of them “playing” together!! Wow! Hot!!

Then Melissa sang Brave & Crazy, and by the time Melissa got to Bring Me Some Water, we felt pretty confident that no one would be sitting down any further, unless they were resting! You could feel the energy electrifying and multiplying! Then I Want to Come Over, Angels Would Fall, I’m the Only One, If I Wanted To, and Lucky! What a great set of songs!!! The crowd was moving. By this time, people started coming down the middle aisle and standing in the aisle waiting to rush the stage. We found out later that they wouldn’t let anyone stand and dance in the back of the venue.

At first the security guard would ask people to return to their seats, but more people kept coming back. He was letting everyone stand in the middle of the aisle, but he wasn’t letting anyone near the stage. I said to the security guy he should let us rush the stage or send people back. He told me that he was told we could rush the stage after she played 2001. So there’s a crowd of people waiting on the centre aisle to rush the stage, and he was just holding us there like cattle! Then Melissa sang I Run for Life, which gets everyone even more motivated, and more people come down the aisle! Then she played 2001. So I said to the security guy, hey this is 2001. Right after this, right? and he said yes.

So Melissa finished 2001 and went right into I Need to Wake Up. I said to the security guy that 2001 was finished and could we get to the stage now? He looked at me like I was crazy. I said come on now…2001 is over and Melissa’s singing I Need to Wake Up. Dude - don’t you know she won an Oscar for this song? He still hadn’t gotten the okay from the other security guys, and continued to hold me back.

But I slipped around him and went anyway. And so did everyone else. We were now at the stage. Uh oh! I hate being short! I had to stand on the tips of my toes to see over it. It could have been much worse. At least we were right against the stage in front of Fritz.

For Melissa’s encore, she played Not Tonight and Like the Way I Do. Nobody can do it the way she does! I think that's why I love when she sings that song, because it's so true!

It was totally nuts at the stage, with people trying to climb up on the stage to get to Melissa, and, even though I haven’t seen it in a very long time because everyone knows that Melissa HATES it, someone actually threw their bra on the stage.

It did get a little scary there at the end, when the crowd surged forward to try to shake Melissa’s hands. People are crazy about Melissa – some a little crazier than others!

That didn’t stop us from having an amazing evening filled with fantastic music! It’s hard to describe how you feel at a Melissa concert! For me, it’s like eating a bolt of lightning! You just have to see it, feel it and hear it to believe it!

I'm a believer! Thank you, Melissa, for another phenomenal experience.


eagle

[Janet]

OMG!!! First of all....that was an excellent review...second I was one of those being told to sit constantly! come on! I'm only 5'2" how many people could I block? And third...If you were right in front of Fritz I must have been a few people back from you!!!