July 15 Reading PA Reviews & Discussion

by **tiggerATD** on Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:14 pm

Reading, PA
Tuesday July 15, 2008

All There Is
All American Girl
Ruins
California
Meet Me In The Back
An Unexpected Rain
Bring Me Some Water
I Want To Come Over
Let Me Go
I'm The Only One
If I Wanted To
If You Want To
I've Loved You Before
I Run For Life
2001
I Need To Wake Up
Message To Myself
Come To My Window
All We Can Really Do
The Kingdom Of Heaven
Open Your Mind
The Universe Listened
Imagine That
What Happens Tomorrow

Encores:
Not Tonight
Like The Way I Do

awsome show...I will have my stats updated ASAP per orders from andrew....who is absolutly adorable! but here is the setlist from tonight in the mean time LOL

by **imagine_that** on Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:24 pm

Thanks for posting the set list. I tried to keep track but gave up after the third or fourth song.

The show was absolutely fantastic! The audience was really fired up from the first note. Melissa and the guys were blazing hot! They came out and kicked a--. I've gotta collect my thoughts and will post my "review" tomorrow.

by **Kel** on Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:34 pm

Thank you Tiggy! :kiss:

by **nybabe58** on Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:18 pm

Awesome set list :lol:

by **Camille** on Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:54 pm

Yaaaaaaaaay! Melissa signed autographs after the show and I got a Melissa autograph! YAAAAAAY!

Thank you Melissa!! Thank you thank you thank you!!

by **i'mfeelingcrazy** on Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:57 pm

oh you lucky dog. how'd u manage that. We are going to both shows in Lowel. Can't wait.

by **Tracy** on Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:23 pm

Nancy and I left her house at like 4:20 PM and arrived at the Sovereign Performing Arts Center at precisely, 7:25...LOL. Supposed to take 2 hours...we stopped and ate dinner...and then got confused when trying to find parking...so we ended up cutting it closer than we would have liked. So we get our tickets and had great seats, sat down and pretty much, the show started.

Holy AMAZING show! The Crowd was awesome! They let us down to the stage like 3 or 4 songs earlier than the other shows. Melissa looked wonderful, and was in a very playful mood. The set list was awesome, I heard a couple of songs tonight that I hadn't heard yet from the shows I went to: If You Want To (Melissa talked to 2 people on the phone at this show. One she talked to and the other she sang to.) & Meet Me In The Back

Had great seats, was able to make it to the stage with no problem once they moved the chairs, we went.

Fritz was REALLY rockin' hard tonight...it was awesome to stand in front of him and watch him really go at it. How the hell does he remember which "thing" to hit when...good LORD that looks impossible...LOL.

Philip was wearing a cute black hat. He looked adorable in it.

Melissa kept asking if she could take that crowd with her to Poughkeepsie...LOL. It really was a great crowd.

After the show we bought t-shirts and then headed around to the back of the venue.

Philip came out and chatted with a few people and signed some autographs, then Fritz, came out and he did the same. Then Steven comes out and makes an announcement that Melissa will be coming out and will sign autographs, one for each person, but no pictures cause her hair is wet. We all got in a line and out came Melissa

I had the set list from the show and had her sign it.

How exciting! That is the first time in 56 concerts that I've been to where she has signed autographs after the show! Nancy and I were like two little kids...all the way home, saying...that was so surreal...LOL. It was like a perfect night.

Thank you Melissa!!!! That was so, so special!

Thanks for coming with me Nancy...you can be my ticket partner again

LOL.

I didn't bring my camera, not sure why, but I know someone out there has some awesome pictures from tonight. Please post them.

I will ALWAYS go to this venue to see Melissa. The enrgy from the crowd was awesome and Melissa looked like she really had fun up there.

by **nybabe58** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:42 am

Tracy wrote:Nancy and I left her house at like 4:20 PM and arrived at the Sovereign Performing Arts Center at precisely, 7:25...LOL. Supposed to take 2 hours...we stopped and ate dinner...and then got confused when trying to find parking...so we ended up cutting it closer than we would have liked. So we get our tickets and had great seats, sat down and pretty much, the show started.

Holy AMAZING show! The Crowd was awesome! They let us down to the stage like 3 or 4 songs earlier than the other shows. Melissa looked wonderful, and was in a very playful mood. The set list was awesome, I heard a couple of songs tonight that I hadn't heard yet from the shows I went to: If You Want To (Melissa talked to 2 people on the phone at this show. One she talked to and the other she sang to.) & Meet Me In The Back

Had great seats, was able to make it to the stage with no problem once they moved the chairs, we went.

Fritz was REALLY rockin' hard tonight...it was awesome to stand in front of him and watch him really go at it. How the hell does he remember which "thing" to hit when...good LORD that looks impossible...LOL.

Philip was wearing a cute black hat. He looked adorable in it.

Melissa kept asking if she could take that crowd with her to Poughkeepsie...LOL. It really was a great crowd.

After the show we bought t-shirts and then headed around to the back of the venue.

Philip came out and chatted with a few people and signed some autographs, then Fritz, came out and he did the same. Then Steven comes out and makes an announcement that Melissa will be coming out and will sign autographs, one for each person, but no pictures cause her hair is wet. We all got in a line and out came Melissa I had the set list from the show and had her sign it. How exciting! That is the first time in 56 concerts that I've been to where she has signed autographs after the show! Nancy and I were like two little kids...all the way home, saying...that was so surreal...LOL. It was like a perfect night.

Thank you Melissa!!!! That was so, so special!

Thanks for coming with me Nancy...you can be my ticket partner again LOL.

I didn't bring my camera, not sure why, but I know someone out there has some awesome pictures from tonight. Please post them.

I will ALWAYS go to this venue to see Melissa. The enrgy from the crowd was awesome and Melissa looked like she really had fun up there.

Tracy

What an incredible night it sounds like you had and she talked to two fans on the phone :lol:

one talking one singing....wow :lol:

What a wonderful thing to happen for fans to have Melissa join the band in signing autographs...Im sure you and lots of fans are in heaven about now!! Guess what..me too :lol:

......glad you had an awesome time!!

by **HugsY2K** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:43 am

Tracy, Nancy & fans,

OMG! Sounds like an incredible night. Wowowow --y'all so lucky you got to meet MLE!! 8-)

In response to the post from last night on the other page, I don't have anything signed by MLE.

Someday ... *sigh*

Let the fun and magic continue TONITE!

Less than 13.5 hrs and counting ...

Cheers,
Linda

by **penfan82** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:07 am

as hubby says about springsteen "everyones got a melissa story but me" lol.... sounds like a great night

by **bstrongspeaktru** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 5:23 am

Too cool that she's signing autographs after the show sometimes... I thought that just never ever happened! Good for y'all!!!

by **Giant** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:10 am

You guys are getting me excited for next week...Canada here I come. I got my sharpies and CD covers ready to go, I'm gonna do it this time with a little encouragement. That is a great set list, glad to hear everyone had a great time and that the crowd was good, that always helps.

by **Bitewound** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:32 am

Reading was a great show and great crowd :mrgreen:

I had my doubts because they were not as Lively during L&A so I'll recind my pre-show dis :mrgreen:

You guys are AWAKE now :lol:

by **kupid69** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:36 am

OK Tracy now you totally bummed me out. I was in no hurry to head home after the concert last night and should have suggested we try to see if we could see her coming out the back but we all just started walking back to the parking lot. I can't believe she came out and signed autographs. I do have some photos for you. You can e-mail me at kupid69@comcast.net and I'll forward them to you. Lori :bawling:

by **kupid69** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:11 pm

Well ladies here's my take on the Reading show. Melissa played her heart out for 3 long and hot hours. She was saturated with sweat but kept entertaining the crowd. The audience were true Melissa fans; stood the entire 3 hours, danced and sang along. We had 2nd row right and were able to rush the stage as soon as security moved their chair. Got some wonderful pictures of Fritz since he was directly in front of me. He wailed on the drums and when his stick flew out of his left hand he grabbed a new one in one fluid motion; never lost a beat. Philip gave his all and wowed the crowd. An amazing sight and sound to witness especially if someone has never seen him before.
And for the first time in having seen Melissa at least 50+ times; She touched my hand as she was reaching out to everyone. And yes I can confirm.....her hands are definately soft.

Two negatives on the night. The acoustics were horrible at this venue. Everything sounded muffled and unclear. I thought maybe it was me and where I was positioned to the stage but I spoke with other people who were further back and also some that were up in the balcony and they all said the same thing. I was able to get some video of the show which I will post on UTube but I appologize for the sound quality....you will see what I mean by the poor acoustics.

My other negative is, it always appears that when pics and drum sticks are given out at the end of the show that the same people are picked to get them. I've been a fan since 1989 and have never been even close to being so lucky. Whats a Woman gotta do??????????????

by **sunnyface791** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:34 pm

I agree--Melissa rocked it last night. What a great show!!!! I experienced the same thing w/ the sound quality that kupid did...I thought it was just me, but I guess not...regardless, it was great. I was at the stage most of the night and got some good pics...tried to post one but it wouldn't let me...said the file is too big....sorry, all, I'm still a little new at this

by **kupid69** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:53 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaLiUAOPoK4

some video of the Reading Concert I posted on YouTube

I had to set up a new account so my videos are under atomizor67

Again.....sorry for the poor audio.

Lori

by **Jakesmom917** on Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:15 pm

kupid69 wrote:Well ladies here's my take on the Reading show. Melissa played her heart out for 3 long and hot hours. She was saturated with sweat but kept entertaining the crowd. The audience were true Melissa fans; stood the entire 3 hours, danced and sang along. We had 2nd row right and were able to rush the stage as soon as security moved their chair. Got some wonderful pictures of Fritz since he was directly in front of me. He wailed on the drums and when his stick flew out of his left hand he grabbed a new one in one fluid motion; never lost a beat. Philip gave his all and wowed the crowd. An amazing sight and sound to witness especially if someone has never seen him before.
And for the first time in having seen Melissa at least 50+ times; She touched my hand as she was reaching out to everyone. And yes I can confirm.....her hands are definately soft.

Two negatives on the night. The acoustics were horrible at this venue. Everything sounded muffled and unclear. I thought maybe it was me and where I was positioned to the stage but I spoke with other people who were further back and also some that were up in the balcony and they all said the same thing. I was able to get some video of the show which I will post on UTube but I appologize for the sound quality....you will see what I mean by the poor acoustics.

My other negative is, it always appears that when pics and drum sticks are given out at the end of the show that the same people are picked to get them. I've been a fan since 1989 and have never been even close to being so lucky. Whats a Woman gotta do??????????????

YES, her hands are very soft...I got to shake it in Charlotte. They were sweaty...but soft...but I didnt care!

by **Andrew** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:59 am

A reply to the above and then my review: Phillip must use lots of lotion!!! I have soft hands, and his felt softer!!!! I wonder if it is natural, or lotion. If it is lotion, what flavor does he use?????

WOW!!!! I had an AWESOME time! We arrived outside the venue at about 2:00, and then, waited and waited and waited. Finally past 4:00, my moms and I were headed to our room at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel, only to turn around, seeing PHILLIP!!!! I ran as fast as I could, and yelled, "Phillip!" He was like "That's me!"
So, I asked him for an autograph and told him that I played the 12-string guitar. I had him sign my "The Awakening" songbook!!!! He wrote: To Andrew- Love & Happiness- Play On!! Phillip Sayce, then he underlined it 3 times! We got to talking for about 5 minutes, about the setlist for the evening, the length of the show, how he was doing. I got 4 pictures with him!!! He said that is was going to be a 2-1/2 hour show, but it actually lasted 3 hours and 5 minutes!!!!!!!
So, we got to the show. ROCKIN' except for my side of the balcony. No one stood!!! I stood, and security forced me to sit down!! I was disappointed, because everything told me to stand, except security. Later, when my mom was enjoying the show, a lady told her to slouch in her seat, because as she said "I really am a nice person, but you need to lean back, because I can't see!" and I was just thinking, THEN STAND!!!
The show rocked, though.
After the show were autographs! I got Paul, with his delightful Boston accent.
Next was Mark, he asked me if I wanted the date, but he didn't know what it was, so I told him. He smiled, put his hand on my shoulder and as I said "thank you", he replied "you're certaintly welcome!"
Phillip came out next, and as he came out and looked at me and said, "ANDREW! Did you like the show???" I replied, "Oh my God, it was awesome!"
He finished signing, gave me my Sharpie, and said, "I truly hope you liked the show!" and I couldn't help but to yell, "ROCK ON PHILLIP!"
Next came out Trace. "Please get in a single file line, and no pictures..." thats all I heard because Fritz snuck out! I had to get his autograph, and I told him he rocked out Message To Myself. He gave me the autograph, and said, "You made my day, kid."
I raced into the line, and Melissa came out. She barely made contact during the autographs. She just signed her name. Appearantly she saw only the part of our sign that said "12 year old boys" and that was it, and my mom told her what it said. She replied "that's sooooooo sweeeeeeeeet!"
She came up to me, and she is tiny, so I looked her in the eye, becuase she was like a half an inch taller than me! I told her I liked the show. She asked me my name, and I said "Andrew" She said, "I knew it. I know you from the fan thing in my website!"
I told her yep that's me. I told her she was a huge inspiration and idol to me, and she said: "I dearly hope I live up to your expectations. She signed her name, then on top wrote my name, and "Peace"! I was so excited because ONE: She talked to me and no one else AND TWO: She gave me more than a signature, but a "Andrew- Peace Melissa Etheridge"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was then stunned to meet Camille and Tigger!!!!!! We stood outside the venue, chatting for like 15 minutes, and I got an interview by Camille for the street team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am on YouTube now!!!!!!!!!!
Then, Camille, Tigger, my moms and I walked slowly back to the Abraham Lincoln hotel. We shared our love of Melissa, and then got 2 pictures with Tigger and Camille!!!!!! Then Tigger handed me her I AM LOVED pin, and we got on the elevator. They were on the 17 floor, and we were on the 18 floor! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
What a great night, meeting all of the band, talking to each member, and meeting my favorite Boardies!!!!! OMG! I had so much fun.
In fact, during I WANT TO COME OVER, Melissa sang, "I want to come over to hell with the consequence." Then I couldn't help but to think about the worst thing: "I want to stand up, and then hell with the consequence!" LOL!

by **Jackie25** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:13 am

I love reading these posts! It is awesome to hear about other people and their experiences at the concerts! This was my 3rd and probably last concert this year

I had the best time ever! Melissa took my phone 2nd and talked to my friend. I couldn't believe that! Melissa has touched many people and knows how to do the little things that mean so much to many people. I appreciate her and all of you who support such an influential woman!

by **dreaming1** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:37 am

Okay, first off, I am not brand new, I have been around since about 2000, so I am not here to cause a ruckus!! I couldn't get my old screen name to work though. That being said, here are my thoughts on the Reading concert.

Melissa looked terrific! She looked healthy, happy, and beautiful. She sounded awesome....That woman never puts on a bad show. Well worth the money every time.

Unfortunately, I did not care for the set list. I felt it could have been a little stronger.

I was very disappointed in the crowd. I was up in the balcony and everyone sat the whole time and the only thing they really did was tap their feet. There was one woman in front of me dancing and I totally encouraged her...I thought it was great!!! It's a concert, not an opera!!Every now and then I would wave my cell phone in the air so Melissa could see the light and know we were alive up there!! Maybe the people that said the crowd was great had floor seats.

I didn't know Melissa signed autographs after shows or else I would have stuck around :-(

Although I did have to go searching for my shoe because at some point I lost it climbing over chairs. (I didn't want to make people in my row keep getting up to let me out)

And last but not least, Melissa looked at me a few times!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahaha...okay, maybe it is all in my head, but I like to believe it.

Great great show....it always is with MLE

by **Tracy** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:11 am

Andrew you Rock! I saw you standing there and meant to come by and say hello but once I met Melissa I lost all other thoughts. Sorry. You looked so cute talking to her. Congrats on the autograph and I am SO glad you had a great time!

by **kupid69** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:03 am

Its Thursday the 17th and I'am still kicking myself for not walking around the back and standng in line to try to get her autograph

Ladies......next time grab me by the hand and remind me of what happened when I did not follow my instinct.

I was able to obtain a special little something from the concert. I'am more then willing to share this nice little something if anyone is interested. Just PM me and I'll let you know what it is and how you can get one for yourself. Is curiosity peaked??????????

Lori

by **Andrew** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:05 am

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.... THANKS TRACY. I thought that was you, but had to clarify it with my Mom. I knew you would be there but I didn't know you were getting autographs.

Also, here is a pic!

: Me and Philip; us.JPG (22.07 KB) Viewed 2521 times

by **kupid69** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:13 am

Just learning how to do these attachments so bear with me.

by **kupid69** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:16 am

Melissa letting it all go

by **kupid69** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:19 am

OK one more for good measure

by **Camille** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:23 pm

Andrew wrote: She came up to me, and she is tiny, so I looked her in the eye, becuase she was like a half an inch taller than me!

That is really cute!!

It was great meeting you, Andrew! I told my friends about meeting you, and about how you are more articulate than I am.

Looking forward to reading your blogs and watching your videos!

ROCK ANDREWROLL FOREVER! YEAH!!

by **NJ Firedancers** on Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:27 pm

This is me and Sue being Jealous

by **kupid69** on Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:17 am

Well I can certainly confirm that there was a problem with the acoustics at the Reading show. Something must have happened to the soundboard because there is a noticeable sound change towards the last third of the concert. And here I thought it was my ears!!!!!!!!!
I should have known it wasn't my ears when I could actually hear Melissa singing from the stage and not through the speaker system.

Lori

by **Andrew** on Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:54 am

I almost forget to tell you!!!!!!!!! When I met Philip, Nedra was making the band, crew and Melissa KEY LIME CHICKEN!!!!!! It smelled soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo goooooooooooood!!!!!! G :surprised:

D!

by **dogrescuergirl** on Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:09 pm

Andrew wrote:I was so excited because ONE: She talked to me and no one else.

Andrew, you are too sweet...I laughed out loud when I read that!

Andrew wrote:In fact, during I WANT TO COME OVER, Melissa sang, "I want to come over to hell with the consequence." Then I couldn't help but to think about the worst thing: "I want to stand up, and then hell with the consequence!" LOL!

You know it, Andrew...don't let anyone squash your spirit...get up and dance! ('Course if you get thrown out, don't tell 'em I told you that LOL).

Seriously, I could just feel the excitement you must have felt as I was reading your review. Give your Mom a big hug for taking you to the show...I'm always SO thankful for parents who will take their kids out to things like this...this is how dreams are born!

by **dtbethie** on Sun Jul 20, 2008 5:49 am

Andrew, I am sooooo jealous! Maybe I'll get a picture with Philip in CT.

I did get a guitar pic and a few nods from him though. I got something else that I didn't expect....someone put their prescription sunglasses in my purse! We were front row center so if anyone knows of someone who is missing their sunglasses w/ bi-focals, please post so I can return them.
Back to the concert. Yes! It was amazing. I feel like nothing else exists when I'm at her shows. I absolutely love it!

by **oceansawayspa** on Sun Jul 20, 2008 7:42 am

hi all. me an my 11 year old son were at the concert. it was great! for what ever reason i didnt take my camera. mostly because when i do take it they wont let you take pics. if anyone have any pictures from the reading concert would you please share with me. i just love her.
you can e-mail them to me. kemblesmassage@yahoo.com

thanks

by **jc34** on Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:53 am

I am a new Melissa fan and have only seen about 6 shows (total, not just this summer) but WOW. It feels so good to be in her presence!

I am hopping to drive 8 hours and see her one more time in Ohio. Does anyone know if I can still get REALLY GOOD SEATS at this point?

by **Bird Dog** on Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:25 am

We were at the Reading Concert sitting ( I mean standing) in row 5 center section. Everyone in our section was standing the entire time. What a high energy crowd. The sound at the venue was very bad. Everything was garbled. Many times you could not tell what Melissa was saying or singing. Sounded like she was mumbling. Not sure what happened to the sound system they were using. It was really a shame because the band played their hearts out but it really spoiled what would have been a wonderful event.

by **imagine_that** on Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:43 am

Here's a link to a review of Melissa's performance in Reading, PA with photos.
http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=99166

It mentions the phone calls. I was the first person to give her my cell phone. By the way, I found video of the second phone call, but not the first. Does anyone have footage of that first call posted anywhere?

by **nybabe58** on Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:57 am

imagine_that wrote:Here's a link to a review of Melissa's performance in Reading, PA with photos.
http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=99166

It mentions the phone calls. I was the first person to give her my cell phone. By the way, I found video of the second phone call, but not the first. Does anyone have footage of that first call posted anywhere?

send me a PM well talk

by **Loohoo2** on Sun Jul 27, 2008 5:54 pm

What can one say about that special night in Reading? I just finished reading the blogs from all the MLE fans and to say it made me smile and relive that night is an understatement!

This was my first time seeing Melissa and the band since 2006 when they played at Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA. That was my "Melissa" moment for sure. My girlfriend and I were lucky enough (thanks to her sister) to get meet and greet passes and go backstage before the show. We got to say a few words and get an autograph. That was right before Tammy had the twins and I remember wishing Melissa and Tammy the best. She was very excited. That was our second time in 2006 that we saw MLE in concert. We also stayed overnight in NYC and saw them perform at Madison Square Garden's theatre. We had second row center seats and I remember after the show going out back and watching them load the trailers. I was hoping for a drumstick from Fritz and one of the crew members retrieved a piece of one for me. He was afraid that I would be disappointed but quite the contrary. I made a collage of the drumstick and the tickets from the show along with a picture of Melissa. I think it shows how hard Fritz plays to have an actual piece of broken drumstick. Back to the Reading show.......I have to agree that my friend and I talked about the terrible sound on the way home. Thank goodness we had floor seats (Row H orchestra center) and stood and rocked out the whole night.

I know my friend will be disappointed when I tell her that she and the band came out and signed autographs after the show. We, too headed straight for the parking deck. We did walk by the street where the trailers had been parked earlier but they were already being loaded up for Poughkeepsie. Believe me, if I could have gone, I would have.
Andrew - you are very sweet and I'm glad you got so up close and personal with everyone. I adore Philip....he is easy on the eyes and can rock out better than anyone I've ever seen. Fritz can handle the drums, too. In fact, they are all great.

Melissa - thank you a million times over. No matter where you are or what the environment, you continue to shine brightly. You are an inspiration to millions because you are a simple Kansas girl who never lost sight of her dream and even despite some setbacks, you keep pushing us all to be ourselves, to speak true and to keep the peace. I look forward to coming to many more of your concerts and I look forward to meeting many more fellow MLE members and friends.