July 22 Ottawa Reviews and Discussion

[Eagle Feather]

Melissa was awesome , and the music tonite was out of this world!!

Here's the set list:

All There Is
Ain't It Heavy
Shriner's Park
California
You Used to Love to Dance/Dance without Sleeping
Unexpected Rain
Bring Me Some Water
I Want to Come Over
Let Me Go
Please Baby Please/I'm the Only One
If I Wanted To
A Simple Love /Yes I Am
Heal Me
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
Piece of my Heart


eagle

[adam_eve]

Didn't see this thread when I posted mine. Oh well lol.

[tnscdn]

Your right this show did ROCK!!! I was at the show in '06 but in the very last row on the floor, I still loved the show. The audience tonight certainly made up for the last performance done in Ottawa. I too had dead centre seats, but in row four. I took almost 300 pic's, I have some great shots!!!!!!! This was actually only my second show, I am glad I bought fan club tickets, well worth the money. Melissa and the band has never sounded better! FANTASTIC Show!!!! { Sorry to anyone sitting behind me, I was the annoying one with the camera up almost all night, I could not resist, I love her facial expressions, so I gave my camera a good workout, not to mention my arms, lol }

[Eagle Feather]

OH MAN - WHAT A SHOW!

Melissa was on fire, and as tough as the Ottawa audience usually is, we were able to dance the whole time and get everyone on their feet!

Dance Without Sleeping and Heal Me were highlights, and Shriner's Park was so amazing...but the entire show ROCKED! I'll post more later!

Merci beaucoup pour tout, Melissa!!! Vous êtes merveilleux!!


eagle

[adam_eve]

I just finished burning the pictures to a CDR for you Eagle. I'll give it you in Toronto. Hope you can make the dinner.

[Ptitchat]

Good Day Ladies!

I think we made it right last night, in Ottawa! It was awesome show! In 2006 we had seats in the balcony section, but from there I said to myself, next time we will sit where the party stands! And we did this time! We were in the 5th row, dancing all evening, it was incredible the energy that was there, I can see where MLE got her energy from, when I felt all the devotion you fans show her!

It was great showtime, thanks MLE for being what you are, a great woman, rocker, singer and entertainer! See you next time in Ottawa

[awakening wave]

Ottawa Concert = Beyond Awesome and Awe Inspiring. The crowd's delight was invigorating, a contagion of change happening in real time....I have seen every M.E. concert in Ottawa, and a few in Montreal...first time in the very front row...there is no where else to be. I hope next time someone else that hasn't had the thrill of being up there with Melissa will get the opportunity.

Melissa, keep on delivering the message...awake is what we all must become to find and be peace in the world. The atoms and space that we are and that we keep are aware...the time is now...the awakening is happening...of that I am certain!

...and remember to always, Seize the Day!

awakening wave

[Eagle Feather]

A Simple Love
Heal Me

i just checked Tig's stats, and i believe both of these songs were tour premiers!


eagle

[Eagle Feather]

From The Ottawa Citizen published on July 21, 2008:

Here's the link: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/new ... 0a28c3cf4c

Here's the article:

Melissa Etheridge's Awakening
Latest disc tracks singer's deeply personal and spiritual journey

Lara Purvis
The Ottawa Citizen
Monday, July 21, 2008

"The tendency for me to write so intimately about my personal life came from my experiences early in my career, playing in bars for something like, 10 people. The songs that had the most impact on people -- the ones that they came and spoke to me about -- were always the personal ones. So I made a choice 25 years ago, to exercise the creative muscle and only speak the truth."

Melissa Etheridge's voice is husky and vulnerable as she speaks over the phone from her hotel room in Poughkeepsie, New York. She's reflecting on her 2007 release, The Awakening, a concept album based on Etheridge's deeply personal and spiritual journey during her struggle with breast cancer in 2004.

"The Awakening was about sharing my truth. That was a lesson I learned when I came out as a lesbian in 1993. I learned that every time I chose to let people in, I was rewarded for it. When I first came out everything exploded, my career totally took off. So that became the way I lived my life."

Etheridge's candour is no surprise as she offers her thoughts on spirituality and life. Since early in her career, Etheridge's powerful performances have captured the attention of music lovers, but it was her determination to live her life truthfully that has made Etheridge a lesbian icon.

The Awakening is Etheridge's 10th studio album since she first began performing in those small bars in 1982. Over the course of her career, she's had incredible success, particularly with pieces ragged with emotion like, I'm the Only One and Come to My Window, songs that became anthems for the search for love. But The Awakening is different.

"It's hard to put it into one or two sentences ... I tell people that I realized the meaning of life."

The difference in The Awakening is evident from the very first track, entitled All There Is. Etheridge wastes little time sharing her deepest realization. It's short and decisive, only three lines long.

"All there is/ Is atoms and space/ Everything else, is illusion."

This simple clarity, Etheridge believes, comes from a time of forced introspection. After years of relentless touring, Etheridge had no choice but to take time to heal, while she went through chemotherapy and radiation in 2004.

"One of the things I came to realize was that we're all incredibly spiritual beings within our carbon bodies but as a group we've become disconnected from our spirituality. We have to honour that connection of spirituality and become responsible for creating our own illusion."

While the idea may smell a little new age-y, the concept of creating one's illusion, as Etheridge calls it, is becoming increasingly accepted and almost trendy within the mainstream. Rows upon rows of self-help books are dedicated to the subject. The point is powerfully simple -- that we create the life we live.

This was the belief Etheridge immersed herself in through the year of treatments and healing. Taking responsibility for her choices, she chose to live an emotionally and physically healthy life, surrounding herself with her family -- wife Tammy Lynn and children, Bailey Jean and Beckett.

"Tammy is 13 years younger than I. She's a deeply spiritual person but in a different way. She was an amazing support during that time."

In 2005, Etheridge was asked to perform a tribute to her hero, Janis Joplin at the Grammy Awards ceremony. Though still weak, her head bald and shiny from chemo, Etheridge stole the show with her courageous performance. Soon after she had much to celebrate --Etheridge was declared cancer-free and her partner was expecting twins. Together, they welcomed Johnnie Rose and Millar Steven in 2006.

Etheridge admits that the last few years have been a roller-coaster of a ride.

"Writing The Awakening was a way to mark that point in my life and chronicle that journey. But when I recorded the album I wondered how people would respond to it. My concern was creating music that would entertain while remaining honest about the experience."

For the most part, Etheridge found her songs continued to touch people as they always had. She was surprised at her audience's willingness to enter a spiritual dialogue.

"People responded with gratitude, which was beautiful. My hope is that if they take anything from this, it would be the oneness between us all -- that we're all connected on the same human path."

With a year's mileage touring these songs, Etheridge feels that she has quite a bit more to say.

"There's going to be an Awakening Two," she says quietly. "I've become a lot more confident in this journey. I've just started writing for the next album. And I think ... I think I may call it, Fearless."

Melissa Etheridge performs tomorrow at the National Arts Centre. Tickets & times, 755-1111.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2008

~~~~~~~~~~


eagle

[Eagle Feather]

here's the review from The Ottawa Citizen...



here's the link: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/new ... 07cec2d124

here's the story:

~~~~~~~~~~

Etheridge lives up to expectations
Diehard fans get what they came for with stories, set list

Patrick Langston
The Ottawa Citizen

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Melissa Etheridge fans tend to be, let's say, committed.

"It's gonna be fantastic! It always is!" said one audience member before the roots-rocker's show in the NAC's Southam Hall last night.

"I've seen her seven times," exclaimed another.

A boisterous group of women exploded in superlatives the minute they were asked to comment on their idol, one of them recalling that when they were younger they had ejected a Bible from its keepsake box and replaced it with old Etheridge tickets. "We'd take them out for, like, half a minute and kiss them and then put them right back."

By press time, Etheridge was doing a fair job of living up to expectations. She opened with the robust Ain't It Heavy, and her 1,800-strong audience, which had sprung to their feet the instant she hit the stage, remained standing and bobbing though the song. They did eventually sit down, but a dedicated and slowly growing cadre of 50 people or so stood swaying at the edge of the stage (US!!!!), just the sort of close audience contact Etheridge loves.

Always big on confessional songs, Etheridge wove her life story into her set list. She introduced Shriner's Park, about an early gay affair, by recalling how she knew that she had to seek out more liberal environs than her home state of Kansas when she realized in her teens that she was a lesbian (she came out in the early '90s and is still an icon among gay music fans).

She then talked about heading from Kansas to California and so she sang, well, California. She followed that by remembering her mullet, working in bars, and dancing the night away. And so it went, as Etheridge - backed by her spot-on four-piece band - worked through ballads and rockers like An Unexpected Rain and Bring Me Some Water, talked about karma, and danced across the stage as she sang Dance without Sleeping. She also turned the spotlight over to band members for extended solos.

By mid-show, Etheridge - who was doing too much talking - hadn't quite caught fire the way she did when she played here in 2006, when just about the whole audience stood up and danced throughout the show.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2008

~~~~~~~~~~

apparently, he must have missed the concept of The Awakening. And from his review, it seems he left before the audience got warmed up!!! by the end of the evening, melissa had not only caught fire, she burnt the house down!!! if you've ever been to an ottawa show, you know how difficult that is!!


eagle

[tonook]

This is my first time posting anything.
it is usually much harder in ottawa but last night was just aaamazing!
This was my wife and I's sixth show but our first at the stage.WOW, it was great. we got to shake (touch) her hand.She appeared to be feeling better than she did in Montreal. She managed to get the crowd up for most of the show. Not an easy accomplishement in ottawa. We ventured to try and catch A glimpse of her after the show and to our surprise Fritz and Paul were just hanging around, then came Philip. After a while Melissa came out signed a few autographs, but what amazed me the most was that as she was signing my item , we commented on how amazing she was, she looked at us and said " oh you guys were in the first row".
Oh my god and can't believe she pays that much attention. She made my day. I had to share, hard to explain how I feel ( in aah?, star struck? or something else....but good

every one about to see her in quebec city have fun! am jealous.

[mleaddict]

i bought my tix the night before the show, front row for sale on ebay! my friend who wanted to go wasn't able to, so i flew solo. i made the 4-hour trek from central new york in what seemed like no time, checked into my hotel, took a quick nap, and did a little sightseeing on foot before going over to the theater. ottawa is a great city, i love the pedestrian mall and the canals!

anyway, i got my seat right up front and was worried that the place wasn't going to fill up -- it was almost 8 and it seemed like the theater was half empty! i'm glad i was wrong as i looked back after MLE took the stage and it seemed full! i couldn't believe that we could get right up front and there was no security! in Albany and Canandaigua, big burly security guards kept us back for most of the show! anyway, it was just amazing. MLE looked wonderful, sounded wonderful, and i was in heaven for the next 3 hours! i even managed to get one of fritz's drumsticks! this probably sounds bad, but i had heard that at one show (not on this tour) someone was able to get MLE to give them the studded leather cuff bracelet she was wearing that night -- the one she wore last night was the same one she wore at Canandaigua and i so desperately wanted it! i was ready to show her my wrist tattoo of her 'symbol' maybe as a little bargaining chip to get the bracelet, but was too chicken when the time came.

during her song 'dance without sleeping' she came right over to my side of the stage and kneeled down! wooo! a few people put their hands out and she gently touched each one...was so cool!

it was just a fabulous, fabulous show. i recognized a few people from other shows -- OriginalAngie -- it was me who you sat next to before the show started and who switched places with your friend at the stage (don't know her name, sorry) at the beginning so you guys could be next to each other!

anyway it was great and i seriously want to try to hit at least one more show before MLE wraps in september!

cheers,
erin

[rhondda]

this probably sounds bad, but i had heard that at one show (not on this tour) someone was able to get MLE to give them the studded leather cuff bracelet she was wearing that night -- the one she wore last night was the same one she wore at Canandaigua and i so desperately wanted it! i was ready to show her my wrist tattoo of her 'symbol' maybe as a little bargaining chip to get the bracelet, but was too chicken when the time came.

i don't know if you're referring to my experience, but MLE gave me her leather (not-studded) bracelet at the end of the last Greek show in 2006. it's embossed leather.

i did not expect it nor ask for the bracelet. as MLE and the band were getting ready to say their goodbyes at the end of Piece of My Heart, i held up a sign that read:

"After 97 shows...

It's Never Enough!"

MLE spotted it and responded, "97? only 3 more" (to make 100 even). i shrugged and nodded - believe me, if i could have fit in 3 more shows, i would have, but it just wasn't in the cards. oh, well.

all i wanted was a handshake. maybe an extra squeeze or extra longer grab. but for MLE to remove her leather band and give it to me...well, color me speechless.

you can see me holding the bracelet on my friend, Kim's, 2006 Tour page at http://tinyurl.com/kqjqw. you can also see various photos of MLE wearing the bracelet during the show.

*rhondda*

[bstrongspeaktru]

this probably sounds bad, but i had heard that at one show (not on this tour) someone was able to get MLE to give them the studded leather cuff bracelet she was wearing that night -- the one she wore last night was the same one she wore at Canandaigua and i so desperately wanted it! i was ready to show her my wrist tattoo of her 'symbol' maybe as a little bargaining chip to get the bracelet, but was too chicken when the time came.

i don't know if you're referring to my experience, but MLE gave me her leather (not-studded) bracelet at the end of the last Greek show in 2006. it's embossed leather.

i did not expect it nor ask for the bracelet. as MLE and the band were getting ready to say their goodbyes at the end of Piece of My Heart, i held up a sign that read:

"After 97 shows...

It's Never Enough!"

MLE spotted it and responded, "97? only 3 more" (to make 100 even). i shrugged and nodded - believe me, if i could have fit in 3 more shows, i would have, but it just wasn't in the cards. oh, well.

all i wanted was a handshake. maybe an extra squeeze or extra longer grab. but for MLE to remove her leather band and give it to me...well, color me speechless.

you can see me holding the bracelet on my friend, Kim's, 2006 Tour page at http://tinyurl.com/kqjqw. you can also see various photos of MLE wearing the bracelet during the show.

*rhondda*

I still regret not running off with it when you let me check it out...

[nybabe58]

this probably sounds bad, but i had heard that at one show (not on this tour) someone was able to get MLE to give them the studded leather cuff bracelet she was wearing that night -- the one she wore last night was the same one she wore at Canandaigua and i so desperately wanted it! i was ready to show her my wrist tattoo of her 'symbol' maybe as a little bargaining chip to get the bracelet, but was too chicken when the time came.

i don't know if you're referring to my experience, but MLE gave me her leather (not-studded) bracelet at the end of the last Greek show in 2006. it's embossed leather.

i did not expect it nor ask for the bracelet. as MLE and the band were getting ready to say their goodbyes at the end of Piece of My Heart, i held up a sign that read:

"After 97 shows...

It's Never Enough!"

MLE spotted it and responded, "97? only 3 more" (to make 100 even). i shrugged and nodded - believe me, if i could have fit in 3 more shows, i would have, but it just wasn't in the cards. oh, well.

all i wanted was a handshake. maybe an extra squeeze or extra longer grab. but for MLE to remove her leather band and give it to me...well, color me speechless.

you can see me holding the bracelet on my friend, Kim's, 2006 Tour page at http://tinyurl.com/kqjqw. you can also see various photos of MLE wearing the bracelet during the show.

*rhondda*

I still regret not running off with it when you let me check it out...

pst!! BSST.....(waving)come on over here..got something for you contact me

[mleaddict]

this probably sounds bad, but i had heard that at one show (not on this tour) someone was able to get MLE to give them the studded leather cuff bracelet she was wearing that night -- the one she wore last night was the same one she wore at Canandaigua and i so desperately wanted it! i was ready to show her my wrist tattoo of her 'symbol' maybe as a little bargaining chip to get the bracelet, but was too chicken when the time came.

i don't know if you're referring to my experience, but MLE gave me her leather (not-studded) bracelet at the end of the last Greek show in 2006. it's embossed leather.

i did not expect it nor ask for the bracelet. as MLE and the band were getting ready to say their goodbyes at the end of Piece of My Heart, i held up a sign that read:

"After 97 shows...

It's Never Enough!"

MLE spotted it and responded, "97? only 3 more" (to make 100 even). i shrugged and nodded - believe me, if i could have fit in 3 more shows, i would have, but it just wasn't in the cards. oh, well.

all i wanted was a handshake. maybe an extra squeeze or extra longer grab. but for MLE to remove her leather band and give it to me...well, color me speechless.

you can see me holding the bracelet on my friend, Kim's, 2006 Tour page at http://tinyurl.com/kqjqw. you can also see various photos of MLE wearing the bracelet during the show.

*rhondda*

yes! that's what i was referring to! how lucky for you...i knew it had to be something special for MLE to do something like that! 97 shows..wow. i'm impressed! now i feel even sillier for thinking a tattoo would get me her bracelet!

[Eagle Feather]

i'm still working on my review of the concert! i'll post it very soon!


eagle

[sevenwonders81]

The Ottawa show was smoking hot !!!! I was so c\glad to hear Shrner's Park as it is one of my songs. The crowd was a little restless it seemed at times but not for long as she along with all of us in the front few rows sang our hearts out and with the first few rows dancing and clapping up a storm it was only a mtter of time before the entire audience was on it's feet hanging on every word. There was one older lady dressed in Blue who was at the front of the stage with resting her arm against her head sighing and looking bored to death. At times I thought she was asleep. Anytiome I clapped or sang and made noises she gave me this look of death !!! As for the concvert review I agree with eagle _Feather about the review in the paper as it sounds like he didn't understand the concept of the album/tour. I thought this show was better then then Ottawa 06

Matt

[adam_eve]

OMG My friend Deb saw me on the NEW RO on Monday Night. She saw the back of my head rocking out and knew right away it was me