MDA Concert in Dallas
by Lisa
May 8, 2001
I attended the Billy/Martina MDA concert in Dallas, and I suspect that I have
never enjoyed an evening more! This was not only my first time to see Billy
perform live, but also (if you can believe it) one of the very few times I
have ever attended a non-classical concert. It was certainly an exciting
change, I can tell you that!
I flew up to Dallas from Houston, rented a car, and drove over to Fort Worth
to pick up a young friend of mine - a professional member of the Texas Boys
Choir, actually, who is a month younger than Billy. (If you are an adult and
do not have close friends who are children, I highly recommend that you find
some. It adds an amazing dimension to your life.) We arrived at the Smirnoff
around twilight - it's an outdoor amphitheater, with covered seating near
the stage (we were front and center, in the fourth row!) and lawn seating
further back. It was a very warm, wet, humid evening - there had been
thunderstorms earlier in the day - but that didn't stop hundreds of people
from turning out. And at 7:15, when Billy, clad in his familiar black leather
pants and jacket and looking for the world like a renegade Raphaelite angel,
came literally bounding out onto the stage belting out his new single "She's
My Girl," he instantly became the only thing that mattered to any of us.
The entire audience was clearly in love with him, both adults and children
alike - Billy is irresistible, radiating an infectious energy and joie de
vivre that seem limitless. And he immediately and effortlessly took control
of the crowd - within moments we were only too willing to do whatever he
asked, whether it was to clap our hands, or wave our arms, or stand, or
yell at the top of our voices, or sing along. We called out to him, and
whistled, and threw flowers, and laughed with him, and cried as he pulled
up a stool to deliver perfectly gorgeous renditions of "Oklahoma" and his
beautiful new ballad "Elizabeth." He sang his heart out for us - with each
successive selection, his voice displayed by turns excitement, tenderness,
humor, emotion - and through them all, the unique and intense beauty, clarity,
and power that never fail to astonish. He literally jumped up and down with
excitement during one of his old favorites, "I Wanna Get to Ya," then blew
us out of the water with his new, very tricky tongue-twister "You Don't
You Won't" - he didn't drop a single word, all the while canvassing the
stage, waving at people, pointing and winking at the excited young girls
holding up placards. (In the business world, we call that "multi-tasking!")
He sang at least one other of his new songs - "She's Everything You Want,"
I believe.
Although his youthful enthusiasm and spontaneity continue to shine through,
when you watch Billy these days you immediately notice how polished he is now,
how professional - he has the air of a confident, comfortable, "veteran"
performer. I am a singer myself, and I notice that his pitch is consistent
and dead-center now, and that he continues to develop the nuances of his
voice control, making that amazing instrument do exactly what he wants.
I know he claims that his voice has already begun to change, but it wasn't
immediately apparent to me. His speaking voice is still high and transparent,
and he is still singing in an unchanged range. Possibly he's singing, on average,
about a third lower than before - I couldn't tell if the old songs had been
transposed down or not. I believe him, of course; he knows his own voice better
than anyone else (except perhaps Angela Bacari!) - so my conclusion is that he
is having the smoothest transition I have ever witnessed, which could only be
due to endless and diligent vocal exercise and coaching. My hat is off to the
two of them!
Billy closed with the exquisite neo-anthem "One Voice," presented the MDA with
a large check (which seemed to give him very genuine pleasure), and bid us a
warm and - it seemed - lingering farewell. (I later learned that although he
was rushing off to goodness knows where, he - always thinking of others -
took the time afterwards to autograph t-shirts for the two particularly
adoring little girls who sat in front of me.) I bought a black-and-orange
Billy baseball cap for my young escort; hugged, chatted with and exchanged
numbers with a woman who recognized me (!) from backstage at the Houston
Rodeo; and then thoroughly enjoyed Martina McBride's mind-blowing performance.
(Ironically, I first learned of Martina through Billy, when I heard him sing a
few lines of "Broken Wing" on Oprah.) She slipped in more than one plug for
Billy; she clearly loves him too. For example, while singing "Somewhere Over
the Rainbow," she changed the words slightly to say "…and all the dreams that
you DARE TO DREAM really do come true" - emphasizing those three words,
gesturing with her hands, and giving us a knowing look.
Arriving home in Houston, I found my Billy computer screen topper in the
mailbox (I was a winner in the "Dare to Dream" web contest). This truly
memorable and wonderful weekend surpassed all expectations, and I am eagerly
anticipating my new CD and autographed poster from countrystars.com!
Happy Dare to Dream Day! ~ Lisa
© 2001 Lisa, All Rights Reserved (05/08/01)
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