First of all, my apologies for failing to make the meet-up. My daughter had a ball the night before (er ... literally, as in Cinderella) and didn't feel like leaving Oxford before 2pm ... and both my children wanted to hear unknown Suzanne Vega (who my daughter has now decided she adores: she had no idea she was the writer of Tom's Diner). Since this was the very first time they have been to one of Leonard's concerts ("Is it all right if we whoop?") I felt constrained to play the good host all evening and stick with them.
We came by coach, train and finally shuttle bus (total time from Oxford via London 3 hours), so it is very interesting to read the chaos that road-users suffered getting to and escaping from the venue. The train and shuttle bus worked really well, the point being that although it was a long and time-consuming journey without a car, at least there were no delays and everything happened pretty much on schedule. (Also the driver, me, could relax throughout!) In fact, I expected a very long wait for the shuttle bus out of the site (everyone leaving at the same time) but it all went smoothly: we were on the station platform at 10.45pm and caught the fast 2302 train into Waterloo.
Someone wrote that one of the entrance roads was blocked off, making the congestion even worse. What I noticed was that the shuttle buses had a dedicated road in and out (presumably, that one), all to themselves, and we absolutely flew along. Even when we reached the snarled up roundabout, there was a bus-lane and we kept on trucking...
So, the lesson learnt is that it is safe to come to BMW World again ... but leave the car behind.
The forecasts were of dire monsoon-weather, so I took the precaution of equipping myself and the children with hideous bright-yellow plastic ponchoes that we could sit on and which covered our knees. We all got through the concert looking outrageous but at least staying dry. The weather was kinder to us than the forecasters predicted, with only significant rain from the second set onwards.
It was very good to hear Heart With No Companion, but I had hoped to hear Avalanche some time in 2008 or 2009
. How interesting that Lover Lover Lover was used at the sound test but not performed. I noticed the first set was a little shorter than usual, so maybe Leonard cancelled it at the last moment, as the rain began.
The children (aged 18 and 20) seemed to enjoy themselves, my son grinning broadly at "Don't like children anyhow", and both even bought T-shirts.
I noticed that Leonard perked up in the second half, probably in response to the warmth being returned by the audience. In particular, when he first came right to the edge of the stage a huge cheer went up which was rather unexpected, so he returned to the very front several times more to be met by cheers of appreciation each time.
He had great fun introducing the Webb Sisters as "from Kent, just around the corner". And when he introduced the band-members for the second time, he actually said "with your permission...". All the jokes were cut, apart from the reference to the organ playing itself (before Tower of Song).
Cyril, welcome to the forum, but I would like to put an alternative point of view:
Cyril wrote:
So Mrs Cyril suggested a walk, which involved ending up in front of the stage for the second half: which was much better -- we could see every detail of Leonard's natty scarf, and now we really felt we were there, until the friendly security staff job's worths took an interest and started hassling everyone back, and soon we were back in our seats in the next county for a spell, until the encores, when we rushed forward (as many seemed to be leaving?!?) ... and there we were at the end, soaked through, but a mere few feet away from the ensemble, yelling along, and having the best time: suddenly it was like a real concert, and made it all worth it.
Forward seats are available if, like me, you are willing to stay up late at night bashing away at the keyboard within minutes of the tickets going on sale. Having got fourth-row tickets so that my children could have the best possible introduction to Leonard, it was infuriating to have people pushing up to the stage at the start of the second set, and at the start of the first encore. My daughter is petite, and everybody standing in front of her made it virtually impossible for her to see what we had paid to see (blocked by interlopers, the front-row had to stand, so the second row had to stand, so the third row had to stand, etc...).
There was one maddening middle-aged woman and her friends, who I would described as wilted flower-power, who were actually
dancing in front of the first row, as if they were at Woodstock. C'mon, pleeeease!
I was very grateful for the crowd-control staff, and wish they had been more assertive (baton-charge, anybody?)
So... the sad reality is that that is probably the last concert of Leonard's I will ever attend.
In 2008, I went to two in Manchester, 17 July O2 London, Bournemouth, Birmingham, Royal Albert Hall, and in 2009 Berlin and Weybridge. So that is a total of eight. Not bad, really.
Glass half-full or glass half-empty?
Half-full, to be sure! When I and others met Leonard at the Green Note Café in Camden in October 2007, although there was talk of a tour none of us really expected it to happen. So here we are, the two-year tour drawing to a close ... and yet somehow it all seems natural and right, and hard to believe that we ever doubted his physical stamina.
So, no need to wait any longer. The Miracle Has Come. Thank you, Leonard.
