GA ITHER HOMECOMING CONCERT TAPING
NEW YORK, NY
APRIL 4, 2002
(and trip report...)
This trip to New York was tied in with a visit to my parents in Connecticut two days before the New York Homecoming taping. And, it started in the usual fashion. On Sunday night before I was scheduled to leave, the latest version of the ever changing Minneapolis-St. Paul weather forecast was now predicting 1-3 inches of snow. It never fails. Every single time I have flight plans, a storm of some sort is predicted. But, every time I travel, I would recruit prayer warriors to pray away the storm in time for me to leave. The last few times, it worked. All I needed to do here was get to Chicago to make my connection. How hard could that be? So, Jodie, Nana, Dunc, Crafter and other chat room prayer folks got down to business on my behalf. They did it. I had clear, sunny weather from Minneapolis to Chicago Midway and New York-LaGuardia, having traveled through three airports and Grand Central Station in a 12 hour stretch.
Now, appreciate just how supernatural this was. When I arrived at my parents' home in Connecticut sometime after 4 pm that day, imagine my shock when I turned on the Weather Channel and saw Chicago-Midway being pelted with heavy snow! At the same time, good old Twin Cities was getting hit with 3-5 inches of snow! Then panic set in. Here I was 1000 miles from home, 5 inches of snow piling up, and no one to shovel my walk for three days. My snow removal contract ended March 31. In Minneapolis, you can get hassled if your walk is not clear by 24 hours after a snowfall. Oh well, what could I do but let go and let God...
Next day I took the train into New York. After I checked into my hotel, I checked my messages and had a message from the snow removal folks. They called the night before and asked if I wanted them to come shovel that evening. Hoping it wasn't too late, I managed to reach them, told them I was in New York and they arranged to have someone clear my walk. God is so good!!
When it comes to eating in New York,
my opinion is, forget all the sit-down restaurants, especially the pricey ones.
Head yourself over to one of those Broadway type delis, like on 54th and
Broadway, that have the salad and food bars. This is eating heaven. You name it,
they've got it. At about $5 per pound a good deal, but I just piled up my dish
and I didn't CARE what the final total was!
And if you're into pizza, try any Ray's Pizza you find around the city,
especially the spinach and chicken pizza.
In short, the performance itself was phenomenal. It was supposed to be four hours, but it went four and a half. I won't do my usual song by song performance rundown because there was much too much to note. Thus, I will just note a few highlights and personal observations.
The taping itself was an interesting experience. The stage manager led us through various types of applause at the beginning. There were a few flubs and sound pops, but it ran pretty seamless through most of the evening. (Having been through so many live broadcasts of the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion", I was almost looking for the Brandenburg concerto theme "from Minnesota Public Radio" incue at the top! )
Perhaps the thing that stood out for me the most was how secular music played a part in this show. Besides some of the patriotic themed music, Stephen Hill did "Lean On Me" and Jessy Dixon brought out a special surprise guest: Paul Simon. I was very pleased at the reception that this Gospel music audience gave these parts of the program. I grew up on pop and rock and roll music, 75 miles from where this show took place. Songs from that time period meant a lot to me then, and still do. Having "Bridge Over Troubled Water" co-exist with the Southern Gospel songs of the evening was a special touch. Thank you, Bill, for stepping out of the comfort zone and having the vision to make this happen. (By the way--Jessy Dixon backed Paul Simon on his hit "Loves Me Like A Rock" but they didn't do that one. Instead, they did another Gospel themed tune that Paul recorded years ago, "Gone At Last".)
Wait till you see Mark in his Porter Waggoner type outfit and hear his parody of "You Needed Me". I had also been tipped off to listen for a new song written by Woody Wright. It was a love song (written also with Bill and Gloria and Mark) from God to New York City, wrapped in that satin blanket of Mark's voice.
Other guest highlights were George Beverly Shea (the man's voice is incredible for 93, bless his heart!), and Natalie Grant--I've been very impressed with her singing, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear her. It was just one spectacular thing after another--Sandi Patti and Larnelle Harris doing "More Than Wonderful", Kim and Dean Hopper and Ann Downing doing a patriotic medley, David Phelps bringing down the house with "End of the Beginning", the Martins rocking with "So High", and of course, "Let Freedom Ring" with the GVB. I could go on and on ..
One surprising absence was a solo from Anthony and his "Let Freedom Ring" album. That seemed peculiar to me, it being a patriotic themed show and all--I would have thought it would be natural for Anthony to do a song, which I thought for sure would bring the audience to its feet. Speaking of which, I think I gave most everyone a standing ovation that night. I've said before that the excitement of these Homecoming shows have matched, if not surpassed, many of the experiences I've had in my rock concert going youth. And of course, it goes without saying that it's a whole different spirit here....
One critical point here, however. I was not overly impressed with Carnegie Hall itself. I had a first tier balcony seat, and I had no idea why it was higher priced than the floor seats. It's okay if you like that sort of thing, but turned out to be frustrating if you like to be where the action is. I also did not think the sound acoustics were exceptional from there--I didn't hear all the lyrics clearly in some spots. I think the nearly comparable Fitzgerald Theater (smaller but similar setup) in St. Paul is better. Also, the balcony boxes tended to get a bit cramped as more people showed up. Many people were left standing in the rain waiting to get in and the hall got overcrowded--the doors did not open until 6:30 (show started 7 p.m). I also found the ushers to be abrupt, and just plain rude as the show ended. They obviously had no understanding of, or patience for, the relationship between the Homecoming artists and their fans. The ushers constantly yelled at us to get moving and made several snide remarks about "we have to get up for work the next day--don't you people?"
I heard that the Homecoming folks would not be doing product sales at the Carnegie Hall taping. A bummer, since I thought that would be the way to finally meet Ann Downing, say hi to Mark, Anthony and a few others. I didn't have any clout to go backstage like more elite folks, so something else needed to happen to make it happen. Maybe some fate could be orchestrated by being at the right place at the right time.
See, I make a lousy "groupie". I don't like to hang out around places waiting for people because I don't want to look obvious. I've also been known to let things slip by because I get shy sometimes about talking to someone I hadn't met. I really need that structure of the artists selling at tables to be the most comfortable about all this.
I stayed at the Park Central, kitty corner from Carnegie Hall. My normal routine in New York is just get out and walk, to wherever my feet happen to go (sometimes that's 10-15 blocks--then I realize I have to come back...). Tuesday evening, I was out, it started getting dark and I didn't want to venture far--there wasn't much in the area except restaurants and (closed) gift shops. I walked across the street in front of a cafe next to the Wellington Hotel...and who do I see coming out of there but Buddy Greene and Guy Penrod! I said a very surprised hello to them. I figured at least Buddy Greene might recognize me, since we'd met twice before...but it took him a bit to remember who I was. I had the feeling I'd frightened these guys, as if perhaps I was one of those characters you find on New York City corners pushing jewelry or some agenda. But both Buddy and Guy were very gracious as I explained I had come from "MinneSNOWta" to see the show. I thanked them for chatting and they headed off to the theater for the evening rehearsal. After that, I decided I wouldn't try that method again to meet folks.
The next morning, I set out on my usual "walking New York City" routine. I spent most of the morning at a music shop trying out all kinds of CDs on their headphones. On the way back to the hotel, an odd bookshop next to Carnegie Hall called "the Mysterious Bookstore" caught my eye, so I did a little window shopping there. All of a sudden, I start seeing familiar faces. Jeff Easter and Lynda Randle headed into the side entrance of Carnegie Hall next to the bookstore. Then I look up again, and who is coming toward me but Ivan Parker and Mark Lowry! I pointed at Mark and he pointed at me, and he gave me a hug (I figured I wouldn't scare him because he already knew me fairly well). He asked me where I was sitting, and I told him where and how glad I was having made it through my ordeal out here just in time escaping 5 inches of snow. He said he was glad I was there, then he and Ivan headed inside. (Poor Ivan. It pretty much looked like I forgot about him. I didn't mean to...I was just so caught up with talking to Mark). Later that day, I spotted several of the artists out and about around the hotel area...and even met up with Buddy again. I profusely apologized to him for "scaring" him the night before. He smiled and said I hadn't.
Still one more meeting mission to accomplish: I wanted to meet Ann Downing, since I've been part of her warm, wonderful FANNtastics community for nearly a year now. I was starting to lose hope until the end of the show. I inched my way down to the stage, where luckily she still was standing. I called out to her and we finally connected. I flashed my FANNtastic button for her and her manager, Stephen Hubbard (also known as "Stephenfork" and other affectionate nicknames). I also got to chat with Jonathan Martin afterward. And I caught a hug from Anthony as he wandered through the crowd that was waiting for the doors to open.
The "fan fare" wasn't over when the show was. The next morning at LaGuardia, the Isaacs were on the same flight as I was. I spoke to Lily Isaacs briefly, and she was very warm and gracious.
Unfortunately, the nature of this show's setup and the time schedules of the artists didn't lend itself to the usual picture taking and quality time more likely found at a normal Homecoming concert. And due to the aforementioned crowd issues, I'm sorry to say I missed just about all the other G-Netters I hoped to meet, except Penny and Penny's mom, who sat with me in the balcony while Penny took the smart road and used her floor seats! To those who took time to talk and hug while on the way to various stages of this whole event, you continue to remind me just how thankful I am for all the relationships that have been formed. You deserve all the love, blessings and good things that come your way.
One special night, and a couple of special videos to come. Enjoy!