Oh, goodness, I would have to be closing my eyes just at that moment... No, I was not taking a nap before the concert, I already rested before in my hotel room! LOL
Martin, and everyone else who told me so previously, you are so right. Whatever problems, small or otherwise, had during travelling, are worth the effort to see Hayley. I mean, unless something really horrible happens, but most likely it won't. I just had a few minor awkward, unpleasant moments (mostly in Chicago, LOL). I never really experienced jetlag, per se. But I've come to the conclusion that half the cause of jetlag is just the flying itself, not necessarily just the time change, unless it's a really drastic time change, like Hayley probably is/has been experiencing. My experience in the Chicago airport of walking and dying of heat (dressed for cold weather, of course), and then the long flight from there to Seattle, almost never seeing any land below, and just the weighted down, dragging feeling as if the plane is hardly even moving at all, and sitting there barely moving for hours on end, is very tiring. When I got back I felt very drained and worn down.
But let's get back to the beginning and the Hayley experiences. Please excuse any run-ons or extra long sentences. LOL
When I was about to land in Madison, looking down at the lit up city, the realization hit home to me that Hayley was down there somewhere! It was an astounding thought, because I've never been in the same place as Hayley before... Well, actually, technically, we've been in the same state twice before. She came to Seattle with Il Divo and then CW, and of course I was in WA both times, but not in Seattle. Also, I suppose the knowledge that I would soon actually SEE Hayley there made the thought even more exciting. And then later being in the hotel knowing that she was also probably in another hotel somewhere not far away!
I loved meeting Alicia, Nhat, and Ann and Mara, as well as the others mentioned from the night before. I had no idea who Ann and Mara were, and I wasn't sure if they were on the forum or not, perhaps under different names. But it turns out Mara just reads the forum often enough that she knew who Libby was! LOL I guess everybody did! Pete and I sat at a table at the very front, with a great view of Hayley's spot on the stage. Larry was at a table next to/behind us. He came up to me at the table and chatted a bit. He's a very nice gentleman.
He told me still doesn't like the new forum format, though. Poor Larry.
One of the CW fans who said he was going to the concert, was at our table with a friend of his. It turns out they were from Green Bay, WI. At one point, the CW forum member asked, "Are you Libby?"
His friend described him as being the biggest CW fan you could ever meet, or something like that. I never got their names, but it was nice to talk to them, too. As other fans have said before, it's very nice to be able to talk to other Hayley fans about how wonderful Hayley is, because we all understand each other!
When we first walked into the theatre, it was just mind-blowing to be in front of a theatre with Hayley's name displayed on the lit up sign, a poster on the window, then receiving a program with her picture and name on the front. Then hearing the orchestra warming up... for none other than Hayley! It was just an exciting, unbelievable thought. I still just couldn't believe it. I don't think I really started fully believing it until maybe 10 min. into the concert. LOL
I enjoyed the first piece by the orchestra. Maestro Andrew Sewell, as Hayley kept calling him, was actually quite entertaining to watch while he conducted. His conducting could almost be described as quirky dancing. LOL Later on in the show, I especially enjoyed the Little Bolero Boy. It was a mash-up of the song Bolero and Little Drummer Boy. I thought it was great, very effective arrangement. It made Bolero less monotonous, and LDB less solemn-sounding and slightly more exciting. I've gotten so I don't enjoy hearing those boy choirs singing it anymore. It's either Josh, Hayley, or Bolero Boy for me, I think. LOL
Tim Evans had already arrived on stage before the conductor came out, and we watched him carefully pouring bottled water into Hayley's glass sitting on a stool. At first the stool looked like it was going to be wobbly, but nothing disastrous ever happened with it, luckily. LOL
Now, for the big moment, when Hayley was introduced and walked on. When she emerged from the stage curtain and walked on stage, I can't even think of a word to describe how I felt. All I know is it had a strong effect on me. My heart did a strange squeeze and all the numbness of before, of hardly believing I was really going to see her, all shattered to pieces around me. The excitement and amazement I should have been feeling all along, that I would almost not allow myself to feel from all the distractions, all burst to the surface at once. She was right there, a real person, walking out onto the stage. Her dress was sparkly dark blue and dazzling under the stage lights, her hair was styled gorgeously, her smile was sweet and beautiful, with that beautiful light of hers sparkling from her eyes. This might sound odd, but even her skin looked perfect and pure. I'm so used to seeing her pictures or videos through a computer or TV screen, the fan photos with only the camera's take on how the lighting makes her appear (she looked tan in John's photos from Ireland, but she is not in person, which I can personally attest to! LOL), or on album photos, etc. Seeing her in the "flesh" is a different thing entirely.
Then, with all that emotion bursting inside me, of course she had to sing a song like Amalia Por Amor, to deepen the emotion. Not complaining, to say the least, but I don't like to cry in public. LOL I didn't, but during the song, I did tremble a bit. I was nervous about how she would start out in the song, from hearing fan videos of her first concert songs. She's often a little weak and wavery in the beginning notes. But not here. The only thing I'd say, when she started with the 3 Amalia's, her voice just sounded a tiny bit scratchy (not catching a cold I hope!) But then after that, her voice was at LEAST as perfect and amazing as on the album, probably more, and you could hear the emotion pouring out of her and you could see it on her face. Seeing the emotions on her face that close and in person, made you feel like you were being brought into the emotional experience she herself was feeling (does that make any sense?). I felt like I was starting to make the same expressions as her, I was feeling the emotional connection so much. That probably sounds ridiculous, but it's what it felt like. I am sooo glad I chose to sit at the table. I told Pete that I was glad he chose that particular table. It wasn't dead center, but just off to the left from the center of the stage. I think that was better, because you weren't looking straight up at her, but looking at her from just a slight angle, was the perfect angle, I think. And of course, when she walked to the stool and piano to sip her water (which she did after every single song), you could see her even closer!
I enjoyed every second of the concert. I loved every song she sang. I never once felt disappointed that she didn't sing a certain song, even though there are other songs I would love to hear her sing, none of that even occurred to me during the concert. I just was happy to hear her sing what she did, because it was all positively superb. I even enjoyed Chestnuts! LOL And that's one I say nobody can make me like, not even Hayley. Well, I still can't say I like that song for itself, but I did like hearing Hayley sing it. All of the songs were highlights for me, because the whole concert was the highlight of my life. LOL But my absolute favorites were Amalia, BOTW, IDAD, Amazing Grace, Over the Rainbow, and the last 2 Christmas songs, HYAMLC and White Christmas. I never thought I'd say that about Over the Rainbow or HYAMLC, but ever since she started singing those in recent years, she's made me love them, because she manages to blow you away with the way she sings them. Near the end of OTR, when she was really sounding incredible.. the really climactic part where she says "... far behind ME!!!.... SOMEWHERE Over the Rainbow!!!...etc., I saw the friend of the CW fan at our table do a rapid shake of his head as if he was really, especially being blown away at that moment. I could totally relate, because I felt the same way. Throughout the entire show, Hayley gave me those strange chills I get during really amazingly beautiful music/singing, or beautiful choreography to music, where I feel cold, but then a rush of warmth runs through me at the same time. So when I saw him shake his head, the chills became even stronger. The CW fan himself kept "whooping" after literally every song, and sometimes Hayley smiled bigger and looked out towards the sound.
I think that's all for now. I'll have to share my experience of meeting Hayley next time. I might not have time again till Monday night, since I work till 7pm tomorrow evening, and have to get up early the next morning.
He told me still doesn't like the new forum format, though. Poor Larry. 
One of the CW fans who said he was going to the concert, was at our table with a friend of his. It turns out they were from Green Bay, WI. At one point, the CW forum member asked, "Are you Libby?" 
