Hayley in Madison, Wisconsin - December 18th & 19th, 2014

[frenchie]

Thank you Richard and Paul (comet) for the advice!

Glad that you were able to make it Larry! Wondered what happened to ya. Hopefully, I can meet you next time! Hope your shoulder gets better!

Ok. Here's my attempt for my first picture:



This is a larger version of my username picture. This is when I met Hayley on Friday night.
Alicia

[Libby]

Larry, it may be 2016 before we get to see her, but you never know!

Thanks for sharing your photo, Alicia. I notice with some resentment that now that I was gone, they decide to direct the photos away from the restroom sign. But thankfully my photo has been fixed, thanks to Nhat.

[Joe]

Hi all

One thing is quite clear...these two concerts in Madison will be a stepping stone for future American performances.  

That is a beautiful photo of Alicia and Hayley!  Alicia, your avatar wins my blue ribbon. 

Larry, hope your shoulder is feeling better.  

[frenchie]

Thank you Joe for your kind words.

Libby - When they started the meet and greets on Friday night, some of the fans at the beginning of the line mentioned the bathroom sign to Hayley and the security officer taking everyone's photos. At that point, they steered away from it.

I know that Bob has asked twice about the attendance of the concerts, and I would say pretty good all things considered. No the theatre was not sold out both nights; they didn't even have the balcony open both nights. I noticed that on Thursday night, several tables were completely empty out of about fifty tables. Four per table. The general admission was 80-85% full on the entry level floor. On Friday night, everything on the entry level floor was full- both in general admission and the table seating. The people I talked to beside me, all came to hear Hayley and some remembered her concert with WCO ten years earlier. I got the feeling when talking to these people that they were Hayley fans moreover than WCO fans, except for the crowd who remembers the great concert she put on ten years earlier with WCO.




On Friday night, I decided to wait until everyone else who wanted to meet Hayley and have her sign something go before me. I figured since I got everything I wanted Hayley to sign happen on Thursday night (all my cd booklets), that anything else would be extra. And since I had my chance, I was letting everyone else have theirs. I didn't want to wait at the end of the line standing in high heels, so I decided to sit on one of the couches until the line died down. As I was sitting and waiting, an older man came up to the couch and asked if he could sit at the other end. I said "Sure", and he sat.

We started talking about the concert, and how it was great. I told him I came to both shows. He asked me which concert I thought was better. I said that both were really amazing, but were different. If I had to choose I would say Thursday because I was fan girling every time Hayley came on the stage and before and after every one of her songs. It was just magical that night because of the surprise factor and the first time. But Friday was great too! I was more settled since I know all the surprises and heard the songs once, so I could really concentrate on the songs and performance much better. If that makes sense.

I mentioned how I was enjoying Madison since I never been there. He asked me where I was from and my purpose to Madison. I responded that I was from South Carolina and there for Hayley's concerts. He has completely surprised! I explained that Hayley doesn't perform in the States very often so I thought I would take the opportunity. He then proceeded to tell me that he was the owner of the theater! He moved from Greece (he talked with a thick accent which made it tough to understand him at times and limited in English), and bought the theater three years ago. He has since been fixing it up since it was in pretty bad shape when he bought it. He said that the theater is beautiful and acoustically perfect venue for concerts, etc. I agreed and said I loved the character of the building and how it set a really great atmosphere. I am use to arenas for my concerts, but they are horrible for concerts and very functional in style. I asked him if the concerts were sold out? No he responded. He explained that WCO is use to giving free concerts on the square, and this is the first one where they charged a ticket fee for their show and inside a proper venue. Many of their fans probably didn't feel like coming out due to the fact they could see them for free all the other times. But the people leaving both nights that do follow WCO will tell their friends what a wonderful concert they saw. And through word of mouth, the fans of WCO will turn out the next time they perform at the theater and they charge admission due to it being far superior of a performance. He also said the theater hold 1800 to 2000 max with the balcony in use. When I recalled this to one of my coworkers, he made the comment that this may be something the owner wants to believe so he can sleep at night. So I guess you need to take the last bit with a grain of salt.

Anyways, it was my turn to be surprised. The owner told me that he was informed earlier that day from "the conductor" that Hayley was sick. I asked if it was both nights, and he didn't know about Thursday but definitely for Friday. He asked me if I could tell if she was sick, and any difference from both nights. I said "No". He proceeded to say Hayley is very professional and didn't bail out on the concert and gave a fine performance. He was impressed by her professionalism, talent, and generosity in still meeting the fans afterwards. He had nothing but praise for Hayley! He asked me not to mention it to Hayley or tell anyone I knew about it. Hayley didn't want anyone to know. The only reason I'm mentioning this tidbit is I still remember how amazed I was at the respect and admiration he showed towards Hayley. And in light of all the details, his comments have more weight than the usual praise she receives and we have come to expect. And an example to me of how great an artist and person Hayley is.

At this point, the line had died down and I thanked him for letting Hayley come to his venue and looked forward to her coming back. We both parted ways. I saw him as I was leaving after my few minutes on Friday with Hayley coming up to the table to have Hayley sign a much bigger poster from her concerts and got pictures with Hayley and his granddaughter who helps him run the theater.




I apologize for my super long post. You guys are going to hate me when I finish all my pictures and concert reports. lol But I feel I need to write down everything soon before I forget....so later I can come back and re-read my comments and remember my magical trip to Madison WI.
Alicia

[gillette]

Hi Alicia,
Thank you for the attendance information. You painted the picture well.
I found your post very, very interesting. A good in-depth analysis of the occasion, and reading about your meeting with the owner was enjoyable.
No apologies whatsoever needed for that post!
BobS

[Libby]

Jan 2, 2015 3:39:39 GMT frenchie said:

Anyways, it was my turn to be surprised. The owner told me that he was informed earlier that day from "the conductor" that Hayley was sick. I asked if it was both nights, and he didn't know about Thursday but definitely for Friday. He asked me if I could tell if she was sick, and any difference from both nights. I said "No". He proceeded to say Hayley is very professional and didn't bail out on the concert and gave a fine performance. He was impressed by her professionalism, talent, and generosity in still meeting the fans afterwards. He had nothing but praise for Hayley! He asked me not to mention it to Hayley or tell anyone I knew about it. Hayley didn't want anyone to know. The only reason I'm mentioning this tidbit is I still remember how amazed I was at the respect and admiration he showed towards Hayley. And in light of all the details, his comments have more weight than the usual praise she receives and we have come to expect. And an example to me of how great an artist and person Hayley is.

That's exciting that you got to meet the owner of the theater. I'm glad it was "one of us". LOL

In my review, I hinted that I wondered if she was sick (actually my words were "I hope she's not getting sick!"), only because on the first notes of Amalia, I thought she sounded the tiniest bit scratchy, and immediately wondered if this was from a throat issue.

Then, upon listening to Nhat's videos, I did think she sounded sick, and I did notice that her performance of the songs was a teensy-tiny bit less perfect (notice I did say perfect, LOL) than the night before, though the fact that it was a recording from a phone may have had an affect on the sound quality. However, the thing that tipped me off.. I don't really know how to describe it, so forgive me if this sounds awful... Behind all the beautiful sounds of her voice, there was this very slight hint that there was mucous slightly hindering her voice. I noticed it because I've heard so many of her concert videos, recordings, etc., that I notice when there's something slightly off. Also, I have this weird knack for noticing tiny details like this, and for interpreting details: why something is happening the way it is, why something sounds a certain way, why someone makes a certain expression. I know what it's like to sing with a sore throat or a cold, and I know how it feels and sounds to myself. It's almost like when I hear it, I can feel it at the same time. Like when somebody yawns, it makes you feel yawny. LOL So, when I hear it from somebody else, I can easily "diagnose" it. Oh, and because, even now, exactly 2 weeks after the concert, I can still hear how perfect her voice sounded in my head, and I couldn't help but notice that her notes weren't held quite as strong, and that her phrasing was less smooth. It was almost as if she was straining a bit. I'm not saying she didn't sound good, remember, I said a teeny, tiny bit less PERFECT. Key word is PERFECT, here.

[Richard]

Hello Alicia!

Many thanks for your fabulous report. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your photographs, and I hope it won't be too long before you see Hayley again.

Best wishes,

Richard

[martindn]

What is for sure is that Hayley will put herself through a lot to avoid disappointing her audiences. These thinks happen, I have a nasty cold and cough myself at the moment that is preventing me from visiting my little granddaughter among other things.
One occasion I will never forget is Hayley's concert at the Derngate Northampton in November 2008 - it was guy Fawkes Night as I remember. I remember thinking that she seemed a bit subdued in the first half of the show, but for her finale, Wuthering Heights, she pulled all the stops out and gave a fabulous performance.
It has only when we met her at the stage door after the show that we realised how sick she was with bronchitis, but despite that she was still insisting on keeping up with her gruelling schedule of concerts, TV and Charity events. She really does hate letting people down. I went home really concerned for her, I could see she was driving herself into the ground. And so it proved of course.
So I'm sure despite being ill she would still do her best to give a good performance. Which from the reports I've seen, she clearly did.
Hope she is better now.

Martin D

[comet]

Hi Alicia,
wonderful detailed report, If you don't write it down it can slip from your mind quite quickly.
I went back to a concert thread from five years ago looking for some detail or another and I was most surprised to find a concert report there that I had written ( I had completely forgotten writing it)
and when I read it, it brought back all the amazing feelings the songs had brought me through that wonderful night, and you just go WOW ,, I was THERE.

coincidentally Nana Mouskouri the most wonderful singer from Greece came from a family who owned a cinema / Theatre

[frenchie]

This is the reason I didn't bother with my pictures and posting my concert reports as soon as I got home. I was busy trying to get these beauties hanging in my office. I wanted something to look at than the grey walls....and my boxes!



A closer look at the poster:


Here is the other side of my office:



And again, a closer look:



I got these signed on Friday night. As you can see with the second poster, Hayley botched her name a little, but it makes it more real! I got the posters after I asked about them on Thursday night. As my dad tells me, if you don't ask, then you may never get a yes. And you already had a no so you have nothing to lose.

I feel a little embarrass that I was a little bit of a "sign hog", but I did wait of Friday as I said earlier. And on Friday night I got out of the theater at 10:40PM instead of 11:00PM, so I feel I wasn't holding Hayley up too much. I hope not! Anyways, these are the cd booklets I got signed on Thursday night. This is my whole Hayley collection so far....



Most of these are imports, so it has been a costly little collection for me compared to like Celine or Sarah.
Anyways, Downton Abbey is coming on here so I got to go! lol
Alicia

[Joe]

Hello Alicia,  

I really enjoyed the photos of your signed posters, and of your autographed CD booklets!  

Thank you for sharing! 

[comet]

Wow !
That is some collection,
Might I recommend the DVDs A new journey and of course Hayley's Live in New Zealand.

The sound quality on DVDs is usually better than a CD if played through your stereo
and of course A new Journey was filmed in Ireland and Hayley is quite spectacular and amusing on it.

You might find this thread of interest hwi.proboards.com/thread/1025/crystal-cathedral-usa-6-2007

Crystal Cathedral

[frenchie]

Sorry to take so long to get back to you comet.

The crystal cathedral thread was an interesting read. Typed in the program name into ebay, and didn't find a copy of it. Just curious, what made you think of this performance? And I wonder how many of these rare one-off DVD's like crystal cathedral that are now out of print exist? All I know of is the northern Ireland Treasure concert DVD. For you guys who have copies, these are definite collector items.

I will work on getting A New Journey and LINZ DVDs. ;0 Right now, I'm really busy at work with it being tax season here in the USA, and I'm an accountant. But when things calm down, I'll look around. I still have two of the three CDs I brought in November to listen to. Embarrassing, I know. I have a crazy little rule for myself, and that I want a quiet time when I'm not tired and really listen to the CD for the first time. And with the busy time at work and the Holiday festivities, I just have not gotten to them.
Alicia

[frenchie]

I can't believe that earlier this week, marked one month since these beautiful concerts!

Thought I would put up a few more pictures in light of the one month mark here.



Me meeting Hayley on Thursday night.





Picture of me in front of the stage before the concert on Thursday and Friday nights.



Picture of me inside the Capital building. Thanks to Nhat for taking the picture for me! =)



Promo outside the theatre for the show.

My favorites in the show was My Heart Belongs to You, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, La Califfa, Wuthering Heights, Amazing Grace, Bridge over Troubled Water, and I Dreamed a Dream. Peace Shall Come was my favorite Christmas song. When I listened to Winter Magic, I was not impressed with Hayley's version of The Christmas Song. I have heard of better versions. But in the concert, I rather liked it - not a highlight, but a good performance. I wished that Amalia Por Amour was later in the concert since I was in a surreal place for the first three songs Hayley sang. It took me that long to settle into the concert! lol All I know is that I wished I could have attended one of the Paradiso concerts where most of those songs where performed. The two performed were excellent and definite highlights. I just looked at the setlist again, and I can't believe I forgot Summer Fly and You Raise Me Up! Goodness, I think that makes the whole concert I liked! lol

Anyways, I hope Hayley gives us enough of a heads up on her concert schedule when she does tour again for this new album. I think it's a perfectly good excuse to visit the UK/Ireland and see your wonderful countries while catching a few great shows! Assuming she doesn't start in the USA first, and there is space between the different legs of the tour.

The last thing that has been on my mind since the concerts is the fact I asked Hayley why does Dark Waltz and Summer Rain never get performed on Thursday. Her response was that she was told that both songs are hard to arrange for live performances. That whomever does her arrangements when she tours says that the two songs can't be replicated live. She mentioned how everyone is waiting for Dark Waltz for sure! And I think Summer Rain has had a few requests too by the way she answered. What do you guys think? love to hear your opinions.
Alicia

[Libby]

Alicia, I thought of the concert last weekend, too. I don't know why, but now that it's weeks past, it just feels like ages and ages ago. I think it's because the whole experience was just so completely different from my normal schedule, my normal activities, that it's almost like it was a dream (though I remember everything quite well). Right before and after, I was still on my normal schedule. So, it's like I was (literally) whisked away from my "world", and deposited temporarily into a new place, into an experience I'd only ever dreamed of before, never really believing it would ever be possible. It was just a huge, momentous event that stands out in my usual blur of monotony, almost as if it's suspended in time.

I agree with you about Chestnuts: not my favorite Christmas song by anybody, and especially not from Winter Magic, regretfully.

However, I disagree slightly about Amalia. I still remember the emotional experience of seeing Hayley appear on stage for the first time, and her performing a song that evokes so much emotion for me anyway, magnified my awe of seeing Hayley in person for the first time even more. I initially wished the first song wasn't so emotional, because I was afraid I would get too weepy over it all, but when I think back on it, I'm very glad, because the stronge emotion I felt then comes back to me quite keenly when I think back on that moment. It added to the whole experience. So for me, that memory of a song I love so much coupled with Hayley's grand entrance makes for an extra special, wonderful memory that will probably last forever. I'm glad you started the discussion again, because I haven't given it that much thought in a while, and it's making me feel very happy and excited again to think of it once more. And, this is something only a Hayley fan could understand, but this was probably one of the most wonderful, special moments of my life (which hasn't been all THAT long yet).