2013. június 2., vasárnap

There was a concert ... - Josh Groban, Vienna 2013.05.30.


When somebody talks about music or singing voice, one name comes to my mind for years. The name is Josh Groban.
On 30th of May I overheard a conversation in the Wiener Stadthalle (Halle F), when we were waiting for the Josh show. A young woman said: „The stage is not that stunning.” Then her fiancé glanced at her with a knowing smile onhis face and said: „ Believe me, the stage is not the main thing tonight.”
I think this was the simplest truth that I heard in that evening. Because the main point was that: who and not what was on the stage.

That night Josh Groban was on the stage with the GroBand. That Josh Groban who is the living proof that what is needed to the real music is the intrinsic value not the parade.

When Josh came to the stage, his clothes were simple as usual. He wore white shirt, tight, black jeans, and white converse. But when he began to sing that simplicity was redefined. Singing seems to be a simple thing when he sings.  His voice is silky but strong, and so smooth. And he is a real master of his voice and his vocal cords. And he plays with this instrument as well as he plays with the heart and emotion of his audience.

He opened with Brave, and then came False Alarms. The audience greeted him with a great ovation. Then Josh asked Christian to translate his greeting words to German. Of course Christian did it so willingly and so wrongly. Josh talked about art, hospitality and food, Christian talked about women, after-party and free alcohol.

One of the funniest moments was when Josh poked fun at the security guys of Stadthalle. They were so strict! If somebody raised the camera up, they run there, flashed with their flashlight and said: "Don't do it!" Once a guard snatched the camera from a woman's hand! Then Josh said something like this: “Security guys, you're doing more exercise than me!" And he mimicked them! He run left and right, up and down on the stage, pretended he flashed with flashlight and when he saw a man holding a camera, he acted like he shot him with his invisible shotgun. It was hilarious! But after that the security guys eased the strictness.

The next highlight for me (of course beside the songs) was the Q&A. The first question was something like this: “When you are in the shower, have you ever thought about that how great it would be to take photos of the audience during the shows? If you have not, you can start it tonight”. Josh was joking around a little bit over the question, but of course he invited the girl to the stage. He sat down to the end of the stage, put his arm around the girl’s shoulder and called the audience to take photos.

Second question was Hildegard’s, who wanted to dance wiener waltz with Josh. The dance section was hysterical. Unfortunately Hildegard fell to the stage, but luckily she didn’t get injured. Josh gave her a bottle of Gatorade, and his drumsticks after the Voce existe em mim. And she got photos with him, of course.

Third question was whether Josh could pronounce a long, strange German word. He tried but failed   Christian helped him out, but he didn’t even know what that word meant.

After a few songs Christian made his solo and Josh came back to the stage and drummed, then Voce existe em mim began. This was the moment when the audience stood up as one man to dance and clap and sing. Josh and the whole band were surprised in a good way. They were so happy with our energy and we were so happy because we could give them our love.

When they were playing Machine, the party began again. Hundreds of people ran to the stage to dance, sing and clap. And those who stayed at their seat like me and my family didn’t sit down anymore.  Oh, and the delicious chocolate piano from us, Hungarian fans was given to Josh during the party at the stage.
Final song was I Believe When I Fall in Love. There was a storm of cheers and applause that I’ve never heard before. Then Josh and the Band came back with Awake and You Raise Me Up. After it the applause continued, thus Josh came back again with Ruslan, and he sang Smile.
It was a sensational night! Josh’s voice was unbelievably, amazingly beautiful. Those low notes when he sang Alla Luce or Sincera ... goosebumps! And his humor was in a very good shape, too.  He was beautiful in and out.

GroBand was great, too, as usual, as well as the local musicians and the choir.

There was no signing after the show, because it was raining, but a few vigilant fans met Josh at the tour bus for a moment, and one of my good friends got an autograph from him and another one could say him how she loved the new arrangement of Awake. And he was so happy about it!

These few hours were like a moment. But it was a beautiful, unforgettable moment.
Here is the set list, but not in the correct order, I guess:

Brave
Falls Alarms
February Song
Un Alma Mas
Vincent
Alla Luce del Sole
Hollow Talk
Sincera
Happy in My Heartache
Christian solo and the Band
Voce Existe em Mim
The Moon's a Harsh Mistress
Falling Slowly
To Where You Are
Machine
I Believe When I Fall in Love
Awake
YRMU
Smile
 
 
 


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