Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan Hill Aud, 26 Jun 2009

[Bud]

Coda -- This one's for you!

[Coda]

Bud, this is great news! Yeah!

[Coda]

According to the venue, tickets won't be available to the public until April 27th. That's only two months from the event itself. I hope it'll work out for me...

[Bud]

Good luck Coda! We'll be keeping our eyes open for any presale info...

[Coda]

I just ordered tickets through the pre-sale. First row, right in front. I am SO excited!

[Bud]

Excellent news!! Congratulations Coda

[Bud]

Ann Arbor Summer Festival:

http://www.examiner.com/x-7388-Detroit- ... r-festival

[Coda]

Thanks, Bud. Ann Arbor is a wonderful town.

[Coda]

Okay, this will be a long post, but I hope you'll find it interesting.

I had ordered tickets through the DK Fan Club and reserved excellent seats in Row A almost dead center. However, I wanted to surprise my husband, so I didn't tell him what great seats we got.

We got to Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor around 7:15 p.m. and I had no trouble picking up the tickets at the will-call table. As we were walking into the lobby, we stopped for the attendant to take our ticket stubs and I heard in he walkie-talkie that Diana "wasn't going to give autographs after the show." So I resigned myself to not getting an autograph.

We walked into the auditorium and my husband was, indeed, surprised to see we had seats literally ten feet away from the band.

This concert was part of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, and at 8 p.m., three people affiliated with the Festival welcomed the audience and acknowledged the sponsors. Someone in that group mentioned that she had seen Diana in Ann Arbor 16 years ago, at The Bird of Paradise, wearing a double-breasted pantsuit. Even then, she said, she knew Diana would make it big.

Diana and the guys walked onto the stage about 8:20 p.m. and Diana said it was nice to be "home" because the bassist, Robert Hurst, is from the Detroit area. I can't remember all the songs they played. They opened with "I Love Being Here with You." The third song in, she hadn't yet started seriously chatting with the audience, which I thought was unusual. Instead, Diana went into a meditative and soulful version of "I'll Be There" and followed that with "You May Not Be an Angel." Then she talked about the loss of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett and how music helps us cope.

Later, Diana was joking around and said she learned the next song from Harry Connick Jr., calling him "that hack". She laughed so hard after that joke that she had top wipe a couple tears away. The song was "Where or When."

She said that she had been to three cities that day, including Detroit and Ypsilanti. She described Ypsilanti as the town where "the girls don't wear panties," which was a line from one of Elvis' songs. "Did you know there's actually an Ypsilanti panty company?" she asked the audience. She said that company keeps sending her panties. "Stop already!" she added.

She told some stories about life on the road with two-and-a-half-year-olds and how they like to jump off furniture and how she's gotten hit in the forehead with sippy cups. She joked that she carries paint with her -- in a neutral color -- so she can touch up the hotel rooms after staying there with her kids. She said right now the boys are in New York with Elvis, who was going to feed them a dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes and green peas. The boys like to sing all kinds of songs, she added, but they sing in Elvis' rock-and-roll style. She demonstrated by jerking her head forward to a rock beat while singing a snippet.

The band started to play "One-Note Samba" and when it was time for Diana to start singing, she missed her cue. So everyone laughed and they started over. Once the song was done, Diana joked that she'd have to have a talk with that girl singer in the band.

She said she had wanted to be an astronaut. She was good in science, but threw up on the Tilt-A-Whirl, so she thought she'd keep practicing her music instead. She said she has a friend who's an astronaut and currently aboard the Space Station. So she dedicated "East of the Sun" to him. During the song when the lyrics are "Just you and I," she added, "and him...and him...and him...and a woman!"

The band did "Every Time We Say Goodbye" right before the encore, which I can't remember.

We left the auditorium and wandered toward a band playing outside for the festival. It was a beautiful pleasant evening on the University of Michigan campus. While we were going in the direction of the music shell, I noticed there were people waiting for Diana behind Hill Auditorium. I debated whether to try for an autograph -- after three unsuccessful attempts and overhearing the walkie-talkie message. But we wandered by the stage door area anyway. There were security guards, but they were nice. About 25 fans were waiting back there. I figured if I was going to be told 'no' to an autograph, at least I wouldn't be alone.

Around 10:45 p.m., Diana came out one of the two stage doors, and the security guards said she'd sign "one or two" autographs. They asked us to walk in a line toward Diana. I was the sixth person in line and I did get her autograph. (YES!) She had her own Sharpie marker. I mentioned that I'm a member of the fan Web site and she said that her sister, Michelle, is in charge of it. I said thanks to her and then I left. I wish I had said something more but I was just very grateful to get the autograph after trying since 2001. Diana took time to sign autographs for everybody and also posed for numerous pictures. She was very gracious with her time.

Needless to say, it was a wonderful night.

[scielle]

What she needs now is for Elvis to put Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo in a lyric!

[Bud]

Thanks for the comprehensive rundown of the concert, Coda! Definitely an interesting read - sounds like she was at her best.

Diana is really good at working in relevant topics during the concert or her bantering. I was wondering how (or even if) she'd handle the loss of MIchael Jackson. Think she nailed it. Hope "I'll Be There" finds its way onto YouTube! At Baltimore, she spent a good deal of time talking about how much fun she had at the Baltimore Aquarium with her boys. That spun off into a fast-paced naming of tunes with sea themes, and Diana quickly came up with "How Deep is the Ocean" and "Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" as she started into the next song. Then, Anthony managed to subtly insert Octopus's Garden into his solo!

I am so glad you finally had the chance to meet Diana up close!! I know it has taken you a long time, but your patience finally paid off. I take it that she is 100% over that lingering cold (or whatever it was). That's great news.

[scielle]

She said she had wanted to be an astronaut. She was good in science, but threw up on the Tilt-A-Whirl, so she thought she'd keep practicing her music instead. She said she has a friend who's an astronaut and currently aboard the Space Station. So she dedicated "East of the Sun" to him. During the song when the lyrics are "Just you and I," she added, "and him...and him...and him...and a woman!"

That friend in question would be Bob Thirsk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Thirsk), currently up on the International Space Station until Nov. - I remember he took Diana's record up into space last time he was there. Heading up to visit him on the ISS soon is Julie Payette (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Payette), who is brilliant - I've seen her speak several times while at university. In fact, am proud to say I share my alma mater (McGill) with both! This will mark the first time two Canadians are up in space at the same time. Reportedly, they are both accomplished piano players.

Sounds like Diana's up there again, on his iPod:

What are you putting on your iPod for six months in space?
Jazz, Classical music. People like Diana Krall, Oscar Peterson. As I grow older I start to appreciate older music. I think Frank Sinatra has a great voice.

http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/uofcpublications/umagazine/spring2009/uextra

[Coda]

Scielle, thanks for the interesting notes about the Canadian astronauts aboard the ISS. And I like the idea of Elvis plugging designer shoes to let Diana benefit! Diana had on different sandals from the ones in the picture from Carnegie Hall. She came out of the auditorium with the outfit she wore on stage, including those gorgeous (but very delicate looking) strappy sandals.

Bud, it was so great finally getting a chance to get her autograph. I had thought about taking along a couple little dinosaurs my boys no longer play with to give to Dexter and Frank, but I couldn't fit them into my purse. I did take along the extra cardboard sleeve that was on the "Best of" CD, so that's what Diana signed. I think it's great that she took her boys to the Baltimore Aquarium. Outside of the monumental logistics of a long road trip with two young kids, I think that's it's a wonderful opportunity to enjoy so many different places.

[Andrea]

Great recap Coda,
I'm really happy that you finally managed to get an autograph from Diana.

[Coda]

Thanks, Andrea.

[scielle]

http://shorefire.com/index.php?a=pressrelease&o=3132

Diana Krall Set To Play For The World's Most Famous Astronauts

Diana Krall will be the sole performer at Celebrate Apollo, the official event celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the moonwalk, on July 20th at the National Air And Space Museum in Washington DC. Krall will take the stage alongside the Columbia module to serenade Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong with "Fly Me To The Moon." Members of Congress and almost every living NASA astronaut will be in attendance.

[Bud]

Thanks, scielle!

Sure wish I'd been paying more attention to the upcoming Smithsonian events for Apollo 11!! I was a real space nerd in my younger days (I know, you're shocked ). I got up early in the morning and made audio recordings of all three of the moonwalks on Apollo 15, for example. Like Diana, I actually had designs on being an astronaut. And they weren't just idle fantasies - I made my college choice partially based on the idea. Unfortunately, my eyes went really bad. I have, however, worked in the aerospace business for most of my life.

I'm now planning to spend Sunday, 19 July, hanging around the Air and Space Museum. I'm going to try and scarf up a ticket along the way.

[Coda]

Bud, hope you can get a ticket.

[mapache61]

That sounds very cool. Yeah, good luck getting a ticket, Bud. Would love to read your report on that event.

[Bud]

Still working on some angles here. I did put up a want ad on craigslist. Nothing heard so far.

I'm still amazed that two of my "interests" have come together this way. Since my sister and my parents are both well aware of my past and present, I let them know about all this in an email I called "Cosmic convergence."