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After reading Amy, Margaux and Liz's recap of Myrtle Beach this morning, I thought I would share my recap of the first solo tour concert I went to in Jacksonville, FL. I got so excited reading Amy's recap and reliving the magic of her concert, that I thought maybe you would like to hear this one.

My Jacksonville Experience – Heaven - February 21, 2007

The minute my plane touched down in Jacksonville, my cell phone rang and it was Norma from SOS and Bloom from TOSP who were waiting for me at the shuttle to the Hyatt. We knew each other instantly - the ladies with the grins a mile wide! We got a shuttle to the Hyatt and checked in. I took off my boots, put on sandals and a sleeveless top and stowed my winter coat! We saw FunkyTaylorFan from SOS who told us that Taylor was staying at the hotel on the 18th floor - I was on the 16th floor! The Hyatt was very nice, right on the St. John's River which you could see from the lobby. The lobby was airy with a couple of restaurants right off it and couches in the front. Loren Gold, Brian Gallagher, Josh Smith and Felix Pollard sat there quite often with their laptops as that was the only place where wireless worked.



A Jax Taylor stalker who had camped out in the lobby told us that a bellhop had told her that Taylor was sick and asked him for a doctor and was on the 18th floor.

The elevator opened and out came Loren Gold, who greeted us and took a picture with us.



We met a lot of sisters from the Season of the Soul board and it was just wonderful to put faces and smiles with the people I have gotten to know and love this past year. I hugged and was hugged more times than I even got hugged at my grandmother's house at Christmas! About 8 of us walked out into the glorious Florida sunshine to the Florida Theater which was 2 blocks away and picked up our tickets. We stood across from the Theater and took pictures every time Taylor's name came up on the marque, squealing every time it did! People must have thought we were nuts and we were!



When we got back to the Hyatt, Taylor was in the lobby talking to Loren and then they walked around outside for a while, then went into the bus. People were giving him space. Taylor was wearing jeans and a shirt with a grayish fleece jacket and a taupe colored baseball cap. I went outside with Bloom so she could smoke and suddenly Taylor & Loren came out of the bus right in front of us. Now, I have no trouble approaching Taylor when he is entertaining, but we didn't want to invade his personal space during this private time, so we just watched him lock up the bus. They started to walk away and then Taylor turned around and smiled at us, put his hand up and said, “Hey! How are you doing?” That was an opening and we decided to talk to him. Bloom went up, put her hand on his shoulder, and said, “Taylor, we don't want a picture and you don't have to sign anything. We just want to say that we are sorry you are sick.” He looked intently at Bloom and said, “How did you know I was sick?” Bloom said, “News travels fast.” I asked him if it was his stomach and he said, “No, I'm not having a chance to rest.” Mom-mode instantly kicked in for both of us and I said, “Well, Taylor you go right upstairs and go to bed.” He smiled and said “Thank you – that's what I am going to do.” and we left him. He looked very tired. I felt so sorry that he got sick on the eve of his first solo tour.

After we calmed down, we were hanging around the lobby and laughing and talking to everyone and we turned around and he was by the couches again. My cellphone rings and it is DidNotExpectThat from TOSP. She asked where I was and I said “Oh, I am in the lobby looking at Taylor.” She said yeah right and came around the corner and we all hugged and then she saw him and went into shock. It was so cute. Then he disappeared. We didn't see him again Tuesday night.

We sat outside on the benches and talked to everyone and walked around the riverfront area in the lovely sunshine. Later, we got dressed for dinner and met everyone in the bar. There were about 30 of us by then and we were having a blast meeting each other, laughing and cheersing!

After a while, we split up for dinner and Bloom, DNET, Norma, Sideways from the Boogie and I went to an outdoor place on the riverfront called “The American Cafe” and had dinner with 18oz Margaritas for $4. Afterwards we met the rest of the group and looked around for a place to have more drinks, but everything was closed at 10pm! We went back to the hotel and hung around for a while. DNET and I went to bed about midnight or so and talked in the dark until after 2:30 am.

Part II - Wednesday morning – THE DAY!!!!!

It occurred to me the moment I woke up that with all the excitement of meeting all these wonderful women, that we still had the biggest treat of all in store – Taylor's first concert was tonight!! We got dressed for sunshine and went downstairs to meet everyone. As we were standing in the lobby, all of a sudden we hear an explosion of people clapping and here comes Taylor and Tim Durfey walking right past us. He looked tired, but good with a gray sweater and sunglasses on. Then the elevator doors opened and Donk and Teej came out, got the shock of their lives and got a picture with him. After he left in the elevator, everyone jumped up and down and hugged and screamed! A couple of businessmen stopped and asked who that was. When someone screamed “That was Taylor Hicks!” one man said, “Oh, my wife is going to have a fit she wasn't here.”

We spent the morning walking around the Riverfront in the beautiful sunshine, shopping for shoes for Bloom that she could WALK in and stopping for another $4 Margarita. Norma and I applied our SOS tattoos that PC had given everyone.



The Linner was fun. About 60 ladies and 3 men (LOL!) had drinks and dinner and wonderful hugs. Thanks to JaxNative for arranging all that. We all put our Mardi Gras beads on. My beads were purple. EJ led us all in the “Heaven Knows” dance and a reporter from the local newspaper was there to record everything!







Off to the Florida Theater!

The Meet and Greet:

It was for 7:30, so the four of us were sent left and right until we found the “right place” to get on line for the M&G. They sent us in 5 at a time. DNET went first and when she came out she was not in the same time and place as the rest of the world! As soon as we got her to stop shaking, she began to drop everything she was holding in a complete Taylor meltdown. Norma went in the second group. She didn't want him to sign anything or take the camera – Norma just wanted to shake his hand and talk to him. She also came out in a trance with her concert ticket signed! I was in the next group and Bloom was the last one in. She told Taylor he could now relax – that she was the last one, he laughed and they talked a little.

My M&G experience: I walked up a flight of about 7 steps to an area about the size of a closet, which was just off the stage. Taylor was standing at the very top with only the one Florida Theater security guard across from him. I said hello and he nodded and immediately reached for the CD I was holding and signed the front liner picture. He opened the CD case, but did not sign the actual CD, just looked at it and closed it. He seemed rushed, but when I asked him for a picture he looked at me, tilted his head and said, “I remember you – from The View, right?” I almost fell down, but managed to give my camera to the SG, who screwed up the picture by not waiting for the flash to go off before he moved the camera down. So Taylor said, “Do it again. You have the wait for the second flash.” Anyway, after the picture, I looked up at him and said, “Thank you Taylor.” He looked down at me and smiled and for the first time, I got that laser look where he locks eyes with you. OMG, OMG, OMG!! Heaven!

the first picture:



the good picture:



I was so jazzed that I could not go in to see the Greyhounds. I just walked around and around and around the lobby and outside. I checked out the shirts and decided to wait until after the concert to buy one so I didn't have to worry about it. Bad move – they were sold out of my size when I got there later. There were three shirt types – one with his name on it (red, white) and one with the picture of him with the eyes over the guitar (black and white). You could also get the tour dates on the back and also get an autographed one. A hat and a hoodie. The only other thing was his current CD, which you could also buy with his autograph.

Part III - The Concert!



I took my seat just before they set up the stage for Taylor, having missed the Greyhounds completely. I tried to blow up the beach ball Lee had given me, but I was too excited. There was some confusion with my seat and someone was in the wrong seat (mine), but it was worked out fine. I was sitting next to Bcath from the Boogie and found out that she was originally from New York.



The crowd was on its feet from the first glimpse of silver hair to the final note. When Taylor came out on the stage, there was a ROAR that shook the Florida Theater to the roof. Taylor just stopped, drank it in for a moment and then did “the lean” in sheer joy. I have never seen him so happy as he was on that stage last night. This is what he had waited his whole life for and man, did he deliver!

Taylor started out singing “Soul Thing” complete with all the moves and all the growls. Next he sang “Heaven Knows” and we all did the dance that EJ had choreographed. I don't know if he could see that, but it was so much fun! "The Maze" was next. He grabbed the brown guitar for "Hell of a Day". After HOAD, he slung the guitar around to the side and began to talk to us about the significance of his first concert being at the Florida Theater. He asked us if we knew who else had their first indoor concert at the FT. Everyone yelled “Elvis Presley!!” “Who???” “Elvis!!!!” “Who???” “Elvis!!!” He loved that the audience knew that.

I liked JTFTW no matter what the reviewer said. At the end, he sang “we might end up broooooooooooooooooooooooooken” where he shakes his head back and forth. Some lovely growls on this one.

The next song, “Wherever I Lay My Hat” was my favorite of the night and the one he got the most into with LOTS of growls and bending over clenches. He did this thing where he walked to Josh Smith for 4 seconds of guitar and back towards Brian Gallagher for 4 seconds of sax and back and forth again and again. Then he motioned to the band, it got quiet and he did the sexiest, best scat I have ever seen! Fantastic! Best vocals of the night! There was an exceptional amount of female screaming on this one!

I was conflicted by wanting pictures and just wanting to watch him. I wasn't sure if I was actually taking the videos and kicked myself for not practicing first. I didn't like how my pics were coming out, but I didn't want to fool with the camera too much, because I was trying to watch Taylor and drink him in. Next time, no camera. Also, I called Lori and let her listen to about 15 minutes of the concert on the cellphone and then called Anne and let her listen, too.

Now, “Dream Myself Awake." When he did the “do me anyway you want tonight” line, there was major swooning! During “Heart and Soul” when he tagged the “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” lines in it, he acted out hitting the baseball with his guitar, which was endearingly adorable! After that, he came to the edge of the stage and gave us a brilliant grin of happiness and shouted “How do you like the shirts?!!!” The crowd went wild and he laughed and looked so proud. It was the cutest thing of the night for me.

Next came “The Deal,” “The Runaround” and “Gonna Move”. They run a little together for me here, even though “Runaround” is one of my favorites. I can't remember which song it was, but he went to town with the moves, including the Chuck Berry thing. Taylor asked us if we had enjoyed the Greyhounds and said that was the way they did things old school, where the main artist helped local talent get exposure. He seemed really happy and thankful that everyone liked them.

“Young Turks”was a highlight and I got the whole thing on video. There was an awesome sax solo with Brian Gallagher. About half way through the song, Taylor went over to the edge of the stage and pointed at a couple of teens, then reached down and shook their hands! There was great dancing on this song and lots of jumping and bunny hops. It seemed to me that he put extra emphasis on the words “Don't let them push you around, Don't let them change your point of view.”

http://www.vimeo.com/439125

In the end of “Taking it to The Streets”, Taylor finally pulled out the harp and did what only he can do with it! Ecstasy! His poor throat must have been on fire, though. He drank lots of water in between songs and “cheersed” us with his water bottle. I just got the harp solo on video.

http://www.vimeo.com/464408

During “The Right Place” he was bathed in a pink light and the song was the best of the night with the growls – breathtaking!

After that, he went to the left of the stage and saluted us and left. Everyone went nuts and finally he came back out and lit into the Doobie's “Long Train Running.” He did a smoking harp in this song. After it ended, he paused, looked out at us and put his hand on his heart. He started to leave and then, the beach and Nerf balls started to fly! He LOVED it and caught one in his hand! He grabbed a beach ball and drop kicked it back at the audience. AzGoddess from TMS tossed some panties on stage right near him, which cracked him up. And he was gone. No one left the theater for the longest time, we just stood there grinning at each other and hugging!

Some concert pictures










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Part IV - The end of the trip

We all met back at the bar in the Hyatt in complete and utter happiness and afterglow and stayed there until it closed. Bloom, DNET, Norma and I went outside and sat there laughing and talking for an hour. Finally, we went inside and saw Brian Gallagher sitting by himself with his laptop. We were going to leave him alone and sit by the other couches, but they were vacuuming there and Brian told us to come join him. He closed his laptop and we talked with him until about 3:30am.



The next morning in the lobby we saw Taylor come out of the elevator with a doctor and a nurse, with his throat wrapped in a scarf. He said hello to everyone and EJ said, “Thank you Taylor for giving us 120% last night.” You could see he liked that a lot. That was the last we saw of him.

Saying goodbye to my new wonderful friends was very difficult and we have already made plans for another Taylor concert and girls reunion. I can't wait! I think of the concert and Taylor and meeting these women and it has to be one of the best times of my life.

Very nice Diane,thanks for sharing.Why di I get so happy after reading these?????