Yanni Voices: The Concert (Review)
April 17, 2009
I have been to many concerts. I was blessed to go to see The Police before their first implosion, and again when they reunited and performed in Miami. I’ve seen Genesis three times. Peter Gabriel puts on a heck of a show, if you are lucky enough to get tickets. Tori Amos put on one of the most amazing, intimate shows I’ve ever been to at Toad’s Place in New Haven.
Yanni Voices almost outdid her. Almost.
I saw a preview of Yanni Voices at BlissDom in February, and I met Ender Thomas and Nathan Pacheco. I told them I would see them in Orlando when they came. I don’t think they believed me.
They believe me now.
He remembered me from Nashville!!
And I wore purple for #Maddie!
If you’ve seen this show on DVD, or PBS, you are NOT getting the total package. You’re not even getting half of it. To truly experience it all, you have to go to a performance. Seriously.
I took my teenaged son with me who has Asperger’s Syndrome. He has issues with loud noises, and I thought this would be a good show to take him to as his first concert. Our seats were right down front, and I think the only people between us and the stage were family members of the performers.
It was sweet.
The stage was wrapped with a screen. We sat down, soon the lights dimmed, and the show began.
The best thing about this show was not the intimacy, even though that was nice. The best thing was Yanni himself, who was gregarious and friendly; stopping several times in between songs to engage the audience. (He lives in Florida, so we were like the “hometown crowd!”.) Most important was how proud he was of each and every performer on that stage that night. He acted like a proud father, showing off his children who have worked so hard with him to bring out their best. They definitely did, and it showed.
Ender brought the electric, his songs making you want to move in your seat.
Nathan brought his amazing voice that simply sounds better live.
Chloe was playful, and her songs and stage presence were beautiful to behold.
Leslie was the immediate object of my teenaged son’s crush, her voice being one of the few times he brought his hands down from his ears all night.
The show was intimate, and with the intermission, it clocked in at a little over 3 hours. I was never bored, and Yanni and crew came back for two encores before the curtain dropped for the final time. Every performer had a spotlight moment, and I’m talking about the large band/orchestra that backed Yanni and the Voices. It was magical.
And I’m not saying that because I live in the land of Disney.
I was granted two opportunities to go backstage. The first was when we arrived, and we saw Ender (in the photo above). After the show, we were invited again backstage to see Nathan, Chloe, and Leslie.
Leslie was a no-show. Bob tried really hard to find her, but to no avail. She sent me a Twitter later on thanking me for coming to the show, which was unexpected and very nice.
Just before we left, Ender came out to greet his guests, saw me and came over to thank me again and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
I may have swooned a little.
As we left, we went the wrong way and ended up out near the performer’s exit. Yanni was out there, signing autographs and chatting with the group of ladies who had congregated. Just as I made it there, he turned and headed toward his car. Bye, Yanni!
Even though I didn’t get a picture* with him or a chance to talk to him, it was nice to see him take time with the other ladies. He truly enjoys and appreciates his fans.
When Yanni Voices comes to your area, I implore (with a side of beg) you to go. It is an experience not to be missed.
*Okay, full disclosure time. First, I need to thank Bob Murray and The One2One Network for giving me the opportunity to see Yanni Voices live. I also need to thank Phyllis the security guard, who came over to me during the show while I was taking photos (without flash, that you can see here or here) to ask me to please put away my camera. I did, but again with the full disclosure, I still snapped some pics with my cameraphone. Shhhh. Because I’m a rebel. Or an idiot.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:31 am
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April 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
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April 28th, 2009 at 11:54 am
I got to go to the Nashville concert and I agree with everything you said here! I was amazing, I was never bored and there was an intimate feel to the show. And yes, big thanks to One2One for the opportunity to attend such an amazing performance!
I took tons of pictures without incident. I was even a rebel and used my flash (just a few times) during the second half of the show because the people in front of me didn’t return to their seats.
My flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/malia111/sets/72157617258002986/
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May 4th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
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June 12th, 2009 at 11:31 am
About the Yanni concerts: I think, too, that they are wonderful; I had bought tickets for the one in Schaumburg, IL, on May 29th.
I just knew, before even google-ing Yanni, that this was going to be awesome, just because I had watched Yanni on PBS and heard, for only a few moments, Nathan sing!
it was Heaven on Earth!
there are no other words to describe all the feelings that overcome ones mind, heart, one’s entire being, .. when you listen to Nathan!…
and, it’s even more powerful if you understand the words. I am fortunate to have what Europeans call a “musical ear”, and, as a young child, I was able to learn foreign languages, maybe didn’t concentrate my efforts on learning them too well, but,… anyway!.. enough to understand Nathan!
I will try and post some of the pictures one of my friends took at the concert. we didn’t have front row, but they were on the main floor, and we had a very good view of everything.
So happy that I got the tickets and insisted on going!!!!!!!!!
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