I remember one show, in Detroit '83, I think, where there were two or three
nights in a row. I arrived the night before my friend Laurie flew in. I saw
the show that night by myself, purchasing a left over single rear stage seat
in the rafters. That night, during the Jonathan segment, one couldn't help
but be moved by a change in the lighting and synchronization of it to fit the
orchestration. Specifically, during Be, if you think of a chorus deep into
that song, there is a part where the lyric and the music suddenly crescendo
when Neil sings "BEEE! Jonathan!" In all the shows I saw before this one,
this was the first time where, at that instant, on the word BEEE, with a
crash of orchestrated percussion, a sudden, HUGE, all stops opened beam of
major carbon arch light bathed Neil's open-armed figure as the stood front
and center. It was majestic and beautiful! Getting back to Laurie, she
arrived the next day and we had front row seats for that night. Laurie was
always tiny and frail when it came to extremes. The audience was on their
feet during Skybird and there we were, standing in the front row. As Be
began, I remember thinking, "this is that verse!...wait until Laurie sees
this - it's going to be BIG!" With Neil standing just yards from us, the
music and the light and his shrilled voice crashed upon us: "BEEE..........!
Jonathan!" It was SO overwhelming. This close to the stage and speakers, I
felt the percussion thunder through the floor and it impacted us like a gust
of wind. It stunned Laurie and nearly threw her back in her seat. I grabbed
her arm to steady her and I could see her eyes were glazed with a hint of
tears. We stood there, looking up at Neil's shadowed figure feeling the heat
of the light on our faces. The light was so intense that his body glowed
with a smokey halo. I noticed that the first several rows were also brightly
illuminated and ALL the faces here were wide-eyed and seized with attention
to this angelic figure standing above us. I could feel Laurie trembling next
to me. She calmed quickly, but I'll never forget that moment - how it
impacted us, feeling Laurie trembling like a bird, and all those faces turned
up to the man on the stage, and being filled to the brim with his music.
Laurie, if you're out there reading this, God Bless you.
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