Jim Brickman Concert

Katie and I went to see Jim Brickman perform at The Ned last night. As expected, it was a very fun evening of laughs and wonderful music. He is a great entertainer and his music is so melodic and romantic.



When we arrived, there was a reception that started at 6pm. It was fancy and NOT my kind of thing. Katie flourishes, mingling with the "ritzy", where I am more comfortable being a wall flower, or rather, a "wall weed". LOL Katie said "I'm here to help you bloom!" LOL



Well, we arrived early and the hors d'oeuvre were being served. I politely said "no thank you" (food phobia) and Katie grabbed one up. Something called sun-dried tomato somethingoranothers. Katie took a bite and I watched for a reaction. She smiled, looked directly at me and said "These are absolutely horrible but I'm going to make like I'm enjoying it." LOL I said "there's a garbage can, throw it away!" and she said "I'm not throwing away high class food" to which I responded "but it's okay to throw away 'low class' food?" LOL



A young man we met when we first arrived came over to join us in conversation which is fine for Katie, but not for an introvert like me. She has no problem with talking, NONE AT ALL, and so we all three shared in some conversation about all the "high class" people here. I said "I feel very out of my element" but Katie said she didn't since she "owns a business". LOL I said, well, you've come along way since living in that trailer!" and she said "YOU lived in the trailer, I lived in the house without a roof!" LOL At that point she shared the story about the house that needed some roof repair. The landlord had removed all of the shingles, and then came the downpour. Water came through the roof, through the first floor, and right into the water gathering on the basement floor. It wasn't pretty. The young man just kept laughing at us playing off of each other and said "you guys sure must have a lot of fun!"



Now and then Katie would leave to go socialize with some other people that she saw and recognized. That was always uncomfortable because I just stand there and really don't find much to talk about with anyone. I think the young man felt awkward too, like those scenes in the movies where people at the party don't know what to say or do and you simply stand there looking around, feeling like you are standing out like a sore thumb, and looking stupid.



It was funny trying to fit in with the glitz and glamour of the evening. I NEVER fit in with glitz and glamour, but Katie seemed to be having a ball. We were being so silly and at one point we decided this is like being Laverne & Shirley when they were let out of the brewery! LOL



It was finally time to be seated so we went in to the theater. Jim Brickman came out and began to play and Katie seemed to really enjoy what she was hearing. He has neat stories to share about the songs he wrote or various other things that are funny. He said "Thanks for coming out to the Ned tonight, 'The Ned', hey, that's cool...the Ned. If ever a building is named after me, I hope that they call it 'the Jim." LOL



So we sat and listened to his wonderful piano music and then he brought out Tracy Silverman, an electric violinist. Boy! That was an unexpected treat! Great! Check out some of Silverman's stuff here! He added a really neat dimension last night and I was thoroughly impressed. He could make that thing sound sweet as a Strad, and in a matter of seconds, have it wailing some Hendrix. It was amazing and different. I was blown away by what I heard out of that violin!



At one point I turned to Katie to say something and she turned to me at the same time. We almost bonked heads! So we immediately turned and started laughing! It's a good thing we were in the last row or we probably would have distracted anyone sitting behind us!



At intermission Brickman asked us to fill out cards with the basic name and address information, but on the cards was also a place to "Ask Jim a question". I filled out a card for Katie (hehe) and turned it in. When it came time for the question/answer session during the second half of the show, Jim pulled randomly the card I filled out. He said "from Katrina in Humboldt...Hi Katrina". Now, Katie had NO IDEA I had put her name on the card! LOL So she was a bit stunned! LOL When he said "Hi Katrina" Katie kind of sheepishly responded "hi" and slumped in her chair. LOL It was funny! Anyway, her (or my) question was "how about playing some of those jingles?", so Brickman said "oh, so I come to Jackson to perform romantic piano music and what do they want to hear but dog food commercials!" LOL It got a great laugh from the audience and Katie leans to me and said "thanks for putting my name on a very entertaining part of the show!" LOL He then performed a medley of some of his jingles including Pontiac, Hallmark, and "don't treat your puppy like a dog dog dog, feed him puppy chow!" LOL The audience loved it! Later he did some of his Sesame Street letter jingles because someone asked him to...especially for the "Letter D". It was so much fun! One woman on her card said "I don't have a question, I just wanted to thank you for birthing our two kids." LOL It sounds funny, but his music is very relaxing and has such pretty melodies that people use it to accompany life changing events like marriage, and even music for the delivery room. He made some humorous remarks about that too...like "well, I'm glad I could help. It's Dr. Brickman to you. I hope that the three of us enjoyed it, or four? I'm assuming your husband was there of course." LOL



What makes Jim Brickman so entertaining is the way he interacts with the audience. He plays wonderful piano and has a neat way of communicating stories to the listener. It's as if the family is gathered around the piano at home and enjoying each other's company while sharing fond memories and delightful music. If you ever have a chance to hear/see Brickman, I recommend you go. You won't be disappointed.



Here are some quick samples of his music"



Angel Eyes - this melody was his first "hit", or at least the song that was among the first that radio took notice of.



Hero's Dream - this melody was used by NBC for the Olympic's incidental music (background music, sets a mood) in 1998.



Love of My Life - Michael W. Smith sings on this hit. A beautiful love song that many couples have performed at weddings.