That was Great, but I Could Really Use Instant Replay: A Belated Account from David Archuleta’s Concert in Waukegan, Illinois

How does this cupcake fit in to a story about a concert? Keep reading to find out!

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend David Archuleta’s “Christmas from the Heart” concert in Waukegan, Illinois last Friday night (December 11) and to also participate in the VIP activities beforehand. It was nice to be able to see David and to hear him sing and talk with a smaller group in a more relaxed atmosphere. (Of course, our group wasn’t really all that small — I’m guessing there were about a hundred people.) At the VIP gathering, I had the chance to hear David sing “Mary, Did You Know?” (one of my favorites) and to eat some delicious (although probably not very healthy) snacks and desserts, so my pre-concert experience pretty much had to be a positive one overall, right?

Once I had made my way down to my seat (in the seventh row) to await the start of the concert, I had some time to look over the stage set-up. I did like the giant, round ornaments hanging over the stage, but I’m not a big fan of the huge “parachute” trees.

Benton Paul got quite a greeting when he came out on stage.  (I don’t know if perhaps some people were expecting David right away, not realizing that there was an opening act.)  But, he did get a good response throughout his performances.  I enjoyed Benton Paul’s set a lot.  I wasn’t familiar with his songs, so I couldn’t quite make out all of the words — especially on the song that I finally realized he was singing in French!    I hadn’t heard him sing before, but I think that he has a really nice voice and sang very well.  “Still, Still, Still” was beautiful. He said a few times that it was a great crowd that night, and I was happy that I had the chance to hear him.
 
It probably took about ten minutes for them to rearrange things on the stage after Benton Paul’s set, but there was a break of about 35 minutes before David’s performance began.  I’m not sure why they have such a lengthy break, and some people weren’t very happy about it and were getting rather restless.

David received a very nice reception when he bounded onstage with his customary bright smile and wave.  He was wearing one of his usual checked shirts, black and white in this case.  At one point, David said that it was good to be back in Illinois and mentioned that it was his first time in Waukegan, and he asked if he’d said it right, which he had.  After a few songs, David introduced the members of the band. He mentioned that Steve (guitar) had been in his first band last year, which I didn’t know, and that he’d met the drummer this summer when he was playing for Demi Lovato on tour, which I had read before. He said that Dave (bass/guitar) had recently gotten married and mentioned that Kendra, in addition to playing keyboards, would also be playing violin later in the show. He added that she also plays the banjo and said that she’s full of surprises.

The first (non-holiday) half of the concert was very good.  David didn’t say too much about any of his CD songs.  He did describe “Crush” as the song that sort of got things started for his solo career.  After “Zero Gravity,” he said that it was fun to perform but also said that it gives him a good workout.  He did look like he’d been using up a ton of his energy on some of those pop songs — he looked a little winded, and his forehead was glistening.  He had a longer introduction for “The Riddle,” saying (I believe) that it was about the purpose of being here in this life.  I hadn’t heard this song before, and I enjoyed it.  I didn’t quite catch all of the words, even though I did read over them after I first read that David was doing the song.  It was nice to hear a song with David playing the piano, which is something that I always love.

I thought that it was interesting that he said something like, “Well, there are some of the pop songs for you guys,” before he did the last two non-holiday songs.  I guess it makes sense, though, since those songs are rather different stylistically. These were the songs that I had been most looking forward to in the first part of the concert. David started to introduce “Fields of Gold” by mentioning that he’d first heard the song when Michelle Kwan skated to it at the Olympics in Salt Lake City. (As a side note, I love Michelle Kwan and that program.) David said that he’s a big fan of the Olympics and is excited about the ones coming up in Vancouver, and he asked the audience if we were, too. He then talked about Eva Cassidy and the influence she’d been for him with expression in singing, etc. I really liked “Fields of Gold” a lot, which is probably not surprising since hearing David sing a pretty song with an acoustic guitar is one of my favorite settings for him. I think that David may have mixed up a couple of the words, but it didn’t really affect the performance, which was lovely.

David talked for quite a while before he sang “Prayer of the Children,” telling us about how nice it is that he’s been able to bring attention to causes and charities since he’s been performing, etc. He mentioned Rising Star Outreach, Invisible Children, and Make-a-Wish. I almost thought that he was going to forget Angels for a Cause, but he did add it in there at the end. He talked about how helping others can help to make you feel good. Then he introduced “Prayer of the Children,” explaining the context in which it was written and what it was about. (I must say that I felt bad when someone yelled out, “Sing it!” while David was talking about the song. Perhaps he didn’t even hear this, but I guess the person must have thought that he should stop speaking and get on with the singing. Sigh. Also, there were a lot of people taking any opportunities where it was quieter, such as while David was talking before “The Riddle” or “Prayer of the Children,” to shout out their, “I love you, David”s and so on. It didn’t exactly seem to me like the most appropriate thing when David was trying to talk about charities and helping other people, but maybe that’s just me. I kind of had the impression that, in addition to having fun during the show, David was trying to communicate with people in the audience about some more serious things quite a bit, but I’m not sure if everyone was necessarily particularly receptive to those communications, if that makes any sense.) Anyway, I thought that David did a nice job explaining that “Prayer of the Children” was about innocent kids affected by war who just want shelter, a home, etc., and I felt that his rendition of the song definitely seemed to show that he was connected with those kinds of ideas. He was feeling and expressing the meaning, not just singing a song, and it was very beautiful. (Kendra seemed to be pretty “into” the song at the piano, too, when I looked over at her for a bit.) I loved the song, and I think that it was probably my favorite performance from the first half of the concert.

I’d read that the break before the Christmas part of the show was a short one, but David still reappeared on stage in his suit, tie, and purple shirt much more quickly than I’d expected. That really didn’t give him and Kendra much time to change after the previous song!

The Christmas part of the concert, which seemed like the main event, was really very nice. David mentioned more than once how important and meaningful Christmas music is and has been to him. He talked about caroling (with Santa hats) with his siblings as a kid. At some point, someone yelled out something to David that just prompted a rather sheepish smile from him. I think that it might have been, “You’re so sweet!” David also mentioned the cold weather and said that he sometimes can forget about it being winter, but then he’ll go outside and realize how cold it is! But, he said that that’s kind of a good thing, because it reminds him that “Christmastime is here.” (He sang the phrase from the Charlie Brown Christmas special, which was fun.)

When David said that he was going to try something that he hadn’t done before, I wondered what he meant. He then told us that the next song was a duet on his album and that his aunt had happened to be coming to this show, so he’d kind of put her on the spot to sing the song with him. He brought out his Aunt Char to sing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with him, and that was a nice, different thing to see and hear. She seemed a little reluctant to be out there, and, during the song, David was kind of motioning to her to walk over closer to him in the middle of the stage, but I thought that she did a really good job. She has a strong, kind of jazz-singer type of voice, and she sang out confidently both with David and on her own. David hugged his aunt at the end of the song and acknowledged her afterward, but she didn’t waste any time in exiting the stage while the applause was going on. The whole thing was a fun thing to witness. David said that he had really put his aunt on the spot, apparently just asking her to do the song with him in the dressing room shortly before the show.

After “Riu Riu Chiu,” I guess that someone must have complimented David on his Spanish or something. He mentioned that his Mom is from Honduras and said that he hoped that he was saying things right, otherwise she would probably get mad at him. “Feliz Navidad” was a fun song, and David seemed to really be getting into it and having a good time. Actually, I think that he seemed to have a good time performing overall during the show that night. (Do I remember reading that “What Child is This?” was on the set list at some time? I’m very fond of that song, and I would really like to have heard David sing it live, but I guess that you can’t have everything.)

Getting back to the songs that actually were part of the concert, my favorites, by far, were “Silent Night,” “Ave Maria,” and “O Holy Night.” (That’s probably no surprise to those of you who “know” me, I suppose.) These were all beautifully sung and, in my opinion, worthy of much technical credit and praise. However, they were also clearly meaningful to David. Before he sang “Ave Maria,” David explained that the song was a really sacred one about the Virgin Mother. Before his encore, “O Holy Night,” he talked again about Christmas songs being meaningful and about how powerful what they’re about and their lyrics are. David seemed to be off in his own world as he sang these songs with his eyes closed, while we watched and listened. When each song was finished, David would move away from the microphone and look at the audience rather slowly before acknowledging the applause with a quiet, “Thank you,” and a small smile. He almost looked a little overcome with emotion or something after “O Holy Night.” I obviously don’t know what was on David’s mind at any time, but It would seem that, with these pieces, David wasn’t just singing songs in a concert, he was offering up prayers, and the results were very special.

Finally, after sharing a really nice concert with all of us, David wished everyone Happy Holidays and a safe trip home before leaving the stage with his good-bye smiles and final waves.

I have a few general comments about Friday’s concert, regarding some good things and some concerns. First the good news: David’s singing was consistently great during the whole show, and his voice was probably the best that I’ve heard it — clear and strong throughout the performance. I wonder how much the stellar condition of David’s voice was influenced by having two days without shows before Friday. Now for some things that bothered me a little: I don’t know how much this might have had to do with where I was sitting and if things might have sounded different farther back in the theater, nor do I know how closely the sound matched what was actually intended, but I had some issues with the sound for at least some of the more “pop” songs. I’ve said before that I think that the band is too loud sometimes, even to the point that I can “lose” David’s voice in the overall sound at times, and this was true on occasion at this show, as well. But, I even had a few concerns about the way that David’s voice sounded at certain times. I can’t exactly pinpoint it, so I’m not sure if it was in certain parts of his range or when he’d sing in a certain way, but there almost seemed to sometimes be some of that rather “tinny” or “cartoon-like” edge on his voice that you hear in a lot of pop music production. That’s not something that I want to hear affecting David’s lovely, rich voice! I hope that that isn’t a sound he and/or his team want to shoot for. (Could I have just been imagining things? Has anyone else noticed anything like that? I don’t recall having that impression at other shows, but it crept into my consciousness at some time a few songs into the concert, although I’m not sure during which song…)

I’m sure that lots of other people can relate, but, after having the concert be an upcoming event for so long, it’s a little tough to believe that it’s now already over, and I’d love to be able to somehow play the whole thing back in my mind. Still, I did have a good time, and I’m glad that I had the chance to attend David’s impressive Christmas tour concert and to hear the songs and words that he shared with us. (Our very own ArchieFanDoc thinks that post-concert letdown is the reason that I’ve been eating donuts, jumbo cupcakes, and other assorted desserts the last few days. I think that I just have a weakness for those things and happened to catch some nice sales at the grocery stores, but I suppose that she might have a point. She is the doctor, after all, so perhaps I should put some trust in her diagnosis!)

Now, as my parting thought, I will say that I think that, in order to really make the best use of the wonderful vocal instrument that David has, it would be great if some conservatory or college with a strong music program were able to recruit this young man to study and pursue classical voice… Sigh… I know, I know, that’s not even remotely likely to happen, and it’s probably not something that David would ever be interested in doing, but, still, I can dream for a little, right? (Maybe if they promised him all the Thai food, water, Triscuits, and orange juice that he wanted…)

Thanks for reading, everyone, and I wish you all a wonderful holiday season!