Me outside The Hammersmith for Kate Bush on 9/16/14
I bought my 1st Kate Bush record in 1985 and ever since that day I have dreamed of seeing her perform. In fact, there really isn't any other living artist left on my list of "must-see-before-I-die." I'd literally seen all of my idols, heros, & icons except for her and, it seemed, like that would never be a possibility. The fact that she decided to do this series of shows after a 35 year absence from the stage is what inspired this blog in the 1st place. Miraculously, I scored 2 tickets and my friend Linda from NYC excitedly agreed to make the pilgrimage to London with me. Linda and I have been to many shows together since we met in 1992 and a lot of them inspire awe and envy when I tell people about them. For instance, Linda got us tickets to see The Dead Can Dance at Town Hall in NYC in 1993 and we had front row center seats - it was pretty incredible.
We were both so nervous the evening of the show that we arrived at the venue before 6pm and doors didn't even open until 6:15pm. I mean, who ever arrives at a gig for doors opening? Well, apparently, a lot of people for this special night because there was already a line out front & we were hardly the people that traveled the furthest. There were so many people from all over the world who like us, flew to London just for this show. After maneuvering through the throngs at the merch counter we finally made our way to our seats and we both almost cried when we realized we were 2nd row, center. The 2nd best seats we had ever had! I knew the seats were good but what I didn't know is that they extended the stage and in doing so had removed the front 3 rows leaving us in the 2nd row. It was miraculous to say the least and perhaps it was some great reward for waiting 3 decades for that moment!
When the show started Kate came onto the stage wearing all black, slowly, measuredly marching followed by a procession of singers/performers to the thunderous applause of an immediate full-house standing ovation. When she reached the center of the stage she faced the audience, smiled and outstretched her arms as if she were simultaneously hugging and receiving the love from the audience. This was the 1st moment the tears started to flow and I'm assuming if I had turned around I wouldn't have seen a dry eye in the house. She was like a magical, lovable, earth-mother, witch and I wanted to leap onto the stage and squeeze her and never let go. Of course, I'm not that crazy & not at all stalker-y so I stayed put but I practically could have reached out and touched her due to the proximity of our seats. Thus began one of the most incredible, unique and profoundly, well, Kate Bush-y performances I have ever seen.
It would take far too many words to describe the entire show but I will say that not only did it not disappoint, it far surpassed what I had expected. It was music, theater, film, performance, poetry, magic - it was art at its purest and most complete form. Her voice was incredible - strong, powerful, vulnerable, and chill inducing. I cried no less than 4 times. At the expected moments - "Running Up That Hill," & "Cloudbusting," but also during songs that have never before elicited that reaction - "Top Of The City," "Hello Earth" & "Nocturn." She performed the entire 2nd side of her "Hounds of Love" album which has its own title - "The Ninth Wave." It's a chilling, spooky, sad & joyous journey into the dark night of the soul and it sounds like theater, like a Greek tragedy set in the delirious mind of a drowning woman, it was always meant to be performed.
When the interval (that's UK for intermission) started the show could easily have come to a complete end. Already at about 2 hours long had it ended there the entire, mesmerized audience would have gone home feeling fulfilled and complete yet there was still a whole other section coming that was over an hour long! Again, magic! As if the show weren't enough there was another miraculous moment that took place. Before the show Linda & I were reminiscing about all the enviable gigs we had been to together and for some reason she told me she'd never seen Annie Lennox live and would love to. I told her about seeing the Eurythimcs in 1986 and also how I had seen Annie at The Apollo Theater in Harlem in 2003. I told her about how the night at the Apollo had the most celebrities I had ever seen in attendance at a show and I wondered what other legendary musicians were coming to see Kate Bush? Linda went to use the restroom and when she was returning to our seats it was obvious by her body language and demeanor that something incredible had happened. Well, of course, it was Annie Lennox!!!! She was in line in front of her for the ladies room looking gorgeous, radiant and ageless. The funniest part is that we had much better seats than she did.
I'm trying my best to carry the beautiful energy and love from that show inside of me and to radiate it back out into the world - it was such an unbelievable experience that I want to hold it near and dear to my heart forever. I doubt that anything will ever surpass that moment but then again I had no idea a moment like that would ever actually happen in my life. I know for sure there will be more magic, more moments of pleasure, more music - there will probably be no more Kate Bush shows in store for me though. When people ask me how the show was I say we went on a pilgrimage to find god and succeeded!
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