Please for give me for the way I have written this .Just writing down my remembrances so some of this will be out of order.
It has been 5 years since the last time I saw Neil in concert. It was worth the wait!!!!!!.
In the past 25 years I have only seen Neil live a half dozen times.I would rate this show #2 only behind my first Neil show in 1976.His voice sounded great and he seemed to really enjoy himself throughout the show.Very talkative and the audience was fantastic Four of us went to the concert.Besides myself,my daughter,my sister and her daughter went..A wide range of ages did we represented.Teens,30 something,40 something,50 something.First Neil concert for the three of them.
Some of the words used by them after the show: WOW!!
Awesome!!
Unbelievable!!
Man can he rock!!
Our seats were in section 104 row 2.I never been to the US Cellular Arena and by looking at the seating chart figured the seats were not to bad .Left side of stage and I thought fist level up.Well found out they were basically floor seats.We were one row up from the floor.And close too,Our seats were basically in row 9.
I did see some people walking around with Vince ribbons.Alot with Neil shirts on too.
Neil opened the show about 15 minutes late. There was plenty of souvenirs to buy also.
The crowd went wild when the HUGE USA flag raised revealing the band and Neil silhouetted in black.
The song list was same as the other shows .
Some highlights from the show:
The crowd was unbelievable.Very into the show. Neil acknowledging certain areas of the crowd,It seemed to be that he really like the left upper section ,looked and pointed to that side quite a bit.
Neil said it was great to be back in Milwaukee. In his words :
" Wisconsin:Home of great football,beautiful women and Harley Davidson Motorcycles!!!"
A big roar came over when he said that.
He played guitar on Solitary Man,Cheery Cherry and I believe Red Red Wine. Red Red Wine started out as the original then merged into the Reggae version.I do not particularly like the Neil's Reggae version of this when I heard it in concert before but this version I could listen to anytime.
From my vantage point it seemed like 3 women were serenaded during Girl,You'll Be A Woman Soon.The person in front of me said she knew one of them.I can't remember what she said her name was but it was the one who was celebrating her birthday.
After the "kisses" Neil rolled on his back and said: "Does anyone have a cigarette."
He also said something like He never done that with 3 ladies before.
During Mission of Love I noticed a group on the floor raising signs "L" ,"O", "V", "E".
He mentioned before he sang "At The Movies" the process in making of movie scenes.
Me and my daughter yelled out "We belive in Neil Diamond" before and after Neil sang I Believe In Happy Endings"
Sweet Caroline was unbelievable.The crowd was really into it and .He did 3 or was it 4 repeats of the chorus.Everyone was standing and they refused to sit down and Neil walked to Tom and asked "Are they still standing?" And then said something like well we gotta sing it again.After that repeat we all were still standing and he said OK We'll sing it one more ti but like I want to and mentioned that we had to sing the "Whoa Whoa Whoa's" and "SO Good SO Good SO Good" After he sang we still were standing and then he said "I can stand here longer than you" and stood there for a about 15 seconds or so and then said Ok one more time and after that they went into the next song.
"Starflight" was great to hear.With the highlighting of each band members and then Neil joining them at the ending singing the song.
Julia's voice was awesome during "Soolaimm"
Neil's tribute to Vince, "Captain Sunshine " was very moving.Talked about how Vince was a very special person and hoped that some of Vince has rubbed off on each of them,
"He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother" the tribute to all our heroes who are fighting for our freedom was also very moving.This was very well received by the audience.
He seemed to me to sing each song with a new meaning Hard to explain it but you could almost tell that this was very special to Neil.
I sat in awe as I saw the piano rise and then Neil talked about how when he was young he used to make deliveries to rich people and sneak looks in to their houses and saw their beautiful shining pianos.He sat down and paused for a moment and then began playing Yes I Will.Then went into Lady Magdelene and finished with Yes I Will.It was unbelievable. Well worth the price of the concert ticket.
Neil sat on a stool while singing I Am...I Said. A loud yell from some of the audience when he sang "New York City born and raised"
I did see some ladies in the front row holding up a banner. Lots of flags waving during America and He Ain't Heavy.
It was neat watching the band during the songs The string ladies actions during Cherry Cherry were cute. Linda and Julia were doing some sort of hand thing like Patty Cake during one song.
Linda look great and Julie was something else in her outfit. The strings and horns are a great addition to the band.
I know I left some things out but you need to experience this event for yourself.
You will not be disappointed.
Posted on Nov 15, 2001, 9:10 PM from IP address 209.240.222.131
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