The Tina Turner Concert

I’ve come back to Earth now, so I can tell you about our trip to London to see Tina Turner. (smile) I have been hyped up for a couple of days now. And today I’m finally able to sit still and write a bit about it.

We took the train into London on Sunday morning. I love the train. It’s so much quicker and it’s just a nice way to travel. You get to see the countryside which I love and there are no traffic jams (smile) We arrived at Paddington Station a bit after noon. Before we left the station, we took a walk into the bookstore/newsstand. It’s always fun to see what they have in there. They have little Paddington Bears. They are so cute.

After our look around, we headed for the tube. We rode over to Victoria Station and had lunch at this great pizza place. I can’t remember the name, but we ate there before and it’s just really good. Our waiter was really nice and we got served very quickly. I love that place.

Then we decided to hop back on the tube and headed for our hotel. We timed it just right because by the time we got there, we were able to check into our room. We rested for a while and then got dressed and headed to the O2 for the concert.

Let me tell you, the Tina Turner concert was AMAZING!!!! Ms. Turner was like a force of nature. I have always loved her, but I was totally blown away at how amazing of a performer she is.

She sang all of her hits and everything else, such as… “What’s Love Got to Do With It”, “The Best”, “Proud Mary”, “Golden Eye”, “Addicted to Love”, “Let’s Stay Together”, “Nutbush City Limits”, “River Deep Mountain High”, “Private Dancer”, “We Don’t Need Another Hero”, and so many more.

She REALLY put on a proper show. She had at least six costume changes and was just beautiful in every outfit from long gowns that broke away to mini dresses that showed off her beautiful timeless legs.

The stage was set up with a catwalk across the back and her band played underneath that and the backup singers stood there too. Ms. Turner’s dancers came out all slinky and fabulous along the catwalk and down the stairs on either side. Then Ms. Tina made her entrance. She walked out on the top of the catwalk and her outline was illuminated by this bright light and then you saw her come into view as she stepped out onto a pedestal and was lowered down to the stage as she sang. My first thought was, wow, she is not afraid of heights. LOL. The height was quite a few feet. What an entrance! (smile)

When she sang “We Don’t Need Another Hero”, she got dressed in her outfit from the Mad Max movie and amazingly she looks very much the same as she did back then. And when she sang “Golden Eye” from the James Bond film, she came out onto the top of the catwalk through the golden eye emblem that twisted open and she stepped through. Brit Boy and I were amazed at the production value of her show. You can tell she comes from a generation of performers who REALLY can put on a show. I love the song “I Don’t Wanna Fight”. She didn’t sing this one, but during this point of the show, they showed a montage of her career as this song played and it went back to her days with Ike right up until today. It really illustrated to me what an amazing survivor she is and I just loved it.

One of my other favorite moments was when she sang “What’s Love Got To Do With It”. She had on her little red dress and her heels and she strutted across that stage like nobody’s business. This was probably my favorite moment. She just owned it. And she just worked it out on "Proud Mary"...wow!!!! (smile) Tina did her thing!

Later in the show, she did another bit where I was amazed at her not fearing heights. The stage had this arm with a catwalk and a basket with railing on the end. So she goes to this basket as she sings and the arm swings out into the audience over everyone’s head. She leaned over the edge several times and I held my breath. LOL. And then I realized that this woman is truly in charge of herself and free. She just goes for it! (smile) I admire her so much and I want to be like that….moving forward and truly, truly enjoying every minute.

Then after her being in the basket, she ran back across the catwalk towards the stage and then back to the basket and was singing and doing this all in 4 inch heels! (smile)

I can say that I was just enthralled by her and just couldn’t get enough of watching this amazing woman. She said early on in the concert that she had a bit of a cold and might not be her full self, but you couldn’t even tell. And this left me wondering, if that wasn’t her 100% performance, then what must that be like because she was full on Tina the whole time it seemed. (smile) She danced along with her dancers and sang full force and she left me winded just watching her. She never looked out of breath. I know I keep saying it, but she was amazing!!!!

Both Brit Boy and I loved the show. And I came away inspired. She reminded me that life is meant to be lived with gusto. There is beauty in being strong and assured and to love what you are doing. I think this is part of her secret. You can tell that performing is her passion. What a wonderful night we had! :-)

I'm Vertical Again

Hi there :-) Well, I took my much needed rest since I posted here last and many days before that when I was AWOL from here, and now I’m doing better. Brit Boy is fine too. Thank you to all of you who came by here to offer your get well wishes…Brit Boy and I really appreciate it. We are getting back into life after what seems like an eternity lying horizontal :-) In all, we were sick for about eight days, give or take a day. We don’t know who had the cooties first since we started to feel sick the same day :-) I haven't said "cooties" in years. LOL. It was yucky though…ugh. We’re just glad we are feeling better. We took the time we needed to rest and even though we were nauseous most of the time, it was just nice to slow down anyway :-) While we were stuck horizontal we talked about how we humans don’t realize we are rushing so much through life until we are forced to slow down. What a lesson that is :-) Anyway, enough sick talk.

I’m playing catch up here a bit today. Ah, let’s see…oh, our Valentine’s Day was good. We were sick and there were no flowers or candy this year, but it was just nice to have our romantic sick-fest together…hey, we’re easily amused ;-) We both said that there’s nobody we’d rather be sick with…now that’s true love :-) I know, enough already, right? Anyway, we watched movies and had a good day.

While I was lying around, I did finish one of my books that I’ve been reading. It was The Legs Are The Last To Go by Diahann Carroll. It was really a good read. I love biographies and autobiographies, so this was right up my alley. I always like to read how others, especially my elders, have persevered in their lives despite it being an uphill battle. Ms. Carroll has indeed led a wonderful life. Her accounts of her days in Hollywood, on Broadway and in the music world are truly intriguing. The list of people that she has known and/or worked with reads like a who’s who of the 20th century. I have always thought that she was one of the truly elegant ladies of our time and through the photos you see that she has truly been a beauty from the early days of her career over fifty years ago. There are also tales she tells of tough times, which ring true, because what life goes unscathed.

Besides her obvious beauty and elegance, you also get to see a woman who was intent upon showing her talent and fighting for equality. Ms. Carroll was a trailblazer along with others like Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge, and so many more who paved the way in popular culture and in many other ways. I honor them all. They make me stand taller as a woman when I think of what they have gone through before me. They, like my own ancestors, light my path everyday. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I believe it will stay with me for a long while. What a gift :-)