BocelliOnline

[Sarah]

The razzle-dazzle, the gaudy attractions and the noisy din of every casino
faded into non-existence as I stepped into the concert center to await the start of the concert. I was again treated to the beauty of the Angel Voice of Andrea Bocelli. The crowd was so enthusiastic and showed the love by
their generous reactions as each song began. I'll leave the technical reports to those who know more about the music than I do.

Sarah is once again back Down South in Alabama but her feet haven't touched the ground yet. It was so great to meet so many of you before and after the concert and to know that our common bond is the most distinctive tenor in the world today.

See some of you again in Providence this coming weekend.
Ciao,. Sarah from you know where :roll: :lol:

[faris]

Hello,
Las Vegas was my first Bocelli concert, but I hope it won't be my last. Just as soon as it was over, I was ready to go again! Andrea's voice is amazing - so clear and passionate. I would have to say, that I could just listen to a full 2 hours of Andrea, although Ana Maria Martinez was wonderful as well.

Faris

[Signora Innamorata]

Sarah ~ I am so happy that everything went perfect for your weekend! Just out of curiosity, would you say Andrea's voice has changed since you last saw him in concert? I often read about how his voice has grown over the years, etc etc (and naturally, thats to be expected)....was just wondering if you heard any difference yourself during this concert compared to your last concert.

Did Ana Maria sweep you off your feet like she did me? I was so excited for all of you to experience her angelic ways and her exquisite beauty. And did Steven play with the crowd? He gave us such fun, that man. Near the end of the concert, he was egging us on to improve our cheers, as though IF we could meet his expectations of the LOUDEST roars possible, then...and ONLY then....would he allow Andrea to bless us with another encore. It was precioussssssssssss! Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the playful side of Steven, as well as his mouth dropping talent.

Sorry for all the questions...didn't mean to bombard you here...eh eh :D I just so much prefer humble fans impressions of things, rather then the critics point of views. I am with you...I much prefer to hear the thoughts from the heart, rather then the technical aspects.

One last question, Sarah (if you don't mind).... I get the feeling you have been to quite a few concerts now (if not more)... can you share how many you have been blessed with going to? I am somehow feeling "double digits" are going to be the answer. :D :P :D

Cin Cin!!
Italian cheers!!

So glad your weekend was wonderful! OH, and now you are jet setting off to the Providence concert? Mamma mia, you are SOOOO lucky, cara!

:D .........baci ~

FARIS.....ciao fellow "first timer"....we just attended our first concert as well, on the 8th. He sure leaves an deeeep impression inside of the heart, doesn't he? Oooh!

How long have you been a fan of his? He's been tucked inside of my heart since Oct of 1997. And since Nov 8th, Ana Maria is tucked in there as well. Snug as a bug...in a rug....eheheh!

Keep all your memories at the top of your heart. I hope you can see him again ~
_________________
Don't marry the man you can live with... marry the man you can't live without ~

[BoFanBecky]

Hi faris it was such a delight to meet you and your husband (?) and it's good to see you posting your comments here. I agree with you 100%.

My family had a wonderful time in Vegas the entire weekend. Dinner and a little one-armed bandit action with Dottie on Friday night, meeting up with Sweets & Dave at dinner on Sunday, and then that fabulous pre-concert dinner party on Saturday. No wonder Mr. Bocelli mentioned in The Early Show TV program this morning that he loves the American audiences......you Bocelli Fans are the GREATEST PEOPLE ever!!! Wish I could have met every single person in that restaurant and had several hours of one-on-one time with each. I'm still reeling at all the coincidences and common ground we have, even apart from our mutual admiration of OFT. Loved meeting the folks whose names I recognized.....Jo/jo, Ahma, Marg, Alice, BigFanSue, Dottie, Annalisa, Janice, Sarah, Dorris, and of course Melodie (and others who slip my foggy brain in this moment :oops: ) and getting acquainted with those who don't post messages, such as Jackie and Faris. Was also searching for Em and Ravenn and sorry I missed you.

The concert was excellent (of course it was, Our Favorite Tenor is a perfectionist who always gives us his best and gives it to us with tons of "emotion" :) ) Our seats were even EXCELLENTER!! We were soooo close that I found myself looking for any wrinkles in Mr. Bocelli's attire, counting the stubbles in Mr. Mercurio's beard, and trying to guess what brand of lipstick Ms. Martinez was wearing. My daughter Tiffany was most taken in by the lighting which would sometimes turn her skin a purple or a green color, and when the cameraman would pan the audience ("Mommy, we could be FAMOUS someday!!" LOL) After the concert she was gathering up programs and said she'd send them to any online friends who ask :D

One thing I was glad to hear is that the orchestra got as strong applause as the vocalists (welll, nearly).....the cellists in William Tell Overture and the soloist in Voglio Restare Cosi (was that a tenor saxophone? I could only see the mouthpiece). Everyone involved in the production gave us their all and I'm sure it's like that in every city of the tour.

I took my digital camera and got quite a few good shots, even after being strongly chastised!! Not by any security but by the woman sitting BEHIND me!! I think she was just trying to impress me with her "status" at Mandalay Bay cause she slipped me a business card in case "you got a problem with it". I put the camera down awhile but snapped a lot after intermission when BoFanHubby reminded me that this is America....if SHE has a problem then SHE should SUE us, haaaaaaa :twisted: :twisted: Anyway, I'll either post a few pics on the forum or see if Michael wants to put them elsewhere in site.

Enough of my inane comments, eh? You folks with upcoming concerts are in for a BEEEEEGG treat!! Enjoy!

~~ Becky

[Signora Innamorata]

Becky...this is an AWESOME report...you had me laughing in stiches and I felt like I was "there" for these couple of minutes. Nice afternoon surprise for my eyes and soul! :P

I had to laugh about the woman behind you...when she gave you her business card...did you give her your web site address? ehehehhe :D

You are so lucky to have met many of your forum friends and enjoyed special memories with so many of them. That made me smile, too. I have memories like that as well, having to do meeting very special friends in Italy in person (that became like family) from an Italian chat room. And after meeting them "in" person, it certainly more then sealed the deal with that "family feeling". I'm tickled for you in every which way... memories that you can always smile over!

Hey, you left us hanging though.... :D .....did you find ANY wrinkles in Andrea's tux? How many stubles were in Steven's beard...? And pleaseeee, please DO share...WHAT was Ana Maria's brand of lipstick? eheheh!! Mamma mia...your seats were to die FOR!! :P

None of you even know me of course, as I am very new here, but Becky, you have nooo idea just how many times I thought of all of you this weekend. It was the fun obsession for my weekend.... thinking of all of you laughing and eating together, running around the casino's together, taking photo's and the creme de la creme....getting to witness the surreal beauty of Andrea, Ana Marie, and Steven...together. By Sunday night, my cheek muscles hurt from smiling so much :D

Take care... enjoy all the bellaaaa memories....and thanks for sharing your wonderful report. I thoroughly enjoyed it :P
_________________
Don't marry the man you can live with... marry the man you can't live without ~

[Kenzu]

Thanks Becky, oh boy, would I only have been there,but you know maybe I was in my dreams and the concert was faboulos :lol:
_________________
"Ex nihilo nihil fit"

[Melodie]

I can’t really top Becky, Janice or Sarah, but consider this another county heard from…

I arrived in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon, and Friday evening I met up with my buddies Ahma and Marg…they were sitting at a bus stop across the street from the Bellagio, enjoying the evening and the view – all that was missing were the bags! :lol: My intention was to spend a little time with them and then meet Becky and Dottie at Mandalay Bay – WELL…around midnight, the three of us decided to call it a day! The best laid plans and all that…

I met Ahma and Marg in July at Steven’s party, and at that time it was already like meeting old friends, so you can imagine how the reunion went!!

Saturday night…ah yes, Saturday night…

I got to the restaurant a little early, but it wasn’t open yet, and the line had already started waiting to go in. I saw a couple of groups of people standing around, but since I’d never met anyone who was going to attend the two dinners (same time, same place) except for Ahma and Marg, I had no idea of who I was looking for! I finally noticed a woman holding a bunch of long-stemmed red roses and knew that it was Dorris, so I went over to introduce myself to her and the people she was standing with. This went on for quite some time…people going up to people introducing themselves…we went inside the restaurant and found our tables, and it was so much fun to have people come up to you and introduce themselves - complete strangers, but not strangers at all…

I finally got to meet our moderator, BoFanBecky, Jo, Annalisa, Big Fan Sue and her husband Gary, Lorna, Sarah, Carole, Win, Judi, Alice, and Dorris; I saw Bobbi and Janice again (met them in New York, too), and introduced myself to Gary Raymond (for those of you who don’t know Gary, check this out: http://www.geocities.com/garyraymond28/ ). I know I’ve forgotten some names, and there were others there that I didn’t get to meet, like Dottie…just not enough time!!

We also got to meet some new BoFans from all over the U.S. , one of whom has already checked in (Farris) and one who I noticed registered, but he hasn’t spoken up yet. But what a small world!! Farris sat next to Becky, and it turns out they live less than 10 miles from each other! And at another table, there was a man who’s into Kentucky jumpers, and another man at his table raises them… We had a very nice young couple at our table – he from El Salvador, she from Indonesia – who met online…one of the first things they found they had in common was Andrea Bocelli. There seems to be a certain phenomenon surrounding Bocelli fans, but that's a subject for another essay.

So…dinner’s over and off we went to the Events Center, which was just around the corner and down the hall from the restaurant. We got to our seats – PERFECT!! (thank you Ahma). Then Maestro Mercurio came out and the rest you already know.

One observation I had that I haven’t seen mentioned yet is Andrea’s interaction with Ana Maria; it was more than that of singing partners…knowing that they’ve known each other for several years, it was nice to see how Andrea would put his arm around Ana Maria, but not as part of the “act”; it seemed more like two friends…not awkward, but quite natural. At one point it looked like he was actually going to kiss her! :wink:

Another thing I’d like to mention – especially for those of you who still have a concert coming up – if Andrea sings “Voglio Restare Così", hopefully you’ll notice the beautiful arrangement of the music. Maestro Mercurio tried to make something "live" out of something that only existed previously in studio, and in my opinion, he succeeded beautifully! And as Becky said, the orchestra was great and deserved the applause they received.

The other interesting thing that us “onliners” got a kick out of was the number of people who joined us for dinner who had never seen Andrea in concert! You think WE were excited?!! :roll: We arranged to meet after the concert to hear their impressions, and I don’t need to tell you that there were only eyes shining and superlatives spoken.

Well, I know that’s not all of it, but it will take some time for everything to come back to me.