Jewel was to perform in AZ the summer I graduated. I have loved her work since her first CD back in 1997 and have all bought all her CDs as they've come (with the exception of the Christmas one). I wanted to go but I felt I should hold on to my money for my upcoming college days. How foolish! That was 5 years ago!
I had been keeping my eyes open for upcoming Jewel concerts, especially since her last CD came out. It turns out Jewel doesn't have a big following in Utah. How else could you explain why Utah was so cruelly exiled from her recent "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland" tour? I just knew when my Mom mentioned she heard Jewel would be coming to Park City I could not pass up my opportunity to see her perform again! The big day was July 21, 2007. I immediately bought tickets for Monica and me.
I became a YouTube addict (ok maybe that's exaggerating), watching interview and performances to hype myself up for the concert. But despite this, no YouTube video could come close to the excitement of actually being there. Jewel told stories about her songs and you must know she performed with the Utah Symphony Orchestra.
She recalled her first single, "Who Will Save You Soul" and laughed as she recounted the experience: She was 16 when she wrote the song and at the time knew just 4 guitar cords in only one particular order. If she attempted to rearrange the order, she got all muddled. As she knew she was to be performing with the Symphony, she gave them music from the various songs she would perform. She winced in embarrassment when recalling the moment she handed the sheet music for "Who Will Save Your Soul" to Maestro. She felt beneath their musical glory! Perhaps then but not now.
She has dared to write lyrics and music reflecting her own philosophies, and in a world where money holds phenomenal precedent, that takes courage. I like to think her brave for that!
More for me than for the readers, I am proud to list the itinerary of the performance.
The Utah Symphony Orchestra performed solo first. Of the notable pieces was played "I Feel Pretty" from Westside Story. Following their 30 minutes of solo time was an intermission. After which Jewel presented herself and sang the following in cooperation with the symphony:
1. Intuition (0304)
2. Standing Still (This Way)
3. You Were Meant for Me (Pieces of You)
4. Break Me (This Way)
5. Goodbye Alice in Wonderland (Goodbye Alice in Wonderland)
6. Foolish Games (Pieces of You)
7. Who Will Save You Soul (Pieces of You)
8. Love Me Just Leave Me Alone (This Way)
9. I Won't Walk Away (This Way)
10. Hands (Spirit)
Encore
11. Chime Bells Are Ringing (a yodeling tune)
12. Unknown (a new love song from her upcoming album)
13. Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Sadly this didn't get played as there is a curfew at 10pm)
Here are some pictures from my most memorable concert and one of my top ten life highlights:
Monica and I waiting for it all to begin.
My new JEWEL shirt!! Yeah it was $35, $5 less than the concert itself, but I'll take it!
Monica eating a piece of a symphony bar as we listened to the Utah Symphony Orchestra.
Jewel doin' what she does. And in complimentary colors too! Purple and Yellow! Her dress was so pretty and definitely aligned with her recent style. An "Alice in Wonderland" dress if I ever saw one.
Here are several videos I managed to take. I always fight with the dilemma of whether to "savor the moment" or "preserve the moment". I chose mainly to "savor the moment" so the videos are a little sloppy and cut funny, but at least I managed to preserve some of the moment after all.
Jewel performing "Love Me Just Leave Me Alone". Listen to the Symphony in the background, it's amazing. Jewel commented that she was hesitant to suggest performing this song. She felt to lean toward, "more classical pieces" as she said. But Maestro wouldn't have it. He replied, "We can jam!" And hence, the song was played.
Jewel performing "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland".
Jewel performing "Standing Still".
Jewel performing a Yodelling song.
1 comments:
Was it "just want you always wanted!?!?!?"
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