It was July 1964 and “A Hard Day’s Night”, starring the Beatles just opened at the Majestic Theater in Ventura, California. The film was a mockumentary describing a couple of days in the lives of the group.
My sister was eleven and I was fifteen and we lived just a few blocks from the theater. Being avid fans, I must admit, we went every day for a week. We never tired watching the Beatles and loved their music.
As time passed I grew up and moved away and never returned to the Majestic after that fabulous week of Beatlemania watching. In 1984 the Majestic showed their final movie, “Silkwood” then renovated and turned the old theater into a concert venue.
Ironically, forty seven years later I find myself returning to see an artist of great talent who sings with heart and soul and covers some of their best songs ever written. It’s only appropriate that David Archuleta should bring me back to the Majestic Theater during the holidays. As David says many times, Christmas is the season for friends, family, love, and of course music.
David holds close to his heart the meaning of Christmas and feels the music is used for expressing the feelings and thoughts that help bring people together.
This is the time of year when artists go on tour to share their versions of Christmas classics and some originals that they hope will someday be classics as well.
The minute he walked on stage, the crowd went wild. Starting off the show with “Sleigh Ride”, it was obvious David was going to put on an awesome show. Once the show got started, there was nothing to do but sit back, listen and enjoy. Listening to his voice makes it clear why millions fell in love with him, but it seems that his voice has only gotten better with time. Something in his timbre and expressive richness behind it wakes up your musical senses.
The crowd at the Majestic appeared to have had the wind knocked out of them by the intensity of Archuleta’s delivery. Anyone who has experienced David’s concerts knows that there will be moments that take your breath away. It a moving experience to see this amazing young man perform with such great passion.
The first half of his set included many classic Christmas Carols and some of his pop songs. But as David exploded on stage with “The Other Side of Down” I realized we have an artist in our mist with talent greater than we could have ever imagined. He is a lightning bolt of energy, passion, and has a rare skill to magnetize his audience. A special moment for me was his rendition of “Climb Every Mountain”. This was simply a masterful presentation of musicianship on all levels.
He set the night on fire and proved he can sing, dance, engage and inspire all before intermission.
Upon returning back to the stage after intermission, David had changed into a black jacket and scarf although very handsome my favorite was his vest, black tie and white shirt. He reminded me of a British rock star of the sixties.
David shared some traditions on his mother’s side of the family by singing a Spanish/English holiday tune Fa La La La La he co-wrote, and performed with Sunny Hilden. He played maracas and danced some Bachata which was one of the many highlights of the evening.
Christmas comes once a year and this show made it worth the wait.
No comments:
Post a Comment