Concert Reviews
Feelin' Fine in Fayetteville
December 5, 2003
Story and Photos by Tana
"When I was four or five years old, I cried because my Mom would not let me go see David Cassidy in concert. I had a friend who was a few years older than me and her parents were taking her to see David. I was never asked to go along but still I thought my Mom should insist that they take me as well! No such luck! I got the usual speech about being too young and blah, blah, blah......same ol' stuff. Of course, now I understand that I really was too young, so I forgive you Mom!
Since that time, 32 years ago, I've married and have a daughter of my own. I rediscovered David in 2000 when my daughter was only 4 years old. She became a young fan as well, singing along to his music and watching Partridge Family reruns. I began saying "Someday we will go together and see David perform live." And that is exactly what we did.
I began to watch David's website for tour dates. Finally in early 2003 I noticed a show scheduled for December 5 in Fayetteville, NC. I live in West Virginia so this would be an approximate 6-7 hour drive for me, but still I decided it was going to happen. I called a girlfriend of mine and asked if she would like to take our daughters (ages 7 and 9) and make a weekend trip of it.....kind of a girls weekend away thing with David being the highlight. Of course she said she would go.
From February until November, I anxiously checked the website on a daily basis as well as Ticketmaster for information on ticket sales. I finally was able to purchase tickets. I was disappointed with my seats (31st row) but nevertheless I was excited that my dream was about to come true!
Then, the trouble began. I am very active with my daughter's school and dance. All of a sudden there seemed to be an event for every activity scheduled that very weekend. I had to do some major maneuvering and schedule juggling and it ended up that I would not be able to make a weekend of it but would have to make the trip in one night (a total of 14 hours on the road). I was bummed. Then, my dear husband (who totally supports my David habit) offered to drive us and sleep at a hotel while we attended the concert so he could drive us back home that same night. Yahoo! The trip was on again.
Several other things happened in the course of that month before the concert that again threatened to cancel the trip but we were always able to work them out.....until the morning before. My daughter woke with a fever. I took her to the doctor and they said it was just a virus but it would get worse before it got better. Oh no! Our trip and the concert was tomorrow night!! I brought my daughter home and pumped her full of medicine and Vitamin C. She just had to get well!! However, sometime during the night I made the decision to cancel the trip when my daughter's fever rose and she got even sicker. I didn't sleep the whole night. Finally, at about 7:00 am Friday morning I decided to call my girlfriend and tell her we weren't going to be able to go. However, upon walking past my daughter's room, she jumped out of bed all excited saying "Yay, today is David Cassidy!!" She was literally jumping up and down and doing cartwheels. She was as cool as a cucumber, no signs of being sick at all, so we decided to make the trip after all.
We arrived at the venue about an hour before the show was to start. There were a lot of people straggling in and I had the chance to talk with some of them and made several new friends. It was shortly after 8:00 pm (the show was supposed to start at eight) when we heard a rumor that David was not yet in the building but apparently was snowed in somewhere in Connecticut. Yikes!!! I drove all this way and now the concert wasn't going to happen?! We were sitting on pins and needles for a while but FINALLY David bounced onto stage!! What a moment for me!! There he was! In the flesh!! He looked wonderful, wearing a red silky shirt and black slacks, and he sounded even better. His voice was awesome.....even better in person than on the CDs and television! I couldn't believe this was finally happening for me!! David is such a great entertainer. I was impressed with his stage presence, the way he interacted with the audience and told jokes and laughed in between songs. He seemed so real and so friendly that you couldn't help but fall in love with him!"
The rest of the evening is pretty much a blur for me. The concert went by much too quickly. I felt like I was in a haze....a dream. I remember running to the stage several times with many others to snap photos. David once pointed at my daughter and her friend as he sang, which really made their night (and mine)! He sang to those seated in the orchestra pit, holding one lucky lady in his arms and holding hands with several others. He spoke briefly with a pregnant lady, asking about her choice of baby names and joking that he was nowhere near the area eight months ago when she became pregnant! I can still remember his words at the end of the show..."GOODNIGHT, THANK YOU FOR COMING, I LOVE YOU, MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
A few fans gathered at the stage door following the concert waiting to catch a glimpse of David. He finally did come out and waved graciously to us as he made his way to the white Cadillac waiting for him. The driver of the car beeped his horn as they drove off to all of our cries of "Thank you, David!" "We love you, David". And that was it. He was gone. My dream of seeing him perform live had come true. Was it worth the wait? You bet!!!
In conclusion, my husband drove us the seven hours home that night. Upon our return, my daughter was feverish again. It was like she got well just long enough to attend the concert and then she let herself be sick again. To make a long story short, we both came down with the flu and spent the next week in bed. It was not fun but at least we had the concert to remember and David to dream about. We're both better now and I'm already checking David's website for new concert dates!!
