Hello All!
Happy New Year, 2010. Wow, 2010. I remember being a kid, watching Space 1999, Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, etc. and thinking that the year 2000 was so far away. Prince told us to "Party like it's 1999" and of course, who could forget Y2K? Whatever that was. Yes, by the year 2000, I was waiting for my very own Landcruiser a la Luke Skywalker, communicators like on Star Trek and Computers with vast resources and a camera built in so that I could see people when I spoke to them (insert Sci-Fi show title here, since they all had it).
And you know what? I have a communicator via my web enabled flip cellphone, a netbook with vast resources by way of the internet, and skype so I can see people as I talk to them. The only thing missing is the Landcruiser. Oh well, what the deuce anyway, I live in Manhattan, so there really is no need. I have ample means of transportation in NYC.
So now here we are a decade (a decade!!!) into the 2000's and while some things have changed, some have stayed the same. What I've learned is to just live in the present, and face tomorrow when it actually comes. The rest will take care of itself.
I had a fantastic New Years, albeit busy. I started off at a party with a buddy from California who usually can be found in Times Square on New Years, then I won front row tickets to see Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden. I was really thrilled, and took along someone equally happy to be there with me.
Mariah was the consummate performer. Wow what charisma she has. I couldn't take my eyes off of her the entire concert. She began by arriving high above all of our heads in a red sleigh singing "All I want for Christmas" and proceeded to go through her songbook, with many wardrobe changes and personal stories along the way. There was a tribute to Michael Jackson, and Mariah reworked Diana Ross' "Love Hangover" to mosh it with one of her songs. Amazing.
At around midnight, the countdown began, and she counted us off, when Madison Square Garden exploded with fireworks, streamers, confetti and balloons. It was overwhelmingly exciting, I tell you. And there is something so surreal about having Mariah Carey sing Auld Lang Syne to you at the Garden. She closed with "Emotions", encored with "Hero" and gave us a memorable and wonderful night.
From there, I had been asked to perform at a place downtown at around 1:30 am and Mariah let out about 20 minutes before that. So I hustled there and was happy to find that someone needed to go on before me, so I had a little breathing room. We raised money for Broadway and Performers and generally had a blast. After 3 sets though, I was beat.
Next thing I know it was after 9 am, so we all went out to breakfast and chilled for a while and then I headed home to get some rest before having to meet people later that day. I finally strolled in at noon. Now if that doesn't make you feel like a rock star, I don't know what does.
In addition to those great memories, I have also been lucky enough to catch some Broadway too. I saw the amazing Ron Bohmer in "Ragtime" before it closed, and I've been to see my friend Bryan Fenkart in "Memphis" twice already in a week's time. I cannot recommend this show highly enough. I hope it runs for a long, long time and let me just predict some Tony awards in their future. By the way, Bryan is performing at the Bitter End downtown NYC on Jan 11, if you are in the city and want to see a great show.
Ok, that's about it? How was your New Years? Hopefully, you had fun, let go of the past and are anxious to move forward. Speaking of which, I wish a year full of laughter, love, happiness and joy and most of all, music. Peace be with you and remember to be good to one another.
See you on the B-side,
Richmond Chandler
