"BEAMS ARE GONNA BLIND ME..."

In a brand new weekly series, I will be describing some of the best ROCK CONCERTS I have attended over the years. Stay tuned for hilarious reports from the Simple Minds concert at Glasgow's Barrowlands, the Ultravox gig at UBC's War Memorial Gym, and the Rod Stewart Coliseum experience from the late '80s. But, ever the predictable one, I begin with something much fresher in my mind. So, for those who missed it first time around, here's the condensed version of the news bulletin originally posted April 16th, 2007:

Some of you have asked for a review of the David Usher concerts this past weekend. Up until now, the words just wouldn't come. To say that this was the second most thrilling experience of my life is a very bold statement I know, and yet I still feel this way. I suppose it's subjective, but I can't take my eyes off him when he's on stage. He's exquisite in so many ways: his poetic vision radiates, his intensity pulls an audience under his spell, and his vocals are dynamite. To say nothing of his "feline grace" which drives the majority of the crowd into paroxysms of pleasure. The dazzling strobe-light dance alone is simply beyond description.

I was front and centre for the first night. Every single person in that club wanted a piece of him, wanted to drown in his beauty. I've never witnessed anything like it, and I've seen a hell of a lot of concerts. The girl next to me got to dance with him, and I was jealous as all hell. And when he waded into the crowd to sing with us, it was like the second coming, his glistening face shining before us. He clutched hands everywhere, we screamed with girlish delirium, and the sheer joy on his face when the devoted throng sang along gleefully to "Alone in the Universe" is something I cannot replicate in words. It was one of the most transcendent moments of my life.

He knows how to work an audience, certainly, but there is nothing contrived about his performance. He moves like a panther, his slim, ageless body pulsating to the grunge beat of old Moist songs, his long, dark hair falling enticingly about his face. When he sat down to sing at the front of the mini-stage, he was literally 2 inches from me, his dark chocolate eyes penetrating us all, his smile lighting up our hearts, making every single person in that club feel as if they were the only ones alone in the Universe with him. He held onto my hand briefly during that song (okay, I clung to his), and when he looked at me and sang "wake up I can almost see the light," I thought I would just melt into nothingness. It was an exhilarating and sensual experience to see him live, but I was literally out-of-body the entire time. That has never happened at a concert before. I guess what I finally got to experience was the "David love" I've heard so much about from other fans. The crucial thing about his concerts is this: the spotlight may be on David, but he brings everybody into that spotlight, and makes you feel as beautiful and exceptional as he himself is.

I'm not ashamed to admit I had tears in my eyes during Saturday night's rendition of the achingly gorgeous "St. Lawrence River," but it was elation, not sadness. I was transported to another place, unaware of my surroundings, only knowing that this beautiful creature was singing so passionately right in front of me, singing lyrics which have touched me deeply, and that people around me really understood what I had felt for years. Why could he not just keep singing all night long? Why did it have to end? I was utterly enraptured, and literally "slipping through the endless stream of time." For an hour and a half on two consecutive nights in Vancouver, he made some of our dreams come true. David, we love you man. Come back soon.