Wide Awake at the Palace with Josh Groban

It was a stormy September afternoon in the Philippines when I first heard that now very familiar baritone singing on the radio inside a friend’s car while cruising along the almost flooded streets of Makati years ago.

The voice was soothing as it soared into the cool windy air; his Italian song crystal clear, mellifluous and enchanting and the romantic in me made me an instant fan of this nameless and faceless singer at that time.

Being a music lover and aficionado, I immediately went to the net and look for the song and name of the singer and was surprised that the singer was not Italian at all but a prodigious American who at 17 years old was introduced to David Foster by his vocal coach and has since then have taken the music world by storm.

That singer behind the phenomenal voice was no other than Josh Groban who once attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts Camp in Northern Michigan when he was younger and once again made his homecoming to Michigan special by way of his 2007 Awake Tour stop at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the fifth stop of the vaunted tour.

I really wanted to watch him perform live and was eager to buy his tickets through the advance purchasing program offered to the company that I was connected at that time but the procrastinator in me got the better of me.

It was only about three days before his concert on February 23 that I decided to finally get tickets for the said show and boy was it hard!

The prime seats were all taken by then and Ticketmaster kept on giving me tickets with obstructed views.

So, I tried and tried and tried until the computer was really, really exhausted by my dogged determination (ha-ha!) and finally gave in and handed me tickets on the lower level about ten seats from the main floor and on the side about 25 rows from the stage. Not a bad deal for a latecomer so I grabbed the said tickets which costs me $120 each, cooled my heels and waited for the big night.

On the day of the event I drove about 90 miles and arrived early at 4 pm for the 8 pm concert. As I ate my Burger King hamburger in the sprawling but almost deserted parking lot of the Palace, I watched with a smile on my face as people began trickling in…

Grobanites in all colors, ages and sizes from near and far came in full force; some complete with face paints, banners and vehicles proclaiming their love for their idol. Ha-ha.

We went to the Palace and the guards proclaimed that no cameras and videos were allowed inside the venue which was a bummer. Many concert-goers heeded the said regulation or so I thought because as soon as curtains was lifted and the spotlight shone on Josh Groban while singing You Are Loved (Don‘t Give Up), almost everybody especially the ladies began clapping and screaming as they instinctively grabbed their digital cameras, camera-phones and what have you from their secret hideaways and began shooting him in wild abandon.

His beautiful voice soared amid the sea of flashes and the plethora of Palace guards tasks to enforce order could do nothing about it and could only shake their heads and grin in disbelief by the blatant show of “disrespect’ for the rules by the concert goers! Ha-ha!

But the night was special as he sang one great song after another and rocked the Palace like never before. He was a Prince, Preacher and Troubadour rolled into one, his soaring, smooth baritone mesmerized the audience all through the night---

He sang not only his English hits but also some of his Spanish and Italian songs, used a vocoder for Lullaby to make his voice sound like a choir, played the piano and banged the drums like a pro, joked with the audience while singing Stephen Sondheim’s Not While I’m Around from the musical Sweeney Todd, donned a Pistons Uniform to the delight of Michiganders, materialized at the far end of the venue and walked his way on the center aisle towards the stage while singing and interacting with fans, showed his new- found calling by playing songs with African music influence (Nelson Mandela named him as AIDS Ambassador to Africa) and a thousand other ways to thrill his fans.

I got my money’s worth to say the least and converted two people in the process, with one eventually one- upped me by becoming a Certified Grobanite and paid the membership fee right after the concert. I guess she became so enamored with Mr. Groban’s operatic but silky voice and buoyed by his wit and good rapport with the audience his messy hair and “aw- shucks“ personality notwithstanding. Ha-ha.!


The much ballyhooed homecoming of Michigan’s favorite adopted son did not disappoint. The Concert was one of the best ones I’ve been into in a long time. There was never a dull moment and it was a night to remember forever and I will definitely watch him again if given another chance.


Here’s the Awake Tour Set List

You Are Loved
Mai
Un Dia Llegara
Un Giorno Per Noi
So She Dances
February Song
Remember When It Rained
Alla Luce Del Sole
Lucia’s Violin Solo (Kashmir*)
Now or Never
Pearls
L’Ultima Notte
Lullaby**
Weeping**
Not While I’m Around
You Raise Me Up
Machine
Smile
Drum Solo Encore
Awake Encore



* Lucia Micarelli is an awesome violinist; playing barefoot on stage and attacked the Led Zeppelin Classic Kashmir with impunity. She was a human dynamo on the strings and a kick-ass performer.


Here's MY video of the concert at the Palace of Auburn Hills--

ENJOY...