Review of Wolf Trap show in Virginia
Posted by Matt
Well, I finally had my first CI&S experience at the Wolf Trap in Virginia. As much as I enjoyed the show, I also have to say that I was a little disappointed. After I bought my tickets, I went out to the fansites and read reviews on previous shows, and I really got my hopes and expectations up for an AWESOME night. It would have been hard for the show to live up to my expectations; I had envisioned a very raucous crowd, with sexual energy riding high, lots on fans interacting with each other, and genuinely having a great time. Unfortunately, these expectations weren�t fulfilled. Also, I wish I wouldn�t have known what the playlist was ahead of time. This really detracted from the �spontaneity� of the show, especially as the concert neared the end, and I knew that it was almost over. So I won�t be posting the playlist here for those of you who are going to an upcoming show. Besides, if you REALLY want to know the playlist, it�s posted numerous times on the various fansites.
Okay, now that THAT�S out of the way, let�s talk about the show! My wife and I drove from Raleigh to Vienna to catch the show. I�ve been a CI fan for a long time, and she has the Screaming Thigh Hots for him. On our 5-hour journey to the show, we came upon a large bus with a White Tiger painted on the back. This was on I-95 North, the same route the tour bus would be taking from his previous show at Myrtle Beach. So I tried to convince my wife that it was the band�s tour bus, and that Chris was in the van at that very moment. (Although I�m quite certain that he flies from show to show.) I think she got a little �excited� just imagining that he was on the bus. She sure was straining her eyes trying to see inside! (And I think a moan escaped her lips.)
Eventually we got to the Wolf Trap at about 6:45. I was surprised to see so many people walking to the show with large coolers and beer. This isn�t allowed at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, so I was a little jealous that I didn�t have a cooler filled with drinks and munchies. But I got over it pretty quickly, especially when I found out that we couldn�t even bring bottled WATER to our seats. You only get the privilege of enjoying a tasty beverage if you�re in the cheap seats, um, I mean on the lawn. Too weird.
Eventually it became 8:00 and the lights went down � time for the opening act of Leslie Tucker. She was obviously nervous to be playing in front of such a large crowd, but she seemed like a very genuine, nice person. It was obvious in her first song that her nerves were strung tight, but she loosened up as the night went on. Many of her songs were reminiscent of Cowboy Junkies � kind of folksy, kind of bluesy. The band didn�t have much stage presence, if any, but they really belted out a couple of great blues tunes. After 45 minutes they called it quits, and the crowd started getting primed for Chris and his Band.
I took this time to walk around and check out the crowd. I was surprised at the number of �old� people at the show (older than me, 33). I was expecting more of a 20-something crowd, but there were plenty of 40-somethings there. Some people were dressed up like they were going to a play or something, but plenty of people were dressed in everyday duds. It was definitely an eclectic group of fans. I was also surprised that there weren�t more gay male couples at the show. My wife and I have some gay friends, and CI is supposedly VERY popular among gay men. I did see a few male couples holding hands, but not as many as I expected.
I made my way back to my seat a little after 9:00, ready for the band to start playing. Eventually they came out about 9:15, ready to rock and croon. Since I knew that the first song was going to be �Wandering,� I had a dramatic image in mind of how the show was going to start. The stage would be pitch black. The opening �bee� sounds of Wandering would come through the speakers. The crowd would start screaming wildly. The first chord would be strummed. It would still be pitch black. Chris would croon �Big clouds pick on the little ones.� Then the band would start rocking at the same time the colored lights strobed and lit up the stage. It was going to be the perfect opening to the perfect show�.Well, what actually happened instead was the band walked out onto the stage and got into their playing positions. Then Chris came on stage in one of his signature suits, and of course the crowd did scream wildly for him. When he got to the mike, they started playing Wandering, but something was wrong. You could only here a few of the words he was singing. I didn�t know if his voice was cracking, or if the microphones weren�t working. It was something like �Big�.picked on��.ones. �..shade �..out the sun� ���... wandering.� A moment of panic shot through my body thinking that he somehow lost his voice, and that the show would have to be cancelled. Luckily everything seemed to start working about a minute into the song. Personally, I wished he would have stopped the show and started the song over after everything was working properly, but no such luck.
The next several songs went off without a hitch, and the band sounded great. I was most impressed that Chris could hit some of the high notes in concert. There�s lots you can do in a studio to make your voice sound good, but concerts tell the real story; and he did a great job hitting the high notes, and hitting them smoothly. It was very impressive.
The band didn�t do much cutting up with each other like I expected. According to everything I�ve read about CI shows, the band REALLY cuts up and has a good time together. It was obvious that they were having a good time, but they didn�t cut up too much, except Chris kept picking on Herschel about his goatee, which was funny. And since it was Kenney�s birthday, I was expecting even more cutting up from the band, but no such luck.
Since I don�t want to give away the playlist to those of you who haven�t seen his show yet, I�ll just say that most of the songs were done very well. But I will also say that I thought �Flying� and �San Francisco Days� were both very weak, which was unfortunate since these are arguably two of their best songs.
When the band finished playing the last song, they announced that Chris would be out front signing merchandise. My wife got herself one of the nice CI SOTD sweatshirts, and of course had to have it signed. (I�m sure she was really more interested in getting close to Chris than she was in having her shirt signed!) It was practically a mob scene at the signing spot, but we joined the mob and waited it out. Since I was taller than just about everyone else there, my wife just grabbed onto my beltloop and let me lead the way. It was a wild scene, but it was fun being in the middle of the swarm of girls/women waiting to have their stuff signed, and to get a glimpse of Chris. The hormones were definitely running high in this crowd, and I was glad to be a part of it! About an hour later we were at the front of the crowds, and she got her shirt signed. I must admit that she had a big smile on her face. Chris exudes a magnetism that makes girls (and gay guys) weak in their knees. I�m more than a little envious!
After her shirt was signed we found out that Chris would be taking pictures after all the autographs were done. Knowing how badly my wife wanted to take her picture with him (or just to put her arm around him) I told her we should wait there so she can have her picture made. She readily agreed. There were so many women wanting their picture taken with him that it was tough getting close to him. It wasn�t an organized �line� and the person at the front of the line gets their turn with him. It was a throng of people just latching onto him. When someone latched on, he�d just look for the camera and pose. Then someone else would latch on. My wife felt so bad for him, that she told me she didn�t want to have her picture taken with him because she felt he was trying to leave and nobody would let him. I assured her that if he REALLY wanted to leave, his people could get him out of there in 15 seconds. So I convinced her to work her way towards him to have her picture taken. When she finally got to him, I was able to snap two shots before someone else tackled him. My wife was quite giddy at having her picture taken with him. But she was a little put off by him because she said he was a �horndog� for staring at her breasts, even though her shirt was buttoned way up, and her boobs aren�t that big. She said he first looked her in the eye, deliberately looked down at her breasts, and then back up to her eyes again. She�s pretty conservative, so she didn�t like it very much. But she got over it and was still excited about having her picture taken.
I couldn�t help but wonder if Chris takes any type of relaxant to help him deal with the crowds. There�s so much commotion and confusion going on, but he seems completely unfazed by it all. His eyes were very dark, like he was very tired, or he had taken something. I�m not trying to start any rumors or anything, but I know that I�d need medication to handle all those fans on a nightly basis!
One final observation: Chris� songs and his real life seem to have nothing in common. He�s perpetually singing of being rejected and having a broken heart. But based on comments he makes in interviews, comments he makes during concerts, comments he makes to fans after the shows, and based on the number of women who swoon over him, I doubt he�s ever been rejected or been �Lonely, with a broken heart.�
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