<p>Stevie Wonder’s Autumn Night concert was just fantastic and was dedicated to his mother who passed away last year. The last time I saw him in concert was in 1974, also in Madison Square Garden. He was amazing then and is equally amazing now. Stevie used his forum to give a tribute to those who lost their lives on 9/11 and asked for a moment of silence. He ranted about hatred in the world and about how wars have to stop. He made us laugh and he made us stop and reflect … and of course he played most of his classic hits. He orchestrated a terrific sing-along by gender of “Ribbon in the Sky.” We loved the story he told of how he wrote “My Cherie Amour” when he was about 15 for a girl he had a crush on, and the audience was quite impressed when he brought out a surprise guest (who was a love of his mother,) Tony Bennett. (I was never a fan, but, wow, does he STILL have an incredible voice.) They sang an incredible duet of “For Once in My Life,” and Tony received a standing ovation. Another surprise guest was Prince (yes, he is that weird) and his daughter Aisha accompanied him on several songs. Stevie is still “all that.”</p>
<p>My (small) rants:<br>
-Why do people need to play with their Blackberries and text message throughout an entire concert? Soooo annoying to watch.</p>
<p>-Last time I saw Stevie I probably paid about $14 for my ticket. Concert ticket prices are just through the roof. I can’t imagine how young people afford to ever go, as it is I have to carefully choose which ones I spurge on. When I was in high school I didn’t think twice about buying tickets; they were cheap.</p>
<p>-The acoustics in Madison Square Garden are awful. I admit that I’m recently spoiled after seeing Paul Simon in Radio City Music Hall last year where the sound was just perfect. But it seems like they could have done something to make the sound clearer. As my husband says, the arena really is for sports, not for concerts.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in Stevie’s tour, here’s a review from his 9/11 gig in Chicago. Last night’s show was not exactly the same, but very similar:</p>
<p>twinmom, I had a chance to see Stevie as a “member of the press” it was about 1978/79. I was actually a guest of a “rock star” photographer who even loaned me a camera so I looked official. I cherish those pictures. There are 3 specifically that are quite amazing, one he is intently looking down at his piano and when I snapped the picture he looked right at me, so I quickly shot another, at which time he flashed me his classic grin. I snapped a third. He must have been able to hear the click of the camera. No flash involved. Smallish venue. </p>
<p>I just downloaded Innervision, an album from 1973. Possibly one of my favorite albums.</p>
<p>He has always been quite vocal regarding bigotry, war and other atrocities.</p>
<p>Thank you for your review, I will have to see what he’s doing in So. Cal. (f he hasn’t already).</p>
<p>Re: the cost of tickets…1973, I have a ticket stub from a Rolling Stones concert I saw. Festival “seating”. The cost (I hope you’re sitting down) $4.90 (that’s right, less than $5!). I passed on The Eagles this go 'round since the lowest priced ticket was $125. Insane.</p>
<p>Stevie Wonder! Never got to go to any of his concerts, but always loved his music. How old is his daughter now? The song he wrote about her when she was born remains one of my favorites.</p>
<p>I love Stevie Wonder! I’ll have to check out his concert schedule. </p>
<p>I don’t have much experience with going to concerts. Guess I’ve led a pretty sheltered life. I did, however, go to the second concert of my life this year. For my daughter’s 18th birthday we went to Akron (about a two hour drive) on a school night to see John Legend. It was fantastic! We were maybe ten feet from the stage. She said it was her best birthday ever. I wonder if she’d want to go see Stevie Wonder with me?!</p>
<p>"Just"aMom: Oh, I believe it. In high school, my best friend and I used to go to concerts all the time. Since we were each babysitting at $1.00 an hour, the tickets couldn’t have cost all that much.</p>
<p>We just passed on Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood as it would have been over $300 for the two of us and we already had tickets for Stevie Wonder. We really wanted to go but couldn’t rationalize it.</p>
<p>I would have, however, paid for Springsteen tickets when he was in NYC a few weeks ago… but we couldn’t get tickets. Besides, my son wanted to go too - there’s a small fortune. I’m sure that the first several times I saw him in concert I couldn’t have paid more than $15 or $20. I did see him a lot, but it still kills me that he played at my small state school in 1974 for about three bucks; I didn’t go because I didn’t know who he was.</p>
<p>Anyhow, we were sitting in the Garden last night, waiting for the concert to begin, reminiscing about how we haven’t been at that venue in years. I said, “I feel like we’ve time warped into the future. $100 each for tickets, $40 for parking, $7.25 for a beer from a Garden vendor.”</p>
<p>It was kind of like a bad joke in the 70’s … “Yeah, someday things will be so expensive, that by the time you have kids, college will be $50k per year.” </p>
<p>Sportsmama: At both the Stevie Wonder concert and the Paul Simon concert, there were lots of people in their 40’s/50’s/60’s with their teen aged and/or young adult kids. It was actually very nice to see both generations enjoying the same music. I would not have gone to a concert with my folks when I was that age.</p>
<p>P3T: lol
Stevie Wonder does have a great sense of humor about his disability.</p>
<p>I saw Jose Feliciano at a concert in college. He, too, was amazing.</p>
<p>twinmom,
It was a fabulous experience to go to a concert with my daughter. I don’t think I would have wanted to go to a concert with my parents, either, but my daughter knows how much I love John Legend.</p>
<p>What a bummer–Stevie Wonder isn’t performing anywhere close to me. :(</p>
<p>Or course, Stevie’s Autumn Night tour had to make a stop in Motown, his old stomping grounds. It was back in September and held at an outdoor music theatre with both open pavilion and lawn seating. The sold-out crowd enjoyed a gorgeous night under the stars for only $35/ticket. Stevie’s voice sounded as strong as it did 30 years ago and he played for 3+ hours including all the classics. Awesome girls’ night out!</p>
<p>Just heard “Isn’t She Lovely” on the radio last weekend for the first time in years. Of all my albums, most were S.W. works. Check out ‘Songs in the Key of Life,’ and ‘Hotter Than July’ is greatly underrated. Whenever I hear “I was born in Little Rock…(I Was Made to Love Her)” its just a great sensation.</p>
<p>I also saw Stevie Wonder at MSG–what a fabulous concert. He is truly a musical genius and his voice is so gorgeous and full. A fantastic evening. Go see him if he comes to your town!</p>
<p>Incidentally, I read recently that Aisha Wonder (Aisha Morris?) is the girlfriend of actor/comedian Chris Tucker of those dreadful ‘Rush Hour’ films.</p>