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Stevie Wonder @ The Greek 9.5.07
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Stevie Wonder never ceases to amaze. He is a true icon, a kind spirit, and funny. The man is really funny and the crowd loves him. I think the concert of the summer has to be Stevie Wonder at the Greek this past Wednesday. I'm not just saying that because I went with a superfan who drove all the way from Colorado to see this show or because everyone seemed to know every word and Stevie hardly let us sit for a few minutes before everyone would be back on their feet singing along with him. The only downside, no cameras allowed! I snuck mine in, of course, but I heard they were kicking people out who took pictures and I simply couldn't bear that thought, so not that many pictures were able to be taken.
The crowd was quite a sight to see. Noticeably different from the majority of the shows at the Greek, the age range was significantly higher than normal. I would call it a big cat show. All the guys with laminates were, well, mature - it wasn't one of the shows were the assistants got any leftover dibs on tickets.
As for my friend and I, considering it was a slightly impromptu trip, we had to craigslist tickets and paid a pretty penny for far back in the C section. I know that sometimes at the Greek being far back can make you feel removed from the show, but not on Wednesday. Everyone had great energy and was making friends with people around them as we all sang along.
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After the show, we made our way to the hospitality suite and walking in immediately saw a slew of hot actors - Forest Whitaker, Chris Tucker, Leonardo DiCaprio, even Mike Tyson was there. There were a lot of other actors and high level executives, but we were distracted by the piano that was set up in the downstairs corner of the patio. I made my way to a girl working there who told me that she heard Stevie Wonder was going to be coming out for pictures and to play. Seriously?!? Come to think of it, there was a certain chatter going around the room with the same rumor. As I made some friends in the crowd, I heard that Stevie had reserved 500 tickets to the show for his friends and family. In fact, almost everyone in the hospitality area knew him personally. I met a women who sang backup on his first record, the first artist he signed to his record label 20 years ago, a few family friends and they all had glowing things to say about Stevie the person as well as Stevie the artist.
As time waned on, I heard that we were all subject to "Stevie Time" which means that he just takes his gold old time and the crowd started to break up as people grew impatient of waiting. We almost did too, until we heard clapping and saw him walking up. He sat at the piano and never really played one song, but was fiddling around and playing notes while he talked to the crowd and allowed pictures to be taken with him. To think there was the subtle sound of piano in the background and it was Stevie Wonder just playing a few notes here and there. By the time we left, it was way past curfew to have to work the next day - but I've been singing "Ribbons in the Sky" for two days with no signs of stopping.
Set List (as close to accurate as possible)
* Love's in Need of Love Today
*Too High
*Visions
*Living For the City
*Master Blaster (Jammin')
*Higher Ground
*Golden Lady
*Ribbon in the Sky (amazing group sing-along)
*Overjoyed
*Castles In The Sky (medley with), You and I, Lately, How Will I Know
*Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
*Signed, Sealed, Delivered then country style!
*Memphis
*Boogie On Reggae Woman
*My Cherie Amour
*When I Fall in Love (by Nat Cole/with Anita Johnson)
*I Wish (medley with), Sir Duke, Isn't She Lovely, You Are the Sunshine of My Life
*Superstition (medley), I Just Called to Say I Love You, Another Star
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