Robin
Thicke and I did not fall in love at first sight. Actually it would take
several years and a near physical encounter for me to fall for him. But once I
did I have to say I fell hard and now I can’t even imagine that I ever lived a
life without his music. It just seems silly. But so my story goes.
It
was late fall/early winter 2009 to the best of my recollection and Alicia Keys
had just released her “Elements of Freedom” album. As any smart New Yorker
knows you go right to J & R on the day the album drops and you get the
music you want at a price you can’t beat. So that was the plan. A couple of my
closest coworkers and I headed to the store on our lunch hour only to discover
the store was mobbed and there were several huge SUVs outside. Considering the
neighborhood we were in and that this store has artists coming in to sign new
albums all of the time it was no big deal. It just so happens that as we were
approaching the rear of the store where my prize laid, the tables were being set
up for that day’s event, I just didn’t know or care at that point. I just
wanted my music.
So picture this:
A
man I don’t know is taking a seat behind a table with the blue J & R logo
on it with some screaming fans now approaching. I have cut off the line because
I was here first. More importantly I discover that right behind this man’s head
is the CD I long for. Figures- a brand new album and there is not even one in
the front of the store. I am annoyed and in a rush and I can’t believe he is in
my way. Since I am unaware of who he is I am unfazed by the commotion.
It
is after I reach over his head for my purchase that my friend says “hey that’s
Robin Thicke”. I say: “Who? Alan Thicke’s son”- totally kidding. Actually he
is. I snap a quick photo with my cell phone, you know the normal kind I wish I
still had that closed and opened and only was a phone, and walked off. I wish I
still had that photo but I deleted a few days later because I still didn’t know
who he was besides a singer that I didn’t care about and the son of a use to be
famous guy.
Fast forward to March 17, 2010. I know the date because I remember it was St. Patrick’s Day and there were drunks spilling beer on me at Madison Square Garden. This was the day I was going to see the latest Alicia Keys concert, a very strong passion of mine (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2012/09/for-womans-worth-alicia-keys-at-92y.html).
Robin Thicke was the opening act. Again, I was on the fence. I did not know any
of his music so I could take him or leave him. I just wanted to see my girl
Alicia. It is rare that an opening act is what is drawing you in.
But
my friends, yes the same coworkers from the J & R store, were with me and
excited. In preparation they gave me some of his CDs and the only thing I heard
the whole time is what I call “lalalala”. His voice sounded so high to me and I
wasn’t connecting to it at all.
Then
it was time for Robin to do his thing. Boy I couldn’t have been more surprised.
There is something to be said for seeing a show live, any show. But seeing
Robin Thicke perform is another thing entirely. I have great respect for him as
an artist because he is a singer, songwriter, and musician. That is a very rare
combination especially these days where YouTube can make you a star.
Once
he was on stage with his band I was totally into it. His music crosses many
genres and he kept my total attention from the heart-felt ballads he wrote for
his wife to the funky dance songs. He put on a great show and was so
entertaining. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Yet at this stage
we weren’t in love. We were in like. (Needless to say the Alicia Keys portion
of the show was to die for).
My
love and obsession with Robin Thicke began when I purchased his latest album
this summer. Normally when one or two songs are popular I never ever buy the
whole album. But I hit a sale and I just had a feeling I wanted it. I always
trust my gut. This is one of perhaps four albums I have ever owned in my WHOLE
life that I listen to from beginning to end over and over again and can’t live
without.
This new album, “Blurred Lines” is a compilation I
feel of music from all generations. It flows so naturally and I find myself
singing and moving to the music no matter when I put it on. I don’t even have
to be in the mood to hear it. I am always in the mood once it is on. It is
simply that good. His lyrics are just as important as the beats themselves and
that is a big part of what moves me. I know that he writes what he feels and
there are many themes about life we can all relate to. While the namesake song
I find delightful and fun, the song that moves me the most is “The Good Life”
and is one I featured in a recent blog (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2014_02_01_archive.html).
I
first listened to “The Good Life” when it came on my ipod and I was on the bus
ride home after work. I was in terrible pain from a migraine I was enduring and
it was like all of a sudden the lyrics were speaking directly to me. I had it
on repeat for about an hour, until I got home, and now I listen to it anytime I
need to be reminded “life takes you up and down and life spins you all
around………..I am as good as I can be”. There is something comforting about that.
It soothed my head and heart all at the same time. Before you know it the song
is over and you need to hear it again. It is a natural high. I wish part of my
job were to sing this out loud because I feel an urge every so often.
So
it was at this point when I fell in love with Robin Thicke and p.s. I will
gladly take what Paula Patton no longer wants.
Anyway
I became aware of his 2014 tour sometime late last year and once I did I had an
instinct to see him perform right away. He was only having one show in N.Y.C.
and I needed to be there. As more time passed the more urgency I felt to buy my
ticket. I had to hear this album, had to hear him, had to see him. In some way
he had become a spiritual beacon and entertainer all in one. I would not relent
until my friends and I were officially going.
On
March 7 of this year (me and Robin have some kind of destiny with March) the
concert was upon us. I was so anxious all day.
There
were two opening acts for this show, D.J. Cassidy and K. Michelle. I had not
heard of either and I think both performed way too long for their slot but were
tolerable. I don’t know how this D.J. Cassidy became so famous but it is a
career I am going to look into. I wonder what the salary is like because all
you have to do is play other people’s music for an hour, shout some sayings to
get the crowd pumped up, and dance around. I did that and I paid to get in not
the other way around.
As
for K. Michelle apparently she is some sort of reality star but I have not
heard of her and that is saying something. I watch “The Soup” on the E! Channel
for goodness sakes and they make me aware of shows that are on other planets it
seems. Any who, she sang for almost an hour and that was more than enough of
her for me. What I remember most is that she was wearing a leotard with long
sleeves, combat boots, and NO pants. I don’t know what about her persona or songs
forbade her to wear pants but it annoyed me. I knew she was my last barrier to
Robin and that was annoying me further.
When
the big moment finally came he burst onto the scene with “Give It 2 U” and
everyone was on their feet instantly!! He segued through some of his older hits
as he has been writing music for himself as well as other artists since he was
sixteen. A song I had not heard before but loved was “Dreamworld”. It spoke of
all of the qualities that a perfect world would have such as racial equality,
environmental consensus, and overall harmony.
Then
there was this amazing group moment. Robin was talking about love and the
important people in our lives and getting to a song I knew he would have to
sing because it is a mega hit but would probably hurt considering his personal
life, but he needn’t have worried we were all there to help out. We all did
such a great job singing along he made us do it twice. But he is still the
master.
This
is the ultimate love song and you really do need to hear it from him:
After
that I was in such a groove I wanted to keep singing and rocking back and forth
all night long.
My
only negative comment is that after waiting for what felt like ions for Mr.
Thicke I wish he could have sang for at least another half hour. I felt like
our time together was too short and I have seen or perhaps gotten use to
headliners performing for at least two hours before their encores start.
Even
though I never got to hear the song I longed for, the song that feeds my soul,
I ended up getting what I wanted out of the experience. I got out, had fun and
many laughs, to say the least, with my girls, and got to see Robin Thicke
perform finally as all the others have always seen him, as a fan in the
audience.
Even
better than that he began to sing his last song by saying he wanted to “blow
the roof off the place” and followed that up by singing my three favorite
words: “HEY HEY HEY”!!!
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