You have given me a heart attack you'll never know

So the word in the bathroom at the Denver concert was as follows:

My mom and I got there at about 7:30 or so and found our way into the Ellie Caulkins opera house. Once we got inside my mom said, "Let's find a bathroom real quick," but I disagreed. I told her we should go inside and look at what the stage looked like, that we should find our seats. So grabbing her hand I led her inside and an usher helped us locate our seats, which, by the way, were FANTASTIC. We sat there for about 15 minutes. I was shaking. My mom was trying to calm me down.

Looking at our programs that they handed out we saw that a woman named Hazel Miller was opening for Peter at 8:00. So since we only had 15 minutes I agreed to go to the restroom. As we left our seats we started walking behind these two women. They were trying to find the bathroom themselves so we followed. We went inside our separate stalls and the two women began to talk. (Which, by the way, always weirds me out. I mean, we're "relieving" ourselves for goodness sake but for some reason, to some people it seems like the most natural thing to begin a conversation.) This is what they said:

Woman 1: Well the last time we saw Peter was at...

Woman 2: Botanical gardens.

Woman 1: Botanical gardens, right.

Woman 2: And he was opening for that woman...

Woman 1: _______ _______

(I inserted the blanks there for two reasons. Number one, I don't want to embarrass the poor woman, for it would be most saddening to learn what these two women had to say. The second, and most important reason I put blanks there was because I don't remember the woman's name. Which is most understandable, since there were people "relieving" themselves and the two women said her name very quickly. So forgive me for the suspense of not knowing this woman's name but I can't remember it myself. As it is, let's continue.)

Woman 2: Right. And we liked Peter better than we did her!

Woman 1: Yeah, he was much better.

The two women then began to talk about some man who was unable to attend the concert because he was out of town with a woman. So what they said after that was unimportant, but I figured that what they did say that was of interest should be pleasing for all Peter Cincotti fans to hear.

After we went and sat down again Hazel Miller soon started. She was a jazz singer and was a wonderful entertainer. I have to say, her voice was nothing phenomenal, but she was very funny and had a great chemistry with the audience. In fact, she was the only singer I had actually ever heard scat, so I enjoyed her performance. She had a fantastic bass player and a darn good saxophonist.

After words, they cleared off and started to set the stage for Peter and his band. Meanwhile, the crowd was allowed to leave their seats and move about. So I sat there and waited another 30 minutes for the "VIP's" to make their way backstage. Which is understandable, since they're VIP's. They're allowed to take as long as they want to walk about 50 feet. (We got our payback, though. They sat on stage behind the band, which I'm sure was NOT a very good seat.) After the VIP's were seated Peter's band walked out on stage. They sat down and then the keyboardist started to play the intro to "Angel Town." Over the speakers some unknown, hidden person announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome....... PETER CINCOTTI!"

This is where I started going crazy. I was shaking. I was frozen. I was sweating. I was freezing. I was screaming. I was sitting in silence, wondering if this was really happening. But thankfully, Peter was none of those things. Cool as can be, he walked out on stage and BOOM! the whole auditorium shook as the band struck the first full chord.

As I sat there, I began to seriously wonder if this was real. I had seen so many YouTube videos of him live that I knew every movement. I knew how he shaped his mouth when he sang certain lines, I knew where he started to stomp his feet to the beat, and I knew when he would shake his head in between lines. I had prepared myself for him to act the same way, and without fail, he did. He politely said, "Thank you," while we were clapping and screaming after every song and sometimes would announce the name of the next song. He closed with "Witch's Brew" and then he and his band stood to take their bow. The whole crowd was going crazy. They must have bowed three times before giving up and walking off stage. But we kept cheering. After about a minute, (praise God) he came back.

Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Hold up. You got an encore?!?" Well, let me just reply by saying, "Oooohhh yeah."

Peter played two more songs entitled, "Nothing's Enough" and the ever popular (at least with all the French girls) "Love is Gone." I wanted another encore when he was done, but the rest of the crowd was ready to go. I hung back, wanting to see if we could shake his hand, but he never came back. He wasn't outside signing autographs either. He just went backstage. And I think I know why. He looked sooo tired, especially after JUST coming back from that European tour he did. I'm sure he went backstage and just crashed. And I don't blame him. In fact, I feel sorry that we made him do an encore. But, I'm sure he's back home in his own bed and feeling much better by now. So sorry, Martina, Grandpa, and Ashley. I did not get to tell Peter you said, "Hello." I did, however get Scott Kreitzer autograph and a picture with him. Which was awesome since he's like my saxophone HERO.

I told my mom, as we were leaving the building, how EPIC that had been. I said, "You know, this was like a spiritually journey we went on. You know, like how Muslims have to make a trip to the Holy Land before they die. Except it's Cincottism: You have to travel 700 miles to see a Peter Cincotti concert before you die, or else you're not a real Peter Cincotti fan."

Don't take any offense at that, by the way, if you won't travel 700 miles. I'm just so excited that I was able to.

The entire trip was so exhausting, both physically and emotionally, that when I got home I just laid face down on my bed and cried for 5 minutes from how incredible it was. That doesn't happen very often with me.

So I'm gonna have to join everyone else in the classic fan sayings. I have to chime in, "Thank you, Peter, for an unforgettable evening." It was the best concert I had ever been to and was worth every mile. I would do it all again in a heartbeat, hoping that the only thing to change would be that you, yourself, were not so tired. You never let that stop the quality of the music, however. You know you've found a musical genius when every new song you hear from them becomes your favorite. Thank you, Peter.

kellylover86

I gotta keep lookin' out, through the window, tryin' to read your mind.