It’s not everyday that we’re presented with a special chance to walk down memory lane. But this past weekend, local Amy Grant fans had a unique opportunity to relive memories from 1988 with Amy’s music – live! For those who’ve followed Amy’s musical career, it’s hard to believe 20 years have elapsed since the release of her Lead Me On CD in 1988 along with the tour by the same name.
I had the opportunity to attend the afternoon soundcheck and evening concert on Friday, November 21st at the Community Theatre in Morristown, NJ. And the event was terrific… awesome… superb!!! The venue seats just under 1,300 people, so it’s a relatively intimate setting for a concert — not too small, yet not so large that you’re dealing with crowds and traffic jams.
Amy re-united her band ensemble from the original Lead Me On tour for this 20th Anniversary Tour, and the years have been VERY kind to both Amy and the very talented band members. Together, they sounded awesome — and the music did, in fact, magically transport you back 20 years if you let it. Perhaps part of the magic came from the fact that the show’s set list didn’t comprise the normal fare of Amy’s pop hits like “Baby, Baby” and “Lucky One”… but rather it included songs representing an earlier era of Amy’s career — songs which she hasn’t typically performed “live” in concert since the 1980′s, including “Lead Me On”, “Angels Watching Over Me”, “Love of Another Kind”, and one of my favorites, “Say Once More”. The show also featured a segment previewing some new songs that Amy plans to record in the studio during early 2009. Brilliant pieces!!!
Amy looked stunning on stage, and for those of you who were there, the following 15 images will hopefully conjure up memories of a wonderful evening. For those of you who missed the three shows in our “local” area this past weekend, I hope these images do justice in conveying the many faces of an artist who has very much developed into a seasoned professional at home with herself and her music — while successfully entertaining her fans with a wonderful walk down memory lane with this series of concerts. Enjoy!!!
First, a set of 8 images in color… starting with one of my favorites of the evening:
And since Amy was dressed in black for the entire show (which included a near 30-minute set of encore performances), here is a set of 7 images that capture Amy’s expressions throughout the evening with the simplicity of black-and-white imagery:
