I Thought You Were Amazing

George Michael made a stop in New York this week as part of his first American tour in 17 years; and, I was there soaking it all in! When he made a guest appearance on the American Idol season finale last month and announced his summer tour, I just knew I had to be there! I guess all the rest of his American groupies agreed with me, because tickets were difficult to come by. Luckily, I found an affordable pair on eBay--even if they were in the nosebleeds.

The evening proved to be an adventure from beginning to end. I dragged Karen along with me (even though her level of fanaticism pales in comparison to mine). The anal-retentive, ultra organized, control freak in me had the entire evening laid out perfectly. Karen met me at my office and we quickly found a little Thai place for dinner before the show was to start promptly at 8pm. Karen, who dropped her phone on the train tracks last week, told me that the phone had been located and asked if we could stop by the Lost n' Found office to pick it up on our way. No problem, I thought to myself; we've got plenty of time! I grabbed my phone, iPod, work badge, purse and headed downtown. After a little difficulty finding the Lost n' Found office, Karen was finally able to regain ownership of her phone. Mission accomplished! We headed to dinner. 6:47 pm

Aura, a small Thai fusion spot on 9th Ave, had decent food, but horrible service. From the moment we entered the joint, our server seemed to have it in for Karen. But, it wasn't all for naught. We paid the bill (including a 10% tip that ignored Karen's relentless arguments urging me to leave 0%) and began our walk back toward Madison Square Garden. Since we had some extra time, we opted to stop in Burgers & Cupcakes next door to see what selection they had available to satisfy our sweet teeth. I glanced at my watch; it read 7:25 pm.

The guy behind the counter quickly became the apple of both our eyes when he added a little extra "sugah" in each of our pastry boxes. He gave us each an additional mini cupcake free of charge. With a 'wink and smile", he gave us our change and sent us on our way, with each of us strangely attracted to him and a promise from each of us to return very soon.

We casually walked up to Madison Square Garden at 7:40 pm, ready to get settled in our seats. I reached into my purse for the tickets. After a few empty swipes, I walked over to the steps, threw my cupcake box at Karen for her to hold it, and proceeded to empty the contents of my purse on the ground. NO tickets! In a bit of a panic, Karen calmly said, "It's OK, we can just cab it really quick. We still have time before the show starts." I replied, "I know exactly where they are!". So, like the distant (really distant) cousins of Marion Jones, we ran to the curb, hailed a cab as quickly as we could, climbed in and . . . sat in traffic! We finally arrived at my office building 15 minutes later after several chants in the backseat of "I am not worried. . . I will not miss any of my favorite songs . . . this concert experience will be everything I want it to be, if not more." (ie. more of me practicing The Secret.)

I instructed the cab driver to pull over to the curb and wait for me while I ran upstairs with the promise to immediately return with a "nice, big FAT tip." I pulled out my work ID and ran into the building, caught an elevator to the 40th floor, bee-lined for my desk, and pulled out the tickets from the bottom drawer. With my heart racing, my brow laced with sweat, and the tickets in my hand (and nothing else), I ran out of the building, crossed 44th St, and stopped abruptly at the door of the cab parked at the curb. With my hand on the door handle, I stopped myself from opening the passenger door when I saw someone in the backseat that looked nothing like Karen! In a sheer and utter panic of realizing that Karen was not in the cab I left her in, and that my purse, cell phone, and most importantly my pastry box were with her, I twirled my head around me searching the dense crowds of Times Square! After about three minutes, I finally found her standing on the side of Broadway nearly a block down. 7:59 pm

Karen explained that the driver didn't want to wait for me, so she kindly paid him and waited for me on the curb. We were able to find another driver and waged the southbound traffic back to Madison Square Garden, finally arriving at 8:21 pm. Luckily for us, Mr. Michael was being quite the diva and had delayed his show. We got settled into our seats and had to wait until he finally took the stage at 8:35 pm. But, it was definitely worth the wait!

George played most of his fan favorites, including Faith, Amazing, Father Figure, Spinning the Wheel, Outside, as well as Wham! hits like Careless Whisper, and Everything She Wants--even covers for Roxanne, Kissing a Fool, and more. After singing for nearly three hours, he finally closed the show with that favorite anthem of every gay man of the 90's--Freedom! And, while poor George is starting to age a little with a gray stubble beard and clearly visible hair plugs, his singing was, as the NY Times said, "as buttery as ever". This concert experience was indeed everything that I wanted it to be. My only question: am I the only one who was disappointed that these songs failed to be included?

• One More Try
• Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
• Heal The Pain
• Praying For Time

And, for those of you wondering what became of the pastry box filled with sugary goodness---it was apparently lost somewhere between 34th and 44th. You've got to admit it, I wasn't chanting any good wishes about my cupcakes . . .