We Saw Harry for the Holidays!

What a night!

Tanna and I had a date night last night--we saw Harry for the holidays.

Harry Connick Jr., that is!

What a show! Harry does NOT disappoint. (Yes, we are on a first-name basis, by the way.) We first saw him back in 2004 (I think) at Chastain Park. It was seriously one of the best concerts either of us had ever been to--what a fun night! Can you believe I don't have a single photo?! It was funny because last night Harry mentioned that when he is in Atlanta, he usually plays at Chastain. Then he said that it's always a great show at Chastain because even before he takes the stage, everyone is already drunk ... with two and a half bottles of wine already consumed before the show starts. LOL!

(For those of you who aren't familiar with the venue, Chastain is an outdoor amphitheatre, and folks bring picnic dinners complete with matching linens, etc., and really do it up. You get there before the show to set up and to eat--and to people-watch (one of my favorite things to do). You can also purchase tables down front, but we have yet to sit at a table. As you can imagine, it's very pricey to get a table. Anyway, Chastain is a very cool place to enjoy a concert.)

But back to Harry ... if you have ever been to one of his concerts, then you know that he is quite the entertainer. Last night was no exception.

He opened the show with "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and closed with "Frosty the Snowman." There was only one encore. (I was hoping for a second encore ... and to hear "When My Heart Finds Christmas," but oh well ...) In between, he sang lots of Christmas regulars. But after a few holiday songs, he took a break and sang some of his regular-type stuff because ... as he said ... singing those Christmas songs night after night can be nauseating, especially when you've been doing so since the middle of October. LOL! Tanna especially enjoyed the regular jazz numbers and the New Orleans references because he went to undergrad at Tulane.

Harry really knows how to work the audience, and the vibe in Cobb Energy Center last night was great! You know how the chemistry between the audience and the stage can make or break a show? Well, last night the chemistry was spot-on. Harry interacts in a lighthearted way with concertgoers, cracking lots of jokes and really showing a great sense of humor. He gave a few shout-outs to some of his loved ones--a cousin and a teacher from his youth, for example--who were there for the show. Additionally, he called out a few little girls who were sitting down front and spoke right to them. (At the Chastain show we saw, there was a gal at a table celebrating her 30th birthday--he ended up singing TO HER! Can you imagine?)

He also shared some funny family stories last night. One was about some chickens his family is currently raising. He got them earlier this year from his daughter's school (they did an egg/chick project), and as it turns out, there were two roosters in the lot. One was black, and the other, white. They named the black one Obama, and the white one McCain. LOL! Long story short ... roosters are roosters, and the two couldn't live in harmony together, so one of them had to go. It just so happens that on election day, McCain was no longer around. Even though I voted for McCain, the story was hilarious--and Harry told it a lot better than I just did. He said this is all true!

Back to the concert ... Harry played an old upright piano as well as a grand. The 12-member band was fantastic. Lucien Barbarin on trombone was especially engaging. The performance of "Santarrific" was hilarious--he came out wearing reindeer antlers and a toboggan--and Harry got the giggles (seriously) and had to re-start the song a few times. It was so funny.

Oh yeah ... in case you were wondering ... Harry was wearing a vest (gray, I think), a loose tie and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Oh, and pants and shoes, of course--not sure about his underwear. LOL! Kind of like what he is wearing on the cover of his new Christmas album (which Tanna let me buy last night). Thanks, Honey! He looked mighty fine ... but not as fine as my DH! ;o)

We had a great night out. Thanks to Halmoni (Tanna's Mom) for watching Kate for us. And thanks to the lady on craigslist who was selling her tickets at face value last week. We got a workout going to our seats, but we didn't care. (The auditorium wasn't as big as I thought it would be, so we could still enjoy the show, even though we were sitting in the grand-tier area.)

Anyway, I could go on and on about it, but to close I'll just say ... What a Night!

Here are a few more photos from our evening:

Getting ready to head out the door ...


Halmoni feeding Kate dinner. Let's see--she is playing with figures from two different nativities as well as some old-school Little People. What a treat--she normally doesn't get to play at the table.


For dinner, we went to the OK Cafe--and it was A-OK!


If you know me, then you know that I am not into fancy-schmancy restaurants. I'd rather eat some good-old country cooking like Cracker Barrel ... or the OK Cafe. Last night, I had pot roast, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and a corn muffin. Yum! (I would have had the green beans, too, but I had them for lunch. Just so you know. I know this is really interesting stuff! HA!)