Monthly Archives: June 2014

Concert Photos/Reviews

Milwaukee Memories ~ by Jane

68 Comments

An email from Jane (MaryJane).  Posted with permission.

Allene, Mary B. and Jane. I forget the guys names
Allene, Mary B. and Jane.  I forget the guys names

Dear Marie,

Hope you and Michelle made it home safe and sound. I so enjoyed finally meeting both of you! You both are gems and we are so lucky to have you running the wonderful web site. Thank you for all you do for us! Marie, I CAN NOT WAIT to hear more about your.. (intentionally removed by Marie).. you know who and… (same here)… You are one lucky gal!

Suzy's friend, Chris, Suzy, Laura, Allene
Suzy’s friend, Chris, Suzy, Laura, Allene

Here are a few pictures from our weekend. It was so special from start to finish. Meeting more Flight Crew members was so fun…finally putting faces with names we have become familiar with on-line. Truly some of the nicest women we will ever know…and all have such GOOD TASTE IN MUSIC!!

Allene, Mary B, Marie, Jane, Dorothy
Allene, Mary B, Marie, Jane, Dorothy

The concert was SO beautiful! The words have all been said as I read all the different reviews of the previous concerts on this tour. There just are not enough words in the English language to say all I would love to say about these three special young men. Those here on this site know exactly what I mean. This was the FIRST concert for Allene which brought me joy just watching HER as she experienced the magic we all feel when we see them in person! I was able to talk with Barbara and Mrs. Ginoble as we stood in line waiting our turn to see the guys. The Meet and Greet afterward went by quickly, but I got my hug from all three…AND they remembered us from the MOA when they saw the small posters Mary B. had made for them to sign for us. Gianluca said right away, “Oh yeah, you were in Minneapolis!” Warmed our hearts! My final hug was from Ignazio who was wearing a cologne that lingered on my blouse ALL NIGHT LONG!! Pure HEAVEN!!

Carol and Harriet
Carol and Linda

 

IL VOLO will always be remembered for being First Class, World Class Entertainment AND First Class Human Beings! They are simply the best!

Jane

***

Jane,
It was great fun meeting and having dinner with all of you!
I like you so well that I forgive you for smelling Ignazio.
~Marie

Concert Photos/Reviews, Il Volo, Piero

Celebrating With Piero in Toronto ~~ Penina’s Story

38 Comments

Hi!

Penina and Loretta were on hand in Toronto to help Piero celebrate his birthday and enjoy some good music as well.  I do have to thank the two of them for the very thoughtful thing they did for him in the name of The Flight Crew.  Thank you guys so much!  🙂

 

Last night I went with a friend to Roy Thompson Hall for the Il Volo concert. Loretta and I had corresponded by email, and we knew where our respective seats were. We also decided it was a good idea to buy a birthday cake for Piero and tell him it was from the Flight Crew. I ordered the cake, specifying the colors and what it should say. But I had no idea what I would do with it during the concert! I managed to find a huge plastic bag that the cake box would fit in to carry it downtown–a necessity because it was raining hard. In the end, I wound up putting it on the floor under the seat in front of me–I wanted to be sure to be able to stand up and cheer without squashing the cake!
We had wonderful seats in the second row on the aisle. Loretta was on the other side, in the front row on the other aisle. We connected before the show, and I also met a few others who were wearing badges–one of the ladies said she reads the blog but doesn’t comment, the others were her friends.

The concert was marvelous (as usual!!), the guys were funny and adorable. Ignazio was up to his usual tricks and at one point late in the show, he slid across the floor on his knees and tore a hole in his pants! He was (mock) upset and moaned about the hole and tried to enlist the others’ sympathy, but they weren’t buying it!  The time flew by–it was a too short two hours. And then it was over and we were waiting for the meet and greet.

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Finally it was our turn. We were waiting in a line that was extended into the room where the meet and greet took place. We opened the cake box so we could show it to Piero when we got up there. Piero saw the cake box and stuck out his stomach and made a gesture with his hand–like I’m getting fat! I grinned at him, and he grinned back. At last it was my turn.  It was my first M & G, and I was a bit tongue tied. I mumbled something to Ignazio (I have no idea what), got him to sign the back of the badge, told Gianluca he is way better than Sinatra ever was (to which he thanked me), and Piero said, “A lot of people are telling him that!” Well, why not? It is certainly true! Piero looked at the cake, gave a big smile and thanked me, and then we were hustled into a line for the photo–They took one of the 3 of us: Loretta, my friend Susan and me. Loretta convinced them to take another one of just her and the guys. While this was happening, I spotted Barbara and I went over to her and thanked her for all that she does for our young men.
A lovely evening indeed!

Concert Photos/Reviews

Dani’s Turn ~~ Detroit

22 Comments

Hey!

So this story is from Dani, a good friend of Carli’s — something that seemed quite natural as I read through her post.  They strike me as two of a kind.  😉  Enjoy!

My Il Volo Story

So where do I begin (hehe!): with something like this? I feel like I’d been prepping for the concert for forever! But let’s start this story on Wednesday, June 18. The day before the concert. Thankfully I had taken the day off of work, because I never would have been able to concentrate. So Wednesday was completely devoted to getting ready for the concert. My little sister had basketball until noon, so I spent the morning finishing up the letters for the guys. Then I picked up my sister and once we got home we went straight to work!

 

First we turned on “Il Volo Takes Flight” to help us prepare, and then we set to work finishing the gifts. We spent the entire afternoon putting everything together and making our headbands and signs for the concert. We watched all four DVDs and listened to every single one of their songs that afternoon. We even played their music in our barn that night as we feed our horses. Thankfully the gifts were done, because once it was about 24 hours until showtime, we lost it. We started going even crazier than we had been. We were SOOO ready for this concert!
Skip to morning of the concert. We were up by 8 o’clock and ready to go! There was no sitting still for us! This was it!! We quickly finished the few little details needed for the gifts and then realized we didn’t have bags for them. So it was off to the store at 1:00 to quickly get bags! While we were there, we bought some giant chocolate bars to give Mrs. Ginoble and Barbara. We got home and immediately started getting ready. I sent my two little brothers to change right away so I could just worry about myself and my sister. My brothers ended up watching “We Are Love” again while they were waiting. My sister and I took over an hour to get ready and get hair and nails done, giggling and freaking out the entire time of course! Finally it was time to go and after checking like 20 times that we had everything and everyone, WE WERE OFF!!!!! IT WAS THE LONGEST HOUR CAR RIDE OF MY LIFE!!

 

So, finally we were at the concert! YEAH!!! The first thing I did was go collect my Meet&Greet band, which led to my sister and I spazzing out again. THIS WAS IT!!!! We took our seats and started the longest wait of my life. Our seats ended up being much closer than I expected, and we were dead center.

 

Finally it was time for the guys to come out, and as the music to “Un Amore Cosi Grande” started, I was overwhelmed by emotion! I cannot describe what it feels like to see them walking out onto that stage for the first time. All I could think was, “they’re not in my computer!!! They’re actually right there!!”. I can’t remember exactly which songs they did, but they were sooooo amazing!! 100 times better than any recording can ever be! I won’t describe the entire concert in complete detail, but I will tell about all our little interactions with them.

 

The first of these occurred during Gianluca’s solo of “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.” My sister and I held up her sign asking him to sing to her, and finally he pointed to her as her sang the last lines of the song. She was soooo happy!!! Then, during one of the next songs, I can’t remember which, my two brothers, my sister, and I started waving to them. Ignazio saw us this time and flashed us one of his amazingly beautiful smiles and blew a kiss. I about died at this point!!! Then a little later, during “Beautiful Day”, my sister and one of my brothers ran up to the stage with a giant jar of Nutella we had gotten for the guys. Piero came to take it from them, and as he was singing he acted out eating it and how fat he would be! Then he leaned down and kissed them both. Next was Maria, when I ALMOST was Ignazio’s Maria. He was only a few rows in front of me, but someone else grabbed him first. I still ran out to the aisle and yelled to him, and he looked at me for part of the song and then blew me a kiss and yelled “Next time!”.

 

And then it was time for the encore!! My sister and I ran up to the stage during “O’ Sole Mio”, and we ended up by Gianluca, which my little sister loved! When he came by us, I yelled his name and shoved her forward, and he bent down and sang his whole second part of the song to her!!!! Then he winked as he walked away! I wish I could have gotten her face when she turned around! It was priceless!!! He came back our way soon and grabbed both our hands and kissed mine. Then Piero and Ignazio came by and I touched them both, and Piero saw that my sister couldn’t reach him so he bent down and grabbed her hand. As they were going back to finally leave the stage, we yelled Ignazio’s name, and he turned around and blew us another kiss before following the other two off the stage.
Now for the Meet and Greet. It was extremely rushed, but I will not complain because I had a chance to meet them and get a picture! When it was finally my turn to enter the tent, I completely freaked out that they were RIGHT THERE!!!! Ignazio saw me grinning and jumping up and down and elbowed Gianluca (Piero was busy), and they both smiled so sweetly at me and waved back and blew me a kiss. When I got to the front of the line, I couldn’t believe it!!! I WAS GOING TO MEET THEM!!! I stood there waiting for the group in front of me to finish and all I could do was smile. Piero saw me and smiled and then nudged Ignazio, who looked at me and smiled sooo sweetly. I set my stuff down and ran over to them. I forgot to even say, “Hi;” I just squealed, “IGNAZIO!!” and gave him a huge hug! The adorable thing was he had already stepped forward to hug me, I think he had figured out he was my favorite, hehe!! He didn’t let go of me, just kind of turned me to the side so we could get the picture. After the picture I layed my head on his shoulder and he squeezed me, called me. “bella” and kissed my head.

 

Then, without letting go of him, I gave them their gifts which they very sweetly thanked me for even though they couldn’t open them then. Then Gianluca noticed my long hair and started touching it and saying how long it was. Ignazio (who still had his arm around me) slapped Gian’s hand away and said “Yes! It’s beautiful! You have your own beautiful hair! Leave hers alone!” Then he turned me around and retied the bow that had come partially undone. I was dying. Then I had them sign my shirt, and Piero teased me a little bit. I had brought a silver fabric pen thinking that would make it easier because it would show on the black. As I was trying to get it, Piero started signing the letters and I said something like “Oh! That’s a good idea!” He just smiled at me and said “Yes bella, we know what we’re doing” They were so amazing!!!!

 

And Ignazio gives the BEST hugs!!! And do I even need to mention how AMAZING they smell!?!?!?!?! As I was leaving I was able to give Barbara and Mrs. Ginoble their chocolate bars, and I got a hug from both of them. They are so sweet.
So all in all it was an AMAZING first concert, and we cannot wait for them to come back to Detroit. We are already saving money so my sister and I can get seats in the first couple rows next time and get M&G for us both.

 

Photos

Click here —>  http://www.pinterest.com/DaniBoschetto/il-volo-concert/

Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo Professional, Piero

Il Volo Professional ~~ On to Mexico…Because Gianluca Said So…

17 Comments

Hi, Everyone!

So now that the tour in North America ends tonight (*ahhh*  strikes pain through my heart to write that.   🙁   ),  what’s next?

Well, Gianluca says,

 

Doesn’t seem like it will be right away though.  Piero is too excited to see his family and friends very soon–bless his heart!  <3

 

Ignazio seems a little torn…bless his heart, too!  <3

 

Anyway, All Things Il Volo has posted this on their Facebook feed, and the dates seem a little later in the summer:

Click here —>   https://www.facebook.com/AllThingsIlVolo/photos/a.259792234150705.63692.132912800171983/493404164122843/?type=1

Rough translation, provided by Bing:

Grand opening of the Festival Internacional Chihuahua 2014
The Italian trio, Il Volo, will be commissioned to inaugurate the opening of massive events this August 1 at 8:00 pm at Diudad Juarez (step cultural center of the North), and on 2 August in the city of Chihuahua (Angel Plaze).
Free Events
I’m sure both days will be well attended, if past history of Latin American crowds repeats itself.  And I’m anxious to hear about this tour Gianluca is talking about.   That information seems to be a bit elusive.  I’ll have to think of a nice gift for the first person or persons that can provide us with confirmed information…
***This just in: Il Volo announced today that they will give a concert in Naples, Italy on September 12th at The Arena Flegrea at 9pm.
****Gianluca just tweeted at 2:30, going to Cannes, France.
~~Kelly
Concert Photos/Reviews, Il Volo

Wolf Trap ~~ By “An Il Volo Fan”

34 Comments

Hey, Everyone!

This review of the Wolf Trap show was submitted to us by a shy young lady who wanted to share her story but remain anonymous….maybe we can encourage her to post more.   🙂

 

The following is my Il Volo story. I felt compelled to share it for some reason. I hope you all enjoy! 
Sometime in March when the Il Volo tour dates were released I saw, remarkably, that after a few years of waiting, they had at last come near the Virginia area.

On my 16th birthday, no less!
gg1
Needless to say, I was borderline ecstatic.

My reaction… almost.

I’m not exactly the sort of person that goes into rhapsodies over things like this, but this was almost a miracle. I was expecting the usual ceremony of cake for my birthday… but this, never! It also completely removed my superstition of Friday the 13th. Did I mention there was a “Strawberry Moon” for the 13th? Not to mention the astrologists were simply all over that day… I prefer solid facts, though. But I digress.



On the way there, the weather was downright awful, unfortunately. Terribly heavy rain, but it cleared soon enough.

We finally arrived at Wolf Trap (lovely place, may I add) an hour early, but the place was already packed. When they say arrive an hour early, they mean it.


It was rather humid there (or maybe I just hate heat!) but by the time we got there, it calmed down nicely. The weather was acting up for just a moment and the wind even moved the curtain a bit before showtime, humorously. By the way, they were about 3 minutes or so late. Unforgivable!  😉

Fortunately the crowd was mostly older ladies and gentlemen so my sensitive hearing was not irritated (I’ve had to forego concerts and baseball games because people screaming in my ear is a no-no.) 

gg4

The backdrop was not a video like past seasons, it was simply a red, green, etc. etc. background that I much preferred.

Unbelievable as it may seem, I could have chosen closer seats, but the prospect of somebody possibly serenading me for a few seconds before thousands of people terrifies me beyond measure. No offense, of course.

My adolescent joy had probably reached its zenith when the show finally started. I actually had only listened to a handful of their songs before the concert because I wanted to keep them fresh, but don’t ask me how I managed to do that!

I will never forget the way I felt when the concert finally started. A billion Ennio Morricone death/love themes couldn’t of properly conveyed how I felt. When I eventually reach senility (if I’m lucky, that is) I’ll remember this moment (or not remember) and smile like a cornball. I know there are all those quotes people post on Twitter about how to trust actions, not words. I detect anti-poeticism here. What do I have to do to prove myself: jump out of a plane screaming “IL VOLO FOREVER!” in a green, white and red jumpsuit? You get my point, trust me folks.

When they started my, ‘phone (well, not my phone) could not capture the stark vividness of the red background and their figures, but let me tell you, it was intense.


I adjusted it just a smidge to make it seem more like it was in person.

My personal favorite.
Ignazio was the usual joker with his arm around Piero whose face looked comically deadpanned. He went on about the singers they were in love with, and he said that Gianluca was in love with Frank Sinatra (it’ll never work out, I’m afraid), and that Piero was in love with… him! Aha!

Surprisingly, it was also Barbara Vitalli’s birthday that day, so they sang “Happy Birthday” to her! Some coincidence!  I must say that was a little unexpected!!

During the “Maria” number in place of bringing girls onto the stage they instead went by the first few rows and sang to some lovely ladies.

My favorite moment was probably when the selfie (in my own world that is not an accepted word in the Oxford dictionary) prince came out and sang his “Night and Day” number. Not because he reminds me of Elvis but because I think that he executed (in a good way) it so very well.

I have listened to countless old (excuse me… vintage) videos on YouTube thinking there was no reason to ever go to see a concert in person because I thought that I would never hear or see anything that good in this life and era. Michael Buble, Josh Groban, etc, etc… may be good in their own way but I’m afraid they are not a very satisfying substitute. Well, I guess I was completely mistaken. I still I can’t believe I heard something so lovely in person.  Although, I do do a little convulsive knee jerk every time they say they sing it in a “fresh” way, it was never stale!!  (Use of that word is marketing, I suppose and I guess I’m just a overly sensitive music purist. 😮

I think these days people feel a little obligated to give a standing ovation, perhaps out of pressure or politeness. But I can tell you, there was no pressure here. They all deserved each one!

Well, I think I am done waxing lyrical about the concert. It was good. They sounded good. More than good. Fantastic! I liked/loved/enjoyed it. Oh yes! 

gg2

I especially thank God, thank my dog, thank my parents, thank the universe but most all of thank Il Volo for existing. (I’m sure somebody is going to steal that for an Oscar speech, just you wait).

With utmost bliss,

A Very, Very Overzealous Teenage Fan-girl ♫

P.S. I have no idea what possessed me to write this! I must be off my rocker!
P.P.S. The piece my piano teacher gave me to study the day before I went was called “The Flight”. Really!