Hey Flight Crew, I’ve missed you, and I’ve missed writing for a little while. The guys have been in such demand both in Italy, and then here in North America, that we all have been desperately trying to keep up. Sometimes it gets overwhelming! I can’t even imagine what they go through. Correction, I can imagine, and we love them for it. Ugh! By the time this is posted, my concert recollections will probably sound pretty old hat, and redundant; but I would like to share them anyway. Many of you had an opportunity to see them in person again, or maybe for some it was the first time; but truth be known it doesn’t matter how many times you see them, you will begin anticipating the next one right away. The guys, are the guys, and never try to be like anyone else. They don’t need to. They are, how the Lord intended for them to be, and that’s a big part of why they are so special to us. This was my second concert, but it really seemed like the first because before, we were so far back I really couldn’t really see much of anything. I definitely didn’t have any problem this time; and this time was my first M&G. It just so happened that a sister Flight Crew member, Barbara in AZ, managed to get the seat right beside my son and I. I think it may well have been the last one available in that section. She and I had e-mailed a couple of times prior to obtaining tickets, but when I actually purchased ours, I contacted her and she said she had just gotten hers as well, that same day. She told me her seat location and number, and I shouted “Barbara”, that’s the seat right next to us—3rd row orchestra! OMG! What were the chances!! —- FAST FORWARD—sooo, now here we were nearly 7 mos later, nervously awaiting the moment we had been anticipating for so long. After greeting one another, we managed to settle down in our seats. She sat quietly, while I, on the other hand, could not sit still.
I kept looking over at her, wondering why she was so quiet. Almost trance like. (It’s okay, she knows what I’m posting). This went on for all of half an hour or so, when suddenly a very recognizable tune began playing, and the anticipation of what was going to happen next became almost unbearable. The lights were out, and I turned to her again and said, “not yet, it will still be another minute or so, this is only the introduction.” I don’t know who I was trying to calm, her or me, but I’m pretty sure it was me! She, still sat quietly! I’m thinking; wait, did I do something? Did I step on her toe? Then, all of a sudden, Gianluca began singing, in the dark, and I knew, I JUST KNEW that,…. and then the spotlight shined directly on him; and there he was. My hand flew up and covered my mouth, in awe of this gorgeous young man standing right in front of me. Wide eyed, I turned once again toward Barbara, and she turned toward me at the same time, and we just stared at each other. Didn’t say a word. As my attention returned to the stage, I became aware that one little tear had found it’s way free, and it began running down my check towards my hand…… I didn’t bother to wipe it away, the idea somehow seemed like it would be a disrespectful thing to do; after all, Gianluca had earned the gallant effort put forth by that little tear, just appearing to honor him.
Seems silly I know, but was it? Then, it was handsome Piero who had taken his place in the center of the stage, sounding as powerful and confident as ever, and my son’s face brightened with a smile of approval. A very surprising, and out of character response from him. He was impressed to say the least!
And then, and then…. (sorry Marie),.. it was Ignazio’s time to shine. As soon as the spotlight illuminated him, my other hand joined the first one, to double the attempt to stifle whatever utterance might be loosed. My mind was telling me, BREATHE Kitty, YOU HAVE TO BREATHE, but there was no breath to be had. Ah, but there was a surprise! Barbara looked at me first this time, with both her hands placed similar to mine, over her mouth, and with our eyebrows arched high, and our eyes opening almost beyond their capacity, we shared a wide, partially hidden, but not to be denied, grin.
Ignazio, as always, walked across the width of the stage as he sang, but when the song was finished, he ended up right in front of us, waved and said “Hello”, flashing that wonderful smile. Needless to say, we didn’t waste any time in returning a “Hello” of our own. For the next 2 hrs, we were in heaven, or someplace darn close to it. Barbara really was okay, even though she sure never took her eyes off the stage after that! Give you one guess why that was, but I won’t tell! Of course, the entire show was fabulous; emotional, easy, free, funny, and whatever other complementary words you could say! We knew it would be It always is! —- The show has ended, and now we set our sights on the M&G. Once again the nerves shifted into high gear, but we sat down, and revisited our favorite happenings that the guys had provided, and watch the crew that was dismantling the set. My goodness, that’s a whole different type of artistry. Wow! – It was a rather long wait, but worth it; at least what I remember of it. No surprise there! What I do remember is Gianluca’s beautiful smile, and his wonderful, willing, and honest hug. In fact, he didn’t even wait for me to come to him, he stepped out of line and came to me, with outstretched arms. When he walked me over to where the other two were, he tapped Piero on the shoulder, letting him know I was there; but Piero was still occupied with someone, so I got just a quick little hug.– Ignazio? …he was already waiting! Oh boy, in more ways than one….What do I do, what do I say? HELP!
…. Did you know that Ignazio has very solid abs? Yep per! Okay, go ahead, ask me how I know that! Hee Hee! I know you’re curious! I know that because as I was apologizing to him for not having the gifts for them that I had planned, because I didn’t get them done in time, I followed by asking if I could mail them. As he was answering me, I suddenly realized that all the while I had been speaking, I had also been tapping my finger on his tummy! Wait, worse than that, I was still doing it!
A Gasp! Remember that red shirt that we have always liked on him? Well, that’s the one he was wearing! My one fingerprint was on it now, numerous times over! “Don’t wash it Ignazio, just send it to me!” Don’t ask me why I was doing that,.. but it was nice!...I mean, good, very good! I mean…..oh, never mind! However, that may explain the rather apprehensive look on his face, when I finally looked him in the eyes. In spite of feeling silly, I had to chuckle to myself., but “No worries Ignazio, I’m harmless”. ( I just can’t breathe ) At least, he may not forget me for a while! I just haven’t decided if that’s a good thing, or a bad thing. Next, and not a moment too soon, I had the privilege of meeting Eleonora, Caterina, and Barbara Vatali. Very nice ladies, even if they probably hadn’t understood a word I said. I expected that. What I didn’t expect though, was their warm hugs and willingness to interact with me, without hesitation. I was pleasantly surprised; especially after they had to have seen me manhandling Ignazio! I remember asking myself, “could I be as gracious in sharing my sons with the world?” After my truly unintended shenanigans, I struggled to answer my own question. As I reluctantly walked away, I felt a little sad that my special day was ending;
but at the same time, I had an even greater respect for how they present themselves, whether on stage or off. They are who they are; just three young men, using what they’ve been given and what they love, to just, maybe, make some small difference. Bottom line is, the night was filled with love, and visible adoration coming from a wide range of people of all ages; who have come face to face with “real”, what it looks like, and how it actually should sound. Definitely, smarts and talent have combined, and have made them undeniably worthy of the success they have achieved. They have caring hearts, a total understanding of respect, and an obvious command of the tremendous blessings bestowed upon them. Those blessings are honed to perfection, nourished, and built upon; and when the time is right, they are deliver straight to our hearts. We, in return, show our gratefulness by supporting them in whatever way we can. In addition, you can’t help but notice the reciprocation of affection between these artists, their fans, musicians, and those behind the scenes. Yes, you sometimes see indications of it in videos, but it is a “beautiful” thing to actually witness. There is genuine love and caring in play all around them: it stands out, and warms you inside. Beauty in itself, as I see it, is not something that can be defined by an absolute. There are no known, or written criteria for declaring something as “beautiful”; it’s different from person to person. We’ve always heard “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and that’s true; what one person “feels” is beautiful, may not be considered as such by another; (THE KEY WORD HERE is “FEELS” ); because the perception of what we refer to as “beautiful”, has more to do with how our inner being, our heart and our soul, has responded to certain moments in our lives. When we, individually, refer to something, someone, or perhaps an event or experience, as “beautiful”, we do so because of how we felt inside at the moment of that experience. A particular emotion had been touched. What’s the term…a warm and fuzzy feeling? So, we can’t credit our so called intellectual abilities with deciding what “beautiful” is. It’s not a matter of intellect, it’s a matter of the heart These incredible entertainers have been given everything needed to reach the deep and dark spaces that we all have inside of us. They bring the light, and uplift our sense of well being; and to me, that translates into something I refer to as “beautiful”. We benefit in ways that I know to be true because I hear your stories. Stories not unlike my own. Yes, we care about them. We absolutely do. We care very much! They are our “beautiful” gifts.
Geeze!!…Hope I didn’t bore you with all of that, it must have been closer to the surface than I thought. ANYWAY…. I’m thinking it’s time to get back to “Kitty’s Kibbles”, so I’ve reviewed my listing of researched topics regarding Italy and Sicily, and I found it to be very lengthy and wide reaching. My intention was to start in Northern Italy and end up in Sicily, but since it’s been a little while, I would have to revisit each item with a map in hand, for far to long. I have already posted several articles in the past about Gianluca’s area, so we will be visiting Sicily first, to honor Piero and Ignazio. Subjects will be random, but I hope interesting, and maybe we can enjoy some extra fun along the way. Because of all my rambling above, we will begin our travels, trivia, and who knows what, in the next posting. To our newest crew members, we are happy to have you joining us. As you can tell, we do things a little differently here in how we share our Il Volo love So….
and welcome aboard!
Ciao for now, KITTY ( I love saying that! )
This is lovely, I love how you describe the effects these guys have on us, reaching deep places in our feelings and hearts like no other. They are immensely skilled and hard working, but it is the emotions they give that are so unique. Ilvolotherapy really happens.
Kitty, your story was so close to mine…it brought back lovely memories! The main difference is that after Gianluca’s hug…I went blind! I remember hugging Piero and the getting to Mr. What’s his name and holding on to his hand!! What is it with these guys..I’m 84 and have seen several celebrities, but this was different!! Your feelings are the same as MANY of ours! Thanks for this lovely account!! My daughter was with me and she has been a “so so” fan until those lights came on!! She said”OMGOODNESS” Mom!! I said, “see…I told you”!!♡♡♡
You are beautiful too Kitty!. The way that you expressed your encounter with Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero makes my experience with them become so real and clear again. I dont think I could ever express the sensation of meeting THEM and the concerts that I attended two months ago, to anyone the way you did, but believe me, I felt just the same as you!! Thank you for your great story, it was meravigliosa (wonderful)!
Thank you, Kitty, for a wonderful story. Through you, I was once again able to feel the emotions I felt when seeing our boys in person. Piero, Gianluca, and Ignazio you bring such love and happiness to us (me) with your voices.
I could also relive my feelings and emotions through your story. I curtainly understand being breathless! Nice job… I almost forgive you for touching Ignazio too much.
You described every concert and meet and greet that I went to perfectly… I felt like you were writing about my experience with the concert and with all three guys at the meet and greet… What this tells me is that Il Volo never deviates from giving their all to everyone during a concert and that they give of themselves totally to each and every fan at the meet and greets… Of course it is never enough… Those few seconds that we are able to converse, hug or just stare at the guys before our picture is taken and we are told to move on is the most precious to us because those three do know how to make the most of those moments and make us feel like we are really special to them… Thank you for this article, it helped me relieve the beautiful memories I have of Il Volo on what was THe Magical 2016 Concert Tour here in the USA in 2016.
Kitty, wonderful story!! Hope you have received that red t-shirt in the mail by now. 🙂 Your words make the experience come back for all of us. So special!
What a beautiful story Kitty! I saw them in Chicago this past February and I will never forget the experience I and the rest of the audience had on that special night. So glad to be a part of the ilvoflightcrew. It is amazing and thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. It is truly appreciated.
No boredom here. Great review.
You certainly described exactly how I felt sitting in the audience waiting for the concert to begin and how I felt as first Gianluca appeared and then Piero and Ignazio. It was just wonderful to see them and hear them start singing!
Geez whiz😍
Thank you ladies for your nice comments, and Marie was right. When I submitted this, she told me that it brought all her memories to the surface again, and felt it would do the same for others as well. Looks like she was right! I am happy for that! I find our guys to be so worthy of their success; they are amazing in so many ways. With the world being as it is today, it’s comforting to know that God loves us still, and always; and has created this “beautiful” gift for us. These young men have been wrapped in all that is good, and honest, and real.
Kitty my dear, you explained our night at the concert perfectly! I chuckle when I remember the looks we shared with each other!!! Yes, we were 20 again and swooning over those 3 amazing guys on the stage! However you did cross the line with your poking Ignazios abs! I got a smile out of him (when Ithe 20 year old in me) asked him if I could take him home!!! ❤️❤️❤️
You put that so beautifully, Kitty!
Great report Kitty! Somehow I think I missed where your concert experience had been but I certainly could identify with the reactions! These guys are just pure magic. I just count myself to lucky to be part of the magic whether its sitting here at my compuiter or being at the concert/ M&G. Speaking of, your M &G sounded more relaxed and lasted a bit longer than most of the ones I have read. I know mine felt rushed. I can just see you tapping Ignazio on his firm abs. ( I think I could hear Marie swoon from here) Thanks again Kitty!
piratesorka, the guys were right here in my backyard, literally! Only about 4 traffic lights away, can you imagine that, in Mesa, AZ . They got on their buses afterwards, and drove to Las Vegas. As I was waiting for my ride home, I could hear screaming girls from the back side of the theater. Brought back my memories of when I saw Elvis and Ricky Nelson. Gee, now that I think about it, they could have stayed overnight at my house! Shoot, what was I thinking? Humm, guess I wasn’t. Oh well, next time!
Kitty,
The intense feelings that you’ve described are exactly what many of us here have experienced time and time again and to this day I am surprised at the profound effect that these talented young men have had on our lives.
Was it the same with Sinatra? With Elvis? The Beatles? With Madonna? Celine Dion? Justin Bieber? All superstars in their own places and times, but I am really curious to know if they provoked the same level of emotional impact that Il Volo does to all of us. I’d love to get your thoughts on this.
John, my first music passion was for The Beatles. I have often described their impact on my young life as being :” Life was black and white and then I watched The Beatles on Ed Sullivan and suddenly there was technicolor!”.
There have been other music talents I have enjoyed but the Beatles were the top of the top for ages. Things quieted down as the group went their own way. As I said I have enjoyed others but just not with the same intensity….until IL VOLO. Now I have thought about this quite a bit and so if I just put the music to the side, then I would say I am equally attracted to their personalities, They simply are not like other young men in show business. They constantly use words like Family, Home, being humble, loving their country, living a dream, thanking God, sharing Bel Canto. They are masters at Social Media. In short, I love how they have draw myself and countless others to share part of their life via media. I feel like I am part of the entourage, I get to meet the family, I see behind the curtain. Each day I enjoy the heavenly music, In this way how can you not come to be enchanted by these three lovely young Italians?
Let me put it this way, when I leave this world my family knows one Beatle song they must play at my funeral luncheon, but I sure hope the rest of the music is IL VOLO!
I think I may have written the above. How did Pirate know? Same story. It was the Beatles for me too. Of course, I was 14 at the time time and like Pirate said.. They colored my world. By the time I was 16 their hold on me began to fade. I read, write, think and breathe IL Volo every day and have for over 4 years. The intensity only increases! I truly do not understand this. It is so out of my personality. No wonder my family looks at me with their mouths hanging open. They don’t understand and I am unable to explain. My love for IL Volo is of the unconditional kind. Don’t understand that either, but I am having one hell of a glorious time loving THEM anyway!
I never had a crush or whatever you want to call it on any of them–not Elvis–who I like now in retrospect but at the time was not very appreciative of–nor the Beatles or anyone else. Talk about this behavior being uncharacteristic! It is unprecedented!
And I am enjoying every minute of being in thrall to these three wonderful young men!
I definitely don’t write like you ladies do, but I feel the way you feel. I am a 77 year old grandmother and I look at the boys in different ways. They have my respect for the way they conduct themselves on stage and what we are privy to see in private. I love Gianluca for his sensitivity, Piero for his love of family, and Ignazio for his unpredictableness. (is that a word?) But then, I think they all share the same traits.
I’ve seen 2 concerts this year and felt like a 20 year old again. I went to 2 M/G and just lost it both times. Nothing came out of my mouth that I had planned to say, I actually told Piero “I like your t-shirt” my goodness really? It’s great to relive the memories through you all. Thank you so much.
JOHN, I’ll say, yes and no. I became aware of Frank Sinatra and who he was at a very young age because his family lived right across the street. I was only 7 or 8 yrs old. I’ve mentioned this a few times in the past: we always knew when he was in town because the family would have get-togethers, typical Italian ones; lots of food, music, hugging, laughing and the occasional difference of opinion. I learned since, it all goes together. While my parents didn’t always seem thrilled, I however, would sit in the swing on the front porch taking it all in. Rat pack music and films brought me into the rock and roll era; Bill Haley, (I got my first R&R at 12 yrs old); not from my parents, but from another young (but older) member of my family. Oh lordy, Italians have nothing on my Father! Then came Elvis, etc. Of course, yes, I was in love. By the time the Beatles came along, it wasn’t the same, or I wasn’t the same, because all that drooling stopped. I thought they were awful. Music, to me, through my adult life, has been up for grabs. Whatever! Who ever! Blah!! Then in 2009, my friend sent me a video of three adorable and truly talented teenagers (barely), and I became a teenager once again; but with a very different perspective as to why. I’m a grandma now, twice over; but I would be lying if I didn’t notice that they are extremely easy on the eyes, have been blessed with outstanding voices, etc. Remember, I’ve admitted to being a grandma, but as such I look for other qualities to warrant favor, ie humility, honesty, compassion, openness, manners etc. a real love for what they are doing, and a willingness to pursue it with everything in them. What do you really know about others, when we know Il Volo’s family, friends, likes, dislikes, style, favorite things, and on and on. They are not hiding behind autotune, gimmicks, and obseen gesturing.; no getting in trouble with the law, …… They have rightfully earned my, your, all of our respect , and that’s why we love them so much! Respect doesn’t come easy, it must earn, always, be earned! Bet you’re sorry you asked!!
Kitty – I love it! Someone else that writes almost as much as I do! Lol! No, never boring to read accounts of our guys! Yes, seemed like you had a long time with them at your meet/greet? So, did Ignazio say you could mail their gifts? 🙂 Certainly sounds like you had a wonderful time! Poking abs, huh? No wonder he had his leather jacket zipped up most of the way at Vegas! lol!
Great post, Kitty…I think we ALL would like to “poke abs” with Igna, doncha know? (If this offends anybody, sorrrrry…I just HAD to write that)! 😉
Ruth, you may have started something here. Watch out Igna here we come ready to poke away. He will be black and blue after the M/G. Marie, stand down!👆
Hey!!! Not a chance!
I’ll match you poke for poke. Poor Igna, he doesn’t know what’s coming next time around. Have a good evening. Are you in Ohio? I am.
Yes, I’m in Zanesville. I remember it’s a ways South of you, but I forget the name of your town.
I’m in Mentor about 25 miles east of Cleveland. Would love to see you if you ever get up this way.
I wasn’t sure how to create my own page, so just replying to this post, hoping it can be shared with Il Volo Flight Crew.MY IL VOLO CONCERT EXPERIENCE:It has been exactly two months (Thursday, March 17th) since I saw Il Volo at Majestic Theater in San Antonio (and also in Dallas on Saturday, March 19th). I’ve created several drafts, but haven’t been able to complete them. None of them seemed special enough, and to be honest, I’ve been in mourning; just wondering if and when I will ever be able to see Il Volo face to face again. It was just as everyone has said; all their videos are totally wonderful, but “Nothing” compares to seeing them LIVE. A
I will contact you through email.