*Sigh*
I'm trying really hard not to hate life right now...
- posted by Nicole @ 11:05 PM

 
My Favorite Concert of the Year
It couldn't have come at a better time. I had a miserable, miserable week - possibly one of the worst of my entire life. I was a complete mess - emotionally, physically, psychologically. Then it was Friday.

It's marvelous how sometimes just a change of scenary will do wonders for your psyche, and I felt the effects even while still on the train. Traveling with the Glee Club is a lot like traveling with family. There's that weird uncle that smells funny, that really cool cousin you love to hang out with, the crazy and immature yet lovable younger brother, etc, etc, etc. (So many characters....), and while by the end of long tours it becomes almost unbearable, on short excursions it's very refreshing. And the energy and optimism and joie de vivre that is the Yale Glee Club was exactly what I needed.

The Yale Club Concert is always a really magical experience. The club itself is deliciously pretentious - very luxurious and ornate, and infinitely classy. They feed us a lovely dinner, and I managed to land a spot at a table with some of my favorite Glee Clubbers, as well as our indominatable conductor :) After a short rehearsal, we got ready for the performance. Singing at the Yale Club is the closest thing to singing for an audience full of your parents that you can get in college. There is no more supportive crowd to be found. They just want to love you. After cocktails, the nostalgia is running pretty high, and all they want to do is relive their college experience vicariously through you and your youth and energy. They're like puppies - unconditional, unsolicited love. So, as you might imagine, it's a LOT of fun, and they cheer a lot, and old women cry, and you feel really good about yourself. We sing our normal repertoire, but it's also the first concert of the year when we incorporate some Christmas carols. For me, it marks the official start of the Christmas season. And then we get to the Yale songs. And they. Go. Nuts. It's hilarious; and by the time we get to Bright College Years, even the men are in tears. It's fantastic :)

Possibly the best part of the night is after the concert when we head to Grand Central and, before getting on our train back to New Haven, sing a couple of songs on the grand staircase in the main terminal. It's absolutely magical. Everyone stops and watches and a HUGE crowd gathers. It's so cavernous and the resonance makes us sound amazing, and it's all decorated for Christmas. It's an incredible sensation - you feel completely on top of the world. It's such a high!

Then after about 6 songs, our manager Sean freaks out and herds us all onto the train. They quarantine us (wisely) in the end car, and we proceed to sing the entire way home. It's so toolish, but it's so fun! We sing all of our favorite songs from years past, and the closer to New Haven we go, the drunker we get, and the more horrendous it sounds. It's fantastic! And it's so much fun! It totally lifted my spirits and I woke up the next morning feeling rested and complete - mind, body, and soul.
- posted by Nicole @ 8:13 PM