..if not THE greatest so far in my life, happened several months ago and I realized I had not even mentioned it here. So I'm making up for it now.
About a year ago I heard the news that Josh Groban would play Anatoly in a one night only performance of Chess in Royal Albert Hall, London. I was nervous about going; I had never been to the UK before, the tickets were expensive and there was also the plane ticket and hotel room to think of. I wasn't sure about going but I realized it was an opportunity I'd never have again, so I decided to take it.
The following months I was beyond nervous. I had never traveled abroad "just" for a concert before and I was terrified of not getting my money's worth. What if I got sick and couldn't go? What if Josh got sick and couldn't perform? That horrifying thought even drove me to get tickets for the extra performance that had been announced because the original date was sold out. Thanks to some extremely kind fellow Josh fans I ended up getting one very cheap ticket and one ticket for free (since my mum had decided to accompany me on the trip I couldn't do with just one ticket). In hindsight I am very thankful I got to see the show that night, because that's when the said experience took place.
I got to the Royal Albert Hall not knowing where the others in the fan group were and had to call around to find them, and only got to say a few brief hello's and give a few hugs before we had to get inside the theater. I was warm, probably a bit dehydrated and dizzy with adrenaline, and just hoped I'd get through the first act without fainting or panicking.
I knew the story and the songs so I was secretly waiting for the end of the first act, the most famous one of all the songs, the song everyone had been waiting to hear Josh sing - Anthem. At that point I was fanning my face like mad and my tongue was sticking to the floor of my mouth, had I been somewhere else I would have described my situation as feeling unwell. And there it was, like I heard it for the first time but still able to recognize it; the oboe intro.
It was like a symbolic thing for me; this would be the moment that would ensure me I had made the right decision by going and spending the extra money on seeing the show that day as well, the song that would remind me of what I came for.
And I was not disappointed, to say the least. For those three minutes I was completely focused on the stage and the voice that filled the auditorium like a physical presence, the magnificent choir that took the song to it's famous crescendo - ending with the line "My land's only borders lie around my heart". And that line had not even been finished before the entire audience jumped up from their seats, cheering and applauding. Not just the Josh fans, as I had for some reason expected - there was not one person still in his seat. And during the last lines of that song and the seconds that followed, I knew I had witnessed something magical, that I'd probably never experience again.
The next night I had an even better seat, closer to and in front of the stage, but it still didn't surpass the experience of the first night. My mum who is not as enthusiastic about Josh as I am but still enjoys his voice, told me afterward that she'd felt the magic too, and that convinces me there really was something special about that evening, not just something conjured from my state of adrenaline overflow and water deprivation.
I may not be so lucky, but am still hoping, to have more moments like that in my life.
