Tracy Chapman's Concert

I went to Tracy Chapman's concert at the Apollo Theatre, Manchester, just seven hours ago. I went with two of my ex-students who are married to each other, and three of their friends.

I have never been to the Apollo before, only the MEN Arena to see Diana Krall last year, and really like the venue. It's an old style theatre with side balcony seats, but we sat at the stalls at row K. You can see very well, and the expression on Tracy Chapman's face. At the beginning of the concert, many people were shouting " I love you" at her, and she said, "We love you too", and some people said, "We love you more!" And she had to say, "Well, there's more of you than of us." It was so funny. And few people were drunk in the crowd and kept on yelling and screaming now and then, but she was not perturbed, and kept on singing. The energy from the crowd was real, whole and passionate. Clearly, the crowd really loved her.

It has to be a crowd of the "Revolution", ie more left wing than right that could love her. If you know Tracy Chapman, her first debut album was in 1988, and she sang most of her old songs from that album and the number one hit, "Give Me One Reason" after the encore. "That was one of the longest encore I ever experienced", said one of my ex-students. Tracy Chapman really made us wait.

What is Tracy Chapman like? How does a person be so creative and sing so well?
Who is Tracy Chapman?

So, I thought I would link to an article that was written about her, where she was quoted, that she does like cameras. "When we started making Where You Live, I bought a bunch of Polaroid cameras in so that people could record the experience. Some of those pictures are in the CD sleeve." Chapman, though, prefers the slow decision-making process of selecting a subject for her pictures with a pinhole camera. "It's like writing a song. You're choosing what to put in the frame and, with a pinhole camera, there's an infinite depth of field. There's a sense of influences and atmospheres seeping in and out. There's something magical about them. And songwriting is magical and mystical."

She sang quite a few songs from her new album entitled "Where You Live", and some were really good. I especially like "Change" where I am sharing the lyrics below.

CHANGE

If you knew that you would die today
If you saw the face of God and Love
Would you change?
Would you change?
If you knew that love can break your heart
When you're down so low you cannot fall
Would you change?
Would you change?

How bad how good does it need to get?
How many losses how much regret?
What chain reaction
What cause and effect
Makes you turn around
Makes you try to explain
Makes you forgive and forget
Makes you change
Makes you change

If you knew that you would be alone
Knowing right being wrong
Would you change?
Would you change?
If you knew that you would find a truth
That brings a pain that can't be soothed
Would you change?
Would you change?

How bad how good does it need to get?
How many losses how much regret?
What chain reaction
What cause and effect
Makes you turn around
Makes you try to explain
Makes you forgive and forget
Makes you change
Makes you change

Are you so upright you can't be bent
if it comes to blows
Are you so sure you won't be crawling
If not for the good why risk falling
Why risk falling

If everything you think you know
Makes your life unbearable
Would you change?
Would you change?
If you'd broken every rule and vow
And hard times come to bring you down
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that you would die today
If you saw the face of God and Love
Would you change?
Would you change?

© 2003 Tracy Chapman