Natural Woman

you're the key to my peace of mind....

 

I've been having hot flashes lately...maybe because it's hot and humid...maybe in anticipation of Aretha Franklin tonight...or maybe the devil's come to call..

well, I don't fear the devil so I went into Santa Barbara around 6:00 pm...thousands of people everywhere for Fiesta..I had to park three blocks from the Bowl and by the time I got there I was sweating like a pig in bacon eating contest..

 

then I had to hike up to my seat...up the steep Bowl hill then up the steps all the way in the back...unfortunately I got the cheap seat section...and as I watched the scene unfold, I squirmed like a tadpole in a puddle of water.. I could not keep dry!! I had some coke and water to re-hydrate, but that was my undoing as you'll see

as the minutes ticked by, the Bowl filled up with the beautiful people...my section was a hoot....we were literally trapped in our seats...the show started with a gal comic and she was cute...like Amy Schumer but from Texas..and as she told some dirty jokes, I found myself surrounded by pretty girls...the seats are so close together, I had a girl on my shoulders, one at my feet, one on my lap and one was clinging to my leg..it was awesome!

the sound at the Bowl is really good so I could hear perfectly....it was fun sitting in the back with the party crowd...

ok, so the band and orchestra sets up...and launches into a nice jazz tune..it's a first class orchestra for a first class singer... a throw-back to an era when the music was created by real talent




and then the announcer introduces Aretha Franklin with all her Grammys and high praise...the Bowl is overflowing and buzzing and when Aretha walked out on stage ina black sequined dress, we all went crazy...she starts the show with "Higher and Higher", the old Jackie Wilson hit...I'm awestruck, dumbfounded and starstruck...I'm in the presence of greatness...Aretha sounded fantastic and looked like the Diva she is...fully in control of her band and the music...and the crowd just loved her!

"Chain Chain Chain ...Chain of Fools", "Till You Come back To Me" a song Stevie Wonder wrote for her she said..oh it was gorgeous! "THINK" rocked the house with the Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, Freedom refrain....

she did "Angel" and I got some chills I ain't never had before...a flood of emotion hit me and that's the beauty of Aretha Franklin...she just kills with gospel and soul like no one else

after an hour, Aretha takes a break for a new dress and some tea and I had to pee so bad, I jumped over three rows of folks to get to the head and there was no way I could get back to my seat...the Bowl was like a big Tennessee anthill...

I hang out on the stairs but the ushers kept shooing me away......go back to my seat is what they wanted but that was impossible... a sea of people and there's people dancing in the pavilion when Aretha returns to the stage

so I hang there for awhile with some exotic chick in a black dress....her eyes and lips were firey red and she told me something I've never heard before and I can't repeat here...

Aretha Franklin, on a hot, humid night with all those people rocking and dancing and shouting...well it's just something I can't contain..

I couldn't make it back to my seat, so I wandered off slowly into the night before the end of the show... the crowd was cheering and Aretha was singing...

like a natural woman