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Recensioni in Italiano
On April 17th we were in Vegas to attend "A
New Day...". Like all the reports state, on show nights there is this
extremely long line of people who are trying to get tickets........for a
show already soldout. The line was at least 200 people long about 30
minutes before showtime.
We were impressed with the show. This is the 4th time we are seeing her
in concert. The previous times were at the Molson in Montreal. The
show is definitely impressive and everyone is in for a treat, even if
you only like her music just a little. The massive video screen is
definitely the next big star of the show. Truly spectacular and no
words could describe how real the images look. Not just how real they
look but because the screen is almost the entire size of the stage back
wall, when an image is displayed on it you really feel the stage is
continuous with the displayed image. You are in for a real stellar
journey when she performs "My Heart Will Go On". Another plus, there is
no half-time show break.. It is a continuous show and she is featured
prominently in every scene except for when she is briefly offstage for a
costume change or working her way back to the stage from the ceiling.
At those brief moments you are treated to a visual feast put on by the
dancers. Another plus, there is no bad seat in the theatre. They were
very honest about that!
While Celine's voice is spetacular and the strongest I have heard since
her last world tour, we did notice some weaknesses in just a few
(probably 3) songs. "Seduces Me" was audibly weak. " The First Time..."
was also weak but that I understand in one of her statements is due to
the harness that she wears. So that was acceptable, since what you lost
in voice you gained twofold in visual effect. Sadly, she did not sing
"A New Day Has Come" (the theme song for the show), nor did she sing
"Have You Ever Been In Love". I have the impression that "ANDHC" is not
an easy song for her to perform. Whenever I have heard her perform this
song she sounded a bit weak. Except for "I Drove All Night" no other
songs from "One Heart" are performed. That was not too disappointing
though. Her selection of material was otherwise satisfying. Oh yes,
her show is totally rehearsed to the point that she never stays from
her lines. Everything you heard her say on the CBS special she repeats
in this show. Very little spontaneous conversation. There was some,
but very little.
The night we were there, she gave a rose to a white-heaired woman
sitting up front. Celine told the woman that she reminded her of her
mother. Celine said that her parents were in Vegas for two months and
had just returned home. Celine became emotional in the process and
forget her next line to introduce the lovely italian song she did. She
could not recall that the name of the city where the song originated is
Naples. While it was a bit funny it was also touching because she was
truly ovecome with emotion when she saw the woman.
My overall impression.....still excellent...because even with the
few disappointments, it must be such a difficult show to put on... a few
disappointemts are acceptable. The money is worth the adventure.
Love,
Andy and Moshmi
[Andy and Moshmi, thanks for sharing with us your review!]
Please don't post this review anywhere.
March 23
My mom and I left North Carolina at around 6:10pm on Sunday, March 23, 2003. It was
my 1st time flying so... I was VERY, VERY nervous. It wasn't half as bad as I thought
it was going to be... just the flight was long lol. I remember getting into Vegas... it was
night. All the lights appeared from no where! It was SO big once we go closer to the
ground. I was trying to spot the Colosseum... but I couldn't lol. So we get off the plane
and get our bags.
Outside was a shuttle bus with Céline’s "A New Day" logo plastered
all over it! LOL I was so excited! We got at Caesars and got to the registration desk. There was a young girl who got us out of the mess with the rooms... lol there was a mix up. She asked us what we were here for and I said "Céline Dion!" She laughed and told me she had seen the show because she was one of the employees who got to see the show. She said a million WONDERFUL things about Céline! I was happy! LOL. I convinced my mom into walking down to the Colosseum once we got in our room. We weren't sure where to go... but we walked in this place that looked like it might lead into the area of it. I saw Céline’s face in this room.... and we got closer. I realized it was the CELINE STORE. The young girl had told me once I asked about the store there wasn't one that she knew of. I found out later on it was because it had only opened that Friday before. I spent a little money in there lol.
March 24th
This day wasn't Celineish. I missed Oprah lol. This was ok. We went to the Hoover Dam that day. It was pretty cool! After we got back, we went to the Forum Shops a bit. They had this HUGE wall display of Céline in the Virgin store. It was great lol!
March 25th
This was really interesting lol. Céline’s big night. My mom and I went around Vegas the 1st part of the day. I got One Heart and a few other things that morning. Around 2 or 3, we went back to Caesars to see what all they had done to get ready for the show. I was going to get something else in the Céline Store when my mom met this guy, John. I don't think he was much older than I was. (I'm 15) He lived in Vegas and said he liked Céline... he met her when she did Divas Las Vegas last year! He talked about how she gave him a kiss and a hug LOL it was pretty funny. I met 2 other people, Ryan and Julie. They were Céline fans! We all had a GREAT spot to watch the stars come down but they put photographers in front of us because there were so many. John knew one of the photographers on the other side of the red carpet... so he said if we didn't put our hands out at the stars, we could stand there. We waited for 3 hours in all. My legs hurt SO badly. A lot of people came down but my favorite was Josh Groban lol. He gave me his autograph! I felt a little bad because I had a Céline shirt on and he looked down at it LOL. That's ok though... I knew he was there for the same reason ;-) After that, my mom and I went to our room and watched the CBS Special.
March 26th
We went to the Grand Canyon this day. There was a girl... she was in her 20s, who went with us that day. (We did tours from the hotel.) I had this goal of wearing a Céline shirt everyday in Vegas lol... so I had one on. I had a Céline bag also. She asked me if I saw Céline last night and I told her my show was the 28th. She told me about how she worked in Toronto and they did a contest to benefit the CF foundation! She went as a host for the people who won. You got tickets to opening night and VIP passes. So she met Céline. My mom being my mom lol was telling her how big of a fan I was. After everything was said she told me I was "THE fan" (we're ALL "THE fans" since we love Celine ;-) ) and that she would have given me her VIP pass to meet Céline if she would have met me before :(. It was ok though lol she told me about Céline being VERY nice to everyone and how she was just the total sweetie!
The Grand Canyon was REALLY great! I wish I could go again because I wasn't in it 100%... I could not get my mind off of Céline lol. Now, "Reveal" reminds me of the desert out there and all the Joshua Trees because I listened to it the WHOLE time! LOL.
March 27th
This day we did nothing. Well... my mom didn't lol. I met Marisa and Brittany in the afternoon and we all hung out. We were walking in the Forum Shops when I stopped and said "do y'all want to get in trouble?" They looked at me a little funny so I explained to them about going to find where Céline parked. We went out a door beside the Céline Store and ended up in the construction area. A few people came out of the doors outside and went in the doors we came out of. They had passes so we figured they were dancers or something. So we walk out of the construction area because we were afraid we weren't supposed to be there. Brittany looks to our right and she noticed Céline’s garage. She saw Oprah, unlike Marisa and I lol. She noticed the black phone. So we all 3 walked down there and argued over who was going to ask the security guard if that was where Céline parked lol. Marisa, being the bravest, walked over with Brittany and me following her and just ASKED the lady. She was a bad liar lol. She laughed the entire time she told us "No, Céline Dion doesn't park here!" You could just tell she was not telling us the truth. Not to mention we KNEW that's where Céline parked lol. So we stood around talking about how bad we wanted to meet Céline and what we were going to do next. Céline’s chef came out! Brittany was the one know recognized him. He got something out of a silver Town and Country and walked back inside. We all went back over to ask the security lady if she could give Marisa's pack of letters to Céline and if that WAS her chef. She told us she could not give the letters to Céline and yes that was her chef. So we walked back over to where we were standing when we were asked by the lady to leave. Brittany's mom called her and told her she had to go anyways so we all left. Marisa and Brittany had their show that night so they left and my mom and I went to shop some more. We decided to come back a little early. My mom found that Marisa had left the pack of letters from her friends in my room. I went down to wait on them to get out of the show. I was really thinking they had gotten to Céline because it took SO long lol. I talked to an usher... we talked about Céline and about my shirt I was going to take. She said she hadn't seen Céline in person yet but they switch the jobs of the ushers around every now and then so she would be working inside the show probably next week! (What a job LOL!) Gloria Estefan went to that show that night! She walked right past me! I was like whoa lol. But then Marisa and Brittany came out and were SOO happy lol. Marisa's aunt told Marisa she had a surprise for her! We were all like... Céline is out there! LOL Not Céline but just as good. Mego was standing on the other side of the Céline Store with some dancers! We were ALL really excited and I know I was a little TOO excited LOL. It was the 1st time I had met anyone close to Céline lol. So we all got a picture and they asked us how WE enjoyed the show... I said I was going Friday night. Elijah told me he hoped I enjoyed the show. :). So after that I went back to my room. It was 1am I know... and my mom was asleep lol. I came in and she was half asleep and I was out of breath when I was telling her. I said "I met Cel...." and she JUMPED up. I knew she thought I was going to say Céline but I told her Céline’s dancers and Mego lol! So we went to bed after that! :)
March 28
THE BIG DAY! I was SOOOOO excited. I met Christy and her mom around 3pm. I took her to the Céline Store and then we all went to get ready for the show. We all met at around 7 or so and got inside the Colosseum at 7:30-8:00. We had to wait a little while before we could go to our seats. We went to put our gifts on the "Gift Table." They let us in with our shirts. They had Céline’s logo in lights lol. But when we came back in from putting our gifts on the table, we set the alarms off and there was a problem. They had to ask someone if we were ok, even after the 1st time they said yes it was fine lol. But they told us it was ok and we could go in with them as long as we didn't keep them on. We got A LOT of attention from everyone. They were asking us where we bought them. We told them we made them and they were just amazed LOL. This older couple came over to us. They were in Orch 4 also... they had front row. The lady, Mrs. Williams, was SO funny. She was telling us we needed to put them on the market and everything lol. They had a Grandson, Todd, who worked at Bradley Ogden’s... an eatery right across the casino. Christy is going to school to be a pastry chef so they wanted her to go back in the kitchen and meet him after the show. The ushers were asking where our seats were so they could tell the people working the camera to get a shot of us before the show started. We got to our seats and were just mouth-opened amazed LOL. We were so close. We had seats 410 and 409 in row 5, Orch 4. The LED screen had a frame and inside was a view of the seats... of people coming in. They came to Christy and me and stayed there for a good 5 mins lol. They would go around and get embarrassing moments of people lol it was really funny. They came back to us a little later and the place was almost full. The people beside me were saying "Don't be afraid! Stand up!!!" So Christy and I stood up and everyone started clapping!!! AH it was so cool! LOL. So we sit back down and the show starts! It was weird how Céline came onstage. The screen showed her walking down th ese steps and then she got to the bottom. A spot light came on her. We weren't sure if it was her or not lol. But she started walking towards us. One thing I remember the most was how the reddish outfit she had on under the black suit had a rim around the neck. The spot light reflected it and it sparkled right into our eyes. I'm not going to put a song-for-song review! I don't want to ruin it for anyone lol. Let's just say she was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! It was the most incredible thing I have EVER seen. And when she started talking, she pointed Christy and me out! We turned out lights off when the show started but when she started talking we turned them back on. She looked at us and said "Look at those lights! I guess they thought we weren't going to have enough lights in the show! That's wild! Thanks!" AH Christy and I were SOOO happy!!!! All the hard work and money paid off right then LOL. It was SOOOO cool. And Céline smiled and laughed. When everyone started yelling "WE LOVE YOU CELINE!" she would say back "mee too, meee too!" LOL someone started singing happy birthday to her and she makes a face and said "somebody's been talkin'!!" and that she was getting old lol. We were all like "noooo!" It was really funny lol. The older couple, Mr. and Mrs. Williams, comes back in the story the last 30 mins of the show. Christy and I saw our moms run up to them before the show started. They offered to pay them to let us have their front row seats. They said they would have done it for free if their daughter wouldn't have bought the tickets. They DID agree to switch seats with us the last 30 mins of the show. The ushers came and told us there was a part in the show where it was just Céline’s dancers, and they would come get us and help us move then. I did ok about NOT crying until we got moved and Céline sang "My Heart Will Go On." I could not hold it in anymore. The show ended SO soon. I was crying when it ended. It makes me want to cry now thinking of Céline runnin g off the stage waving and saying goodnight. But the show did end, sadly, and we were asked after a few mins to leave the area.
Some of Céline’s family was standing outside the Colosseum ... so we got to get a picture with her dad! :). After that we went to meet Todd at Bradley Ogden’s and talked to Mr. and Mrs. Williams some more :). While we were walking to the front of the hotel so Christy and her mom could go back to their hotel, we saw Michel walk by! So we asked him for a pic and he said sure! :). Once my mom and I were on our way back to our room, Marisa and Brittany were standing outside the Palace Tower elevators. The cops would not let them go up to our room so I said "Marisa!" and they turned around and were telling me I HAD to go with them and use my French skills because Céline’s mom was in the casino! So I went. I was a little nervous at 1st. I knew her mom was a VERY nice woman but I was a little nervous anyways lol. There was man with her who spoke French and English. I tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he could ask her if I could have a picture with her and that I didn't mean to bother her. He said something in French and she smiled and stood up... so we got a picture lol. That was cool! AH LOL. I realize now how much I was leaning on her now... after I see the picture! lolol. Marisa, Brittany, and I all went to see if we could find anyone else we knew. I told them who all I saw standing around after our show. We found Michel again! He was eating lol. We all were like "Tell Céline we love her! We love yooou!" Lol he laughed and said he would and "me too!" :). So after that I went back to my room and started packing: we had to leave tomorrow :(.
March 29th
This day Christy and her mom and my mom and I all went to Red Rock Canyon. The
funniest part of this journey was when my mom went crazy over these wild donkeys
LOL. Christy has to do a co-op with her school and she chose Lake Las Vegas as her
place to work at. So we had to go t here, FOR CHRISTY, to send in her resume. I was
dressed head to toe in Céline so I was a little afraid to get out of the car because I
knew people would get the wrong idea!! My mom was saying "Why don't we go find
Céline’s house?!" I was just saying omgosh we're going to get in trouble! The backseat
of the car had Céline shirts and posters and magazines ALL in it!!! LOL. So we drive
around and there was a neighborhood that looked a lot like Céline’s lol. We went to
the road it was on but of course it had security! So we left lol. After that we went to
the Tropicana to meet Marisa. Christy had not met her yet. We ate and looked at a
few stores there. We finally found Marisa and Brittany lol. They came up with "Céline
Freak" written on their fore heads LOL. So we all talked for about 30 mins when it
was time for Christy and me to go to the airport. We all just stood in a group hug and
I know I cried. I know none of us wanted to leave. We got to the airport and got to
our gate and every thing. I was pretty tired. I didn't want to leave.... I didn't want to
go back home to school and problems and no Céline. We waited at the airport for a
while. Christy and I just talked about Céline and looked at our Céline stuff. I know I
was trying not to cry. Then it was time for my flight to leave. I hugged Christy and her
mom and I cried. I was SO upset. I remember when we took off and got in the air... I
just watch the lights of Vegas pass behind us. I felt like I was leaving part of my heart
there... Really corny but, it's true. My Céline friends were still there and Céline was still
there. I just cried to myself. It was dark on the plane. We flew all night to get back
home :-p lol. We got in Charlotte, North Carolina at around 6:00 my time. It was
cloudy and rainy here. We had some BAD drops and bumps on the plane landing. I
was too tired and upset to care. Not to mention the woman beside me had food poison
and threw-up the WHOLE time!! *sick face* But we got home and I slept all day. I'll
never forget this trip. It was the BEST experience of my life... and I am going
back even if I have to WALK to get there lol! Maybe I'll have another review :)
There’s my review! I hope you enjoyed. Sorry it’s so long lol. When they say Vegas is the city that
doesn’t sleep… they mean it! SO much happened and I know that anyone that’s going will have a
WONDERFUL time! Enjoy Vegas everyone ;-).
Love, Brittany R.
P.S. If you want to see any of my pictures just click here!
[Brittany, Thanks for sharing with us your emotions!]
Please don't post this story anywhere!!
Date of show: Thursday, March 27th, 2003.
My day began at 5 o’clock AM when I woke up to get ready to leave for Las Vegas. My whole day would be
Céline-ish because of the original reason that I was going to Las Vegas… my friends. I wouldn’t have had such
a wonderful time without them.
I arrived at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas after about 5 hours on the road. I was meeting a friend there, named
Brittany Jones who I’d known for about three years and have become very close to. We had never met and in
May or June of last year, we planned that I’d meet her in Las Vegas even though I’d not be able to go to the shoe
with her. So I met her at Caesars and presented her with the matching outfit to my own and we went into the
bathroom to change into them. They were Céline-ish. On the buttocks of the pants, they said “Céline KICKS”
and they looked very nice. Eventually we’d meet up with another one of my Céline friends, Brittany Randolph,
who escorted us to the Céline Dion store which she’d visited every day. It was there that I got my first mentioning
to the pants I created. The manager came up to Brittany and asked where she bought her pants and I told the lady
that I made them. I felt rude having answered for Brittany so quickly, but I was excited. The manager told us,
basically, to wear the pants to the shoe rather than dresses, and then had the employees of the store look at our
pants. A few customers in the store also made comments and told me they’d love to make a pair if I made them.
I was very happy.
After we left the store and I bought a limited edition program, Brittany Randolph turned to Brittany J and I and said
“Do y’all wanna’ get in some trouble?” and we said Yeah. We decided to try to find where Céline parked and then
we disputed for about 15 minutes which emergency exit to go out of. We decided to go out one that I had seen a
few people leave out of and when we did we were wondering where the colosseum was. We looked up and there
it was…. To our left and huge! We had exited to an area strictly for people with passes around their necks. I have
to admit, I got quite the thrill. Haha. We didn’t know who the people with passes were at the time, but I assumed
they were media. But I later found out that they were dancers and other important people to the show. OOPS!
We found where Céline parked because Brittany J. had watched Oprah when Brittany Randolph and I had missed it,
sadly. But Brittany J said that it definitely was where she parked, so we went down to it and after a long debate, I
was selected of the three of us, to ask the security guard there, if it really was where she parked. I asked and the
lady responded “No, it isn’t” with a big smile and that’s how we knew it was her. We were asked to keep walking
shortly after that, so we did as we were told because we didn’t want to get into any real trouble. Then it was about
time for Brittany Jones and I to go get ready for our show and to have dinner.
I went back to my hotel, the Tropicana and Brittany Jones went to have dinner with her family. I got ready for my
show and just added some more make up to my eyes to make myself look more dramatic and then my mom and
aunt come to get me. I wanted to be back at Caesars at 7:30.
When we got to the entrance, there was a gift table where people could put their gifts for Céline. I talked to the
lady at the table and she said that Céline gets the stuff personally and that she looks at it all herself. When I turned
around to hug my mom goodbye because I only had one ticket for myself, the lady at the table saw my pants and told
me I should take a picture and the next time that I was in Las Vegas I should leave the picture for Céline because
she’d appreciate it. So we took a picture with me, my ticket and my pants and I went into the lobby of the coliseum.
I was a little teary eyed as I entered because I was not supposed to be there. My mom certainly did not have the
money to have me there, but three days before our trip to Las Vegas so I could meet my friends, she surprised me
and bought me a ticket so that I could be at the same show as my friend. I was so happy and it was so pretty inside.
I loved it. I walked around for a minute or two, trying to hold back my tears and then I walked to the other end and
I saw my friend and I went up to her, hugged her and I cried but then started laughing at something that I can’t
remember. We talked for a little bit and then we saw Michel, Céline’s brother leaving the coliseum. Brittany yelled
for him because I was losing my voice to my first ever case of laryngitis. I was sick for the concert with a fever and
everything and no voice! I was afraid I’d not be able to scream for Céline! But she yelled for Michel and he looked
back and we waved and he smiled and waved but was in a hurry, so he left almost immediately. We decided we’d
wait for him to come back, so when he did Brittany ran up to him, tapped his shoulder and when he turned around
we said “look!” and he laughed really hard and told us our pants were great and then said ‘See you later girls!” and
had to go again. So we went to talk to the ushers in front of our entrance. I was in row 27 and Brittany was in 4th
row. So we asked if I could sit next to her just until the person who was sitting next to her came to take their seat
and the ushers said no. So we came back a little later and asked another usher if we could do it and I promised I’d
go to my seat as soon as anyone came and if no one did I’d still go back to my seat and they still said no.
But Brittany and I both wanted to get to our seats, so we decided we’d go to them. Right before we were taken our
separate ways (her down and me up) we hugged and I almost started to cry again. I was really emotional. Then a
lady usher took me to a male usher and she basically told him to make sure I didn’t sneak down to sit with Brittany.
I understand their caution, but Id’ never sneak down. The man looked confused as to where I sat, so I showed him
and he was impressed. Haha.
Before the show, the camera zooms onto some people around the coliseum and it just happened that it zoomed in
on Brittany and she showed her pants. Everyone who was in there at the time cheered and the camera told her to
do it again by moving up and down and getting people to sheer for her, so she showed her pants again and got an
even bigger applause. I was so happy that my friend was on camera… and my design that I started to cry. I also
wanted to be down there, but my tears were more because I was happy for her. Then later, the camera went back
to her and she showed the pants again and there was an even bigger crowd in there. At that point there were
3000 people who saw them. The next time, the coliseum would be almost full, so nearly 4000 people were in there
and I was getting ready to cry again when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
It was one of the ushers from downstairs. When I turned around she smiled and said “Excuse me, you know that
girl on screen, right?” and I said to her “Yes, that’s my friend, Brittany.” She then asked me “Can I please see your
ticket?” and I said “Sure!” and I was so excited that my hands were shaking and I found my ticket and she took it
and she said “Will you please follow me?” and I said “Sure” and the people around me were happy for me. So we
went into a hallway and I asked her “Where are you taking me?” and she said “Please just follow me.” So I got
really excited but also scared at the same time. My mom had bought a ticket from a site other than ticketmaster
so I thought there might be a problem with my ticket and then I thought “Oh my Gosh! They’re going to take me
to meet Céline and Brittany’s gonna’ be there……” and stuff like that. We went down a staircase, I think it was
gray marble, and then out the doors into the lobby and right in front of the entrance to Orchestra 4 I saw René.
So I said “Oh my God, that’s René Angélil, isn’t it?” and he turned around a little and was kind of looking at me out of
the corner of his eye, not smiling and I was looking at him the same way because the usher started to talk and so I
looked at him sideways and she said “So, I’m taking you to first row…” and I looked at her and I said “Oh my God!”
and I started to cry pretty hard. The tears rolled down my cheeks pretty quickly and I looked at René and he had a
little rosy cheeks and was smiling and little and then as I walked in he did as well. He went left and I went right and
as we walked in, the lights turned off. I walked down to first row with the usher and she went up to someone in first
row, center, seat 404 and asked them something but the person shook their head no. So I guess they did not want
to give their seat up, which I understood. So I sat in Orchestra 4 row CC seat 403. My friend was sitting 3 seats over
in the row behind me so I kept glancing at her during the show to smile. As I sat in my seat the lights went onto
Céline. It was like a dream. On 3-27-03 I went from seat 27 to 3. Haha. How about that! Here are my reviews of
some of the songs she performed.
"Nature Boy": Céline opened with nature boy. As I sat down the lights rose to her, on an imaged large red stair case,
projected as large as the whole LED screen. She was on the last three steps, hidden with illusion, making it look like
she actually stepped down the stairway. I was crying so much and thanking God in my head that I don’t remember
what the dancers were doing, but I remember that Céline slowly made her way to center stage.
"The Power of Love": This was a very beautiful number with lots of blue and turquoise colours. Céline was in a reddish
and sheer suit with some loose fabric. It was really pretty and it looked like she had designs in her skin, only because
the fabric was so close to her skin colour that it had that effect. Her voice was excellent for this number.
"It's All Coming Back to Me Now": For this song, there was a thunderstorm going on with the screen and the dancers
were male and female duos that would freeze in amazing poses. The females would try to escape from the males
but always end up going back to them because they were in love, as the song is all about that.
"Because You Loved Me": All I remember about this song was her singing it. I don’t remember where she was. I
must have been in a different place emotionally…
"To Love You More": Her violinist, Jean-Sébastien was on the steps on Céline’s stage right, playing the instrument.
Céline walked around on stage singing the song and I believe, went up to him on the steps and sang near him. I was
thinking about how much my mom would have loved to be there to hear the violin so beautiful. My mom loves that
song and frankly, I missed her in the concert.
"I'm Alive": Everyone stood up to dance for this song. It was a really fun number with all of the dancers behind her
dancing. Céline acted surprised and got a lot of people up and dancing. She acknowledged a few people’s dancing
skills and added her own new movements into it. You could tell she really loved getting into this song. The background
was a city scene in blues, greens and purples. Futuristic.
"Seduces Me": Doesn’t everybody LOVE this number? In this number. Céline is seated into a reddish coloured
leather chair and there are a few male dancers in tight black shorts and no shirts surrounding her. As she sang
“Seduces Me” she looked undisturbed… like nothing was happening, as if she was in a daze. But her vocals
portrayed otherwise with her sighs. The men places her hand on numerous places on their bodies while doing
backbends and more. Men slide to the chair and act as if they’ve been spat away with an invisible hand bigger
than themselves. At the end of this number, the men roll off stage and it looks as if they are being blown like
leaves or tumbleweeds in the wind. This was one of my favorite numbers. After she is done, she gets up from
the chair and walks, almost mechanically to the front of center stage and then shakes off her emotionless face
and said “Thank you Franco Dragone!” and makes some other remarks to the woman and perhaps some men who
would have liked to have been in that chair. She says “I want that chair at my home, eh ladies?” or something to
that nature.
"If I Could": This was the most emotional number for me. After performing “Seduces Me” which had me amazed
and in awe at what human bodies were capable of doing and how good Céline was at keeping a straight face,
Céline asked the audience if she could sit with us for a moment. The audience, of course roared in approval and
she thanked us and sat down on the steps at Céline’s stage left. She sat down with her knees bent into her chest
and she said that she dedicated the song to her son and to all the parents and children in the audience. I forgot
that I was a kid, a child, as I often do and thought that I would be unable to relate to the song and then Céline
opened her mouth with the first note and I realized that I am a child still and that the world is not all on my
shoulders. Céline sang about how she would change the world for her child if she could but that she knew she
could not. She talked about how she wished that she could cry her child’s fears. And all I could think to myself
was how much I wanted to stroll up to Céline, sit on the steps with her and then tell her after she finished singing,
that maybe she hasn’t changed the whole world, but that she has changed mine and that maybe she hasn’t cried
my tears for me, she has helped me to cry them myself. Everything about this performance was amazing… even
the way she sat touched me. I felt like she was singing to me…and that I was truly a part of her family.
"At Last": This song is one of my favorites and it was the second time that I got to hear it live. I was really happy to
be there to hear it. I don’t remember what was going on behind her because I was so focused on her and her facial
expressions, her movements and more. I was jus thrilled to be that close for that song as I was once before.
"Fever": Okay now…THIS is a fun number. Céline talks about how everyone gets fever when they’re in love and how
physical attraction is just so much of a “fever” she dances on stage like you have never seen her dance before but she
doesn’t tell anyone she’s just warming up for the next few numbers!
"I've Got the World on a String": For this number there are dozens of flying instruments, a few with people on them
and Céline is dancing around on stage with a few more dancers broadway-style. This song just makes ya’ happy and
smile.
"A New Love" (instrumental): Those flying frames that some have seen on Oprah is to this number, I believe. It’s
pretty…very pretty!
"I Surrender": This is an intense number. I was shivering after it. Céline does amazing with her voice on this song
and I was just immensely impressed. The screen lights up with flame as it gets close to her face and dancers around
her dance intensely. This just gets you on the edge of your seat with wide eyes!
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face": After performing this number, the lights go off and Céline is hooked to her
harness. When the lights come back on she sings a little part of “The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face)” and then
finally she is lifted into the air, doing an aerial dance with a male who she cannot touch and who cannot touch her.
Then, Céline, at the end of the song, floats up to the very top of the coliseum and the lights fade as she gets down
from there. Then it is time for another break… another costume change.
"Aria Di Lucia de Lammermoor" (instrumental): Elijah, a white male dancer with a bald head that is painted white
with pink accents under his eyes, dances around on stage while trying to get someone’s attention. Other dancers
scurry around him but he is unable to gain anyone’s attention. Céline arrives on stage and he gives her the rose
and runs off stage all giddy and happy when she kissed him on the cheek. Céline then hands the rose to a person
in front row.
"Ammore Annascunnuto": This is an Italian song. I’d not be surprised if Céline moves to Italy for a little while after
the birth of her second child or some other time. She seems to in love in Italy and mentions it in her biography “My
Story, My Dream.” This song is really neat and I liked it a lot. The background was an Italian villa. Very neat.
"Have You Ever Been in Love": What a lovely song… what a lovely person. She just lights up the stage. When you’re
so close to the stage you can barely see what is going on behind Céline… especially if you want to look at her as much
as possible since you feel as if you’re going to wake up from a dream any moment.
"Love Can Move Mountains": Céline must really love this song because she has performed it for every tour. She
didn’t have any special dance moves for this, that I recall. Just the classic Céline. Everyone stood up to dance and
all of her dancers went into the isles to pick some people to dance with them in the isles. Céline, as always,
acknowledges people dancing. I was one of them. I was not in the isle so I cannot be sure 100%, if she was lookin’
at me or not. But I had just been looking at my friend and dancing when my friend got wide eyes and told me to look
forward. So I did and there was Céline looking at me and when I looked at her, she winked, saluted me and said “You
go girl!” Elijah went running on the backs of the second row seats. Haha… I tried to high five him but I missed. I felt
goofy after that.
"I Wish": Another one of my favorite numbers. Remember how I said that “Fever” was just a warm up song?
This is what for! This number is so great. She’s got a ton of energy in it, dance moves you’ve never, ever though
you’d see Céline do regardless how good of a performer you thought she was before. She has dance sequences
with a few other dancers, makes funny faces, dances on steps, in the front row isle, I think and more. She SINGS
while doing this as well. At the end she runs from the dancers, who are pretending to be tourists and fans
following her. She runs off of stage right and then around to a center stage entrance and then to the steps on
center stage and she lays down, relieved that no more fans can find her.
"I Drove All Night": This is a cool performance. She starts off laying down on the ground to sing the introduction and
then sits up to sing a little part and then gets up and dances. She looked at my friend and saluted her when she saw
her doing the driving movement with her arm and then she did it as well. It was a fun performance.
"My Heart Will Go On": A huge moon slowly makes its way on the screen and then slowly backs off as three doves fly
into the center of it at the end. I was too scared that the show was going to end at that point to really watch the
dancers, once again.
"What a Wonderful World": Her voice was very real… like she was singing you a lullaby, getting ready to leave. And
as she sings this number, the screen shows pictures of people in the audience from throughout the show in black and
white. It’s really neat. She then lines her dancers up and she introduces some of the music artists and then she leaves
the stage.
The show was altogether, just wonderful! Brittany and I waited there sitting in front row after everyone left until an
usher came down to get us and told us we had to get out. As we were walking up with her, I picked up a ticket from
row KK that someone had left and the usher realized that she hadn’t given me either my ticket back or another one
so I had no ticket. So she reached in her pocket and she took out the ticket for Orchestra 4 row AA seat 404 and she
handed it to me. I kept thanking her over and over again and when we got out, the other ushers were asking me how
I liked it and I kept telling them I felt like I was dreaming and thanking them over and over and over again and finally I
just asked the for hugs. Haha. So we took some pictures with them and then I just talked with them and we talked
about a number of things until it was time for us to go. We were the last people in there. So we left and then after I
went outside to talk to Brittany Randolph who was waiting for us and who saw Gloria Estefan walk right past her, I
got a cell phone call. It was my aunt telling me my mom had a surprise for me.
So my friends and I went around to the other side of the Céline store and we found my mom with some 18 of Céline’s
dancers huddled around each other singing my program and my mom talking with Mégo, my favorite band member.
I love Mégo so much that if every time I didn’t get to see Céline, I saw Mégo, I’d be probably just as happy. He is so
sweet. My mom had been talking to him about when I met him at The Tonight Show in May of 2002 and he said that
he thought he remembered a girl trying to hand him something. My mom reminded him that it was letters and then he
said that he thought he did remember me. Then I came walking around and he saw me and I went up to him with my
arms open for a hug and my mom reminded me that I had to ask. So I asked and as I did I realized that his arms were
already half around me when I pulled away. I said “Can I give you a hug?” and he said “Of course!” and when we
hugged he kissed each of my cheeks and he was just so sweet. Brittany J and I showed him our pants and that’s
when he remembered who I was. It was really neat. He remembered me!!!!! That means Céline might have if I’d
have met her.
The dancers were so friendly as well. They treated me and my friends like we were a part of the team. There was a
large group of them singing my book so it was like a party. Everyone was asking everyone what was going on and
then some more dancers would come and they would be filled in and they’d say hello. It was just so surreal! Elijah,
the one who is known for handing Céline the rose…. He is the sweetest guy… so sweet. All of her dancers are!
March 28th, 2003
The next day I spent alone at my hotel all day because Brittany Jones was busy and I never got a call from Brittany
Randolph and Christy because my cell phone was not working properly. So I tried to fix my pants which were less than
perfect and finally I talked my mom into taking me to Walmart to get some stuff to fix them. So I got some rhinestones
and fixed the spots where my studs had fallen out. Thank goodness that none of Brittany J’s did or I’d have felt bad for
charging her any money at all for them. But at about 8:30 I met Brittany and her parents again and we got Brittany’s
stuff so she could sleep over. My mom and her parents talked some stuff over and then Brittany J and I were left to our
own devices to do as we pleased at Caesars. So we walked around for a while and then we went and waited for
Céline to leave. We saw her limo pull in and we were standing on the divider where the trees separate one side of
the street for another. When the show ended, some people came out and we thought they might be the dancers
and they were not. But they turned out to be some very nice fans from Germany. We took pictures of them and they
did take some of us as well. After that we talked and the girl said that we had 10-20 minutes to wait for Céline and
suddenly I remembered that I told Christy and Brittany that if there were any chance of meeting Céline, I’d come get
them. So I ran from where I was to the other side of the casino and could not find them.
As I was on my way back out to the entrance where Céline could come out, I saw Maman Dion, Linda, Alain and I think
it was Pauline. My voice was nothing above a whisper that day so I waited until Alain looked my way and I mouthed
“Wow!” and he smiled and nodded. Then when Maman Dion, Linda and Pauline looked over I waved and mouthed
“Au Revoir” and I turned around and they laughed. I forgot that I was wearing my pants. I was in such a hurry to
get back out there though, that I just kept walking. As I walked away, I got a call on my cell and it was Brittany Jones
calling me, telling me to hurry. So I did and then a security guard told us we had to move to the sidewalk. So we did
and I handed two girls two pieces of paper in case Céline stopped to get an autograph.
Céline didn’t stop the limo, but she did wave to us. So that’s cool! She saw Brittany’s and my pants because we had
our butts facing the limo. We went back in the casino and left the German fans and Québecoise fans and when we
walked back into the coliseum, there was Michel again. This was my 5th time meeting him. I was so happy! Brittany
went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around and we asked for an autograph. I handed him
my program and he said “Hold on, I have a picture with Céline in here somewhere” and he was not able to find it.
I felt bad. I should have told him that it was okay because he was a star of his own in my book. I should have said
something like that but I didn’t. He signed under a picture of Céline performing “Seduces Me.” Then I asked for a
hug and he said “Sure!” and so I hugged him and he kissed my cheek and I asked “Do you, by any chance, remember
me from “The Tonight Show?” and he said “Yes!” and I said “Really?” and he said “Of course! You had similar pants!”
And then we took the picture. I was so happy. I love all of Céline’s people. When she says you’re a part of her family,
you truly are.
Then in the middle of that, we got a call on Brittany’s cell phone. It was her mom and grandma telling us that Maman
Dion and Pauline were gambling right next to them. So we met them and they took us to where they were and there
was Maman Dion and hr “chauffeur” and another woman at the nickel slots. Brittany’s grandma told me that they had
aggravated Maman Dion a little bit somehow and so I felt really bad going up to her. I have had nightmares about
Maman Dion before this moment because she always looked so serious in pictures and stern. So I really didn’t want to
upset her. Not because I thought she’d be mean to me, but because I really just wanted to show respect to her.
It took us 15 minutes to finally figure out how we would approach her. Brittany and I sat by a fountain and looked at
her for like 5 minutes, then we walked closer and stared for another 5 and then I finally figured out how to do it. I
remembered that in Québec it is rude to interrupt celebrities from their normal life so I felt bad doing that but I could
not let the chance pass me by so I wanted to be as polite as possible. I didn’t have a voice so I could not speak to
her in French or I would have and Brittany could not get the pronunciation down because I couldn’t tell her properly
in a whisper. So I took out a piece of paper from my journal and I wrote, in French “Je m’excuse, mais j’ai perdur ma
voix. Est-ce que je peux prends un photo avec vous, s’il vous plait?” My French was not perfect, but I tried my best.
The only thing wrong with my sentence was that it should have said prendre instead of prends. But her mother
spoke to me in a whisper as she speaks to Céline when Céline is in a silent period. It is funny because the men, as
Céline said, really do speak louder to you when you have no voice, and the women in her family speak to you more
softly, or in a whisper. It really made me feel good to have that similarity with her. J We took a picture with her
and I thanked her in my whispery voice and she kept whispering back “oui” she would say and nod her head and
smile and hey eyes lit up too. She rubbed her hand on my back gently like I was a baby… something to be taken
care of. It felt REALLY good… I felt special.
After that we went to go see if Christy and Brittany R were at her hotel room and the police officer would not let us go
to her room. It was funny though because as we were turning away Brittany and her mom were right behind us!
Haha. So I grabbed her shoulders and told her that she had to come with us and so since I didn’t want to be a pain
and disturb Thérèse again, I just told Brittany to talk to her chauffeur because he knew English and so she did and she
got a picture too.
After that, when Brittany J and I were getting ready to go back to the hotel, we saw Michel again. He was eating
dinner and Brittany tapped on his shoulder. I didn’t want to because I thought it was a little mean to tap him on his
shoulder when he was eating, but when Brittany did it I waved too and he was happy to see us again. He waved
and said goodnight and au revoir and I said see you later in French and he did a hand signal that means something
like “cool” and stuff. It was funny. I blew him a kiss and he blew me one too. We saw him all around the casino that
night. It was funny. Almost everywhere that we went, there was Michel.
March 29th, 2003
The next day we woke up and we got dressed immediately. We went casual this day. Very casual. We went dressed
in our same “Céline KICKS” pants, and a shirt that I made for each of us. Brittany’s said her screen name for online and
mine said my own. Her shirt was in her favorite color, blue and mine was in my favorite colour, red. I lent her a pair
of blue flip flops to wear and I wore some red ones. The finishing touch was to write “Céline FREAK” on our foreheads.
So we did. We went out that day, completely Céline clad and we walked all the way to Caesars. Haha. When we did
this, we got 4 times as much compliments about Céline and our clothes than we did with the pants. Everyone on the
street- workers in Casinos that we passed through… everyone said something to us about either our shirts, pants or
our foreheads. It was great. We went shopping in the forum shops for a little bit and we went into a store that I
pointed out had the same pair of tan cargo pants that Céline had on in Oprah. When we went in there, the lady asked
if we worked for Céline. Of course we did not and do not, so we said so and she said that we should because we were
good advertising. That was a big compliment. So, we went and we waited for Céline to arrive in her limo and as we
waited we saw dozens of white limos come our way and so finally when Céline’s came, I saw it in slow motion. We
didn’t know for sure that it was hers until the gates opened.
When I get that close to Céline I can’t say anything. I cannot run and I cannot freak out. I cannot even cry. It is like
my emotions go beyond that. For a split second I’ll want to do all those things but then I won’t be able to. My friend,
on the other hand, is able to. Brittany got so excited that she left her camera on a ledge on the sidewalk. Céline’s
limo drove 6 inches from our feet and my friend almost started running after her limo going into the gates, so I grabbed
her shoulders and told her to calm down. So she said “Okay!” and she ran across the street without looking for cars…
so I walked over and I saw Céline getting out of her limo and getting ready to go into her house underneath the
coliseum. My friend was yelling and screaming and crying because she was so happy. I was beyond tears… I always
get that way when it comes to Céline herself. I cannot cry for her…I love her beyond that point. So I sat there telling
my friend that it was okay, just giggling a little bit, trying to calm her down. S she walked across the street and got her
camera and then we went back into the casino and sat on the coliseum steps where a man in maroon talked to us for
a little about how big of fans we were and stuff and then he had to go. I have a feeling we were close to getting some
free tickets but I’ll never know. We got up and we went to go talk to Elijah because we saw him going towards where
I’d met him the night of our show. Brittany started running after him, so he made a joke and ran artistically. He ran
like he was on stage dancing! It was cool. We talked for a second about how long I’d been a fan and then he asked
Brittany ‘Oh! You’re the butt girls aren’t you?” and she said “You saw that?” and he said “Oh yes, we all watch
backstage as the camera goes to people!” and we asked “Did Céline see?” and he said “You know maybe? I don’t
know because she doesn’t come up until right before the show starts but it is possible.” And so we talked a little
longer. He had a big chocolate chip cookie with a marshmallow on the top, I think and was eating it and I asked for
a hug, so he gave me one. So sweet.
Later a few more dancers came by and one of her dancers gave me a really nice hug. When I hugged him he hugged
me tightly and wrapped his arms around me and then he held me there…. When I leaned back and he looked at me
right in my eyes and asked how I was. He was very sweet. He asked if I danced and I laughed because I find it hard
to make my arms go the opposite way of my feet in aerobics. Haha. But he was very nice and we talked a moment as
well as we did with some more dancers who went by. They were going to go get critiqued, Elijah told us and if they
were late they’d get in MORE trouble. Hehe. So we let them go but before they left they asked when I’d be back and
I randomly said “July.” And they smiled and said “See you then! Can’t wait ‘till you’re back.” And they meant it. So
as they left I told them to “break a leg” and have a killer performance on stage and they said “Have a great day ladies!”
and blew us kisses. It was the same way with about 6 more of the dancers who came our way! We also met the
president of Franco Dragone’s production team!
Just simply amazing! I can’t wait to go back in July and see if anyone really does recognize me! That will be so great!
I’m sorry, once again, for this being so long, but I thought you’d all like to know and if you have any questions, you
can e-mail me at this address. Keep dreaming big because
Céline often makes those dreams come true!
Love you all and good luck on your Céline endeavors!
[Thank you so much Marisa! What a wonderful story!!]
Please don't post this story anywhere!!
Hi Celine's Maniacs, my name is Anat and I'm from Israel; Here's my concert review:My journey starts on March 24.
I bought tickets about two months before the show but, pressured by
a friend of mine from the U.S., I sold my ticket to him. I was left without a ticket, but with a
promise of my friend Ilanit, another Israelian fan, that she would have sold to me one of her 3 tickets.
I left on March 24th night.
I arrived in Las Vegas the following day at about 10 am, a family member fetched me and we
went to her house to put my stuff there, after that her son fetched me to Caesars Palace.
The first 3 days of my trip were horrible, I didn’t enjoy a single moment off
those 3 days, so let me just move to Saturday the 29th.
As we were going to the hotel
my stupid host had a car accident, pretty serious one, we had to go to the hospital, I was so
afraid of missing Céline's show that night because that was last night before leaving for New
York on April 1st.
Finally, at noon, I arrived at the hotel, I met there my friend Ilanit. I waited till
7 p.m. when they put tickets on sale. I was in front of the nicest old man, who sold
me the ticket.
The first thing I told him was "Hi! I came from Israel and I would like the best seat in
the house." He smiled and said that he thinks they only have tickets in the back, and I asked
him "Please check!", and he checked and said : GIRL THIS IS YOUR LUCKY DAY, I have some
tickets close to the stage, and I said: "WOOOOW, give me the best you've got, and than he checked
again and said : "Oh my God, I have a good one for you!", he showed me the seating arrangement
and pointed out the first row, then he said : "CENTER, seat 404" . He said "Not even
VIPs get this seat!"; as you can imagine, I was soooo happy and I took my ticket.
It was about 7:20 p.m. and I was not dressed appropriately. I rushed to my hotel leaving my
friend Ilanit there. I came back at 8 p.m. (I was lucky because my hotel was situated right
across the road.)
I walked in "floating" with the thought that I would have sat in the front row!
So I go inside and everyone were so nice asking me how I was , and I answered : "GREAT!"
I had front row ticket, and the girl who took me to my seat said, "Awww you're so lucky
maybe she'll give
you a flower", and then she took me to my seat.
Colosseum was so pretty, it was huge and small at the same time. We were sitting there
talking, they started to show on the
screen some people who were sitting there in the audience, not too long after they started
framing a girl who was sat next to me, she was so cute and funny, everyone laughed at
the silly things she did.
I heard a big scream, "OPRAAAAH", I looked back and heard all the people clapping
and screaming, and then I saw Oprah, that was so cool!!!. She went to
her seat...Think, she was in 7th row, or something like that, I thought "Oh my God, I have
a seat better than Oprah!!!"
Suddenly, theater was darkened and music started: "Nature boy", I was so
excited...Céline started singing, Céline was right in front of me!!!!
We all stood up and clapped and screamed, it was amazing!!!! That was one of
the best things that ever happened to me!
I was shocked, she was there looking at me and smiling to me, after
the song "Seduces Me" she even turned to me and said :"Would you like to try that
chair ?" I was in a complete shock, I couldn’t stop giggling.
The show was amazing though
I couldn’t see anything but Céline. She sat on the stairs about a meter away from me.
I wished show never ended,I had such a good time.
After singing "What a wonderful world", Céline said: "Thank you, goodnight!", that was
my last chance... I got a big frog (a stuffed one, off course) holding an Israelian flag.
I waved it so that she could see it , she looked at me... standing in front of me, kind of
saying "Come here!" 'cause she wasn’t at the edge of the stage. I had to go onstage to give
it to her...I did!!!. This whole thing was so slow in my mind, I was walking up the stairs
handing my frog to Céline. She was so humble saying "Thank you so much, thank you". I
wasn’t aware of what was going on, I couldn’t say anything or give her a hug or anything else,
I turned around and all the lights flashed on my face and everyone was clapping (not at me, of
course) but it was an amazing feeling.
Céline held my frog with the Israelian flag on her chest, I was so proud
because everybody was seeing it.
All the dancers and musicians bowed and Céline got off stage, that was so sad...
but I was so happy, that was the greatest moment of my life.
When everybody started going out of the theater we had to wait a little until Oprah got out
backstage, so we sat there and talked some more. A guy
who had "A NEW DAY" pass around his neck, came to me and asked if I was the
girl who gave Céline the frog... I said "Yeah!!",
Than he said, "Would you like to come with me?"
I was so shocked and that girl who was next to me was like, OH MY GOD, so I went with him
into backstage...
There was Celine still holding my frog and hugging Oprah!!! It was so cool, he said
"Wait right here!", so I waited looking at the backstage and the dancers who were still there,
that guy handed me the program of the show, I was so happy, and then Celine walked over to me.
She said: "Thank you very much for the frog" and hugged me. She asked me If I were from
Israel, I said "yeah! I came all the way to see you", she said that was amazing.
I told her she has a lot of Israelian fans, "I love your music!", she said: "Thank you!",
she was so shy, well, not really shy but you know, humble.
She said she hoped that we have some peace and quiet in my country, René said "yes!", we
hope so". At first I didn’t see him cause he was standing next to me, and my focus was Céline of course,
I shook his hand and then someone came and said that they had to go. She
said thanked me again for the frog and waved the little frog's hand, with the flag, and gave
me another hug and a kiss!!!
I was soooooo shocked, and happy , and amazed, I never thought that
it would have happened, the whole meeting with her took only a few short minutes but it seemed
like a long long time.
That guy who took me there, escorted me to the exit, it was there that I realized that I had
met Céline and Rene and I didn’t have my camera with me, cause those f@#&§%£ guys that
took my camera away when I got inside.
But I didn't care, that was by far the most amazing night of my life.
That girl that was next to me when the guy took me,
stood there with her friend and screamed when I told her what it was just happened .
Then I went to the store, got a few things, and went back to my hotel , calling my boyfriend,
and my friends to tell them what it was just happened. I was so excited, I was awake and on the phone
until 5 a.m. in the morning.
Around 9 a.m. my friend Ilanit called me and said she was so excited to see me onstage,
this poor girl waited for me outside, I was so sorry that I couldn’t get her in to meet her with me.
Needless to say that the next few days were amazing I left on Tuesday morning, but I wish now
I had stayed for another concert, I am coming back for sure, in two years when I'll finish
my compulsory service... I hope you liked my story!!
Love, Anat
[Thank you so much Anat! What a wonderful story!!]
Please don't post this story anywhere!!
