"Ol' 55"

The first time I heard Sarah McLachlan was in early 1995. A movie came out called, “Boys On the Side” starring Drew Barrymore and Whoopi Goldberg. I bought the soundtrack and there was this song on there called, “Ol’ 55” , which was a Tom Waits song. It was covered by a singer named Sarah McLachlan who recorded it in 1994 for her album called, “The Freedom Sessions”. I remember hearing it and thinking, “Who the hell is this??”. Below is the actual recording of that version. They recorded it in the studio all together in one take with “a lot of wine” according to the liner notes………and that is what ended up on the soundtrack(Notice: Sarah is about 26 in this video!):



From that point I was hooked. The next cd I purchased was “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy”. To this day that cd remains the best cd I have ever owned. Always a music fan, this cd hit me like no other. I was hooked. I became a “Fumbler”. I didn’t get to see Sarah live until 1997. A new tour was put together called, Lilith Fair: Women in Music. At that point, her new album “Surfacing” was just being released so most people did not know who she was. About half way through the tour they did. Songs like “Building A Mystery”, “Sweet Surrender”, “Adia”, and “Angel” made Sarah a household name. I admit—I was happy for her but I also knew that my little musical find was about to blow up big time. Lilith Fair had 3 consecutive and successful runs. Artists from the unknown including the Dixie Chicks & Christina Aguilera to Indigo Girls to Sinead O’Connor to Sheryl Crow—just to name a few. Lilith Fair was probably my most favorite time ever as a concert goer.

I have lost track of how many times I have seen her live but I knew one thing was for certain: At some point I had to meet her. As you may know, my life changed on April 23, 2008 when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer. When I started chemo in July of 2008, I always went alone. I brought my ipod with me to those long & grueling sessions. Sometimes the sessions would last 6 hours. If you know anything about me, you know that music next to sports is one of my biggest passions. I have a weird thing when I am down and depressed I like to list to music that I can relate to. If I am pissed, I want to listen to pissed off music. If I am sad, I want to listen to sad music. I don’t know why but maybe it’s because the artist can relate to me. And Sarah’s music does that for me. Going through that in 2008 and then going into 2010, I knew my marriage was ending. Sarah’s next cd in 2010 was “Laws of Illusion”. If you have been through a divorce or going through one, you need to listen to that cd. Sarah and her ex-husband were at the time of it’s recording and it is painfully obvious. One of my favorite lines from that album is from a song called, “Illuions of this Bliss":

Oh I know I shouldn't stay
I should be on my way
Back to a place I know is real
But the lines are getting blurred
My conscience wont be heard
Awash in the illusion of this bliss


Fast forward to 2012 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer a second time. Sarah was coming to Toledo on June 27, 2012. I went to the show solo and met my friend Andy who drove in from New York. My mastectomy was a few weeks away so I just wanted to get away from it all and get myself wrapped up into something else. That something else was another Sarah McLachlan concert. I decided after that show I needed to do a bucket list and #1 on that list was going to somehow meet Sarah. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to go about doing this but the next tour this was going to be my number one priority. For some people meeting a celebrity is no big deal. And I have to admit-my concern was, "What if I meet her and she turns out not to be the person I envisioned she would be". I will say I had heard mutiple times that Sarah was nothing but friendly, approachable and endearing to everyone she came across so my fingers were crossed that the same would happen when I met her. I mean we are all humans. We all go through struggles and are entitled to bad days.

When I heard her newest cd, "Shine On", was going to be released in May 2014 I was beyond thrilled. Tour dates were released with the closest one being in Toledo again. This was totally fine with me as I went to school at the University of Toledo and could kill two birds with one stone: hang out with my college friends one night and next night go and see Sarah live. But how the hell am I going to meet her? Well, just my luck they offered VIP Tickets where you donated to her "Sarah McLachlan School of Music" charity and you received front row seats as well as a meet & greet. DONE.

The week of the concert I started getting really nervous. What the hell am I going to say? What if I freeze? I wrote a paragraph down on a piece of paper and put it in my wallet just to be safe. The day of the concert was excruciating for me. My anxiety was at an all time high. I couldnt eat and only had water all day. I was so nervous I was getting nauseous. We headed to the zoo about 5:30 to go pick up our passes & tickets at Will Call. It was then I started to relax. I met a fellow Sarah fan who I spoke with on Twitter named Randi and I think that helped ease my nerves. Around 6:30, they let us into the facility and we headed over to the merchandise tent to meet with Sarah's team member named Mark. Mark arrived around 7:00 and I knew already we are going to be pressed for time(show was to start about 7:30). They took us to a building behind the stage that fortunately had AC on as I was sweating my ass off. We all stood in line waiting for Sarah's arrival(about 50 people?).........and enter she did:




So first thoughts when I saw her? Damn she is skinny! And just a natural beauty. The line started moving and I knew I wasnt going to have alot of time. As I approached her she gave me a hug:




I explained to her why I was there very quickly. I was diagnosed twice with cancer in the past 6 years and decided to do a bucketlist and you were #1. I gave her the note because I knew she was limited on time. She told me that she was so happy I was doing well. I told her "This means more to me then you will ever know".....then we took some more pictures:






I turned to her after the last picture and said, "Thank you thank you"....and I got another hug. We left the building to wait for eveyrone else and I think I was just in heaven. I was so beyond happy I can't even express it. To meet someone who you have looked up to for 20 + years be as classy, nice and beautiful not only on the outside but the inside? I couldnt have asked for more. Sure I wish I had some more time but I got out what I wanted to say and have ZERO regrets. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Here I am right after:



Oh and the concert? Well we had front row for that and per usual she blew me away. My friend Andy, who sat 20 rows directly behind us, gave me one of his good cameras and I ended up taking over 200 pictures. Whoops. Below is one of them from early in the set:




Thank you Sarah for being so nice and for helping me get through some really shitty times in my life. Your music saved me more ways then you will ever know.

XOXO-
B