The Tina Turner Concert

I’ve come back to Earth now, so I can tell you about our trip to London to see Tina Turner. (smile) I have been hyped up for a couple of days now. And today I’m finally able to sit still and write a bit about it.

We took the train into London on Sunday morning. I love the train. It’s so much quicker and it’s just a nice way to travel. You get to see the countryside which I love and there are no traffic jams (smile) We arrived at Paddington Station a bit after noon. Before we left the station, we took a walk into the bookstore/newsstand. It’s always fun to see what they have in there. They have little Paddington Bears. They are so cute.

After our look around, we headed for the tube. We rode over to Victoria Station and had lunch at this great pizza place. I can’t remember the name, but we ate there before and it’s just really good. Our waiter was really nice and we got served very quickly. I love that place.

Then we decided to hop back on the tube and headed for our hotel. We timed it just right because by the time we got there, we were able to check into our room. We rested for a while and then got dressed and headed to the O2 for the concert.

Let me tell you, the Tina Turner concert was AMAZING!!!! Ms. Turner was like a force of nature. I have always loved her, but I was totally blown away at how amazing of a performer she is.

She sang all of her hits and everything else, such as… “What’s Love Got to Do With It”, “The Best”, “Proud Mary”, “Golden Eye”, “Addicted to Love”, “Let’s Stay Together”, “Nutbush City Limits”, “River Deep Mountain High”, “Private Dancer”, “We Don’t Need Another Hero”, and so many more.

She REALLY put on a proper show. She had at least six costume changes and was just beautiful in every outfit from long gowns that broke away to mini dresses that showed off her beautiful timeless legs.

The stage was set up with a catwalk across the back and her band played underneath that and the backup singers stood there too. Ms. Turner’s dancers came out all slinky and fabulous along the catwalk and down the stairs on either side. Then Ms. Tina made her entrance. She walked out on the top of the catwalk and her outline was illuminated by this bright light and then you saw her come into view as she stepped out onto a pedestal and was lowered down to the stage as she sang. My first thought was, wow, she is not afraid of heights. LOL. The height was quite a few feet. What an entrance! (smile)

When she sang “We Don’t Need Another Hero”, she got dressed in her outfit from the Mad Max movie and amazingly she looks very much the same as she did back then. And when she sang “Golden Eye” from the James Bond film, she came out onto the top of the catwalk through the golden eye emblem that twisted open and she stepped through. Brit Boy and I were amazed at the production value of her show. You can tell she comes from a generation of performers who REALLY can put on a show. I love the song “I Don’t Wanna Fight”. She didn’t sing this one, but during this point of the show, they showed a montage of her career as this song played and it went back to her days with Ike right up until today. It really illustrated to me what an amazing survivor she is and I just loved it.

One of my other favorite moments was when she sang “What’s Love Got To Do With It”. She had on her little red dress and her heels and she strutted across that stage like nobody’s business. This was probably my favorite moment. She just owned it. And she just worked it out on "Proud Mary"...wow!!!! (smile) Tina did her thing!

Later in the show, she did another bit where I was amazed at her not fearing heights. The stage had this arm with a catwalk and a basket with railing on the end. So she goes to this basket as she sings and the arm swings out into the audience over everyone’s head. She leaned over the edge several times and I held my breath. LOL. And then I realized that this woman is truly in charge of herself and free. She just goes for it! (smile) I admire her so much and I want to be like that….moving forward and truly, truly enjoying every minute.

Then after her being in the basket, she ran back across the catwalk towards the stage and then back to the basket and was singing and doing this all in 4 inch heels! (smile)

I can say that I was just enthralled by her and just couldn’t get enough of watching this amazing woman. She said early on in the concert that she had a bit of a cold and might not be her full self, but you couldn’t even tell. And this left me wondering, if that wasn’t her 100% performance, then what must that be like because she was full on Tina the whole time it seemed. (smile) She danced along with her dancers and sang full force and she left me winded just watching her. She never looked out of breath. I know I keep saying it, but she was amazing!!!!

Both Brit Boy and I loved the show. And I came away inspired. She reminded me that life is meant to be lived with gusto. There is beauty in being strong and assured and to love what you are doing. I think this is part of her secret. You can tell that performing is her passion. What a wonderful night we had! :-)