Here is the Amsterdam Official Road Reporter review from Josh's Straight To You Tour by januarystar! Want to enter to win for a chance to be Josh's Official Road Reporter? Get all the contest details HERE!

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“Shivers. Emotions. Awesomeness. Goosebumps. Tears. Laughter. Pure beauty. Love. That pretty much sums up @joshgroban tonight. Thx u :-)” 



My tweet to Mr. Groban last night just a couple of hours after that dreamlike show I was fortunate enough to attend. And now, after a full night’s sleep and a pull-back to reality, those words still echo through the feelings I, and I’m pretty sure all of the HMH concert go’ers, got to experience. 



Josh Groban. What a performance. What a man. What a voice. 2,5 years ago, it was only still a mere wish of mine that I could ever get to see him live. And of course a secret hoping, somewhere deep down inside, of meeting that very same man for real. It all came true on October 2, at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam. A few months ago I entered the ‘Road Reporter Contest’ on FOJG. Trying to submit my motivation didn’t result in any success, and I even mailed the team to ask if they received my submission! No reply. But then, last Tuesday, I woke up and received an e-mail that I was picked as the winner for Amsterdam. Including a Meet & Greet… My heart jumped. Probably more than once. Immediately I informed my friend, whom I was going to attend the concert with, that I won and that she also got to come along with me. Happiness, bounciness, nerves, smiles… They were all over the place! The next days were a mere waiting for the ‘big day’ to finally come…



October 2. Arriving at the venue and trying to find the box office. We were greeted very friendly by all the venue & tour staff, and then we had to wait with the other fans for Mr. Groban to arrive. We were last in line, but then it seemed he came out from the other end of the hall, so all of the sudden I was the first to enjoy his brief presence. The “Hi, nice to meet you!” rang through my ears like a sweet symphony. I replied with a shy ‘hi’, introducing myself as his road reporter for the evening (how original) and asked if he wanted to sign my Awake CD booklet. Josh then asked my name, I spelled it for him and he pronounced it. His pronunciation was perfect, which was a nice surprise, because usually, I get a lot of funny attempts ;-) After that, my friend got her Meet & Greet, and I might add that she asked for her autograph to be placed on a particular spot, which made Josh laugh. Very shortly, my friend and I made small jokes about Josh probably having more security than our Queen. Which is kind of funny, as later I learned that her majesty was indeed in Amsterdam on Saturday night, with more police forces around than anyone could imagine. But lovely ole’ Amsterdam, such a great city. Such a great choice for Josh to perform! 



Which brings me to the pièce de résistance of the evening, the actual concert… The vibes in the audience felt amazing from the very beginning. We were placed row 2, so I could take some great pictures from my seat. The whole evening, it seemed as Josh felt very comfortable during the concert, making lots of funny jokes (we will all remember the “I had sex” line!) and having a highly energetic interaction with the audience. The HMH had some great singers in the audience to back Josh up ;-) It was so great to see the positive energy Josh radiates from his persona to pretty much everyone around him. The duet with Ferdie (sp?), the ‘lounge-scene’ with the little girl and her mom (excuse me if I’m wrong) and with the ex-couple… Writing it down here makes it all sound a little strange, but I guess you have had to be there to know what I’m talking about. 



Then the band. What an energy and talent do those guys & gals have. Amazing! It was lovely to see how the musical vibes of all the performers just magically came together somehow which created that ambiance on stage. It all gave me a short flashback (and goose bumps again!) to personal singing experiences, which made me realise just how great a show of this size is! The acoustics and lightshow were perfect, this concert was just such a beautiful dream to be part of.



As this was my first live Groban-experience, I didn’t exactly know what to expect. Of course you make a picture of how it will be like in your mind, but that really doesn’t do justice to the sheer awesomeness which overwhelms you and briefly takes you to another world, or so it was for me… As for my personal favourites, well, there’s just too many to name I guess! “You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up)”, “Awake”, “Voce Existe Em Mim”, “Alla Luce Del Sole”, “Hidden Away”, “You Raise Me Up”, they all gave me an exciting wave-mix of emotions, shivers, smiles and also a few small tears. Personal experiences explain why I named these particular songs here and why they triggered so many different feelings at the same time.



All in all, it was a wonderful experience to be there. Wouldn’t want to have missed it for the world… I cannot thank everyone enough just for making this all possible. And I surely do hope Josh will indeed return to Amsterdam in the near future… It felt like it had all gone by in the blink of an eye, but I would do it over again any day. Thanks for making my life brighter, you’ll always be in my heart :-) *inserthugegrinhere*



Love,



Marjolein (aka JanuaryStar)