News

Exclusive
  • Chicago Show Review - By Road Reporter Lauren!

    Here is the Chicago Official Road Reporter review from Josh's Straight To You Tour by Musiclover3! Want to enter to win for a chance to be Josh's Official Road Reporter? Get all the contest details HERE.


    Special thanks to Josh, his family-including Sweeney, the band, Darren, David Romano, Sarah and the moderators and the awesome Grobies-especially Christa, Chrissy, Tara and Roshie.

    Wow, where to start? Well, let’s start at the beginning. I had classical voice lessons from 1999-2005, starting as a second alto and I later became a soprano. In 2002, I discovered the most amazing voice-Josh Groban. I had never heard such a phenomenal voice before. I figured he must have been much older, but it took forever to get the name of the singer. Finally I got the name of the singer and the only album available at the time. I was so impressed with it, that I brought it to a voice lesson. My teacher was and still is a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Mrs. Beatty was amazed that this huge amazing voice was coming from someone so young. So was my high school chorus teacher, Mrs. Akers, a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus as well. I will never stop being amazed at how mature Josh’s voice is for someone whose voice isn’t done changing and just how amazing and powerful it is. I will also never stop being amazed at all that Josh’s music does for us and how much time he takes out of his hectic schedule for us. Thank you Josh. It does not go unnoticed. Thanks also to the Groband for being so amazing and to the Grobies for being there for each other, for better and for worse. My mom had gotten my seat for me while I was on my way to school and without internet access. It was a wonderful second section main floor seat and I had an aisle seat.

    I got home from work on Tuesday after working three hours and checked my e-mail. One was from another Grobie whom I never would have had the pleasure of meeting over the internet (and will have the pleasure to finally meet later this year in person) had it not been thanks to Josh. There’s a lot that wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for Josh and the Grobies. The other e-mail was from Sarah. It said road reporter for Chicago. I started flipping out at that alone. I hadn’t even read the part about meeting Josh backstage. Then I really really flipped out. I called my sister, Beth, a lawyer in DC and we squealed. Then my parents found out. More happiness.
    I called my friend Christa, because we were going to go to the concert together and then spend the night downtown and she would drive me home in the morning. Christa had won the meet and greet. Enter more squealing that we’d be meeting Josh together. I’m ms. jeans and a t-shirt and don’t care about fashion, but I was having the hardest time thinking of what to wear when I met Josh. I wanted to look nice.

    Wednesday arrived. A bunch of Grobanites met up at a local Chicago restaurant for an early dinner/meet and greet and raised a lot of money for Josh’s newly renamed and refocused charity. To those I had the pleasure of meeting, it was so nice to meet you for the first time/see you again! Because I had an extra pass, I wanted to reward a special Grobie, Roshie who had driven me from Green Bay after a concert back home to the greater Chicago area. Tara, a doll of a Grobanite agreed to drive a few of us to the United Center. To me, that always has special memories, of Josh but also of the Chicago Bulls back in their glory days with Phil Jackson and the Michael Jordan dynasty. I got my ticket and later the passes. We find someone who tells us where to wait. We chat. Darren came over to find us, wondering why we weren’t by the floor. The United Center people had told us to wait somewhere else. So after Darren takes us back there, we are given his famous lecture and we’re told he would hold our items while we met Josh. (Thanks Darren!) Stephanie was nice enough to take the pictures and make sure they were good. (Thanks Stephanie for the amazing photo!) A bit later, Josh appears. By this time, all of us were nervous and giddy with excitement. What would we say? I’ve met Josh at the busses and the Borders Illuminations signing, but I had never gone backstage before. Darren was nice enough to tell me not to stand in the press area because I’d miss the first three songs that and I did NOT want to miss those. Thank you!! Finally, it’s my turn. I said ‘hi Josh, my name is Lauren. It’s nice to meet you. How are you?’ He said ‘Lauren, it’s nice to meet you too. I’m fine. How are you?” “I’m good thanks.” Josh signed my tour book and I posed for a picture with Josh. It didn’t sink in until Friday what had actually happened.

    A while later, I took my seat. I got out my camera and was about to die. I didn’t see the picture on my new camera. It turns out I was looking at the pictures from the wrong date. Then I saw it. Whew! By this time, ELEW had taken the stage. WOW is he phenomenal!! He performed several songs and mashups that were all incredible. He said how much he loved being in Chicago a few times , how nice it was to open for Josh and what a nice (and funny) guy Josh is. Then ELEW was done. A bunch of us, myself included went to where he was nice enough to pose for pictures with fans, talk with us and sign autographs for us. Thank you Tara for taking the pictures of me with him!!

    FINALLY, it was time for Josh to hit the stage. He opened with “Changing Colors” on the small stage. After performing that, “February Song” and “You Are Loved” it was time for the big stage. “Oceano” was next. Then he interacted with the crowd for a while.

    When Josh introduced “Bells of New York”, he said the only city he loved more than New York (or LA) was Chicago and that he should have written Bells of Chicago. Cue audience laughter. Years ago, Josh said during winter how cold it was when it was the warmest day we had had in weeks!! Josh talked about how long it had been since he had been to Chicago and his love of the city. Then he corrected himself and mentioned how he had just been in Chicago. Ever typical of his quick wit, he made a comment about looking, how Tom Cruise was there tonight. Then he said Tom Cruise would have been too expensive.

    Then Josh performed “Higher Window” and “Alla Luce.” After that was “War at Home.” I lost it during “War at Home”-a personal favorite. Josh had introduced the song saying he had been at Bethesda recently but was inspired to write it after his first time meeting those at Walter Reed. My cousin returned safely (mentally and physically) from two tours, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thank you Josh for reminding people that the war isn’t just on the battle fronts of Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. It continues at home while the loved ones are gone and once they come back, the war does continue as they and their families learn to adjust to a new life. A life filled with questions about why they survived and came home okay but their buddy next to them didn’t. They were killed over there by an IED, by another injury or by suicide. They come home to friends and family who will never truly understand what they saw, heard, did, over there and how much and why it changes them. Their families are left to deal with how do we help? Can we help? Friends sometimes have abandoned them, because they can’t deal with this new person their friend once was or the friend died while the other was away serving our country, to keep us safe and let us enjoy the freedoms and rights we have, that we take for granted.

    After that, the band did a phenomenal rendition of “Live and Let Die” and the “Voce” overture. Then it was “Voce Existe En Me,” with the battle of the three incredible drummers.

    Questions asked included how much he worked out/how much of it was being blessed with good physique. I laughed so hard inside at that question, because I was taught vocal athletes work best. It takes a lot of working out and walks to keep the vocal chords and body in such good shape. Josh talked a little about what he does when he works out. Exercise is running around the arenas and on stage. Some guy named Josh, who is a junior in high school performed part of “You Raise Me Up” with Josh. It was quite clear the younger Josh has taken voice lessons. Our Josh was quite impressed with young Josh’s voice. There was a woman who mentioned that she used Josh’s music on paroles. Enter some of Josh’s typical trademark humor. He said he wished he could use his own music on himself and have it be so helpful and that maybe it would be used to bring an end to Al Quaeda.

    The next few songs were “Galileo”, “Wandering Kind”, “If I Walk Away”, “Weeping” which was done with the audience singing along and “Machine”. “Machine” has always been a favorite of mine, partially because my neighbor’s oldest son helped Josh write it. My neighbors son just thinks Josh is one of the nicest guys to write with and Josh had told me at the Borders signing how nice of a guy David was.

    During one part, Josh was walking around the arena and a young child reached out to give Josh a lego version of Josh. Josh and Darren brought the young child on stage. Later, the couple was brought on stage for “Broken Vow” and “Per Te,” celebrating their anniversary of over twenty years and Josh poured them a glass of wine. The wife kept wanting to take Josh’s picture and pictures with Josh, much to Josh’s discomfort. He finally said what all of us were thinking, that she was on stage, what more could she want, but obliged her request for the photos. That was before she became way too clingy for her own good and for Josh’s. Darren was visibly cringing!!

    Finally it was time for the show to end, unfortunately. “Play Me” and “You Raise Me Up” were the last songs. The audience played the role of the chorus for “You Raise Me Up.” (Yes, that’s my soft soprano voice, you probably hear on the youtube clip. No, I’m not the rude fan yelling it!) Josh and team all looked like they were having a wonderful time, even though Tariqh wasn’t feeling the greatest.

    Thanks again to Josh, the band, David Romano, Stephanie, Darren, Dennis, ELEW and EVERYONE who made the night and especially the meet and greet possible. Darren, you couldn’t have been nicer when you came outside. Thanks Sarah to!!

Submitted by jgSarah on