Dawn and Kevin

So, it’s been 4 weeks since I last saw Damien.  Actually, his was the last concert I’d attended until last night, when Kevin and I both went to see him at the The Apollo Theatre in Harlem.  This was the first time either of has attended an event at this legendary venue, and once again, these tickets were difficult to come by.

We returned from seeing Pearl Jam in Cincinnati On October 2, and the following day was the pre-sale for tickets to this show.  Try as we might, it seemed the show had sold out in under 1 minute and I was deeply disappointed.  I persevered and pulled a pair in the lower mezz, but was not satisfied with them and threw them back.  I kept trying for another 15 minutes or so and finally pulled another pair in the lower mezz, a few rows closer than I’d thrown back earlier, and as I’d already spoken to many friends who were trying as well and had come up empty, decided to buy them just so we’d be in the house.  I kept hoping for a drop to upgrade them, but had no such luck.

A few days before the show, I received an email from SiriusXM which stated they had 10 pair of tickets to give away to subscribers.  I immediately set my calendar for 7pm Wednesday night and was ready to do battle as it was a first come first served contest.  Fortunately, I was successful in obtaining the tickets, and gave our existing pair to some very dear friends who had been shut out during both the pre-sale and general on sale. As these are the same friends who offered me their extra for the Saturday night show at the Box, I was thrilled to be able to repay their kindness.

We arrived at our hotel around 4pm, and after getting settled found something to eat at a local pub and then hopped on the D train to make our way to 125th Street.  I picked up our tickets at the will call window and then we met our friends at a nearby Starbucks to keep warm until doors opened.  A short time later we met up with more friends inside the theatre and had a nice chat with all until it was time to take our seats for the show.

The support act took the stage shortly after 8p.m., an entertaining female duo from Iceland called My Bubba. Damien came on a few moments after 9 p.m. and played a two hour set of old favourites as well as tracks from his new album. He was joined by additional friends during some of the songs, including Shahzad, who appeared with him at one of the Box shows, the ladies of My Bubba,  Rónán Ó Snodaigh on bodhrán and a local choir during Trusty and True.  It was a great show, Damo was very funny and as passionate as ever.