A Bad Week!
Man, is the sky falling? This has been a sad week, folks. I could hardly believe the news that Michael Jackson suddenly died today.
I've always admired Michael Jackson. Anyone my age cannot deny he was the most popular entertainer of our time, even if you didn't like him or his music. I can't say I really cared much for him until 1988. In May of that year I got to see him live in concert at the Met Center in Bloomington and he totally blew me away. That's not just lip service. On my Facebook page last month I listed the five best concerts I've been to over the past 22 years and Michael Jackson was at the top of that list.
It turns out I saw him in concert on a whim. You see, one Saturday morning in 1988 I was standing in a ticket line at the Dayton's outlet at Roseville Shopping Center (this was the dark ages where you either stood in line for tickets or called Ticket Master and sat on hold for an hour), waiting my turn to get Def Leppard tickets. It was announced, while I was standing in line, that Michael Jackson had added a third show at the Met Center and tickets were going on sale immediately. When it was my turn to buy Def Leppard tickets, I bought a pair of Michael Jackson tickets too, not because I was a fan, but simply because I wanted to see what the fuss was all about.
Well, I quickly realized what the fuss was all about. He opened with "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and then launched right into "Another Part of Me." I didn't pick my jaw off the floor until his last encore, the anthem "Man in the Mirror." I remember leaving the arena feeling uplifted and actually feeling privileged to have seen this man perform. Don't forget I really didn't care for Michael Jackson when I entered the Met Center. After all, I was a headbanger. This was not my kind of music. But I left a fan. I'm glad I will be able to tell my kids someday, "Yes, I saw Michael Jackson in person. He was the best ever."
I know many people thought he was a sick, weird, even a child molester. I've always thought his kindness was taken advantage of by certain people, and his money was extorted. That's just my opinion. I find it pathetic that certain media organizations, particularly Fox News, are now using the words "incredible," "iconic," and "legendary" to describe this person who they had already presumed guilty and described as a "psychopath" (Greta Van Susteren, that would be you) when he went to trial for child sexual abuse in 2005... and was, by the way, found not guilty. People seem to have forgotten that.
I found this great clip from a 1988 edition of Entertainment Tonight covering the rehearsals and opening night of the Bad Tour. I saw him perform three months after this footage was shot. I think anyone my age will find it very interesting. The footage isn't the greatest... but like me, it's getting pretty old.
I've always admired Michael Jackson. Anyone my age cannot deny he was the most popular entertainer of our time, even if you didn't like him or his music. I can't say I really cared much for him until 1988. In May of that year I got to see him live in concert at the Met Center in Bloomington and he totally blew me away. That's not just lip service. On my Facebook page last month I listed the five best concerts I've been to over the past 22 years and Michael Jackson was at the top of that list.
It turns out I saw him in concert on a whim. You see, one Saturday morning in 1988 I was standing in a ticket line at the Dayton's outlet at Roseville Shopping Center (this was the dark ages where you either stood in line for tickets or called Ticket Master and sat on hold for an hour), waiting my turn to get Def Leppard tickets. It was announced, while I was standing in line, that Michael Jackson had added a third show at the Met Center and tickets were going on sale immediately. When it was my turn to buy Def Leppard tickets, I bought a pair of Michael Jackson tickets too, not because I was a fan, but simply because I wanted to see what the fuss was all about.
Well, I quickly realized what the fuss was all about. He opened with "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and then launched right into "Another Part of Me." I didn't pick my jaw off the floor until his last encore, the anthem "Man in the Mirror." I remember leaving the arena feeling uplifted and actually feeling privileged to have seen this man perform. Don't forget I really didn't care for Michael Jackson when I entered the Met Center. After all, I was a headbanger. This was not my kind of music. But I left a fan. I'm glad I will be able to tell my kids someday, "Yes, I saw Michael Jackson in person. He was the best ever."
I know many people thought he was a sick, weird, even a child molester. I've always thought his kindness was taken advantage of by certain people, and his money was extorted. That's just my opinion. I find it pathetic that certain media organizations, particularly Fox News, are now using the words "incredible," "iconic," and "legendary" to describe this person who they had already presumed guilty and described as a "psychopath" (Greta Van Susteren, that would be you) when he went to trial for child sexual abuse in 2005... and was, by the way, found not guilty. People seem to have forgotten that.
I found this great clip from a 1988 edition of Entertainment Tonight covering the rehearsals and opening night of the Bad Tour. I saw him perform three months after this footage was shot. I think anyone my age will find it very interesting. The footage isn't the greatest... but like me, it's getting pretty old.
