The Last Of The Summer Adventures

I was reading through my blog posts of the last few months, and I noticed I'd forgotten to do a post on one of the most exciting moments of my summer - Star Wars In Concert! So here goes!


Way back in May, I was watching TV during Abigail's nap and I saw a commercial for Star Wars In Concert. I went home and told my dad that as my birthday gift, I wanted him to buy himself a ticket so that we could attend together (the ticket prices were pretty steep, so I figured I'd buy my own ticket and get to take him with me!). We ordered the tickets, my birthday came and went, and I waited and waited and waited for July 17th. :)


And it finally came! We metroed into Chinatown a few hours before the concert to soak up some city sights, check out the exhibits, etc. We stopped in at Potbelly's to get a chickpea salad, then walked across the street to Verizon Center.


I had read fans rave about the exhibits that came with the concert, but I was really unprepared for how amazing it was! I'll admit, I've been a Star Wars freak for most of my life, but I suddenly felt like I was nine years old and feeling the excitement and awesomeness of the story for the first time! They had quite a few backdrops set up for photos - Tattooine, Yavin, Dagobah, Coruscant, and action scenes from the movies - and a ton of costumers, which I loved. Nothing makes me happier, apparently, than to be surrounded by cute guys dressed as Jedi. :)


They also had a ton of props set up behind glass. One of the most amazing (in my opinion) was one of John William's handwritten scores!

Chewbacca!

Ewoks!

Aren't they cute? :)

I'd seen C3PO in the Smithsonian, but I was pretty glad to see him again.

Dum, dum, dum, dum-da-dum, dum-da-dum... :)

"I love you!"

We must have walked around and around a dozen times, but it felt like there was always something new to see!

Eventually, though, we headed up to our seats - way in the back, way up high, you might even say "in a galaxy far, far away!" We had to ride a lot of escalators to get to our seats, and when we got to our section, it was blocked off. It turns out they'd hung a banner for the following day's basketball game and inadvertantly covered up several sections that then had to be moved.

I was pretty nervous, thinking they'd stick us in one of the other cheap sections that didn't have as good a view. But the Force was with us, because instead of getting shuffled off to a rotten seat...

... we got upgraded to the front section. :)

I really couldn't believe it when they handed us our new tickets. I think I frightened my dad a little with how excited I was.

My dad and I, waiting for the concert to start.

The stage as the orchestra got warmed up.

One of the neatest aspects of the concert, for me anyway, was all the kids, lots of them in costume and all of them just excited to death to be there. I totally wanted to grab them all and bring them home with me! It makes me happy to think about having my own kids someday who will have fun dressing up like little Jedi and Queen Amidalas. :)

They were selling the cutest little lightsaber keychains, so throughout the whole concert you'd see them light up.

Then the lights dimmed... and the concert started!

Not gonna lie - I teared up a little bit when they played the opening theme. Star Wars was a huge part of my childhood. It's what started me writing, and (cliched but true) it offered hope during a really rough time growing up, that there was good and evil in the world BUT good ALWAYS wins out in the end. Also, looking back, I think this was the first time I understood in some way that you don't get to pick your parents (lol!) but that doesn't ruin your chances of becoming a decent person unless you let it. :)


After the opening theme, the conductor asked us to join him in welcoming to the stage "someone who had seen the Star Wars saga from beginning to end" and I have to admit, I thought for one glorious second that it might be John Williams, but I wasn't really too disappointed when he announced Anthony Daniels instead!


Daniels did an incredible job of narrating the concert, which lasted for about two and a half hours. We screamed, we cheered, we clapped til our hands were numb... I for one did not want to go home. Eventually, however, the concert was over.


Dad and I took a few last walks around the displays, pausing to take some pictures.

Because what's cooler than having your picture taken with a Jedi? :)

Then we walked across the street to La Tasca for a tapas dinner. I was still on cloud nine, which explains why - although I remember everything was incredibly delicious - I don't remember exactly what we ate. I know we had rare tuna, and something with aioli, but that's about as far as my memory goes. :)

All in all, it was a pretty amazing day. One of my dreams ever since I saw the Star Wars movies has been to see the music played live, and it was amazing to have that dream fulfilled with someone as special as my dad. I'm already looking forward to seeing it again next year with my sister, Maggie, who saw the movies with me when we were six and nine, and cheered on my writing for the next fourteen years. I know she'll love it just as much as I did!