And, yes, it was!
August in Mississippi and Louisiana, we should have known. We did, because the journey to see Taylor
Hicks in concert was so-named before we ever got there.
It was the summer of 2007. It was the summer of Taylor Hicks’
first solo national tour after winning American Idol Season 5! It was the
summer of fun, friends, travel, and life-change!
Except for the 122-degree day in Phoenix,
AZ, it was the hottest day I can ever
remember flying into New Orleans August 1, 2007. The humidity and heat literally took my
breath away as I stepped out of the airport.
I quickly knew why the shuttle bus to car rentals had a bucket filled
with ice and bottles of water. It was
the wettest and coldest bottle of water I can ever remember.
Then it rained on the way to Vicksburg
and steam rose from the pavement. I was
rushing through rush-hour traffic to get to the first concert that night and I
spotted my first Taylor Hicks billboard!
Could I take a picture while driving? No, I didn’t.
At this point, I had seen six concerts in Alabama, Georgia, Arizona, and Las
Vegas. I
thought I knew what to expect from Taylor Hicks in concert. In Vicksburg,
he showed everyone that “you ain’t seen nothing yet.” He was sick,
but no one would have known that from his performance.
The tour would not be slowed by germs.
History is my field and passion. Vicksburg
was a historical treasure for the best and the worst reasons, the site of a
long and destructive siege during the Civil War. I was very fortunate to meet a new friend
with a similar interest for the historical and our first full day in Vicksburg
was filled with sites of the old Southern town and thoughtful exploration of the Battle of Vicksburg.
The second concert in Vicksburg
was even better than the first. Germs had not
gotten the best of this American Idol and it was said around the soul patrol
that the sicker, the better the concert!
Now in our youngsters slang “sick” does means “the best!” I added another piece of Taylor Hicks’ memorabilia to the collection which I fondly call
it the “germomonica.”
Traveling though Mississippi
the next day to Biloxi was a
nostalgic sojourn for me. My older
brother was stationed at Keesler AFB in the 1950s and we took a family summer
vacation to see him, though I don’t remember that it was in August!
We drove through Gulfport, Mississippi, a very small town then and along the Gulf Coast
to Biloxi. It was the first time I had been to the beach
and the first time my conservative father had worn a pair of Bermuda
shorts. We told him he could not go on
the beach otherwise!
In 2007, it was also a trip through the South with childhood memories flooding back of growing up in Kentucky. There is so much that is “the South” no matter where you are like the truck selling watermelons by the side of the road.
And although the Gulf
Coast had been torn apart by
Hurricane Katrina, it could not
destroy the beauty.
I stopped for this marquee.
The Mississippi Coast Coliseum was close to home for Taylor, and the “home folks” turned out including Taylor’s
beautiful grandmother, Miss Joni, who passed away in 2013. It was a huge crowd that welcomed Taylor
and his tour band. If you saw any of the
2007 concerts, you know that the band was about as good as it gets. Simply, they rocked!
Taylor and lead guitarist Josh Smith showed what good music
and a good show is all about.
Simply, phenomenal!
I was still getting the hang of a camera trying to take
pictures of a moving object—a musician that would not stay still for a
second.
Then it was back to Louisiana,
although I had never been to Louisiana
except when I had flown into New Orleans
a few days before.
New Orleans is
an amazing city--colorful, loud, and alive 24/7! It is a fascinating mix of the foreign flavor of different cultures
and the truly American flair with which it all comes together--the feeling that you "fit" here, no matter where you come from.
Simply, I found it the most interesting city I have ever
visited, even in the short time I was there.
I ate it up, along with the ‘gator sausage I tasted for the first time. It’s not like chicken.
It rained in the afternoon as I explored the French Quarter,
and I immediately thought about Katrina and that this is where Taylor Hicks had
searched in the middle of the night for a cab to flee the imperiled city just
hours before the devastation. It
was a gift that much of the French Quarter was spared the worst of
Katrina.
That night, the House of Blues was one of the most crowded
venues I have ever experienced, barely room to stand. I am quite sure that it was beyond “sold out.”
On the narrow, crowded street outside, the tour buses dwarfed the surroundings.
I had seen and done so many things in that short week, it
was hard to take it all in as I flew out of New Orleans
on Sunday morning. Of all the new places
I’ve been in following Taylor,
including New York City, my favorite place to return to would be New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast.
Simply, they are magical!
It’s always a dilemma whether to take pictures to share and
enjoy later or to lose yourself in the moment and enjoy the show. Often, I chose the later, since I was not that
good with the camera anyway.
But it’s really about the moment! How do you really capture moments that bring
sheer joy, abandonment, and that feeling of “stop the world right here.”
We are fortunate creatures to have that part of our minds and our
hearts where we can store and treasure our memories.
The Hot and Humid Tour was memorable.
Here’s to new summer memories—magical places, fun and friends and never-ending music!
To all those seeing Taylor
Hicks on the Gulf Coast this
weekend at his sold-out show in Gulfport, MS…
Simply, ENJOY!
~~~~
Notes: I believe it was the Editor of the Soul
Connection, Connie Leinicke who gave us the “Hot
and Humid” name. To all those who
made it magical, thanks for the memories! You know who you are!
All photos by San.
~~~
If you are really interested in reading more about The Hot and Humid Tour, below are my posts (minus the photos, some of which are shown above) shortly after the trip on an early Taylor fan site, The Whomp Swamp.
August, 2007
HOT AND HUMID SOUTHERN TOUR
Yes, August is hot and humid in the South! The Soul Patrol gathered from all over the
country to follow Taylor and the
summer tour band from the Ameristar in Vicksburg
to the House of Blues in New Orleans!
This is a special Bus Stop OPEN topic where we can share our
thoughts....
If you were on this special roadtrip...please add
yours!
TAYLOR
LIVE! AGAIN!
Vicksburg was
another bus stop for Taylor and the
tour band. But for the Soul Patrol it
was a gathering!
Cell phone messages and emails excitedly sent the word there
was a Taylor billboard between Jackson
and Vicksburg, and those who got
the message in time captured the familiar Taylor
pose.
I had no warning and I opted NOT to try to stop, turn around
or any crazy such thing when suddenly there was Taylor
roadside! I did grab my cell phone
(okay, that was crazy at 80 MPH in heavy traffic) and tell people who were
behind me.
The Ameristar on the mighty Mississippi
promised to be the small friendly venue of which Taylor
is fond. The affable casino
entertainment manager had assured us that every seat was a good seat when NO
fans were able to come by tickets in the front section. That left the Soul Patrol in the back closest
to the bar. Okay, they weren't bad
seats.
As Taylor opened
with Soul Thing, I remembered he opened in Jacksonville
with Soul Thing...the very first song on his solo tour. I also remembered why I had again flown
across the country to see Taylor
live! I knew immediately, "Oh yes
...it was worth the trip!"
But the best was yet to come!
Night two in Vicksburg
was one to remember!
San
THE GERM BUSINESS
Vicksburg Day
Two
The Soul Patrol enjoyed a non-travel day in this charming
Southern City on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Some visited the Civil War battlefield, the site of the
siege of Vicksburg where monuments
from many states reminded us that, then as now, war is hell.
With most everyone staying at the Ameristar Hotel, it was no
secret that a doctor had made a bus call.
The Soul Patrol hoped Taylor
would feel well enough to perform.
And perform he did!
The front VIP section which had some empty seats the first
night, was packed …including, it was rumored, dignitaries from Ameristar
Corporation. The Soul Patrol, was
again seated close to the bar,
Then a smiling, “I can do this because I’ve done it before” Taylor
took the stage and all was very well.
He confirmed shortly into the show that he did in fact have strep throat
and bronchitis. “Someone told me ‘Taylor,
if you get into the music business, you get into the germ business.’”
Well, the music business and the germ business in Vicksburg
rocked this little riverboat casino and the Soul Patrol could only say, “The
sicker he is, the better the concert.”
Okay, makes no sense!
"Heaven Knows" words are difficult to get out even
when you know them! Well, Taylor
flubbing the first verse only left everyone laughing (yes, we remembered forgetting words had
happened before)…finally, the words came,
“You took my heart, baby.” Say
them over and over...”You took my heart...”
Taylor talked to
the crowd… announcing as he took a drink that “It’s tap water.” With the stage lighting he told the Soul
Patrol he could hear them but couldn’t see them. And the Soul Patrol made their voices
heard.
The Beatles tune, "Don’t Let Me Down," was a
personal favorite, as it had been since the AI tour with that red guitar.
The energy, charisma, and “I can’t phone it in” magic that
is Taylor at his very best
transported this audience to a night to remember. The VIP audience in the front was drawn into
the spirit and dead on performance of Taylor Hicks on his game. They gave a standing ovation to this amazing
entertainer who refused to let the germ business get the best of the music
business!
A GOOD REVIEW
Taylor on the Gulf
Coast
Driving to the Gulf
Coast down Highway 47 South was a
sojourn I had taken before…when I was 13 years old. My brother had been stationed at Keesler AFB
in the 50s and my family had taken a vacation to Biloxi. We spent a day on Ship
Island and there was nothing along
the Coast then except beautiful Southern homes.
Some things don’t change…trucks filled with watermelons
going to some roadside market brought back the same childhood memory…of course,
green and white striped watermelons! My
father never would have bought a solid green watermelon! Again, returning to the South, I felt like I
was coming home.
It was a homecoming of sorts for Taylor
as well. Home folks drove in from Alabama…I
met a couple in the parking lot from Mobile
who spoke so fondly of Taylor and Miss Jonie.
And Taylor’s grandmother was
on the center aisle. Fans related that
she was transfixed on her Taylor
with the adoring look of a very proud grandmother.
Taylor wowed the
huge arena crowd with his electric energy and whompin’ soul music. It was a long way from the first time he sang
“Try A Little Tenderness” for his grandmother, and she gave him “one of my
first good reviews, and maybe the most important, because that was probably the
first time I thought of myself as a singer.”
(Heart Full of Soul, Taylor
Hicks)
From that first thought of being a singer to center stage in
front of the screaming, rocking crowd in the Coast Coliseum, Taylor had made an
incredible journey.
I am sure that she gave him another good review!
WHEN LIFE IS NOT BORING
New Orleans and
Gator
New Orleans was
new territory for me. I didn’t know what
to expect, especially after the devastation of Katrina. I can honestly say there was only one thing I
didn’t like…water, water everywhere…well, at least a lot of it to drive over,
of which I was definitely not fond.
Okay…make that just two things…I have lived in Michigan
and I thought I knew humidity. Even the
lake areas of Michigan did not
prepare me for the hot muggy, I-can’t-breathe air in the Big Easy as I stepped
out of the airport on Wednesday. It was
better on Saturday—concert day.
My first mission in New Orleans
was to have beignets, the fried French donuts, at the world famous Café du
Monde. That was my plan for Saturday
breakfast in the French Quarter, but I found they are just as good for a late
lunch. I thought they could not be
surpassed…until I added frozen café latte…a to-die-for after concert treat at
the Café.
As I sat in the Café du Monde a strong wind and dark clouds
blew in from the South. I must admit I
was a little uncomfortable. It was only
a cooling afternoon rain shower. It
didn’t dampen the holiday spirit in the Quarter or the gift shopping next door
at Aunt Sally’s Pralines.
The French Quarter was a delightful mix of old world charm
and Southern hospitality. I was very
unsure about having gator and beans for lunch (especially after the beignets),
so an accommodating young street vendor gave me a taste of the gator
sausage. It doesn’t taste like
chicken! I passed on that lunch.
I walked back to the hotel along Bourbon
Street past the open doorways from which came the
sounds of New Orleans…jazz, Delta
blues, rock and funk. This is a music
town.
And after all, the music was why I was here—blue-eyed soul
music!
In the very narrow streets of the Quarter, there was barely
room for Taylor’s two shiny buses
to park and traffic to go around. There
was no problem finding the House of Blues.
If the venue was not sold out before, it must have concert night. There was barely standing room in the small
Blues stage/bar.
This was a special place for Taylor
and he let everyone know that he loved New Orleans. That amazing journey had begun here with
Katrina bearing down. He was clearly
very happy to be back here, seeming to choke up several times.
He held the crowd and the moment in the palm of his hand as
he sat on a stool for his first encore and sang “Louisiana.” Then he led a chant “New
Orleans is back…New Orleans
is back…” and the people went wild!
It is times like this that words fail us…to describe such
“special” times. They cannot. It was one of those times when you had to be
there…see it, hear it, feel it. It
certainly does not do his performance justice to say that it was all the usual
words we use…or to say it was SPECIAL.
But when words are all we have, they must say what we
felt...
This was one of the times in our lives that are not just
memorable, but it is what keeps life from being boring and keeps us searching
for the next moment like this very special one!
After all, it is the special times when we enjoy life that makes it all
worthwhile!
New Orleans was
one of those times!
San
If you're counting....ten concerts, one harmonica!
~~~~
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