5/02/06 the turning point

5/02/06 is the turning point of the season.• 5/02/06 AI performance: "PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC WHITE BOY" and "SOMETHING" ("Song from the year of your birth" and "Song from ANY of this week’s music charts" theme)



Not only was this show the turning point of the season, the performances that won over America, it was also the show that I got to see live, at the dress rehearsal in LA. It was more fun than I had had in years!! I will NEVER forget it. I had a sign that said, "Here 4 The TAYLOR CONCERT!" and I waved it wildly and cheered. Our group of Soul Patrollers was so big and so wildly crazy for our hero that they actually brought him out before the rehearsal began to see us and wave. We were thrilled! Grayhair50 from the AI message board was responsible for the huge Soul Patrol showing at these dress rehearsals, and all of us who got to go can never thank her enough for all her hard work! That day, as we left the dress rehearsal, we all felt like we had shown Taylor some love. We really let him know how we felt, and we hoped it was of some support to him.



Taylor sang "Play That Funky Music White Boy" in a wild pink and blue paisley shirt. He danced every dance move known to man and several that I am convinced he just made up on the spot. He danced into the audience and drove us wild. And for his big finish, he fell on the floor. He sang his last notes laying on his back on the stage. If anyone else had done this, it would have been the stupidest thing ever. But Taylor did it, and we LOVED it!!



And then he sang the Beatles’ "Something." It was beautiful!!! Amazing!! The second line alone was worth the plane ticket to LA. This is what I wrote about it:"I was lucky enough to be at the dress rehearsal on that day and see Taylor sing "Something" live. I was there for the fun and funky Taylor...I was waving my sign with the rest of the fans...maybe yelling out, "Nice Suit, Taylor!"...just having a great time cheering on Taylor..........And then he came out and sang that song. And I couldn't speak, couldn't move....I think I let out a sigh once, and that was it. And when it was over, there was a 4 second delay before I could jump up and scream my support and love, BECAUSE I WAS BLOWN AWAY. Great, great performance, Taylor. Just Great."

I was on cloud 9. America was IN LOVE. Taylor won over hordes of new fans that night. You could hear it around the water coolers, and on the internet on message boards that were non-AI related. People who previously didn’t ‘get’ Taylor were Taylorized!!

This is the turning point because after this, everything changed. There was nothing but joy from here on out. Taylor had found his groove, and he knew it. And we knew it.