President Obama was in town last night for a big fundraising concert at the Nokia theater in downtown L.A. This was his last local appearance before the election, so I decided to go. Ticket prices ranged from $44 to $2500. As usual, my contribution was somewhere in the middle.
About 10 days ago I received
an email directing me to pickup my ticket at the Obama Victory Fund office on Wilshire Blvd., which I did. Then 3 days ago I got another email
outlining what I needed to know to get into the concert. No oversized bags or
unusually large cameras. Doors were opening at 2:30PM, with the first of many
performers playing at 3:45PM. I was taking the train into town and so thought
I’d leave around 2:30PM. But when the president’s helicopter entourage flew
over the house at 1:30PM, I put on my “Obama 2012” pin and quickly headed to
the train station. I did not want to be late.
A woman and her
14-year-old son followed me off the train once we got to L.A. Live. She asked
if I was going to the Obama event. They had never taken the train into downtown
before and needed directions. “Follow me!” I said, as we headed over to the
theater.
The line to get into the
Nokia literally stretched around the block: past the Conga Room and five
restaurants, north on Figueroa in front of the Grammy Museum, and then around
the corner and west on Olympic to Trader Vic’s. We stood with a charming young
man who had come alone. Turns out he and my other companions were all campaign volunteers
and so had much better seats than mine. Since this was their first big
political fundraiser, I told them what to expect: lots of waiting, rewarded by
a rousing speech by the president at the end.
“And keep your eyes peeled
for celebrities,” I warned. In fact, we were standing directly behind Aldis Hodge, who plays my favorite character, Hardison, on the TV show Leverage. My new friends had no idea who he was, but were thrilled nonetheless,
especially when passersby stopped to take their picture with him.
After waiting on line for
about 30 minutes, things suddenly got crazy once we approached the theater. We
were asked to remove all political buttons before walking through one of several
metal detectors. All doors were open, so people scrambled to get on the
shortest line. I followed Aldis and lost my friends. The lobby was a madhouse
as people scurried to buy refreshments before finding their seats. My seat was
in loge, so I went upstairs to call Tim.
“I stood on line behind
Hardison!” I told him excitedly.
I then bought some popcorn
and went in search of my seat. And not a minute too soon as the lights dimmed
and a group of school kids walked on stage to sing the national anthem. They
were followed by Earth, Wind and Fire, who immediately
brought the audience—all 7000 of us!—to our feet.
Earth, Wind and Fire
It was a star-studded
evening.
Jennifer Hudson came out next and sang an extremely moving rendition of the civil rights
standard “A Change is Gonna Come.” The concert had just started and I was already blinking back tears! Hudson was
followed by rocker Jon Bon Jovi, who was dressed in a
suit and played a short acoustic set, along with a violinist and second guitar.
He's apparently been traveling with Obama, because he mentioned a long list
of campaign stops he and the president had made together over the past two weeks.
Bon Jovi, looking very fine in his suit
Katy Perry was next. She made three costume changes even though she sang only four songs!
But she, too, almost made me cry when she brought out another group of school
kids to help her sing a mellower version of her hit song “Firework.” The young
woman who was sitting next to me was ecstatic.
Katy Perry
Politicos also spoke, of
course, including L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigoso and Julián Castro, mayor of San Antonio, TX. They briefly alluded to Obama’s unfortunate debate
last week against the Republican candidate and then quickly made us feel better
about the president’s chances at being re-elected. Castro, in particular, did a
good job of emphasizing Obama’s track record of providing equal opportunities
to all Americans.
George Clooney then took
the stage, grabbing even the attention of the young couple next to me, who had
been talking through most of the event. He spoke about Obama’s accomplishments
these past four years, before introducing singer Steve Wonder, who had us dancing in the aisles.
Clooney
Stevie Wonder
Obama then emerged to
cheers and a standing ovation. He may not be a good debater, but he is a
masterful speaker and had us all screaming our approval by the end.
Reenergized, we all poured out onto the L.A. Live plaza afterward and headed
home. It was 6:30PM.
The President
The train to Culver City
was filled with Obama supporters. As we approached our destination, an older
gentleman, who had gotten on two stops before, scratched his head and asked,
“Did any of you go see the president downtown?”
“YES!!” we yelled in
unison and then happily got off the train.
Don’t forget to vote on
November 6th!
1 comment:
OMG! OMG! OMG! Aldis Hodge?! No pics?! He's an absolute delight.
I'm glad you had a good time.
I was one of those campaign volunteers who was given a ticket to see President Obama in SF the following day. Alas, the flu killed me. I couldn't even stand for 15 minutes.
Thanks for blogging about it. I'm living vicariously through you.
Andrea
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