Sorry if I'm repeating anyone else's posts. Ignore me if any of this has already been said. I, like most of the people on this board, have been a fan for most of my life. When discussions of songwriting come around and I'm asked who I think is the best, I always split it into 2 categories. The latter being everyone else. My wife and I share this fanaticism equally, and had seen him a few times before his hospitalization. The things I read for the first while lead me to strongly believe he would have to stop touring. We went to Cerritos, CA. to see one of his first nights back at it. Although it was one of the most touching musical moments that I remember, I was so stressed about his voice that I was on the edge of my seat the whole night, worrying he would go completely hoarse. We went last November to Massey Hall. What a great experience. We decided since we live close to Houston, to attend the Austin and Houston shows with 1 night between concerts.(everyone we know thinks we're far gone)Austin was great, but I was still stressed about the vocals.I was more worried that people that hadn't heard him since the 70's may not respond appropriately. My fears were unfounded. It still comes down to these incredible songs, one after the other, after the other. The reason I'm going on with this all..
Houston was totally different. His voice at times sounded like it did a few years back...maybe the Painter Passing Through times...
He was also much more talkative, but the main thing we noticed was the relative ease in going for a few notes he had been tentative on during the last 3 concerts we saw. It was very encourageing to see. Once again the audience responded even better than I could have hoped for. At this stage it's sort of like going to see a family member and being nervous for them... and ready to get into an altercation if they aren't treated properly.
Any way, I think as long as he wants to tour, even if he just reads the lyrics... we will be there. Anybody patient enough to read through this, thank you.
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