Get Together was the second track from the Confessions On A Dance Floor CD.
On June 2, 2006, Dolos and I left Portland, Oregon for Fresno, California. I decided to keep a daily diary of our trip and our concert experience, and the following is what took place:
Friday Afternoon, June 2, 2006 – We departed Portland at 2:00 PM and completed a 6-hour drive to Ashland, Oregon. I liked Ashland a lot.
Saturday Afternoon, June 3, 2006 – Before leaving Ashland, we came across a group of women I suddenly respected, the International Women in Black, Standing for Peace. After leaving Ashland, we drove to Fresno, California, after passing Mt. Shasta. The drive from Ashland to Fresno took nine long hours, and we were utterly exhausted by the time we arrived in Fresno. We checked into our hotel and went straight to bed.
Sunday Morning, June 4, 2006 – We checked out of our hotel, had breakfast, and decided to drive to the Sequoia National Park for the day. On the way, we passed a fruit stand, where we purchased fresh Plums, Peaches, Apricots, and Cherries. Halfway up the mountain, our car overheated. Luckily, it stalled on a turn-out directly across the highway from a waterfall. While we waited for the vehicle to cool down, Dolos decided to take a dip in the cold water. After the car cooled down, we continued up the mountain and into the park. We rented a cabin for the night and spent the rest of the day exploring the outdoors, during which we came across two black bears, one brown bear, and several deer. The highlight of the day was climbing Moro Rock. It indeed was a beautiful place. Some of the trees in this park were older than Jesus.
Monday Afternoon, June 5, 2006 – We left Sequoia at noon and drove back to Fresno, where we checked into our hotel, the University Inn (room 212). The hotel was across the street from the Save Mart Center, where Madonna was scheduled to perform that night. We walked to the arena at 7:30 and had one of the most amazing Madonna experiences ever.
Our Get Together with Madonna: Dolos and I had tickets for the sixth row of section two on the floor. We were initially in seats 13 and 14. However, the people sitting in seats 15, 16, 17, and 18 didn’t show.
Since those people didn’t show, Dolos and I moved to the end of the row, which put us right next to the catwalk. At times, Madonna and her dancers were probably no more than five feet away from us.
“Down, down, down in your heart, find, find, find the secret, turn, turn, turn your head around, baby we can do it, we can do it all right.”
It was unique, unexpected, and something I never envisioned or tried to manifest. A couple of times throughout the night, Madonna looked right at us, and that felt great because of this story and the connection I’d had with her music through the years. She’s looking directly at Dolos and me in the following video, singing, “If it’s bitter at the start, it’s sweeter in the end!”
It was close to the show’s end, and Madonna performed Hung Up. She was all over the stage, dancing up and down the catwalk. During the point where she was asking for audience participation, she had everyone sing “Time. Goes. By. So. Slowly.” It was fun giving her back the energy she had given us all night. It was routine for her to pick someone out of the crowd during this part of the show, hold out her mic, and have them sing the chorus.
Well, that night, she chose Dolos and me. Right before she closed the show, she came down to where Dolos and I were standing, pointed her mic at the two of us, and had us sing for her. And standing next to Madonna was the cameraman, who was filming us the entire time. As all of this was happening I kept sending her thoughts of gratitude, after all, her music did save my life once or twice when I was younger. That incredible moment ended when she returned to center stage, finished the song, and disappeared with her dancers behind the final curtain.
As Dolos and I left the arena, two girls recognized us and said, “There they are, the two guys singing on the big screen at the end of the show.” At this point, we realized the images of us singing to Madonna had been projected onto the big screens in the arena. We got the biggest kick out of this. Dolos said it was the most fantastic concert he had ever attended, making the fifteen-hour drive worth it. I knew this particular experience would be difficult to match as far as connecting with Madonna personally. It made everything I’ve written about in this story much more special. It was nice to connect with Madonna personally, and I was glad I brought Dolos along as my witness. Even though my story is more about my connection with Madonna’s music than Madonna herself, I was utterly blown away by the experience.
That’s Dolos and me at the: 03-second mark. The video above was discovered nine years later after footage was found on YouTube. Credit: Mads Boots.
Tuesday, June 6, 2006 – Seeing the show a second time from a different angle was nice. We could see all of the video screens and performances we missed from being so close to the stage the night before.
Note: This particular night will be revisited much later in my story.
BACK | NEXT
GET TOGETHER
It’s an illusion
Get together (It’s an illusion)
It’s an illusion
Get together (It’s an illusion)
Down, down, down in your heart
Find, find, find the secret
Turn, turn, turn your head around
Baby we can do it, we can do it all right
Do you believe in love at first sight?
It’s an illusion, I don’t care
Do you believe I can make you feel better?
Too much confusion, come on over here
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
I search, I search, I search my whole life
To find, to find, to find the secret
And all I did was open my eyes
Baby we can do it, we can do it all right
Do you believe we can change the future?
Do you believe I can make you feel better?
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
It’s all an illusion
There’s too much confusion
I’ll make you feel better
If it’s bitter at the start, then it’s sweeter in the end
Do you believe in love at first sight?
It’s an illusion, I don’t care
Do you believe I can make you feel better?
Too much confusion, come on over here
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
It’s all an illusion
There’s too much confusion
I’ll make you feel better
If it’s bitter at the start, then it’s sweeter in the end
