Sometime in the 80's some friends and I, all equally broke and struggling to make ends meet, pooled together what little money we had and bought tickets to see Michael Jackson perform at the Rosemont Horizon. Our lack of funds meant our seats were some of the worst in the arena. We were at least three tiers up and far to the left of the stage.
As we waited for the show to start, we noticed that the demographics of the audience was quite remarkable in that it seemed to break all demographic barriers. The audience was made of young and old, black and white, male and female, rich and poor. The crowd burst into spontaneous song on occasion. This was just after he had released the "Bad" album so we sang songs from "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and "Bad". We sounded like crap but the camaraderie in the group was infectious. There were literally thousands of people sporting the red leather "Beat It" jacket and even grannies were stylin' the single white sequined glove.
Finally, the show started. There was some opening act and, for the life of me, I can't remember who it was or what they did. It was inconsequential. We were there to see Michael so they could have lit the place on fire and we wouldn't have noticed unless he rushed out to put it out! When Michael Jackson hit the stage the massive audience went completely ballistic. I confess, I was right there with them. He sang and dance hit after hit. His stage moved and grew and expanded and folded and it was surrounded by enormous screens so our crappy seats became far less crappy. At one point, he ascended on a crane and was almost within touching distance of us. He manhandled that stage. He owned it. He took us all in and through this two hour journey with him. He was larger than life and seemed ten feet tall up there.
It was over before we knew it and we were awestruck, spent and exhausted. It was one of the best concerts I've ever attended in my life.
As I sit here watching the news of his death, the speculation of the cause and the anticipation of what is likely to be the biggest media circus ever, I feel sad for this man/child who never grew up, never had a childhood, who only did what he was told and did it better than anyone had ever done it before. Whether you like him/hate him/vilify him/revere him - you cannot deny that Michael Jackson had a profound impact on pop music. He changed the way we listen and move and see it. He may not have ushered in the age of video but he took the medium and became it's premiere artist.
And for me, because of that one glorious, mind blowing night at the Rosemont, I'll miss him.
Rest in Peace, Michael.
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