OMG what a day!
Man, being a stalker is hard work. I spent all day today in Sarasota and Bradenton stalking Syesha’s homecoming festivities. Wow. I have so may photos and so many videos to post…which will be coming shortly. But I wanted to get all this down in writing while it’s all still nice and fresh.
Though Syesha started her day well before sunrise, I didn’t begin the stalking until her morning appearance in Bradenton. She was scheduled for a short appearance from 10:30 -11, but she didn’t arrive until after 11, so obviously her day got off to a late start. There were only about 1,000 people or so, and getting there 15 minutes early got me to within about 10 feet of the stage. It happened right on the riverfront in front of City Hall.
This appearance was merely a formality because there was no singing planned–it was simply to receive the key to the city (she sang a little anyway, though). For those of you not familiar with the “suncoast” area of Florida, there are a bunch of politics and rivalries involved, so with poor Syesha, everyone had to get in on a piece of the pie. So Tampa, St. Pete, Bradenton AND Sarasota all needed some lovin’, not to be left out. Honestly. Ok, back to the scene, it was nice, and very low key.
Her entourage was insane - she arrived in a Ford Excursion limo, followed by another limo, and at least 6 luxury sedans, all led by a sheriff’s escort.
After the Bradenton festivities, rumor was that she was making an appearance at an att store, but I moved on to the next main event, the concert at her high school. The campus was closed and this was an exclusive event for the students and staff. But because my husband is a former teacher, (yes, he taught at Syesha’s high school–we saw her perform in Seussical the Musical her senior year!) he got us through security to see the parade.
However, the concert in the auditorium was by ticket only (only senior students could attend). This was apparently mandated by Fox and 19, and the assistant principal couldn’t even pull any string. Yikes! Who do they think they are…a huge tv show?!?! 
Instead of watching it live, we were able to watch via school video feed in an adjacent classroom. They basically presented her with a bunch of awards from the school and the school board, and she sang an abridged version of “Summertime”.
After the concert, Syesha was off for a helicopter ride, but I was off to lunch and then her concert at the Ca d’Zan Museum in Sarasota. I lived in Sarasota for three years, but never was able to make it to the museum which is a shame because it is GORGEOUS! The park is directly adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico, and the stage was very close to the water, which allowed people to drive up in their boats to see the show, too. It was a great day and a great concert. The turnout was much better than I expected and hard to even gauge - definitely over 5,000 people there.
She must have made up some time because the concert was supposed to begin at 3:30, and started at 3:45 (not too bad). She sang with her former band, and performed Proud Mary first. Then all of the awards and formalities began, with another key to Sarasota this time, and reading of the fax from Randy Jackson announcing his pick for Syesha next week is Alicia Keys “If I Ain’t Got You” which Syesha was happy to get because she loves the song, has performend it before, and already knows all the words! The Mayor in Sarasota is a crazy lady who likes to do hand stands (and freaked Syesha out by doing one in front of her), and had obviously never heard of Alicia Keys because she could not get the announcement right—they had to do several takes.
Then Syesha wrapped it up with one more song, and she was off to sing the National Anthem at the Devil Rays Game.
Videos are coming!!! But as a reward for all of my hard work I am going to Disneyworld tomorrow, so don’t expect vids until the evening!
2 comments May 9th, 2008
