Best. Birthday. Gift. Ever.

Last March, Bryan surprised me with tickets to a concert:

 

This guy just happens to be one of my all time favorites! I saw him several years ago in Houston when he was still fairly new, but I have been patiently waiting to see him again. I think I have every one of his cd's, even his Christmas one.

 

To top it off, the concert wasn't in Dallas, it was in the Bahamas:

 

 

We flew up on Friday morning & just got home on Tuesday night. I have to admit that this was my first destination concert! As soon as we got there, I saw posters of Michael everywhere. I told my sister I felt like a teenager who had a high school crush because I was just so excited!

 

 

I had been really nervous because for those who don't know, right after I got the tickets, I found out his wife was pregnant. And she was due right around the concert :( Needless to say I had been cyber stalking him for the past couple of weeks. His wife finally had their baby earlier in the week, so I didn't know if he would still show up or not. Thank goodness he did! His new tour kicks off next weekend & apparently this performance was just a warm up before he kicked off his tour. He was in an amazing mood. As soon as he sang his opening song, he bragged about being a 1st time Dad & showed pictures of hew new son:

 

 

He was only 4 days old when Michael performed. Apparently he flew out right after the concert. I guess I wouldn't mind my husband doing that if he was making millions :)

 

Anyway, because this concert was in a small ballroom, it was very intimate. And Michael specifically told the body guards that he was so excited & in a good mood, to not block anyone from coming to the stage. He encouraged us to get up, dance, storm the stage, whatever we wanted. Luckily, Bryan & I were on the 4th row, so I darted to the front & spent the whole concert standing just feet away from him! It was amazing!! He was very interactive with the audience and several people got to shake his hand or touch him, but I was literally just short of reaching him. I felt like I was back in college at a local bar watching a concert. The vibe in the ballroom was something I can't describe & it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. My only complaint was that he only played for an hour. Apparently, Atlantis restricts the amount a time a performer can be on stage & they do not allow encores. We waited for about 30 minutes for him to come back on stage, but he never did. Later we learned that Atlantis has those rules because they want everyone to go to the casino. Of course. That's ok, my 1 hour was worth every penny & I couldn't stop telling Bryan that is was the best birthday gift he has ever gotten me!

 

Back to stalking, I couldn't help but take tons of picture while I was there! Every picture you see is really him - not the screen. The first couple are from our seats (which are still pretty good since we sat so close) but then they get even better when I was standing in front of the stage. Hope you enjoy them as much I do!

 

 

He ended the concert by singing one of his favorite songs & he even sang the last couple of lines acapella. It was beautiful.

 

 

Thank you Bryan for surprising me with such a wonderful night! Not only was the concert a once in a lifetime experience, but we also enjoyed a weekend away just the two of us. I will post more about our weekend but thought I would start with the most important piece of all :)