July 30th, 2001 - Chastain Park Ampitheatre, Atlanta, GA
by 'Chris1345'
I am 16, and this was my first Stevie show. I went with my mom, who also is a fan.
We arrived very early, about 1 1/2 hours before the gates opened....I met some Stevie fans, and we were even early enough to hear the soundcheck, which was cool....so at 6 :30 pm they finally open the gates, and everyone rushes
in....this show was sold out, so it was packed by 7:45.....I bought a black hat and shirt and a little postcard...
Jeffrey Gaines came out at around 8, and he was actually pretty good, I liked him...
A thunder cloud came up as the amphitheatre darkened, threatening us with rain...but it never happened..so finally at almost 9 o clock, we hear "Bootylicious"...which was a tease for everyone, and got everyone cheering and
dancing...then the vocal dub of "Trouble in Shangri-La" comes on, and we know that it's all about to begin...
So the band (awesome band, might I add) takes the stage and "Stop Draggin my Heart Around" begins. I had good seats and could see well. Stevie was looking very nice...her usual black dress, but with Reeboks instead of
the boots.
I'm not gonna go through each song...but I have to say, after having laryngitis, Stevie was very alive, happy, and energetic at this show! I was so surprised, considering the reviews I read from the past saying how she
lacked some energy this tour. Stevie fulfilled my expectations 2000 %!! She smiled a lot, talked a lot, and of course changed shawls a lot.
During "Gold Dust Woman", I got chills, she did it soo well. The "Gold Dust Woman" scream was reduced to a lighter "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah", but the song was great. Stevie had her gold shawl, and she did spider fingers and
all...she twirled all night long! The new songs were great and very well received....I was just so surprised at her ability to hit such high notes, after being sick...Of course she did the "Stand Back kick" which was very
high, and she danced and clapped all through this song. The crowd loved it! She did little kicks all through the night...
Stevie was ALIVE...she banged her tambourine, joked with us, and everything, it was incredible. I'm glad Waddy Wachtel is back with her, he's an excellent guitarist. He did a long guitar show-off intro into "Edge of Seventeen",
which Stevie did the classic scream for...of course the fans rushed to the stage during this. Then Stevie did her famous greeting and accepting gifts, someone even gave her a tambourine. Unfortunately, I didn't make it up there to
greet her....When "I Need to Know" came on, I knew my awesome night was coming to a close. She did this song well and really enjoyed it. Then came "Has anyone ever written anything for you?" which Stevie sang with passion..everyone had their lighters in the air. She had a black top hat with white feathers and her hair pulled back, which was cool, and she looked sooooooooooooooo young doing this song for some reason...
This was truly an unforgettable experience..I enjoyed every second of it, and hated to see it go. She is truly incredible and powerful! Thank You Stevie!