July 10th, 2001 - Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
by Michele "The Billy Freak" Mategrano (Chicago)
Stevie's show was absolutely FANTASTIC!!!! She was so happy to be there and really had a great time with us fans!!!
Jeffrey Gaines opened for her and played for about a half hour. He was o.k….he seems like a nice guy. He came out around 7:45 p.m.
Stevie came onstage at 8:35 p.m. The set list was the same as already listed by other posters here, and it was AWESOME!!! After "Outside the Rain" she said "Welcome everybody….thank you for coming to my party!" The set was modeled exactly after the "Trouble in Shangri-La" album cover and was just beautiful!!! The show was complete with twirls, swirls, and even a couple of high kicks!!! Stevie had platform sneakers on with little rhinestone studs on the platform part. She had a beautiful black dress and had changed into her gold shawl for "Gold Dust Woman" and left it on for a few more songs…..then she returned to just her dress with long, flowing chiffon sleeves for "Rhiannon"…..then changed into a new black shawl with gold for "Standback". The pattern did not look like circles….it was a smaller print and it almost looked like little butterflies, but it was very pretty! Later in the show, she added a grayish-silvery shawl with fringes - almost identical to her gold one- as she performed "Bombay Sapphires".
Waddy Wachtel was there, and he was great! He was smiling at the fans and joking around on stage! I'm so glad he was able to tour with her. It wouldn't be the same without Waddy! Sharon Celani and Mindy Stein were there too, as was Brett Tuggle, who toured with her and Fleetwood Mac. When she introduced Sharon and Mindy, she said, "…without these ladies my job would be so boring…so boring up here with just ME…" She also introduced her bass player, a new person, who is from Phoenix and worked guitar, keyboards, percussion, etc. during the making of Trouble in Shangri-La.
Sheryl Crow was also present, but as I thought she would, she only appeared on stage when she sang her songs with Stevie and when she sang her one solo song. She was very lad to be there too…Stevie herself said that she was going to be with them for a while, she wished she "would never leave" the tour.
Stevie talked to us here and there in between songs and after singing "Everyday" she told us "it's so hard doing new songs…even after 28 years….it's still hard!" She was fantastic! She told us how great we were, and was thanking us after almost every other song. She was so sincerely happy that we were there with her, and she had a blast!!! She had to adjust her ear piece from time to time, but other than that, things seemed to go smoothly with the equipment.
I myself cried when she first appeared on stage. Keep in mind that this was my FIRST Stevie concert experience so it was quite moving for me!!! (I got misty-eyed when I first sat down and saw her microphone with all the ribbons on it!) I was seated in the second row center, so I was right smack in front of her! She smiled at me from the stage!!! The lights were shining right on me, so she saw me in my shawl with my cream colored "Enchanted" t-shirt, and of course, my hair is like Stevie wears it now too!
Stevie and Sheryl ROCKED with "Fall From Grace"! "Sorcerer" and "Planets of the Universe" were mesmerizing! "Too Far From Texas" was her last duet with Sheryl, and it sounded great! She was dancing around during the show, and even made motions like pretending to play the guitar during a couple of songs… she even imitated playing the violin during "Everyday"! I of course was mouthing all the words to all of her songs…I can't say enough good things about it!
Stevie came to the edge of the stage at the end of "Edge of Seventeen" like always, and shook my hand!!!! I was totally overwhelmed!!! She gave it a loving squeeze and smiled right at me!!! Her hands are so soft, and she had such a happy smile on her face! It was a night to remember and a dream come true!!!
Stevie closed the show with "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You" and it was magical! Tears were streaming down my face. I was still so overwhelmed at her holding/shaking my hand, and listening to that beautiful song just soothed the crowd so much. At the end of the show, when Stevie said good bye, she told us "Thank you all again for coming….I hope you all had a nice time, we certainly did… take care of yourselves and be good to yourselves!"
I am so thankful for the opportunity to see her so close and personal! I have memories to last a lifetime!!! One of the guards at the front of the stage reached up and picked a rose from the stage for me! He and a couple of the other "event staff" were so very nice to us…they knew it was my first concert too! We chatted for a while - it made the time pass quicker and as I said, they were so very nice to me and my mom! The other fans sitting around me were talking to me too! It was so neat to meet other fans outside the arena and inside while we were waiting for the show to start. There were a few Stevie "wannabes" there, and it was cool to see! Fans just started talking to each other and they all told me what a wonderful time I was going to have when they heard it was my first Stevie show!
It was truly an enchanting evening, and I have my rose and my wonderful memories to last the rest of my life!!!!