A Magical Holiday Night in Calgary
‘First Solo Show in Canada!’ … D A V I D at the JACK SINGER CONCERT HALL, oh my heck.
My home town did me proud, I must say!
When TOfan sent me the news that David was coming to Calgary to do a Christmas concert I shook my head in disbelief.
No way, she is teasing me, I thought. Facts came to light and I quickly put on my thinking cap to figure out how I could promote The Concert. I bought Postcard in the Sky CDs thinking I would hand them out to the local radio stations etc…
Well, tickets sold very quickly in the lower front sections and even the front of the side balconies. The remainder of the Jack Singer sold steadily over the following three weeks. I would say that, while it was not a sellout, it was close. I, therefore, had nothing to do – lol – and have since gifted the CD’s I purchased!
Highlights of the Concert
David sang 20 songs. Who on earth sings 20 songs at a concert? David of course!
From the very first song, when he hunkered down during Mary’s Boy Child with his fist punching in the air for the chorus — ‘Hark, now hear the angels sing, a king was born today’ — I knew we were in for a great concert but I wondered how in heaven’s name could he keep up the energy??? I should have known better, lol.
Here are my point-form thoughts about the other songs:
– Jazzy, jazzy White Christmas – AWESOME
– Invincible – what can I say, it hits home for me
– Reverent Mary Did You Know
– Of course he would find a Canadian written song (Gordon Lightfoot) to sing – Song for a Winter’s Night. Despite the nervous errors it was beautiful!
– It was so obvious in David’s face how disappointed he was in himself after forgetting some of the words in Song for a Winter’s Night. My heart ached for him and I wish I’d of had the presence of mind to stand up and call out to him ‘thank you David for introducing me to a beautiful song I have never heard before’.
– Beating his chest with a super intense expression on his face while performing “He Lives in You” brought tears to my eyes
– Singing Postcards in the Sky with such FREEDOM
– My son – his arm around my shoulders – swaying with me with David singing This Christmas
– The hush of the crowd right after he finished My Little Prayer was eerie. Then, the eruption of applause. Chilling. Such emotion in his voice. More tears – my son reached for my hand and held it tight during this one
– O HOLY NIGHT – Sublime. David reached right into my soul. The entire audience rose to its feet to show their love.
The White Hat Presentation
– David is an honourary Calgarian now!
– The audience remained on their feet during the entire presentation.
– You all must know that this is NOT something done for just anyone. The group of people that lobbied for David to sing here in Calgary also requested Tourism Calgary to present the White Hat to him. They could easily have denied them their request.
– I was thrilled when they told David that “we had high expectations, but you exceeded them!”
Family and Friends’ Reaction
Here are some of the post-show reactions from my friends and family who were there:
– “Great performer – commands the stage” … this from my son who told me that he wasn’t a fan but would come to the concert to watch my reaction. Said he ‘had fun’ and ended up downloading Postcards in the Sky!
– “He has a BEAUTIFUL voice – innocent,” said one family member.
– “Great voice – pitch perfect, but a bit rambly,” said another.
– As she was walking out of the theatre after the concert, I heard one young woman (an accomplished singer in her own right) say she was ‘blown away’ and then she ran to the merchandise table to buy a t-shirt and CD for her mom for Christmas
– My husband said it was the best concert of David’s he has ever seen
– “Wonderful concert – has the most soothing voice I’ve ever heard” said another friend.
– It was the first time that one of my friends had seen David live – and she told me, “He was soul-touching, exhilarating. He doesn’t even know me and he gave me faith in myself and validated my worth. Truly an inspirational young man.”
Final Thoughts
I must say that it was very special to have my kids at the concert. They have supported me in my David Journey with some bewilderment, but supported none the less.
David concerts have become a wonderful experience sharing with old friends (thanks TOfan and Refnaf), renewing acquaintances (Pastel and her lovely friend and new fan Peggy) and meeting online fans (the most gracious Pepper) for the first time face to face!
It is a night I will never forget.
~ Awestruck
p.s.
TOfan EDIT: The snowflake-y picture up top was handed out by the ushers and this was printed on the back (I’ve underlined my fave bits… that just seem so Canadian to me, idk 🙂 ):
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p.p.s.
okay, so this is a ghetto video clip of someone else’s private video clip so please don’t share, I just wanted y’all to see a bit of the soulful deliciousness of Someone to Love from Calgary… still praying someone foiled the super-stringent camera cops and got more video:
SnowAngelz: Canadian fans of David Archuleta 
{{{{{{{❤️Awestruck❤️}}}}}} thank you soooooo much for sharing what this concert meant to you… and I know you personally brought half of Calgary, lol, so I loved hearing how blown away everyone was by our guy. Your hometown sure did you proud, they really did show David the love and you can tell he felt it, not just at the show but in all his insta stories and posts. Epic, epic, all around! <333333 Merry Merry Christmas!!!!!
also FYI!
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
i recall sitting next to a woman in grants pass who said after the show, i thought it was a little odd when you told me you had been to so many shows, now i know why. it’s wonderful to hear what newbie fans have to say.
Awestruck – thank you! Oh to have been there!! I’ve only been to Calgary once, but I love, loved my time there. And, it’s so obvious that David did too. He will be a great Honorary Calgarian … he will represent you well!!
It’s obvious from the few videos and clips that are around, that the night was epic!! Thank you for sharing it with us! ♥♥
Awestruck….thank you for sharing your wonderful recap from that wonderful night! I think it’s great that you brought so many to experience David live. Love the reactions shared. What a concert, with so many beautiful moments from that evening, you expressed many of them so eloquently. What
an exciting time…. to attend a David concert in Canada and in your own city yet! There most definitely was a lot of love shown to David and It’s a night I will never forget either.
When you said you wanted to stand up and call out to David during his G Lightfoot song…..so did I, to thank him. Loved reading your thoughts and feelings from the show and how special this concert was to you.
It was so nice meeting you ‘face to face’ too! {{{hugs}}}
Thank you for your most excellent recap, Awestruck. So glad you had this fun experience in your own city. I loved the many comments you shared from others about David and his music. It was easy to figure out that this was one of those very special concerts, not only to have David in Canada, but to have David love Canada. Thanks for sharing!
((((Awestruck))))! Ditto tonEVERYTHING you wrote!
‘‘Twas so great experiencing this concert with you in your home town!
Doesn’t get much better than that!!!
It was great to meet your family and hear their responses as well as your friends to “the voice”. I loved how Calgary treated The Archuleta! Thanks for getting this post out to us!!
Beautiful! From Peru (thx. JR!!!!!!):
Absolutely beautiful!
Nice thoughts of the moment:
Awestruck’s lovely and amazing recap.
David’s soul stirring, heart melting OHN.
David actually having a full concert in Canada (it really happened).
David’s thoughtfulness and singing a Cdn artist’s song.
David singing MBC as his opening song in Calgary (was hoping he would, love it).
Calgary’s wonderful welcome and appreciation of David.
David in a white Stetson, special honours hat.
David talking about tours next year (including international shows).
Excellent fans who share clips and videos (including those who excel at ‘ninja’).
TOfan, for keeping us all updated on Mr. Wonderful.
Oh and….Happy Holidays. 🙂
Did he not say ‘new music’… I’ll add it to your list Pepper!
My, just saw all these lovely videos posted, will watch and enjoy before I head out! Thanks TOfan.
any idea who might be the fan group that got D to Calgary?
One of my friends that came to the concert told me that it was a group of Mormon lobbyists though he didn’t elaborate.
I’d make the assumption that it came from the church – not the Jack Singer peeps. Though I suppose they could be part of the board of directors…
Thanks everyone for your comments! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all 🙂
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you Awestruck! Thank you for the gift of this recap. My heart soared as I read it, especially the reactions of those who had not been to a David concert before. “Commands the stage,” that he does, that he does.
🙂
vocal perfection
Gorgeous clip of OHN. I will never not be awed and incredibly moved (and I was) by David’s powerful rendition of this beautiful song. It really is magnificent. May he always sing this at his Christmas concerts. ❤
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!