Fur coats, Obama crip crap and lame sound engineers

Well, what can I say? The HBO "We Are One" concert was spectacular! It was hard to believe that so many people would willingly pack themselves onto the National Mall in freezing cold weather, but we did it! For putting the production together in two weeks, HBO should get major kudos. It was an incredibly well-run program and STAR-PACKED. Mind you, I was with all the commoners down away from the main stage, but we actually managed to find an incredibly close spot. Although Mary J. looked like a little white fluffy ant walking up and down the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial, she still had us singing. A few observations from the day:

(1) I didn't realize that full-length fur coats were the official clothing for the concert! My god, PETA would have had a heart attack at this thing. I was thinking we were all going to run into a speakeasy after the concert for an under-the-counter drink!

(2) If you can think of something about Obama that can be turned into a consumable product (or "souvenir"), then trust me, it was being sold somewhere on the streets of Washington. Obama bobble heads, buttons, boxer shorts, tattoos, gummi candy...god knows what else.

(3) Americans being nice to each other? Whaaa?!! Believe me...when you're the few...the proud...like we were...up at the very front of this world-hyped concert, one could only expect that there were going to be some nasty confrontations. Surprisingly, everyone was just so pleasant with each other. When we started getting pushed from all sides like a crowded chicken coop, concert-goers simply started excusing themselves to each other rather than yelling f**k you! Will the power of Obama never end?!

(4) And finally: if you ever need a sound engineer, NEVER hire one who works for HBO. DEAR GOD. The concert was so well set-up, but when it started...they simply didn't have several of the speakers up. So, the crowd was forced to rudely interrupt the speaker (Denzel Washington) to start chanting, "turn it up, turn it up!" Then, we were in between two sets of speakers, and the delay was so bad, that we just looked like a bunch of REALLY sorry white people trying to keep a beat. But it wasn't our fault! We seriously couldn't follow the beat! And finally...god bless her...Mary J. managed to blow several speakers. How, you may ask? I have NO idea. I think I had some "DJ" friends in college who could have prevented more of these problems than HBO.

All in all though...it was incredible. Now, tomorrow is REALLY going to be a trek. Wish me luck...