Get Together was the second track from the Confessions On A Dance Floor, CD. – “Down, down, down in your heart, find, find, find the secret, turn, turn, turn your head around, baby we can do it, we can do it all right.”
On June 2, 2006, Dolos and I left Portland, Oregon for Fresno, California. I decided to keep a daily diary of our trip and our concert experience, and the following is what took place:
Friday Afternoon, June 2, 2006 – We departed Portland at 2:00 PM and completed a 6-hour drive to Ashland, Oregon. I liked Ashland a lot.
Saturday Afternoon, June 3, 2006 – Before leaving Ashland, we came across a group of women that I suddenly had a lot of respect for, the International Women in Black, Standing for Peace. After leaving Ashland, we drove to Fresno, California, after passing Mt. Shasta. The drive from Ashland to Fresno took nine, long hours, and we were utterly exhausted by the time we arrived in Fresno. We checked into our hotel and went straight to bed.
Sunday Morning, June 4, 2006 – We checked out of our hotel, had breakfast, and decided to drive to the Sequoia National Park for the day. On the way, we passed a fruit stand, where we purchased fresh Plums, Peaches, Apricots, and Cherries. Halfway up the mountain, our car overheated. Luckily, it stalled on a turn-out, directly across the highway from a waterfall. While we waited for the car to cool down, Dolos decided to take a dip in the cold water. After the car cooled down, we continued up the mountain and into the park. We rented a cabin for the night and spent the rest of the day exploring the outdoors, during which we came across two black bears, one brown bear, and several deer. The highlight of the day was climbing Moro Rock. It truly was a beautiful place. Some of the trees in this park were older than Christ.
Monday Afternoon, June 5, 2006 – We left Sequoia at noon and drove back to Fresno where we checked into our hotel, the University Inn (room 212). The hotel was across the street from the Save Mart Center, where Madonna was scheduled to perform that night. We walked over to the arena at 7:30 and had one of the most amazing Madonna experiences that I ever had.
Our Get Together with Madonna: Dolos and I had tickets for the 6th row of section two, on the floor. We were initially in seats 13 and 14. However, the people sitting in seats 15, 16, 17, and 18 didn’t show.
Since those people didn’t show, Dolos and I moved to the end of the row, which put us right next to the catwalk. At times, Madonna and her dancers were probably no more than five feet away from us.
It was amazing and unexpected, and a reality that I never, ever envisioned, or tried to manifest. There were a couple of times throughout the night that Madonna looked right at us, and that felt great because of this story and the connection that I’d had with her music through the years. She’s looking directly at me in the following video when she’s singing, “If it’s bitter at the start, it’s sweeter in the end!”
It was close to the end of the show, and Madonna was performing Hung Up. She was all over the stage, dancing up and down the catwalk. During the point where she was asking for audience participation, she had everyone sing “Time. Goes. By. So. Slowly.” It was fun giving her back the energy that she had given us all night. It was routine for her to pick someone out of the crowd during this part of the show, hold out her mic and have them sing the chorus. Well, this night she chose Dolos and me. Right before she closed the show, she came down to where Dolos and I were standing, pointed her mic at the two of us, and had us sing for her. And standing next to Madonna was the cameraman, who was filming us the entire time. As all of this was happening I kept sending her thoughts of gratitude, after all, her music did save my life once or twice when I was younger. That incredible moment ended when she returned to center stage, finished the song, and disappeared with her dancers behind the final curtain.
As Dolos and I were leaving the arena two girls recognized us and said, “There they are, the two guys that were singing on the big screen at the end of the show.” It was at this point that we realized the images of us singing to Madonna had been projected onto the big screens in the arena. We got the biggest kick out of knowing this. Dolos said it was the most fantastic concert he had ever attended and it made the fifteen-hour drive worth it. I knew this particular experience would be hard to top for me as far as connecting with Madonna personally. It made everything that I’ve written about in this story that much more special. It was nice to connect with Madonna on a personal level, and I was glad that I brought Dolos along as my witness. Even though my story is more about my connection with Madonna’s music than Madonna herself, I was completely blown away by the experience.
That’s Dolos and me at the: 03-second mark. The video above was discovered nine years later after finding footage on YouTube. Credit: Mads Boots.
Tuesday, June 6, 2006 – It was nice to see the show a second time from a different angle. We were able to see all of the video screens and performances that we missed from being so close to the stage the night before.
Note: This night would be revisited again much later in my story.
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It’s an illusion
Get together (It’s an illusion)
It’s an illusion
Get together (It’s an illusion)
Down, down, down in your heart
Find, find, find the secret
Turn, turn, turn your head around
Baby we can do it, we can do it all right
Do you believe in love at first sight?
It’s an illusion, I don’t care
Do you believe I can make you feel better?
Too much confusion, come on over here
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
I search, I search, I search my whole life
To find, to find, to find the secret
And all I did was open my eyes
Baby we can do it, we can do it all right
Do you believe we can change the future?
Do you believe I can make you feel better?
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
It’s all an illusion
There’s too much confusion
I’ll make you feel better
If it’s bitter at the start, then it’s sweeter in the end
Do you believe in love at first sight?
It’s an illusion, I don’t care
Do you believe I can make you feel better?
Too much confusion, come on over here
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
Can we get together?
I really, I really want to be with you
Come on, check it out with me
I hope you, I hope you feel the same way too
It’s all an illusion
There’s too much confusion
I’ll make you feel better
If it’s bitter at the start, then it’s sweeter in the end
