
IT DID NOT RAIN!! NO RAIN BEFORE, DURING OR AFTER THE CONCERT!! Thank you everyone for your prayers and good thoughts. And thank you GOD for no rain!! Now back to our regularly scheduled program ……..
PEOPLE!! Heaven is missing an angel tonight! Her name is Miss Diana Ross and she showed the people at Atlanta's Chastain Park Ampitheatre the power of a true entertainer. To steal a phrase from drag legend and Ross fan Kevin Aviance, "her concert left me gagging girl!"
Lady Di and myself arrived at Chastain after 6:00. The park did not open until 7:00, so we stood and talked in the parking lot. After getting inside and setting up dinner, I headed off to check out the tour merchandise. T-shirts, programs, key chains, tote bags, etc. By the time I was thinking of asking for an emergency back loan, I had bought 2 t-shirts, a program and a key chain!
After I ate and waited for the show to begin, I started talking to a great group of guys seated behind our row. I warned them that I would soon be dancing and acting like a fool. This seem to encourage their screams of "work Paul" during the actual concert. In addition, the guy sitting next to Lady Di and myself was a longtime fan, who had seen Miss Ross at the old Omni and the Fox in Atlanta. He showed me a picture taken with Mary Wilson, and described meeting one of Diana's sisters.
Around 8:00 pm, there was a great deal of commotion and finger pointing. MO'NIQUE was at the concert with her bodyguards and whoever else. MO "just won an Oscar" 'NIQUE was seated at the tables near the front of stage.
Sometime between 8:45 pm and 8:50 pm the music and videos began. There were pictures from the 60's through today, finally asking the question, "are you ready?" Then BAM! The music begins for THE BOSS and she rises from the rear stage floor. Voice is incredible! Dress is incredible! Hair is full on Miss Ross! I am losing my mind!
From THE BOSS. she goes into MORE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY, and then into her Supremes' songs. After REFLECTIONS [where the monitor shows pictures of the Supremes], YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE, and STOP! IN THE NAME OF LOVE, she performed IT'S HARD FOR ME TO SAY from the Red Hot Rhythm and Blues album. While she sang, images of Motown's various artists flashed in the background. This was special to me, as if Diana was trying to state what these talented individuals meant to her life.
YOU KEEP ME HANGING ON and a damn fantastic LOVE CHILD, were followed by a costume change and I'M COMING OUT and UPSIDE DOWN. Now readers, you know the DIVA [me, not the Lady], I had to "work that runway" for the children. The guys behind us were screaming! My booty was allowed to take a breather during IT'S MY HOUSE, and a slower and jazzier version TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING.
Then since I had already lost my mind, I lost my breakfast, lunch and dinner, because she performed a medley of LOVE HANGOVER, TAKE ME HIGHER [I love, love, love TAKE ME HIGHER] and EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD. I worked the runway for Paris, Milan and the Sears catalogue!
Another costume change, and she performed THE LOOK OF LOVE and DON'T EXPLAIN. My only complaint about the concert, was that during these songs, PEOPLE WOULD NOT SHUT UP!! How can you talk when someone like Miss Ross is singing her heart out on DON'T EXPLAIN, which by the way, was beyond words! My favorite "overheard" comment during this time was, "she's using real musicians, not some digital crap Beyonce!"
ENDLESS LOVE, DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO and AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH [now you know I acted like a complete fool] were performed, which caused my new Supreme friend and I to ask if the show was coming to a close. I don't think so! We were treated to 3 encores!!
I WILL SURVIVE, then MISSING YOU mixed into YOU ARE NOT ALONE [during this encore, she talked about becoming a grandmommy, and how she dedicated this tour to Micheal Jackson], and finally, REACH OUT AND TOUCH!
Out of touch diva? Aging star with a faltering voice? A singer just going through the motions? I've read these reviews from other cities, but that is not the same woman who I saw tonight. You can feel Diana, and you know that she does care about her audiences. And that voice! It only gets better with age.
About an hour and forty five minutes later, the concert was over.

I want to thank the incredible Lady Di [pictured above with her new saucy hairdo] for attending the concert. Thank you for putting up with all of my dancing and constant information on who was who during the videos.
Miss Ross brought it to the runway tonight!