How I became a Grobanite

It was late afternoon, the tail end of a lazy weekend on campus, when I received a call from Mrs. Virgie Ramos (Gift Gate’s Big Boss) inviting me to come down from school to watch Josh Groban who was performing that evening at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.

I dropped whatever I was doing and in record time got dressed, hopped into a taxi in time to catch the 40-minute train to Grand Central Station, then managed the 12 NYC (New York City) blocks in high heels to 50th and 6th Ave. Not much of a city girl, I couldn’t believe what I was doing: I wasn’t a big fan of Groban the way my dormmates were. The lobby was packed, tickets sold out and it was a challenge just to keep my balance in the middle of the crowded "Tickets for Pick up" line. Was all this worth the trip?

Then again it was a chance to dress up, see Radio City and be in the company of Tita Virgie, Warner Music people, guys from Joey at 92.3 FM radio and MTV Philippines’ Mr. and Mrs. Francis Lumen. It meant great seats. With the ticket finally in my hand, I read Orchestra WW408– right smack center. Hah! We were off to a good start.

There were a number of Filipinos in the audience, and hundreds of Grobanites (as in Vilmanians, Noranians and Sharonians) equipped with Josh paraphernalia. Radio City is huge. With its red carpet and gold-trimmed staircases at left, right and center. At the foot of the platform was the band; to the right were the strings and back-up singers and left, the guitar, piano, percussion, drums and bass. It was dark and the only spotlight was on the center staircase on Josh Groban.

He wore a black suit, no tie, and his trademark curly hair, perfectly groomed. He looked calm and ready to go. His first song, Oceano, probably from his latest album Closer, was loaded with electronic embellishments, very upbeat with a techno feel to it, a bit younger yet still very Groban in sound. He sang about two to three songs before greeting the audience with "I love yous." And yes, even as he was pitch perfect.

Most of the songs had a violin solo played by the band’s new import, Lucia Micarell, from the first number bathed by her own spotlight. She was small, wearing a simple black dress, and strangely enough, on her bare feet. Whenever she walked down to Josh, it looked like she was on tiptoe, poised to dance. And when she played the violin, she moved around. I was afraid her bow would hit Josh at some point. Talk about fire and passion, that’s what she was. You couldn’t ignore her. She had character.

I usually don’t like people onstage overreacting, because I have always believed in subtlety and the power of internalizing feelings to connect to an audience, but somehow, I did not feel that way with Lucia. She was very expressive and loud with her actions, and yet her eyes and face made me feel she was merely being guided by her emotions, her own soulful and intense reaction to songs coming from her heart.

In comparison, Josh looked far too calm and reserved. He sang beautifully, but he barely moved, and I couldn’t see the expression on his face. On the other hand, Lucia was all fire and passion. She mesmerized the audience, and seemed to have upstaged the star.

The curtain came down and it was intermission. I ran outside to the ladies lounge to join a long line of women waiting their turn. While waiting, I sorted out my confusion. I didn’t know what to think or say of Josh Groban, so far. His band was very good, very cooperative, but as for Josh himself, oh wow. It bothered me that I wasn’t giddy, not all giggly, nothing at all like the ladies standing in line with me.

I just made it back to my seat when the curtain rose. Josh came, wearing jeans and a polo shirt with loafers. Then he started to sing, and this time there was something different. All of a sudden, he struck me as engaging and interesting. I didn’t know what it was, but it was as if a magician pulled a bunny out of a hat: He was more at home with everybody. He interacted with his band, bantered with the string section, especially with the concertmaster and, more importantly, he was looking at the audience. He was connecting with us.

Soon after, he was cracking jokes, walking around the stage, looking comfortable enough to drink water and make fun of himself. I was amazed to see his transformation occur in such a short period of time. I don’t know if anyone noticed the change, but I certainly did. The man was definitely enjoying himself on the stage. He wasn’t scared to extend his notes, he wasn’t scared to mess up. If he needed to hear a certain instrument he went closer to the band, made eye contact, and smiled more. He was plain charming.

I daresay the casual attire made all the difference. Josh is always presented as this serious, wholesome talent traveling all over the world, and arguably the most successful artist under 25. He isn’t controversial; he doesn’t show his abs in public.

He is so perfectly decent that we forget he is young. He needs to relax and enjoy his youth, without having to rush. His voice is quite timeless, and you can’t really go wrong with a classically-trained vocal background. You only have to discover new things you can do with your voice, just as long as you know how to take care of it. And that was what he did, in jeans, all of a sudden the boy-next-door with an eat-your-heart-out voice.

After the show, I was given a backstage pass by Warner International to meet Josh Groban. I couldn’t wait to see him up close. There were no big screens to see his face, so all I could see was a small figure onstage. When we were brought to a room filled with other admirers, the handlers gave us a sermon on what to do when Josh came in: Have minimal conversation because he is conserving his voice, pictures will be taken by the handlers, no autographs will be signed, and as soon the picture taking was done, we would have to walk straight out of the room.

I thought they were strict, but fair enough. After all, you really just want to see what he’s like, how he looks within hand-shaking distance. When Josh came in, my jaw dropped. He was definitely hot.

He looked like a doll! He’s not very tall, he has a slim figure, and beautiful eyes. Still in jeans and this time in Converse hi-tops, he looks at you and makes you feel like you’re the only person in the room.

We posed for a picture, and when Tita Virgie mentioned I was from Sarah Lawrence, he looked at me and said. "Wow, you’re from there? That’s great! Congratulations!"

I gave him a big smile, a smile that felt as if I had a hanger in my mouth. He was just adorable and all I could say was, "Thank you and congratulations." You can only imagine my frustration at myself; I had now become one of those girls in the ladies’ lounge gushing and giggling incessantly. In my glazed eyes, Josh could do no wrong.

I walked out of there, more than satisfied and content, truly impressed and in awe of the guy who moved out of the uncomfortable and tense experience of the first act of his show, to successfully bring out the homebody, down-to-earth side of him.

It must be said : I am now a Grobanite – officially.