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Sinead O'Connor Live, August 15th 1997 Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, USA
By; Ben Griffin Adams
I went to see Ms. O'Connor at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on August
15, 1997, and was completely mesmerized. I've been in love with Sinéad for several years,
and I was beginning to wonder if ever seeing her in concert would become a reality for me.
When I found out about this tour, travelling six hours from Provo, Utah to Las Vegas was
no problem at all! Going to this show was a dream come true for me. Everyone who knows me
knows I'm absolutely crazy about the lady, so when she stepped out to sing The Emporer's
New Clothes, I nearly lost my breath! She looked and sounded wonderful, and just seeing
HER was overwhelming! The following set ensued (as far as I can remember):
The Emporer's New Clothes
You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart
I Am Stretched On Your Grave (dedicated to the dead spirits among us)
A Perfect Indian (I cried all the way through!)
This Is a Rebel Song
John I Love You
This Is to Mother You
Petit Poulet
Thank You for Hearing Me
In This Heart
Fire On Babylon
The Last Day of Our Acquaintance (dedicated to all the recently
divorced)
ENCORE:
Redemption Song
He Moved Through the Fair
I was on the third row with some friends, and we couldn't have asked for better seats. The
Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel is a great place to see a concert because it's so small and
intimate. The sound was excellent. I threw Sinéad a white rose after the first couple
songs, and she politely said thank you, picked it up, and set it at the rear of the stage.
The crowd seemed pretty mellow overall, and only I and a few others made much noise. I
actually liked that, because there was a very relaxed feeling there, and nobody had to
push and fight to see the stage--almost everyone remained seated during the whole show.
However, there were a few moments when I could not suppress my emotions! After the first
song I had to stand up and yell to Sinéad that I love her, blowing her kisses all
along--she looked at me and smiled, which made me melt even more (man, she's beautiful!)
It seemed to me like most of the people there weren't familiar with Gospel Oak, because
they didn't make a peep when she started singing "I love you my hard
Englishman...," which in my opinion is one of her best new ones. Actually, they
seemed a bit unfamiliar with Universal Mother too, but not as much. The people sitting in
front of me were very nice, but I think they just sort of went for something to do: before
the concert started, they asked us if Sinéad is from Canada! Anyway, I think the
highlight of the show was The Last Day of Our Acquaintance. It (like most of the show)
sounded different from the older album version, but I loved it all the same. Sinéad
definitely has a more mature, subtle style nowadays, but glimpses of the brazen girl we
used to know still pop in now and then. I think I would have nearly wet my pants if she'd
sung Troy or Jerusalem, but the concert was fine without them. She danced and moved so
discreetly, and she had her eyes closed (or shyly looked down) most of the time. I thought
her moves were very classy; she would weave the microphone back and forth in figure eights
between verses and use her free hand to sort
of act out parts of the songs.
Now for the best part of all... After the show was over, my friends and I ran outside
where the tour busses were in hopes of getting another glimpse of her. (I knew what the
last song was thanks to this web page!) There were soon about 15 or so of us waiting, and
the security kept making us move farther and farther away until we were all the way on the
sidewalk by the road. They were full of lies about her not coming out for several hours,
about her not coming out at all and
staying at the hotel, about her using another door to leave (even though this was where
the busses were--with their lights and engines turned on, no less!!), etc., etc. Well, we
all sort of began to wonder if maybe one of their lies was perhaps actually true, and most
of the people eventually dissipated after waiting for a while. Even most of my friends
left, and there was eventually just me and two friends there. I was on the verge of
leaving too, especially since all the security guards seemed to have left, when out of the
corner of my eye I saw a sweet little lady wearing a black leather jacket with a white
rose in her arm walking toward the tour bus! I walked across the parking lot and right up
to her (there was one person with her--I think it was one of the Screaming Orphans), and
told her I was the one who gave her the flower. She thanked me for it, and I asked her if
I could give her a hug. Being the sweet lady she is, she happily obliged, and I then
experienced the most momentous embrace of my life (I had to lean over because she's so
short)! I complimented her music and told her how good the show was, and even apologized
for making so much noise! She was very friendly and talkative, and very graciously thanked
me for the flower two or three times. My friend Ali was impressed by her too: when Ali
told Sinéad she has a lot of admiration for her and offered her hand, Sinéad shook it
firmly, looked directly in her eyes, and said, "Thank you." Then, to my
surprise, Ali pulled out her camera and took a couple pictures of Sinéad and me with our
arms around each other. Sinéad was very happy to put her arm around me... All I can say
is WOW. It seemed unreal. It's too bad I'm only 22, because Sinéad O'Connor is the girl
of my dreams. I've got pictures to prove that all this really
happened, but I still can't believe it--it was so cool! Anyway, that's my review for the
show. I'm still not over it!
Ben Griffin Adams