At nearly every gig I play at least one Michael Jackson song. Of course, this past weekend was a little more touching when I hit the play button.I had the privilege to perform at two weddings. I decided to kick off both dance sets with the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." Not only is this a great dance tune, the chorus seemed a little more poetic this time around.
On Friday, a day after MJ's death, I decided to play "Man in the Mirror" at the closing of one of the weddings. I determined to do it for Sunday's gig, because I felt the crowd would respond positively too it.
So at the end of David and Margret's wedding at the Island Club (Naval Air Station North Island), I played their requested last dance song, Jack Johnson's "Better Together." And while everyone thought the night was over, I said something to the effect of:
"This has been a beautiful day and I'd like us all to share in one final song tonight. It's been a sad last few days with the unfortunate deaths of a few American icons. I thought it would be nice to go out with this. (Man in the Mirror starts to play). So let's all join in and celebrate a man that I really believed wanted cultural harmony and was an incredible artist."
And then something happened that I did not expect.
As we started to sing the first verse and chorus together, I gathered up every guest and brought them to the dance floor. The people started to grab the votive candles off the tables and brought them onto the dance floor. They gathered around in a circle and as the music hit that emotional crescendo, we sang over and over, "Make that change." Hands clapped, candles waved from side-to-side and illuminated the dim ballroom.
We were celebrating the beginning of a life and the end of one. It was magical and I am so proud to have created that moment and memory.
