Jon Batiste by Pat Butler
A stranger's generosity transforms our experience.
Having arrived about 25 minutes before the concert would start, my husband Eric and I stroll up a short aisle on the Orchestra level and sit down in red plush chairs. The second to last row beneath the first balcony is unoccupied and we don’t check the seat numbers, knowing they are not ours. Much to our chagrin our Jon Batiste concert tickets are for General Admission.
Motivated to See Jon
We discovered Jon Batiste a mere five weeks ago. After watching the documentary, American Symphony, we felt compelled to see this remarkable American musician perform in person, so I headed to Stubhub.com and purchased the only available tickets within our price range. Today is March 12th, 2024.
When I phoned Massey Hall about my online purchase, the clerk had replied, “The General Admission area right in front of the stage will be standing room only on March 12th. Since the recent renovation, we have the option of removing seats for certain productions.”
Yikes. At 81 and 78, my husband and I will get pretty worn out continually standing during a two-hour rock concert. What can we do to still enjoy being there? Plan to take afternoon snoozes, wear comfy clothing and shoes, carry his artist’s folding stool, and just keep the faith. I do my best to let the quandary go because advance worrying accomplishes nothing.
Five minutes after we sit down a couple arrive to peer at us and say, “Umm. We’re looking for seats 10 and 11.”
“I guess we’re sitting in them, sorry. We’re just resting because our tickets are for General Admission,” I say, gesturing towards the gradually filling large floor space in front of us. “We’re saving our energy to
stand. Those were the only tickets we could get.”
“That’s fine! Just keep resting.” They settle in 9 and 8 temporarily and the four of us strike up a relaxed conversation about the talented Jon Batiste. Then she suggests, “Why don’t you try asking an usher if you can have a chair? We did that in another Massey Hall space.”
When an usher does arrive a few minutes later, my request is rejected due to fire regulations. More seats in our vicinity are filling up. Then the owners of 9 and 8 arrive – men in their late twenties. We gather up our coats preparing to join the standees, while explaining that’s where we really belong.
The Owners Surprise Us
A miracle occurs. “Why don’t you use our seats, and we’ll stand?” says the taller guy. “I just want to be friendly today. What can I do to be friendly?”
“Well, we’re senior citizens and we could only get standing room seats,” I venture.
He checks with his friend, “Are you okay to stand?” His friend nods agreement. “Let’s just trade tickets. Virtually, of course.”
Smiling broadly, I ask, “May I give you a quick hug?” and bestow this gesture of thanks to friendly guy #1.
Looking at Eric he says, “Do you want one too?” Eric says,“Sure!” and they hug before our benefactors disappear into the now-dense crowd. Down we settle in seats 9 and 8, unable to believe their kindness and our good fortune. For several minutes I bask in the warm glow of unexpected gratitude. How seldom that happens in our 21st century-big-city-lives.
When I glance at the row behind us, I spy my friend Bev and her husband and enjoy a brief how-are-you chat. This coincidence affirms the comfort level in which I am now immersed. Our fellow concert attendees resemble us in temperament and dress, with a wide variety of ages. There’s even a
babe-in-arms wearing headphones to protect her hearing, being jounced by her ready-to-dance mum in General Admission.
Due to begin at 8 pm, Jon and his band start playing at 8:15 – we are blown away by his talent, charisma, and the variety of instruments and genres he plays. On the piano, he’d begin a familiar Mozart piece, and then morph it into jazz by inserting his own arrangement. His musical virtuosity is breathtaking, with “Butterfly,” dedicated to his leukemia-stricken wife, my personal favourite of the evening’s playlist.
His song “It Never Went Away” was nominated for an Oscar only two days ago, so he’d appeared at the 96th Academy Awards with his wife. Now, here he is mere metres away from us – especially at the end of the concert when he walks down into the General Admission space to mingle with the audience.
Departing through the ramp beside us, Jon climbs to the balcony above. From there, he leads the whole audience in an a capella version of “My Favourite Things” from The Sound of Music.
Currently-Paris-based Chilly Gonzalez studied music at McGill before becoming a rock star. Jon’s big personality and crowd-interactive style reminds me of watching Chilly at Roy Thomson Hall in 2019.
Jon earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the Juillard School in New York. Maybe it’s his solid grounding in classical music that appeals to me. I find the jazz, R&B, soul, hip hop, and pop he writes and performs utterly entrancing – especially when listening while seated in a red plush chair!