Twenty-first Journal Entry (written: 10/28/02/posted: 11/11/02)
I'm in Moscow. I never thought I'd say that in my lifetime, and yet here I am. It's a bittersweet feeling because of the terrorist crisis that ended early this morning. My visit here has obviously been clouded by the tension and the fear surrounding the situation. We are not even sure if both concerts will be allowed to go ahead, or even if going ahead is the right , moral or tasteful thing to do. All I can say is.. music has the power to heal and we're going to get up on stage tomorrow night and give it all.
Such a crazy flight here.. seriously thought we were going to crash at some point. Then the press conference (I had to convince the public that the I was indeed here and that my show was going to go on..).. Very surreal. I felt almost shallow for talking about a 'pop show' when so many people had been killed. It's a catch 22. I already feel horrible about the fact that our south east Asian run had to be postponed. It would have really been disappointing to get all the way to Russia finally and disappoint the fans here. I hope for their sake the shows go ahead and all is fine because they really are adorable.
Last night's performance in St.Petersberg was surreal. It was a sold out 10 thousand seat arena.. and more than half those tickets were sold just hours before the show (with people not sure if I would indeed show up until they saw me land on the television news..). And bless them because in terms of the economy...it's really expensive to see a show here. The arena was this sea of beautiful smiling faces and I sang my ass off to give them everything I had to offer. Songs like Affirmation and Spin took on a whole new meaning I have to say.
Anyway... that's all I really wanted to do. Wanted to let you in on my thoughts and feelings at this very intense time. Thanks again for your love and loyalty. I just hope our world heals soon. This past year has been a real test for mankind. Suddenly John Lennon doesn't seem like a 'dreamer' after all. Imagine all the people.....
God Bless..
xxD
