This was the final stop on our 3 Diva Tour! Madonna in LA, our friend Michelle's wedding in SLO and finally Tina Turner in Atlanta.
3 divas ... 3 strong women ... Michelle was more than happy to be straddled between these two female power-houses!
Atlanta is the hometown of a good friend of ours called Wanda. I will always remember her by her vanity plate on her BMW that read WANDAWMN ... you got it ... Wanda Women!
Wanda lives in Buckhead, which is a posh part of Atlanta. Beautiful houses, beautiful restaurants and fantastic shopping! This is actually the only part of Atlanta that I know! And I do enjoy coming back. Wanda and her daughter-in-law joined us at Tina's concert ... for it was time to pull out some Georgia Peach girl power and boogie to some good ol' R&B.
Tina Turner, performing at the age of 67, was simply electrifying. How can she have so much energy? And when she sings with her trademark raspy voice ... it just makes you wonder how come her voice doesn't crack up and disappear after 2 hours. After seeing Madonna and Tina Turner, you invariably start comparing the two. Truth be told, the Sticky & Sweet tour was not Madge's best. Yet, she still manages to fill 60,000 people into a stadium. And what was more shocking is that the crowd was very young. These were kids that weren't even born when she sang Like a Virgin. Madge is a master at adapting to the times and keeping current, trendy and cool. Tina, on the other hand, performs her classics. It's not about reinvention, it's about celebrating the past. Creating a bit of nostalgia I suppose. The tour is very similar to the tour she did 15 years ago. Same songs, similar stage, her iconic straddling-a-horse shuffle backwards, trademark short sequinned outfits, vampy back-up dancers, great gams and stiletto heals that shoot up into the sky. Her style hasn't changed ... it's her trademark. And we love her for that. Yet due to that, the crowd at her concert was quite old. It was evident it was a trip down nostalgia lane ... but what a formidable trip it was!
Two women, two survivors, two very different styles ... both icons! Madges talent of reinventing herself keeps her young and hip. Yet Tina is classic R&B ... and it doesn't get much better than that.
WHAT TO DO:
> Concert at Philips Arena: this venue is fantastic. Seats 21,000 which is the ideal size for a concert. Saw Tina Turner here, and she was sizzling hot! If in town, checkout www.ticketmaster.com to see who is performing at this venue.
> Shopping at Lenox Square Mall (Buckhead): This is one of my favourite malls in the US. I have several memories of shopping here, till I couldn't carry my bags any longer! You've got all the brand names together in a well-designed mall. Too bad that the US is in a huge recession now ... and you can definitely see this at the malls. Lennox was empty! We went to Circuit City across the street ... and found out that Circuit City is closing 150 stores for they're filing for bankruptcy protection. The US is characterized by a boom or bust mentality, and it's definitely a sense of bust now!
> Chastain Park: went for an afternoon walk around this wonderful park and just relished in the fall colours. Living in Singapore you only know summer ... so even though it was fresh (cold for me!!) seeing the fall hues of red, yellow and brown was dazzling.
> World of Coca-Cola Museum: Atlanta and Coca-Cola are synonymous. To find out the history of this most powerful of global brands, visit the Coca-Cola museum in downtown Atlanta. It was interesting to see how a local concept grew into the most recognizable brand in the world.
> CNN: Besides Coca-Cola, CNN is the other brand that was born in this Georgian capital. CNN offers several tours for you to witness how this 24-hour news channel operates.
RESTAURANTS:
> French American Brasserie: love the name ... FAB! The food and the decor were appropriately named, and given that it is perhaps a 20 minute walk to Philips Arena, it's a perfect place to have dinner prior to any concert or sports event in downtown Atlanta.
> Portofino Bistro: a bistro located in Buckhead serving wonderful Italian food. Had a grilled eggplant and mozzarella starter and veal and stew main dish that were delish! For a casual night, this is the place to go. And saw a great modernist painting of Einstein on their wall!
Bojan Tercon
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