Zemfira

Hey everyone, you probably thought that I was dead, and I almost was. First, I had to organize 250 people conference, and believe me, organizing things in Georgia is a Herculean challenge, and then, I got a flu and went into what felt like a high-fever coma, though I was actually breathing, forcing myself to drink fluids and shedding pounds. Now my skinny face looks like one huge nose. But between these two events—the conference marathon and virus attack—I went to Zemfira’s concert (she’s a bad-ass Russian rock singer) and it rocked. I’ve seen her concert 8 years ago, in Achara music hall. This time, more songs, more energy. Hubby was doing some promo work at the concert, so I got to wander around pre-event empty building and I felt privileged. My friend arrived as soon as they opened doors to mere mortals and we rushed to occupy the front row. We squeezed right by die-hard Zemfria fans; they were the people who knew what song is what number on what album produced in what year… One girl travelled all the way from Odessa, Ukraine and she was determined to get Zemfira’s signature by stalking her at the Marriott, after the concert. We chatted with the fans for 2 and a half hours and then Zemfira took the stage. It is such a cool feeling, when you are standing so close, when you can see singer’s face, touch her hands…I thought, I am so lucky that among all the performers I will never see cause they are far away (oh, Benedict Cumberbatch, will I ever…), I happened to like the one who is right here, in front of me. The fans pleasantly surprised me. When some mean girl tried to push me away (she claimed she was a journalist and kept yelling: “I have a badge, look I have a badge”), fans enveloped her, protected my right to be squeezed against the railing and shoved her away. They tried to minimize pushing, they tried not to hurt each other, I personally let a girl behind me take my place for one song that she really loved, so that she could record it on her phone. One of the girls had a small airplane (Zemfira has a song called “airplanes”). Zemfira touched our hands several times, took the flowers from others, but never saw the airplane. So the whole row started pointing at that girl and Zemfira finally noticed and took it! We were so happy! We yelled Zemfira’s name after she left the stage and she came back to us three times! Three times she left and three times she came back!!!Then, after she left exhausted, we understood that she was dead tired and we were too ashamed to call her the fourth time. So instead, we yelled “spasibo” for quite a while! Spasibo Zemfira, for putting so much of the raw energy into the show, for coming back to us, for taking our letters and our airplanes, spasibo, fans who shared luminescent paint with us, so that we all could paint Z’s on our hands, spasibo, girls who came 3 hours before the show, spasibo, unknown Ukrainian friend, I will never see again, but you have inspired me to do great things and finally, spasibo, my friend, the one who calls herself an infected dreammate, for sharing many things with me. Oh, and by the way, spasibo hubby, for writing Zemfira on a piece of paper and giving it to me as a present for Valentine’s Day. We both attended the concert 8 years ago, but alas, we did not know each other then…yet. p.s. our hands with Z and Zemfira so close to us. Sorry, phone pics don't turn out good.