Sweet Music

Just had to share about a phenomenal concert Bob and I attended Thursday May14th.  My daughter had given me tickets for Mother's Day to hear Vince Gill at the MPAC in Morristown, NJ, and it turned out to be a wonderful time.  What a class act this guy is!  If you are a country music fan, I am sure you already know this, but I was still impressed at the level of professionalism and sophistication displayed throughout the concert.  The sound system alone was the best I have ever heard, and I know it must have been his because I've been to other concerts at the MPAC and they did not sound this professional.  A unique part of the experience was that Vince played every song on a different guitar.  Some of them were obviously vintage and something collectors would drool over.  He practically petted them when they were handed to him.  You could tell how much he loved and cherished each of the instruments.  Vince's backup musicians were equally impressive.  His bass guitarist use to play for the Doobie Brothers and the steel guitar player is the most recorded steel guitar artist of the past 40 years.  A sweet touch was that his female backup singer was his daughter, Jenny Gill.  He was obviously a proud Papa when he introduced her to do a solo performance. Needless to say the apple didn't fall far from the tree...she has a phenomenal voice.

The other thing that struck me about Vince (besides his smooth- as -silk voice and outrageous guitar skill) was his sweet, humble and kind nature.  He wore a simple pair of jeans and a plaid flannel shirt.  The set was a clean backdrop of light stands.  The focus was obviously the music.  But Vince is a great storyteller and his stories reveal the kind of person that he is.  He told stories of his dad and how he was a lawyer by day and a redneck by night and how he taught Vince about life. Vince followed the story with a tender song about his dad.  Vince also shared the tragic story of his brother who was dramatically injured in a motor cycle accident early in his life and suffered with the after effects for years.  Again, Vince followed the story with a loving tribute to his now -deceased brother. Vince also shared a beautiful love song he had written for his wife, Amy Grant.  He shared that he has never recorded it, because it was just for her.  How sweet can a guy get?

I don't have any photos to share of the performance because I obeyed the rules of no cell phone use or recording during the performance, unlike many others who disregarded the rule and forced the ushers to run up and down the aisles asking patrons to shut their phones! Jeesh!  But I do have some pics to show you of a pizza spot where we ate dinner prior to the concert. Millie's Old World Meatballs and Pizza made the top 25 list of N.J. Pizza Power Rankings.  Pete Genovese, a food critic for the Star -Ledger, is most known for his "Munch Mobile".  Pete travels all over New Jersey finding the "best" spots for just about anything from doughnuts to seafood. This month he had a six-month update on his pizza rankings.  Millie's Old World Meatballs and Pizza made #16.  My husband is a life-long foodie and follows Pete's exploits avidly.  So, when he saw this Morristown eatery in Pete's list he decided to give it a try when we went to see Vince Gill.

Pete was right the pizza was super good.  The unique thing about Millie's is that they serve two kinds of pizzas:  those baked in a wood-fired oven and those baked in a coal-burning oven.  We preferred the wood-fired as the crust was thinner and crispier.  Make sure you also try the meatballs.  Bob and I shared an appetizer of meatballs with warm ricotta cheese.  Yummy.  The salads looked equally as delicious, but my husband's a devout carnivore so meatballs won.

Here are the two different ovens that are on the premises:

It was a lovely evening in Morristown.  A big thank you to my daughter Susan.  We had a great time.