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So I went to the memorial in NYC (pics inside).....

Cinnamon234

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Just thought I would share if anyone was interested. I went to the famed Apollo in NYC where MJ had played with his brothers as a child on both tuesday and wednesday.

On Tuesday, they were having a free tribute concert for MJ at the Apollo. Let me just tell you guys, I was expecting there to be a lot of people, but even I was taken aback by how many people were there. The people at the apollo did not expect that many people. The cops said there were an estimated 7000 people on line waiting to get in!! The lines went on for blocks. Almost every other person I saw had an MJ shirt on or buttons. Some people were even carrying "Thriller" handbags. I even saw one girl with an MJ tatoo from the "Thriller" video. There were also several huge murals of Michael from the "Thriller" album cover all over and people were dancing in the streets to his music and singing along to songs like "Remember The Time", "Rock With You", Another Part of Me", "Dirty Diana", "Rockin' Robin" and much more. It was really a sight to see. I didn't end up getting in to see the performance unfortunately :( and I was so dissapointed 'cause I stood out there for almost 5 hours but the concert were going on from 2-8pm and by the time I got there, the lines were too much and they were letting 600 people in at a time, so by the time I got there at 3:00 pm it was too late :-(. If I didn't have school or work that day, I would have gone earlier but couldn't.

Anyway, it wasn't all bad. While I was waiting on line to get in, it started to rain so heavy. I mean pouring really hard! but nobody moved. Some people were joking that MJ was the one making it rain so heavy lol. It was raining so hard and everyone's clothes got soaked--- my hair was a mess and my pants were muddy but no one cared if they got wet. As "Show You The Way To Go" blasted from a speaker nearby, we all stood there in the line screaming and chanting in the pouring rain "MICHAEL MICHAEL MICHAEL...MICHAEL JACKSON MICHAEL JACKSON" and then broke out into singing "The Way You Make Me Feel". Ahh it was great. Everyone who was there loved Michael so much!!! One older man in particular told me Michael's death was very heartbreaking for him because he had watched MJ grown up and was so proud to see another person of color doing so well and being loved by people of all races, ages,etc. He was almost on the verge of tears. Anyway, I was upset I didn't get in to see the performances but it was still great to be there. I also got to see Al Sharpton which was pretty cool. He looks different in person.

Well I returned the next day to the apollo after I finished work beause I heard they were having another tribute concert, but it wasn't as big as the one the day before. It was just a few people singing some MJ songs, but of course when I went to buy tickets it was all sold out. Dissapointment for me again -_-. They had a huge memorial wall made out of cardboard though right next to the Apollo buliding where people could leave messages for Michael. I must have left around five or six messages lol. I just had to make sure my name was on there 'cause I heard that all these messages will be hung in a music museum so I wanted to make sure my name was on there.

Here is one of the messages I left on the wall:

Dear Michael,

I can't believe you're gone. I never thought you would leave. I guess i've always looked at you as sort of this immortal figure, but you are gone and it hurts so much. The world feels a little less magical without you. You were the greatest entertainer ever. You are loved so much and will be sorely missed, but you will live on forever in the hearts of your family, friends and millions of fans and I take comfort in knowing you are now an angel looking down smiling on all of us. RIP KING Michael.

Here are some pics I took with my phone (They aren't that great I know, but better than nothing I guess lol).

MJApollo1.jpg


MJApollo.jpg


MJApollo3.jpg


MJApollo4.jpg


^^^

Both of the shirts I signed.
 
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us, I really appreciate it.
 
Thanks for sharing with us, Cinnamon.

I have been getting reports about people remembering Michael in Barbados. He touched people all over the world. It is a beautiful thing.
 
Oh! You should have hung around! I got there at 3 too but I looked so miserable that eventually a police officer let me slip into the line of people who were actually going to get in. Even being on that line I had to wait for hours. It was kind of horrible. This is what I wrote on another board:

"If Michael was acknowledging us at the Apollo, I think it was to punish us. It rained on us constantly and we were soaking wet. The rain didn't start, though, until some people in line started pushing and almost getting into a fight. In response to the insults from the opposite party in the fight, one woman mentioned, facetiously or not I don't know, that she had a gun in her purse. Luckily, tempers cooled. When the crowd started to move I was scared someone would fall and get trampled. I found it ironic that the desire to celebrate Michael would cause people to act in a manner that Michael would disapprove of."

I was kind of upset because I was sure that most of the people on line with me were people who had made fun of Michael Jackson in recent years or at least laughed at Michael Jackson jokes. Now everyone was proclaiming themselves fans. I doubted, though, whether any of them knew any of his songs beyond Dangerous (excluding "You Are Not Alone" which most people seem to be familiar with). I am really glad that so many people have a renewed interest in Michael, but I still feel that these people helped contribute to his stress and ultimate demise by not being supportive when he was alive.

Anyway, I was soaking wet and freezing cold even after I got into the Apollo. It wasn't a show exactly. I thought there would be a short biography or video of him at the Apollo or something. A DJ played some of his songs (only the obvious ones) and a woman stood on stage and kept repeating that Michael had stood on that very stage. She said a couple of times that his famous Motown 25 performance was there, and I was like "um...No." I didn't know where it was actually held at the time (I've since looked it up), but I could tell the Apollo was not big enough to be the place I had seen in the famous performance so many times. I felt too wet and cold to dance, but I did enjoy just being at the Apollo. I tried to imagine seeing little Michael there with the rest of the Jackson 5. I also saw the petrified wood that performers rub for luck, and I wanted to touch it because it would be the closest I would ever get to touching Michael. Unfortunately, I couldn't get close enough, and they, understandably given the amount of people waiting, rushed us out.

For anyone else in NYC, there is going to be another tribute in Harlem on July 15th at Marcus Garvey Park. The flier I have says
7:30P.M. King of the Video Jukebox: A Tribute
8:30P.M. Making Michael Jackson's Thriller

There is also supposed to be a mass Thriller dance.
 
Aw thanks for sharing ur stories...sounds like a beautiful tribute...im so sad i live in such a small town where nothing like this happened =/

i wish i was with other fans these last days, cause its been so hard and im surrounded by people who dont understand what im going through....:(
 
It would be nice if we could have some videos from these tributes,like an archive or something
 
It's very kind of you to share this with us, Cinnamon & Moonglider. I'll pass on the info about the July 15th date to my brother. He's a fan too & he's in NY.
 
No problem you guys :)

Glad to share!

MoonGlider said:
Oh! You should have hung around! I got there at 3 too but I looked so miserable that eventually a police officer let me slip into the line of people who were actually going to get in. Even being on that line I had to wait for hours. It was kind of horrible. This is what I wrote on another board:

"If Michael was acknowledging us at the Apollo, I think it was to punish us. It rained on us constantly and we were soaking wet. The rain didn't start, though, until some people in line started pushing and almost getting into a fight. In response to the insults from the opposite party in the fight, one woman mentioned, facetiously or not I don't know, that she had a gun in her purse. Luckily, tempers cooled. When the crowd started to move I was scared someone would fall and get trampled. I found it ironic that the desire to celebrate Michael would cause people to act in a manner that Michael would disapprove of."

I was kind of upset because I was sure that most of the people on line with me were people who had made fun of Michael Jackson in recent years or at least laughed at Michael Jackson jokes. Now everyone was proclaiming themselves fans. I doubted, though, whether any of them knew any of his songs beyond Dangerous (excluding "You Are Not Alone" which most people seem to be familiar with). I am really glad that so many people have a renewed interest in Michael, but I still feel that these people helped contribute to his stress and ultimate demise by not being supportive when he was alive.

Anyway, I was soaking wet and freezing cold even after I got into the Apollo. It wasn't a show exactly. I thought there would be a short biography or video of him at the Apollo or something. A DJ played some of his songs (only the obvious ones) and a woman stood on stage and kept repeating that Michael had stood on that very stage. She said a couple of times that his famous Motown 25 performance was there, and I was like "um...No." I didn't know where it was actually held at the time (I've since looked it up), but I could tell the Apollo was not big enough to be the place I had seen in the famous performance so many times. I felt too wet and cold to dance, but I did enjoy just being at the Apollo. I tried to imagine seeing little Michael there with the rest of the Jackson 5. I also saw the petrified wood that performers rub for luck, and I wanted to touch it because it would be the closest I would ever get to touching Michael. Unfortunately, I couldn't get close enough, and they, understandably given the amount of people waiting, rushed us out.

For anyone else in NYC, there is going to be another tribute in Harlem on July 15th at Marcus Garvey Park. The flier I have says
7:30P.M. King of the Video Jukebox: A Tribute
8:30P.M. Making Michael Jackson's Thriller

There is also supposed to be a mass Thriller dance.
Click to expand...

Oh wow, you are lucky to have gotten in! Even if it wasn't that great I would have still liked to have been there.

I didn't hear anything about there being anything @ Marcyus Garvey Park, but I might check that out too. I know that in Harlem on 125th or 126th they are having tributes to him at this restaraunt (forgget the name) all this weekend. I think I will go to that too. I am totally immersing myself in EVERYTHING Michael this whole weekend hehe :). It makes me feel closer to him and better to celebrate with people who love him as much as I do.
 
I just saw a video on MSN for an Michael Jackson exhibit in NY at the Rock & Roll Annex. They have some of his handwritten lyrics, clothing & there's a book where you can leave a message.
 
Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed reading both stories and I also feel like I need to immerse myself in Michael, to feel near to him, to feel like I'm doing something instead of crying all the time.

I totally understand the comment written on here: "I am really glad that so many people have a renewed interest in Michael, but I still feel that these people helped contribute to his stress and ultimate demise by not being supportive when he was alive." I have been angry these last couple of days, people suddenly recognising his talent when before they couldn't get enough of making fun/being nasty about him. I also feel that a lot of the people of the world has channeled negativity - especially through the press. Now they all adore him and the internet is jam packed with MJ merchandise. However on further reflection Michael always believed in love and people coming together - uniting as one. It would make him so happy to see that all over the world people are sharing memories and time together regardless of race, age, beliefs etc and all for Michael. In thinking about this I have stopped my anger.

You know I have loved Michael for as long as I can remember, I was really small and dancing around. I cried my heart out all week when I was 6 yrs old and was told I couldn't go to see my Michael at BAD concert. I watched moonwalk so many times, the tape went funny and my mum got really angry when my posters filled up my room entirely and started edging out into other peoples rooms!!! I missed out on dangerous and History because my mum was a single parent and we had terrible money problems. I also got into a bad crowd in my area. Things were not that great for me as a child, but I always had Michael. As I've got older I saw him and had a little giggle with Michael in London 2002 ish - when Michael signed Uri's book at the Royal Institute of British Architects. I wouldn't say I properly met him but he laughed at me being so in awe of him - I was only 2 metres away, my jaw was practically on the floor and my legs were shaking!! I loved seeing Michael at WMA 2006 and the pinnacle would have been This Is It - but it wasn't meant to be. I want o celebrate my years of being a fan and I want to feel positivity from everyone. We need to embrace every happy feeling that Michael has given us through his music and we definitely don't need to be angry. The reason I shared my experiences is that people may think that I'm not much of a fan cos I haven't posted much - looks can be deceiving, I'm just not great at posting. I always read others views - its interesting, but I don't always need to post. Sorry for going off the point a bit, just want to stop the anger! x
 
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