Once upon a time, I sat content, listening as people told me how great a show was they attended the night before. Reading the critic's column the morning following a big concert came as natural as looking for the baseball box scores. That was once upon a time, but now it is today.
When a big event comes to town now, we want tickets! Order by phone, mail order, internet or leave them at will-call, we want two tickets. Listed below is some of our critique for some of the shows we attended. Following the text is a juke box containing some of the music from these shows.
What more can you say about Les Miserables' that hasn't already been said? The storyline, music score, acting, and scenery all compliment each other. If you don't find yourself holding your mate's hand during certain scenes or songs, you are either daydreaming or sleeping, instead of paying attention to the show.
Chicago will always be Chicago. The excitment increased with every song during the concert. The members of the band may have aged over the years but they can still put on a two and a half hour show. We found ourselves up and doing some dance steps we haven't done in years. The brass and rhythm carries the show along with the harmony and "Colour My World" still brings the house down.
"Wish Upon A Star" was a play put on for the Make A Wish Foundation. My nephew Joe made his acting debut in this play. Now remember that this his uncle speaking and his uncle says he was great with a capital G.
"Unto These Hills" is an outdoor play recounting facts about the Cherokee Nation's removal from the Great Smoky Mountain area in Georgia, Tennesee and North Carolina. Emphasis is put on events leading up to and through the Cherokee Trail of Tears. The production shows during each summer at the Cherokee Indian Reservation in the Great Smoky Mountains. If you are ever in the area, it is a must see.
Tina's Concert was preceeded by Lionel Ritchie who gave a great performance that lasted about an hour. This was his first tour since the late 1980's or early '90's. The audience was on their feet throughout his performance giving him standing ovations through every number. He opened with his hit "Hello." When he started singing he was in the dark, no lights on him at all. All you heard was his voice. Then as he sang the word "hello" for the first time, the main spotlights came on and there you saw him walking out of the dark into the spotlight at center stage. That started the first round of applause and the electricity continued throughout all his numbers building to it's peak when he entered into his biggest hits when he was with the Commodores, especially during his singing "Brick House." He already tore the house down and Tina was yet to make her entrance.
This was Tina's last scheduled tour. We sat just to the right of the stage about 10 rows above eye level of the performers. At this level we were able to see the whole show including set changes around the stage. We were also able to witness the energy these performers need to stage a show of this magnitude, this show being about 3 hours duration. The band was great, her singers and dancers backed her up beautifully, and you cannot say enough about Tina. She kept up with and at times out danced her back up dancers who were many years younger than her. When she sang, she sang and performed for you. When the show was over we knew we witnessed the show of a lifetime.
The Phantom is one of a few shows I wouldn't hesitate to see again and again. I was lucky to see this play twice. In 1996 we had great seats about six rows back from the orchestra under the chandelier. In 2000, we had box seats on the left side of the theatre. We sat in awe as Christine stared at our box as she sang "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again."
Kenny Rogers gave a good show in Myrtle Beach, SC. He was much older than when he was in the height of his career, but his voice was still strong and he covered most all of his hits.
In the 1990's at the Garden State Arts Center we had a night with John Denver. This concert turned out to be pretty comical. The night started out as a beautiful summer night. When he came out he opened with his first 2 or 3 songs. As he sang we noticed clouds coming in from the west. It started drizzling rain as he finished, then started raining a bit harder, as he started singing "Sunshine On My Shoulder." As he sang the word "sunshine" a roll of thunder could be heard, lightning flashing in the distance skies. Saying nothing, he continued singing and as he repeated the word "sunshine" it happened again. The audience exploded with laughter. He came to the word again, and started laughing himself saying he was almost afraid to sing it again. Looking up at the sky he sang the word again and true to form the lightning and thunder got louder. Although the rain continued throughout the concert, the thunder and lightning stopped after the song was completed.
Also in the early 1990's that I was able to see my favorite band in concert for the first time.......Chicago! Even though they played at the Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey, they still "tore the house down." With the show a sell out we considered ourselves lucky to be seated on the grassy hills circling the ampha-theatre. The group had everyone on their feet dancing through the whole concert. The Moody Blues came out for the second half of the show and took over and tore the rest of the house down.
Afraid to let my children go to a concert alone at ages 16, 15 and 13, I chaperoned them to see Prince and the Revolution and his "Purple Rain Tour" at the Greensboro Colisium in NC. Wow! I never knew anyone could move around stage the way he did. He made moves that seemed supernatural! I will always consider him top notch as a singer and performer. He even had me jumping around like everyone else to songs I didn't even like before attending his concert.
At the Atlantic Civic Center Crystal Gale gave a show with Eddie Rabbitt. Her voice was great, but I couldn't help staring at her hair almost touching the stage even with her wearing heels for the performance.
Remembering the type of music my father enjoyed and always played when I was much younger, I couldn't help buying tickets to see Benny Goodman at the Atlanta Fox Theatre. I would have not been able to forgive myself if I didn't see him in person, and again the money was well spent. The show was great.
We were fortunate to get tickets to see Neil Diamond during his Christmas tour. Featured was his release of "You Don't Send Me Flowers Anymore."
The beat and glitter of the Bee Gees drew us to the Atlanta Omni. The music was loud. The reflections off the disco ball hanging from the center of the Omni made us a little dizzy, but the show was great.
Also in Atlanta we saw John Denver for the first time at the height of his career. He gave a 3 hour show from the center of the Atlanta Omni using a revolving stage.
Other performances have left some great memories. The first group I saw was The Dave Clark Five at the Central Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. They only sang 3 songs, and they had 2 warm-up acts, The Exciters singing "Tell Him" and The Wonder Who singing "Don't Think Twice." Everyone knew the Wonder Who were the 4 Seasons performing under another name. Frankie Valli's voice could not be mistaken for anyone else. Would you believe tickets only cost $2.50 each?
In the 1950's we made a class trip to New York to see "Oliver." A couple years before Oliver, I was fortunate to see "The Miracle Worker," with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke when it first opened on Broadway. I wasn't even in high school yet, but both plays held our interest from beginning to end.
