Well the band flies in this evening and we will be at the show tomorrow... If you see someone with a grey jacket and a tangerine/ apricot handkerchief in the breast pocket, it is me: say " Hi David" and freak my wife out
David
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice, there is.
I'm sorry, no one accosted me... but it was a blast of a show; great energy from the audience. I bought Burt's book. (After all Burt's got one kid in college and that's expensive)
David
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice, there is.
Yes it was, Deborah. A 2 hour+ plus show with the three vocalists all given more solo spots and a real chance to shine than had previously been the case when BB has played London. Apart from 'Close to You' Donna Taylor was centre stage for 'Waiting for Charlie to Come Home' and 'Baby it's You', John Pagono was featured on 'I Just Don't Know What to do With Myself', 'God Give Me Strength' and 'Any Day Now' while Josie James sang 'Every Other Hour' from 'Some Lovers' and, of course, 'Anyone Who Had a Heart'. A nice surprise was Burt's new assistant MD and 2nd keyboardist singing 'My Little Red Book' and another song from 'Some Lovers', the title of which I didn't catch. An even bigger surprise, and something that obviously meant a lot to Burt, was the introduction of his son Oliver on keyboards for 'Make it Easy on Yourself', a very affecting duet feature for Donna Taylor and John Pagano. Apparently this was his debut stage performance with his dad and he returned at the end for the encore of 'Raindrops'. As always with a Bacharach concert it was not only an extraordinary musical experience to savour but also a highly emotional one too.
Both tracks from Some Lovers sounded great to me, even though it was the first time I'd heard them. Another noteworthy section last night - the medley of his first four hits. I've said it before, but Tower of Strength is actually quite a good record.
Sorry that he's dropped On My Own and Are You There With Another Boy from the schedule, but there's so many to choose from. How about Captives of the Heart and Long Ago Tomorrow next tour? Here's hoping.
Blue - enjoy yourself next weekend, you've got a great concert in store.
Sara knows I echo everything she wrote about the concert because we met afterwards but, yes, I thought the three vocalists really came into their own on Wednesday night and it was great that they were given more songs performed in their entirety to really get their teeth into. It was especially good to see Donna Taylor given more time out front and I think it's safe to say that she's now made 'Waiting for Charlie to Come Home' her own. What remarkable microphone technique she has and I hope for your sake, Vincent, that she performs this with Burt in San Diego! As always, the emotional highlight was 'Alfie' followed by 'A House is Not a Home'. In fact, the audience were so moved by the climax of the latter that it got a standing ovation. A truly great night.
The packed Royal Festival Hall had an amazing atmosphere on Wednesday. Although it was not spoken, I think an awful lot of people imagined that this may be the last time that they see Burt in concert. And you could feel the love for the man in the room. For a guy of his age to perform a two hour concert without a break was astonishing. We were sat in the side of stage seats and to look back and see the whole of the audience on their feet after each of the final four songs was quite amazing ... and pretty moving. I was at the RFH at the 1996 concert when Noel Gallagher sang 'This Guy's In Love With You' and at the Bacharach/Costello concert in 1998. On Wednesday night Jarvis Cocker from Pulp was in the audience. It was a really special night. But despite some outstanding newspaper reviews, there was a really nasty review from the London Evening Standard's David Smyth.