BB at the Festival Hall, London

[pljms]

A few surprises last night, not least John Pagano accompanying himself on the acoustic guitar for a stunning rendition of 'The Windows of the World'. Another surprise was Bacharach's regular trumpet player and saxophonist centre stage for 'Come Touch the Sun'. Other tunes I've not heard featured before at a BB concert were 'Message to Michael' and 'Be Aware', both sung wonderfully by Josie James. In the introduction to 'God Give Me Strength' Burt made no mention of the planned musical based on the songs from 'Painted From Memory, nor the fact that he and Elvis Costello had written more material for the project. Oliver Bacharach was on keyboards for three or four numbers and the joy Burt obviously had in having his son on stage with him was palpable. Other highlights for me were the back to back duets featuring Donna Taylor and John Pagano of 'Make it Easy on Yourself' and 'On My Own', and 'My Little Red Book' performed by Bill Cantos. Bacharach got his usual standing ovation, both at the start and at the end from a London audience, something he must be getting used to by now!

[vincent.cole]

pjms;

Thanks for sharing your joy on the Burt concert with all on the forum!

The Windows of the World, I heard Burt sing this many years ago in Atlantic New Jersey after 911. But I never heard John Pagano play this on the acoustic quitar. 'Message to Michael' and Be Aware' are new to me.

Did Donna Taylor sing, 'Waiting for Charlie to come home'? What power!

pjms, thanks again.

[Martin Johnson]

Yes, in many ways it was the most enjoyable Bacharach concert I've ever attended because of the sheer breadth of the material played. It was certainly the longest concert I've seen him give featuring an orchestra, allowing space for all the lesser known songs and all but three or four of the major hits. When the acoustic guitar was brought on to the front of the stage in mid-concert I wondered who the special guest was going to be, so it was a complete surprise when John Pagano came forward to pick it up. I thought he sang and played 'The Windows of the World' beautifully, and when I say 'played' he wasn't just strumming chords and he picked the song's memorable motif. Yes Vincent, Donna Taylor did perform 'Waiting for Charlie to Come Home' and it got one of the best ovations on a night full of them. Bacharach joked that he always seems to bring hot weather with him when he plays in London and certainly the Festival Hall's lack of decent air conditioning took its toll on some of the more elderly members of the audience. As for the 86 year old on stage, he seemed to get through about two litres of water as the show progressed, but how he managed to keep his jacket on all evening I'll never know.

[vincent.cole]

Martin;

Thank you very much on your take on the concert!

It's just incredible that Burt is still going strong with his core band after all these years!

Again, thanks for the update!

[blueonblue]

Burt had no need to take his jacket off.....he's the "coolest" guy on the planet !

"blue"

[Sara D]

I've got nothing to add to what Paul and Martin have said other than that Bacharach's concerts are a good 30 minutes longer than they were back in the 90s, giving the set-list a much better chance of doing justice to his extraordinary output. However, I personally could quite happily do without the 'First Four Hits Medley' and that would make room for two or three of the classics we didn't hear on Wednesday. Still, I suppose there's a lot to be said for the old maxim 'leave them wanting more'.