CONCERT REPORT: San Francisco, March 9th

[harrymcc]

My fourth Burt Bacharach concert came less than three weeks after my third, and was in some significant respects the better of the two. For one thing, the venue--San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts--was a lot nicer than the Nugget casino in Sparks, Nevada. The crowd was considerably hipper, too. And it was a 1.9-mile drive from my house, versus five hours (some of it through a snowstorm) to get to Sparks.

The music and Burt's patter were, not surprisingly, similar at both shows. But there were some differences. In SF, he performed no fewer than five songs from the new album: Go Ask Shakespeare, Please Explain, In Our Time, Who Are These People?, and Where Did It Go? Donna Taylor sang one of the best versions of Close to You I've ever heard--a song that wasn't in the Sparks lineup. And Burt ranted humorously a bit about It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp's Oscar win. (He said he likes hip hop but that former winners of Best Song were spinning in their graves--"There's no song there!")

In both concerts, Burt sang quite a bit--from the new album, The Look of Love, Alfie, Wives and Lovers, Raindrops--but his voice seemed more robust in SF, and he appeared more confident.

In Sparks, my buddy Bryan (who attended both shows with me) were among maybe nine people who visited with Burt after the show. In SF, he plugged his CD and said he'd sign for anyone who cared to meet him at the lip of the stage after the show. (It was raining outside, so the stage door would have been a soggy venue.) And maybe a hundred people took him up on his offer.

If it had just been me and Bryan, I'd have taken off without waiting, figuring that we'd met Burt recently and others deserved a chance. But Bryan had brought his mom, and she loved the concert and was interested in an encounter. So we joined the long line and waited.

(For the rest of this anecdote to make any sense, you need to know that Bryan's mom certainly has her wits about hert, but has extremely poor eyesight--and it's not really obvious that she can barely see.)

When we got to the head of the line, Bryan's mom couldn't see Burt clearly, so she asked him, "Are you the artist?," as if she wasn't sure who had performed and couldn't tell it was the gent she was talking to. This brought down the house, and Burt had a snappy comeback: "No, I'm an usher." That too got huge laughs. She then said, "I'm Melody." Burt: "I'm Burt." More hilarity.

Burt, by this point, understandably seemed to think that she was a dotty old lady, and he treated her a bit like any polite younger person would address a dotty old lady. Which was funny given that she's actually about a decade younger than he is.

During this conversation, Bryan's mom was touching Burt's leg: This struck me as a bit forward, but he didn't object. Later, when looking at some photos he took, Bryan noticed this and commented; it turned out she didn't know that the thing that she was leaning on was one of Burt Bacharach's limbs.

Burt treated the large crowd of fans graciously, but there were more folks in line after us who wanted to meet him--and I sensed that he probably wanted to greet them, then call it a day. (He asked, "Who's next?," obviously hoping that the line would move a tad quicker.) So I didn't talk to him myself this time around--and felt even luckier that I had been able to chat at the more low-key Sparks meet-and-greet. But I had a great time anyway...

[Steve Schenck]

Thanks, Harry, for a humorous and touching account. It's not often we get to hear the personal, informal, unplan-able descriptions such as you offered. Burt really goes the extra mile. When you consider his age, his towering accomplishments, and the many other claims on his time and talent, that he will take so much time with fans is a real credit to his integrity and appreciation of his fan base. Steve

[Dave]

GREAT concert. I wish it had gone on longer. Musicians tight, Singers perfect, Mr. Bacharach playful.

I had a chance to meet Burt Bacharach (he visited the KFOG Morning Show prior to the concert) and he was a magnificent guest.

I've always been a fan. This was my first time seeing him in person.

It was more than a "concert" - it was a total entertainment.

Burt Bacharach is the best.

Now...will somebody PLEASE release the "Burt Bacharach - features One Less Bell and Close To You" (1971 A&M) album on CD?

[Steve Schenck]

Dave, that album already IS on CD. I got it a few years ago, from Amazon, I think. Unless you are referring to a different album... This is the one with One Less Bell and Clost to You, along with the incredible And the People Were with Her. Hope you can get hold of it. Steve S

[mrmagoo69]

Steve, do you know any other place to get that CD Dave from SF is looking for? It is out of stock at Amazon, EBAY only has LP's.

[vincent.cole]

I would try one of the Japanese music sites.

They pretty much have a lot of Burt's music, but at a big price!

[Steve Schenck]

I agree with Vince. I think the Japanese sites may have copies; they seem to love "all things Burt." You might also try some non-chain music stores. I occasionally go in and find older CDs, but used and unused. That's how I picked up my "Hidden Gems" copy of Dionne's great "hidden gems." It was in an out-of-the-way store in San Francisco a few years back. Peace, Steve