The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Originally advertised as a "Dionne Warwick" concert - I should have suspected that something wasn't quite right when after being first in line on the first day of ticket sales - the best available seats were in the 14th row. I know that Dionne does not travel with an entourage that would fill 13 rows so I just assumed they were being held for the casino's "high rollers" club (Sycuan Indian Casino / San Diego).

The concert was close to an immediate "sell out" as expected. What I didn't anticipate was was the addition of an additional act which received second billing "Daniel J. Tucker & The Love Po'tion" which I assumed was a young band or vocal group that might be touring with Dionne (as "The Constellations" did back in the 70's).

Those of us in the audience who were there to see Dionne were totally shocked when this opening act appeared on stage. It turned out to be the Tribal Chairman of the Sycuan Band Of the Kumeyaay Nation surrounded by 8 cheer leader type dancing girls, 3 female backup singers and a group of musicians. Ten minutes worth of this "amateur hour" performance would have been tolerable - but it went on and on. The first 13 rows cheered him on while the rest of us sat there in disbelief hoping that Dionne was backstage in a soundproof booth (somehow not knowing what was going on). Bottom Line - they "performed" for more than an hour before someone got word to them to "cut it short" in the middle of a song.

A "10 minute" intermission was announced and we were taking bets that Dionne was already in her "limo" on the way to the airport. In the meantime - most of the people in the first 13 rows got up and left after seeing their "Chairman" perform. After returning from the break and seeing all of the empty seats for the "sold out" performance - we were certain Dionne would refuse to appear or at best give a very abbreviated performance. As we sat there waiting it was obvious that casino personnel were attempting to fill the seats that had been vacated with casino guests. We were tempted to move forward but it would have been awkward. We remained convinced that she would not appear and could only imagine what was going on backstage. After nearly an hour - Dionne's band members along with Kathy Rubbico (her pianist & conductor) walked on stage and were greeted with grateful applause - followed shortly by Dionne singing her "low keyed" version of "Close To You"

If there was any animosity - it was never apparent throughout her nearly 90 non-stop minutes holding the microphone. Looking chic and elegantly dressed, as usual, she launched into a series of Bacharach / David songs mentioning both of them more than once during the course of the evening. Repertoire was virtually identical to her last San Diego performance in June 2003 and the live performance in Syracuse recorded in June of 03 as well (Dionne Warwick - Greatest Hits - Live In Concert: released by Twin Pack Music). As I indicated in my previous review of her 03 concert - Dionne's inimitable interpretations are delivered in an artfully amended style to accommodate the changes in her voice. It's worth mentioning that most of what she delivered was reminiscent of her performances 20 to 30 years ago. Her voice was in "top form" and she reached every note she went for. Virtually every aspect of her performing style including the way she effortlessly takes control of the stage, the elegant hand gestures and the way she handles the microphone have remained unchanged since I first saw her perform live back in 1967.

Kathy Rubbico is an extremely talented pianist and conductor and worthy successor to Joe Kloess and Joe Mele. Dionne's son David is not performing with her at this time. Notably absent was Mr. Lee Valentine (Dionne's guitarist from the very beginning). Hopefully he's taking some well deserved R & R and has not retired.

Although Dionne's performance was 2 hours later than anticipated it was worth the wait. If she was in fact "duped" - she handled it in a truly professional manner by never even referring to it while on stage. On the other hand - if she knew that this guy was going to take advantage of her star power for his own benefit - I say - God Bless You Dionne for being such a "good sport" - but please - Don't Let Him Do It Again!!!!

Bonjour Ron;

Thanks very much capturing the evening for us!

What a shame that Dionne had to put up with this type of setting! But Dionne showed real class and did not let it affect her performance!!!

This is one reason, I don't like to see show at casino's!

Sounds like the same show I saw in Morristown New Jersy in October of 2004. Yes, Dionne still has it!!!

Ron, thanks again for your great review!

Ron, that's disgusting what that Casino did to Dionne and her paying fans. I'm sure that if Dionne knew the first 13 rows would be taken by her "opening act" and then VACATED after that act left, she wouldn't have stood for it... and rightly so! Also, if she knew how long that "opening act" performed and how unappealing they were to the people who came to see her, she wouldn't have stood for it. Dionne was duped and all her fans in the house that night were duped. I'm furious just reading it!

But thank God Dionne made the evening well worth it in the end. It shows what class she has. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in her dressing room while that sham was going on. She was probably LIVID!

But all's well that ended well, I guess. And you finally did get what you came to see. But you certainly didn't need to have been put through such aggravation.

***moved to it's own thread -- I accidentally posted it here, sorry.

Dionne dazzles MoBay

Olivia Leigh Campbell, Jamaica Observer staff reporter
Monday, January 31, 2005

DIONNE WARWICK... stole the show with her extensive catalogue of hits

On the final night of the 2005 Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, multi-Grammy Award winner Norah Jones soothed, foundation reggae artiste Toots energised, and Roseanne Cash invoked memories of "The Man in Black"- her father Johnny Cash.

But the night belonged to Dionne Warwick, who mesmerised an audience of more than 11,000 that sang and danced to every song she performed. Starting at 9:45 on a chilly Montego Bay night, Warwick's voice infiltrated every square inch of the Cinnamon Hill Golf Course, pulling a previously scattered audience into a single rocking mass of bodies.
Warwick, who has been a recording artiste for over 40 years, virtually glowed in glittery orange pants and a sparkling white top, treating her starry-eyed fans to a string of hits including Don't Make Me Over, Walk On By, Heartbreaker and You Won't Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart. Pausing briefly to add a plug for her new book and CD, Warwick resumed singing with Say A Little Prayer, "jazzed up" with subtle key changes and variations in tempo. Leaning Latin for a while, Warwick then put her congo drummer Hernato to work, performing first an ode to her new home country Brasil, and then doing Do You Know The Way To San Jose? which she sang in tribute to salsa queen Celia Cruz who re-recorded the song with Warwick as a duet. Cruz died in 2003.

The biggest cheers of Warwick's performance came next, when she delved into I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again, while What The World Needs Now and That's What Friends Are For had members of the audience holding hands and singing along in unison. That capped her set, and even as shouts for more echoed across the festival site, Warwick and her band left the stage to a standing ovation.
TOOTS... danced his way through a high-energy performance

After Warwick, godfather of reggae music Toots Hibbert hit the stage with the Maytals, turning Cinnamon Hill into a huge dance party with his festival songs and ska numbers: Come Down, Pressure Drop, Sweet And Dandy and Bam Bam. With his characteristic diamond-studded headband in place, Toots put on a truly sizzling set, shifting the tempo of his tunes occasionally to allow him to show off his 50-something frame shimmying and skanking across the stage. Toots was, as usual, on top of his game, delivering extended versions of covers like Country Road and These Arms Of Mine, and new versions of old tunes Still Movin' and Monkey Man from his latest album True Love. During Toots' time onstage, a light drizzle began, but even as the rain came down, the audience, hardened by a weekend of intermittent rain and myriad production glitches on the previous nights, stayed put, dancing and singing in the rain, umbrellas aloft until he finished the last note of 54/46.

Norah Jones followed, adding her soothing vocals and piano mastery to a jazz and blues festival that often strayed in genre from its name. Clearly delighted to be in Jamaica, the young musician chatted to the audience between numbers, admitting that she often wondered whether Jamaicans really say "Yah, mon" all the time. She drew laughter later with a spontaneous "Sorry, mon!" empathising with those that stood listening while light rain began to fall again.

Earlier in the evening, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Roseanne Cash brought a little country music to the occasion, in the process delivering an emotional tribute to her dad Johnny Cash. Singing some of her own compositions, but also performing some of her father's songs with her guitar, Cash reminded the audience that they, sitting in the shadow of the Cinnamon Hill Great House, her family home, could not escape his presence there.

Before Cash took the stage at about 8:30 pm, rising musician Abdel Wright also paid tribute to Cash, who was an integral force behind the support of Jamaica's SOS Children's Village, where Wright spent his childhood years. Only a fraction of the audience present at the peak of the festival heard Wright sing, as many people were sitting in traffic outside the venue waiting to find parking while he was on stage.

The festival came to an end in the wee hours of Sunday morning, with weary and damp "jazz" fans leaving the venue to go home happy.

judging from the previous review, it sounds like it was a "festival" that dionne was taking part in. festival shows often bring together disparate acts. music is music!

dionne, with her deep understanding of black music evinced in her heartfelt renditions of jazz, gospel and soul music, probably knows who Toots is, and respects the african heritage of island music and reggae.

i understand though, having been to festivals before, that going to see a particular act makes it hit-or-miss whether you will enjoy the other acts on the bill. i had to sit through blue man group and busta rhymes in order to see david bowie a few summers ago. at first i was unenthused, but, you know what, I was unexpectedly won over by the other performers' energy! ...That's not to say I ran right out and bought their cd's

Sounds like an overall fun evening of jazz, reggae, folk and pop. I recommend next time waiting to see Dionne at a solo show. If you DO go to a festival, give the other acts more of a chance, even if they are drastically styllistically different!

Nate

Sorry, for confusing things here by adding the review of the wonderful event in Jamaica to the thread of the not so wonderful San Diego show. For me they were in such sharp contrast that the combination of the 2 reviews seemed interesting. Jamaica was absolutely a high class event with a top lineup (that also included Roberta Flack) and that Dionne can be on the same bill with Norah Jones these days and still come out as the highlight of the evening - and that´s what all the reviews I read werde saying - makes me very happy.

Geh Vorbei:
Nothing to be sorry for - the Jamaica Festival and others like it all around the world open the door to a whole new generation of Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick admirers. I'll bet that a number of young people who "recognized" the songs that Dionne performed were unaware of her's or Burt's existence prior to attending that Festival.

Nateybird was right when he admitted to being "unexpectedly won over" by the others performing along with David Bowie. I can assure you that in San Diego no one was "won over" by the performance of "Daniel J. Tucker & The Love Po'tion! The exuberant first 13 rows were filled with his employees - DUH!

vincent.cole & AEBB Fan: Appreciated your well stated comments re: the San Diego Concert.