Do not read ANY of these fan reports if you want to be
surprised when you see the show!
You have been warned! ;-)
If you heard a song you liked at the show, why
not buy a download of the original?
Jones Beach was powerful. My official 18th time seeing Donna spanning from her Bad Girls show in 1979, I think this is Donna's most elaborate set since Bad Girls. The song list did not deviate from previous shows, and included 9 new songs from Crayons (TQIB, MM, C, SOMF, BMA, SOB, SYF, IAF and F), plus the classics (IWGWY Italian/English, IFL, MP, DATL, OTR, NMT with Mary, SWHFTM, BG, HS and LD. With a short intermission and Mary's solo, the show ran about 2 hours.
The shock to everyone was there was no opening act, so a lot of people showed up late and Donna opened to a semi full audience. By the middle of the first set, the theater looked to be about 65% full where it remained.
Of course, the classics are what got everyone going, and there was a lot of dancing in the aisles. The reception to the new songs was mixed, but IAF, SYF, C, F and BMA got the best responses. A lot of people around me commented they liked the new songs but had not purchased the CD (which was on sale for $12 at the concession stand).
Donna's vocals were perfect and she seemed to know all the lyrics unprompted. She was VERY comfortable performing the Crayons material. I loved the live versions of MM, F and C and I was in awe of her vocals on BMA and SOMF. She was clear, powerful and emotional, all Donna trademarks. Of course, I had the semi-drunk 70 year old ding-a-ling in front of me shouting toot toot beep beep and love to you baby during BMA and being disrespectful but I guess that behavior is typical of the casual fan base.
I enjoyed the version of CTP/IWGWY and Donna hit the last note after a pause. So far, I give the set design A, Donna's vocals A+, song selection B (OK, I love Crayons but I think SOB and maybe one other song should be flipped out to more classics songs like CIBM or ILY), Donna's costumes A (she looks MUCH better than the posted pics) and her appearance A. She really looked good....no one believed she was a grandmother of 3.
As for the dancers, I kind of liked them and they added some energy to the show. I hated the football skit that preceeded SYF, but it was harmless. The screens were well done. I loved that Donna used an actual photo of the view from her Florida beach house as the backdrop for SOMF (another amazing vocal).
All in all, the show superceded my expectations and the interpretations of the new songs blew me away. In 3 weeks, I journey out west to see her in Oakland and then I catch her back home in Chicago at the end of August so I will see the show and its evolution. On July 28, it will be 29 years since I first saw Donna live and she amazed me last night with a show that resonated that same energy level and vocal power from 1979. I give the show ********** (10 stars) on a scale of 1-5 stars. Donna was beautiful, radiant and showed all of us why "the queen is back."
I almost forgot to mention the opening changing of the guard segment: I loved it. Donna should play it up even more and segue TQIB into a kick a*s power version of IFL that merges her past with her present.
- Rich (shamelessly stolen with
permission from the forum)
Round three of my stalking tour...... ;-)
Let's go with the set list first again:
Intro/Changing Of The Guard
The Queen Is Back
I Feel Love
Dim All The Lights
Con Te Partiro
I'm A Fire
Sand On My Feet
On The Radio
Mr. Music
Crayons
-----Intermission-----
Enough Is Enough (Duet with Mary)
MacArthur Park
Be Myself Again
Stamp Your Feet
Slide Over Backwards (as Hattie May)
Selah (Mary solo)
She Works Hard For The Money
Bad Girls
Hot Stuff
Fame (The Game)
Last Dance
Well, if I give a note by note report of the show, I'll probably end up
repeating what I already said about Mohegan Sun
and PNC. So let me try to tell you what was
different or what I noticed that I might not have mentioned before.
First of all - it was so much cooler at Jones Beach! That by itself
made the show more enjoyable because I didn't feel like I was going to
faint or something all night. LOL Actually, let me start at
the beginning. I got to the theater early with my friend and was lucky
enough to hear a little of sound check. Then as we waited around for
the rest of our friends to arrive, I noticed that there were other groups
of people in the parking lot having tailgate parties and playing their
Donna CDs. It was a little weird hearing Fame coming out of the
theater for sound check, while the guy in front of me was playing Love
To Love You and someone else a little ways away was playing I Feel
Love, and someone else on the other side was playing Crayons. Actually,
the fact that there were people (and not the usual diehards I see all the
time) playing Crayons was cool.
Once inside the theater, I was a little concerned that the theater
wasn't that full. (There were big holes even in the front sections.) Part
of that was caused by people not realizing that there is no opening act
and therefore not making the effort to be in their seats promptly. And
part of that was a traffic situation. We heard some people talking about
something on one of the parkways that as causing people to have to double
back and come down an alternate route. After awhile, the front
sections filled in, although there were still big holes in the upper
levels. I have to wonder about the people I saw sitting in the very last
row up top with a dozen empty rows empty in front of them. How much does
Ticketmaster have to hate you to throw you in the back row with o many
better seats available? LOL
It was nice to once again see the casual fans won over by the new
songs There was one poor guy behind us who really got hooked by the
new stuff and he told his wife that he wanted to get a copy of the CD on
the way out. She told him "No!" I'm pretty sure that would
qualify as spousal abuse....... ;-)
Okay, what haven't I said about the show yet? I think I have gushed
over all the songs in the other two reports. LOL (Although it
bears repeating that Fame ROCKS live! I think it's the Hot Stuff for
2008 just in terms of its energy alone!) Actually, have I talked
much about the stage set yet? The LED screens are a great addition to the
show. From the graphic display in The Queen Is Back, to the CD covers in
Mr. Music, to the beach scene in Sand On My Feet, the cityscape for Be
Myself Again, and the video clips for She Works Hard For The Money - the
set is as alive as the music and wonderfully complements each song.
I have only 2 more shows left on my "tour" - after that I
think I'll be in severe withdrawal. (Hmmmm - I wonder if they need a
pharmacy tech for the road? ;-) )
- the webmistress/stalker
I got a couple of pictures
at Jones Beach that weren't too bad
