Burt Disney Hall Concert Review

[Andre B]

I managed to get two tickets to Burt's concert at Disney Hall in downtown LA last night. The concert was originally scheudled for February, but was postponed when Burt injured his shoulder, and also, I think, because of Nikki's death around that time. It had been sold out for months, but I kept calling the box office, and finally a couple of tickets turned up a few hours before the show.

I had never been to a concert in Disney Hall. It's a beautiful venue. There really isn't a bad seat in the house, and the acoustics are just about perfect. My seats were in Orchestra West, a balcony section with a good view of the stage.

Burt performed with his usual core band plus a string section. He opened with a short version of What the World Needs Now, then launched into a medley of early hits, starting with Don't Make Me Over (his first record with Dionned of course) followed by Walk on By. Other songs in the medley included Do You Know the Way to San Jose?, Always Something There to Remind Me, I Say a Little Prayer, and I'll Never Fall in Love Again. His singers, Josie, John, and Donna, were all in top form, and Burt seemed to really enjoy the concert hall -- he commented on how wonderful it was, one of the best places he'd ever performed. His playing and his voice sounded as good as I've ever heard him (in nearly twenty years of attending his concerts).

After the medley, Josie Jones just about knocked the roof off with Anyone Who Had a Heart -- I've seen her perform this song maybe three or four times now, but this was something special. And I'm sure it wasn't just the amazing acoustics of the hall!

Burt did three songs from At This Time -- Go Ask Shakespeare (sung by John Pagano, also in exceptionally fine voice), Where Did it Go? and Who Are These People? Burt of course sang Where Did it Go? and talked a bit about his young children and his concerns for the future. When he introduced Who Are These People, he wryly told the audience we could probably figure out who he was referring to.

Next came one of the highlights of the evening: a brand new song he recently wrote with Sir Tim Rice (who also did the lyric to Walking Tall, from Stuart Little). It's called Who'll Speak for Love? It hasn't yet been recorded and last night was the first time it was performed publicly. It's a beautiful ballad, great music of course, and a fine lyric.

Burt then did his movie medley, starting with The Look of Love, and including The April Fools, Wives and Lovers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance, Raindrops, and Alfie, which, as usual, was mostly Burt singing and accompanying himself on piano. He then finished with A House is Not a Home, which he dedicated to his wife Jane. (I wondered if he would mention Nikki or play the song he wrote for her, but he didn't.)

At the end of the show, Burt got a rousing standing ovation. The audience was one of the most enthusiastic I've seen, and Burt really seemed to feel it. His first encore began with Any Day Now, featuring a great trumpet solo by the horn player from his core band, and then a very touching rendition of The Windows of the World -- Burt singing and playing piano. When he got to the line "there must be something we can do" Burt paused and said "Let me repeat that" -- and sang the line again. It was a great moment, and I think everybody got it. He then launched into What the World Needs Now. It was both gratifying and sad to appreciate how relevant those two songs still are, forty years after they were written.

The crowd kept cheering, and brought Burt back one last time for a singalong of Raindrops. The concert ran a little shy of two hours, but seemed to go by much more quickly. And it's amazing, despite the fact that most of the songs were part of medleys, how much he didn't get to: Close to You, Promises Promises, Make it Easy on Yourself, Message for Michael... I would love to see Burt do a concert with a jazz trio, maybe another singer and a violinist and horn player, and do complete versions of thirty or forty songs.

I've been wanting to see a show in Disney Hall since it was finished. I'm happy my first show there was Burt, and even more happy he's still going strong at 79. What a great example he sets for people of all ages.

[vincent.cole]

Andre B;

Thanks for sharing your joy of the Burt Concert!

Yeah, Josie James can bring down the house! And John Pagano and Tom Élan doing, “Any Day Now’, is just terrific!

P.S. Can't wait for Connecticut in October!

Take care;

Vincent

[mark]

Thanks for the review, Andre. Every time I miss a concert, I worry whether I'm missing one of my last chances to see Burt live. It's great to hear he's still going strong.

It's also nice to hear he's continuing to revise his set list. I'm sure a lot of us have seen his basic show with its series of medleys, so it's exciting to hear he's performing material from "At This Time" as well as brand new songs.

I've been super busy lately, but hopefully I'll find the time (and money) to catch Burt some later this year or in '08.

[bonkersforburt]

thanks for the great review...glad you were there... a true fan

[Steve Schenck]

I want to add my thanks, too, Andre. Being here on the east coast, I could not get out to the Disney Hall - which I would love to see and in which I'd love to hear a BB concert! Glad to hear the guy is still doing so well. He deserves all the accolades he gets. He is a rare musical genius. Thanks for all the notes on who sang what and how they did. Someday, I would love to see a concert where Burt performs some of his mammoth symphonic pieces (like Another Spring Will Rise, NY Lady, The Summer of 77, Woman, Futures, And the People Were With Her, etc.) with someone like Twyla Tharp choreographing a corps of dancers to the music. That would be a really "new" element for a concert series.

[heartlight]

Thank you, Andre, for your very precise account of the show. I, too, was there and experiencing the Concert Hall for the first time as well. And what an initiation !! Who better than Burt ??

I was in the Orchestra View behind the stage and at times I could not totally understand the dialogue, so thanks for repeating it...especially with regard to the new number. Josie was dynamic.

I agree that the audience was exceptionally enthusiastic; certainly most of these fans had been waiting since Feb to see him . The exhuberant outpouring of love, respect, and admiration toward this humble genius was overwhelming and I was so happy to be a part of it.

Next concert for me...San Diego in August !!

[steveo_1965]

yeah, enjoyed the concert reviews...hope to see Burt again live someday before I pass on.......lol.......

[grooverider]

I, too, attended this concert and was treated to the genius of Mr. Bacharach for the first time, for me, live. Listening to him and seeing him, his intensity, his obvious love for music and his sheer genius was an amazing experience. It made me grateful to be alive, at this time, to be able to hear this special man and his music in person. The night was a complete joy and a singular experience, one to treasure for many, many years.

In addition to the astounding number of hits, familiar songs and melodies that were performed was my awareness of just what a poet Hal David is. The lyrics seemed timeless and sadly, timely, as was stated by Andre B.

The musicians and vocalists all seemed to be having such a wonderful time, my sense was that they felt honored to be playing such intricate, intelligent and fun music. Their joy was visible.

A sincere thank you to Burt Bacharach.

[Tom1234]

Perfect concert to be saved on DVD, Burt has not missed a beat in his later years.

Tom