RE: Dionne in Concert at Oakland, California-Kaiser ConveCtr

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DARIO DARII
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 1:06 am

RE: Dionne in Concert at Oakland, California-Kaiser ConveCtr

Post by DARIO DARII »

Just a few weeks ago, from the former site. we talked about the Nasal Quality of the Recording of Promises, Promises..and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous....For a review of this concert which I attended...This is definitely Nasal in quality. Not only that, since I have the copy of the DVD of her concert at NY Syracuse..let's just say..this one is but also a carbon copy of that..a template. An attendee , like me just have to relax, and watch the other nuances that will differ this concert from the DVD. Well, for once, this concert while indoor, the weather is just fine ...in the DVD , it rained hard , people are unable to clap hands and sing-a-long to "What the World Needs Now is Love " song. Everybody is all ears to her, singing with gusto...started easily with Walk On By...you know right away that the audience is with her , enjoying along the way. However, Dionne sings not in FULL VOICE. In Opera parlance, I always attend dress rehearsal, and the lead Tenor or Soprano always sang not FULLY, because they do not want to strain their voice for the actual performance. This is how the most of the songs were delivered to Kaiser. But of course, she cannot retain it all the way, songs like Brazil and the soaring part of I Know Ill Never Love Again, needs to be FULL VOICE. There, she gave it a go--to go FULL VOICE. Dionne is very much relaxed here, still a commanding presence. Wearing a diaphanous brown blouse to match. the dark brown underneath the blouse and long brown pants. The blouse hemlines are littered with glowing star-like flickering sequins (almost like diamond sparkles). Glitters come with floral arrangements and very thin and elongated green leaves. She quiet a sight to behold. Her hair remains the same as in Syracuse. I notice that she is keeping the Bostonian pianist now. Did she break her association with Joe Kloess? Her main music man, that used to work with Jack Jones? Dunno. As the DVD, her son David Elliot is out with 3 duets with mom. I likened his voice to Major Harris , remember him (Love Won't Let Me Wait)? Luther once paid homage to him on one of his popular songs CDs. However, this is not hip-hop, and mostly this kind of style sort of not in vogue, Proponents like Peabo Bryson and Osborne, and the likes are all not doing well currently. If David wishes to follow this route, it will be difficult...but backbround work like production may make him really as Force in the Business, as her mom proudly proclaimed. Dionne's repertoire now are mostly Bacharach, and reduced to an hour. Where before, I watched her in other concert, login a full ninety minutes of songs. I th ink this is good. She is like going like cabaret style of a singer now. Really trying to give feeling to songs, instead of lumping the BB songs into whirlwind of medley of songs. You no longer cannot enjoys songs like A House is not Home without its proper delianeation---singing the song in full as opposed to medley.

I still would like to see Dionne sing in that kind of setting. Intimate and free, easy, and relaxed. Very sure of herself. I could not hear her monologue, but seeing the DVD, I am sure it follows the same line formula. For Dionne this is always a recipe. Repeated also throughtout the history of her career. It is etched in vinyl and read by laser beams. Like like " ..that you've heard by others, but I am going to sing it anyway...or if any of your sould begins to dance...I won't stop you, but watch! ). Ad nuseam.

After the concert. I watched some memorabilia being sold at the reception area. I bought my so-called Platinum package, fifty bucks, consisting of a 2004 Calendar feat. her Album Covers, her career photogra[hs of friends, and a double cd of her limited edition of CELEBRATING 40 YEARS. From the look of it, it is selling like hotcakes. If you are interested to know, the CD are Arista Tracks Selections. This is the duet 2CDs we are anticipating last Valentine. That one goes on sale on the Christmas holiday. We hope this time it will materialize. -DARIO DARII :wink:
ron hertel
Posts: 481
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2004 7:08 pm

Post by ron hertel »

Thanks for the "candid" and apparently "honest" review. If the performance ran just 60 minutes there must have been some reason for it. The San Diego concert last June ran 90 minutes + and for the most part Dionne was in "full voice". As stated in my review of that concert last June - Dionne has artfully amended her interpretations to reflect the changes in her voice. She does remain a commanding presence in spite of her all too familiar spoken lines. I'm writing this while listening to my "just delivered" Rhino reissues. "Very Dionne" contains some remastered concert tracks that originally appeared on the Scepter double LP "The Dionne Warwick Story". Both of the reissues are GREAT!
warbachavid
Posts: 268
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2004 8:30 pm

Post by warbachavid »

The concerts are talior made for the requirements of each venue, how much they pay,etc.
warbachavid
Posts: 268
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2004 8:30 pm

Post by warbachavid »

As Dionne stated at the beginning of the concert that her father always said she moved too fast to catch anything, alas, she caught a cold, she also said if you dont hear certain notes to just ignore it, becasue she intends to. Considering the fact, she performed well kicking off with Close To You and ending with That's What Friends Are For, for 1hr and 10 mins. She left the stage and went right into her waiting Limo!
The cold probably came from coming into contact with so many people on her book signing tour. She is recovering and is off to Germany to perform at their awards ceremony on Friday.
ron hertel
Posts: 481
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2004 7:08 pm

Post by ron hertel »

Being the cosummate professional that she is coupled with her incomparable musical abilty - not only has Dionne masterfully amended her vocal interpretations to accommodate the changes in her voice - she has the innate ability to overcome the obstacles that affect her voice such as weather conditions, a cold, flu etc. Ever notice how a "pro" can signal their conductor or background singers to pick up a note or two as needed?

Back in 1977 I attended a Dionne Warwick concert where she was forced to cancel after the 2nd or 3rd song. After several attempts to overcome her problem - she reluctantly made the decision to not risk damaging her vocal chords and apologetically ended the performance. The audience gave her an A+.
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