burt in vegas and a heckler? corroboration?

[nateybird]

My friend ryan just saw burt in vegas, (early november) and said that he was warm, relaxed, and charming. well dressed. etc. Mr. Bacharach apologized for botching "raindrops keep falling on my head" the first time through, and so played it a second time.

But the most intriguing aspect of Ryan's recollection was when Mr. Bacharach made a remark that he, Burt, "won't be invited to the bush white house any time soon."

Ryan said that an audience member then shouted,"you can still pray!"

Ryan was impressed because Burt engaged this audience member. Turning to this person, Burt said something to the effect of (NOT a direct quote) "i do pray daily, and that is what we all need to do more of."

The lyric that comes to mind in "who are these people?" is that these liars are "even pretending to pray, and getting away with it!" subtly stating that our current administration invokes God's name to manipulate the electorate while waging a suspicious war, polluting God's beautiful creation, and condoning torture (to name but a few.)

INTERESTINGLY, there is a similarly beautiful-but-angry Leonard Cohen lyric from the '80's that addresses leaders who take the lord's name in vein: "...killers in high places say their prayers out loud, but they are summoning up a thunder cloud and they're gonna hear from me!" (from Cohen's "Anthem")

I again got off subject. I was wondering if anyone else has been at a recent Bacharach performance and has witnessed similar interactions caused by his new, political material?

nate

PS - i think Burt's willingness to talk with this audience member shows that he is happy his music is causing debate and discussion. go burt!

[guest-heartlight]

I, too, had the pleasure of attending the Vegas concert and the night I went ( Fri 11th) the audience was very supportive of the new ATT material and Burt's comments about the White House. No hecklers that night.

It's true..he interacts with the audience, is extremely appreciative of their enthusiasm and, overall, is simply an adorable man. who personifies charm, warmth, and "cool" at the same time.

[Blair N. Cummings]

Believe it or not, Burt screwed up his first pass at "Raindrops..." on the first of his two nights in Buffalo, too. Since this obviously isn`t "schtick", I`m wondering if some part of Burt`s subconscious is finally beginning to rebel against feeling the need to play already numbingly over-exposed hits like that. Would anyone really mind never hearing this song again? How about a brand new medley featuring arragements of songs we haven`t been bludgeoned with for decades? There are hundreds of these. Someone should tell Burt we would still show up (many of us more enthusiastically) if he didn`t just play his billion-sellers.

[Ron]

Couldn't agree with you more - Blair. For us it would be great; however, the reality is that most who attended the concert would walk away disappointed and you can only imagine the critics referring to his obscure choice of material. Wouldn't you just love to hear Dionne sing some of those great songs that were not commercially successful or never released as singles?

[Blair N. Cummings]

Ron- I`d like to suggest that a "hit" begins with a label`s A&R guy`s decision to release a given recording as a single. If the performer`s audience is already predisposed to enjoy the style, the song will most likely work commercially. If the track is generally in sync with a prevailing pop trend, other listeners may jump aboard for long enough to make it a larger success. The thread here is musical style. If you liked (say) The Look of Love, it`s unlikely you`d turn up your nose at Don`t Say I Didn`t Tell You So. The sole difference is that you heard one on the radio and the other you didn`t . I`ve always used this argument against the conservatism of radio programmers and live performers who are terrified of exposing presumably sympathetic listeners to anything not already tested in the marketplace. The initial decision to release a song was subjective and , ultimately, random. Most people who like a given performer enjoy most of that performer`s recordings and are eager to hear new work. I think it`s the extreme conservatism of the promoters that prevents greater freedom (these unhappy, post-sixties days) in the concert hall.
All of which is a lengthy way of saying: If Burt (or Dionne) strayed beyond their strict and self-imposed play-lists, neither their audience nor the volume of applause would diminish.

[Guest]

for example.... NIKKI, CASINO ROYAL, KNOWING WHEN TO LEAVE, I'M A BETTER MAN....................IT WAS NICE TO HEAR..COME TOUCH THE SUN WITH THE TRUMPETS/CORNETS....FROM BUTCH CASSIDY...THAT IS BETTER THAN RAINDROPS

[someonenameddavid]

I, too, had the pleasure of attending the Vegas concert and the night I went ( Fri 11th) the audience was very supportive of the new ATT material and Burt's comments about the White House. No hecklers that night.

It's true..he interacts with the audience, is extremely appreciative of their enthusiasm and, overall, is simply an adorable man. who personifies charm, warmth, and "cool" at the same time.

Discussed this with my daughter who was "on stage" she doesn't recall hecklers,but does recall some unpleasantness from someone being refused a backstage pass.. someone called Burt's manager a "slut" which is about as far from reality as possible...

From the feedback I'm getting... nothing but integrity about the man... refreshing in the music industry and I sleep better at night.

David.

[Ron]

Thanks for the inside "scoop" David. How unfortunate - that someone who likes Burt well enough to seek a pass would resort to such name calling. Reading between the lines - I am guessing that your daughter travels with Burt. If you by chance are either the father of Josie or Donna you should be very proud. They - along with John Pagano - contribute immeasurably to Burt's concerts. All three are terrific!

[someonenameddavid]

Thanks for the inside "scoop" David. How unfortunate - that someone who likes Burt well enough to seek a pass would resort to such name calling. Reading between the lines - I am guessing that your daughter travels with Burt. If you by chance are either the father of Josie or Donna you should be very proud. They - along with John Pagano - contribute immeasurably to Burt's concerts. All three are terrific!

No, my daughter is Elizabeth.. "Eliza James" blonde violinist... I've been requested not to get too chatty on the group, but Liz was "over the moon" at getting hired by Burt. Elizabeth has been playing since she was four and I sort of expected her to go the "Sarah Chang" route... but you have to earn a living (she's also a lot *cuter* than Sarah Chang ....

But Rob Shrock sort of acts like a trainer/recruiter, and along with Galen Callahan and Cody Carpenter (son of John Carpenter the producer of horror movies) he is developing a base of new talent...
Googling Galen Callahan will give you a neat web page

Regards, david