... last week my wife and I took the 50 minute drive to Mohegan Sun Casino to catch Lou Rawls ... Man, talk about energy ... the man just stood on stage for an hour and twenty minutes and sang song after song, as relaxed as could be while a 5 piece group .. piano/keyboards, percussion/ vibes. guitar, bass, and drums just absolutely ROCKED behind him ... The man is still as smooth as silk ...
If you ever have a chance to catch an act in 'The Cabaret' at Mohegan, I highly recommend it .. It is a fairly small room with a very intimate feel ... The tickets for this show, as for most of the shows during the week were $15 ... AND we sat right in front of the stage!!! ... ...
t

TONY!!!

Hahyadoon? I wanted to see Lou Rawls, but couldn't get my act together. Great seeing you on the boards again. Hope all is well, paesan!

Ang

Reminds me of a Cat Stevens concert I was at several years ago. Not being a C S fan, it was one of those things I was talked into... like,"hey, I've got some extra tickets, etc". Can't remember what he sang, only how good he was because of the passion and energy he poured into every ounce of his singing. That's contagious! As a listener, you become caught up in the performers enthusiasm, even if it's not your favorite music!

I never forgot that experience. It taught me that if you want to perform sucessfully, you must have a passion for your music... and it must project to the audience. On the other hand, here are some things you can do if you want to go in the opposite direction:

1. Have your nose burried in your lyrics
2. Have lengthy discussions between songs re what's next
3. Fiddle with your drum machine before starting a song
4. Not using Registrations and taking too long between songs
5. Not playing what's necessary to keep dancers on the floor
6. Getting up during a song for a drink!
7. Wearing headphones to listen to the game!
8. Always looking at your watch and yawning!

Actually, I've never seen 6,7, or 8, thankfully, but I've seen much of 1 thru 5. I'm sure I missed some.

I just got back from Las Vegas. We heard Englebert Humperdink and Clint Holmes. Englebert did a fine job and he had a terrific band behind him. The band at times had three keyboards. Two of them were Tritons.

I had never heard of Clint Holmes before. His tickets were 20 bucks a piece more than Engleberts. He is a fantastic performer. He sings, dances, plays, and writes songs. His only hit was that sappy song about "My name is Michael I've got a nickel ......." His band leader played what appeared to be a grand piano but it wasn't. It was some kind of synth. His other keyboard player played a Motif. His band was wonderful.

Both Englebert and Clint performed at a high energy level. It was fun.

Tom

Clint is one of those "millions" of great performers that just can't break out of the nightclub scene. He had some TV exposure when Joan Rivers did a talk show, but he continually stays relitavly unnoticed by the population. He's good looking, energetic, sings well ....... like many others. Wonder what it REALLY takes to get to that next level?
Glad you had a good time Tom - was the strip everythinhg you expected? I hear they are trying to make Vegas more "family-friendly" .... I can't imagine.

Tom ... A number of years ago I caught the Neil Diamond show at a local venue ... I ALWAYS bring binoc's to these shows, and I saw that his mucis director was playing what appeared to be a full grand piano, but had a digital set up just above the keyboard ... i guess that's the thing ... these pro's have toys like us, only better ... MUCH better ...
UD ... the difference between a 'superstar' and the perennial 'lounge act' .. "LUCK" ??? ... Many of the performers in places like Vegas are as good or better than those who pass as 'superstars' ...
AHHH ..... if only I could trade some of my talent for some of that luck....
t. :cool"