| Before I even say anything else, let's just start with the set list. It was almost the same as the one for Wolftrap except that
Science of Love was replaced by Fame (The Game) and there was no intermission. I believe intermission is a specific requirement at Wolftrap. And I'm looking at the list (which I stole off the Wolftrap page and then modified) and I'm still thinking that I might not have things in exactly the right order. I should have taken notes. LOL
Intro - maybe someone can help me out on this. I heard some familiar notes in this but I couldn't quite place it.
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
Enough Is Enough (Duet with Mary)
MacArthur Park
Be Myself Again
Stamp Your Feet
Slide Over Backwards (as Hattie Mae)
Selah by Mary Bernard (from her album, You Made It)
She Works Hard For The Money
Bad Girls
Hot Stuff
Fame (The Game)
Last Dance
And now for the details. Donna came out, sang some songs, and left. Oh wait, I guess you wanted more details that that, didn't you? ;-) The show starts with an instrumental introduction. And that bugged me - not because there is anything wrong with it, but because I recognized some of the music they were using, but I couldn't quite place it. And knowing me, that will keep bugging me until I figure it out. LOL (It will probably hit me at something like 3 AM one morning. I'll wake up from a sound sleep thinking, THAT'S what that was.... LOL) The music plays, the dancers come out dressed up as the Queen's guards, the center panel turns around and reveals...... well Donna, of course! (If you thought it would be someone else, then go stand in the corner for an hour and reconsider the error of your thinking. ;-) ) I'm thinking that telling you about the costumes is sort of a waste of space because by now most of you have seen the photos from Virginia on that page
or on the web and as they say, a picture says a thousand words. (I don't know who "they" are, but "they" say lots of clichés like that. ;-) ) What I will say about the costumes (all of them) is that they look so much better in person. The colors are more vibrant, the sparkles show up better, etc. In particular, the floral dress she wears for Sand On My Feet was absolutely gorgeous in person - but not quite so flattering in the photos I've seen so far. So where were we, yes, Donna came out singing The Queen Is Back. (I'm sure Aretha Franklin is issuing a press release condemning that right now. LOL) I thought that one came off really well for the most part, except that there seemed to be some sound issues where I was sitting. But that may have just been because of where I was in relationship to the speakers. The crowd... well the diehards loved it of course. I think the casual fans were not 100% sure what to think at first. It was a new song and they didn't know it so they were not as enthusiastic as they could have been. That was followed by a couple of classics (I Feel Love
and Dim All The Lights) which did get the casual fans going. Well, most of them..... there was a pocket in front who apparently weren't planning to stand ever. LOL (Must have been casino comps. On a side note, if you are near the front and you are a diehard who wants to stand for most of the show - go for it. That will force the casual fans behind you to stand as well if they want to see anything. ;-) And most of you know that Donna likes a rowdy crowd.) Then came I Will Go With You with a longish slow intro in Italian. That was nice to hear again. That was one song that never really came completely alive for me until I heard Donna sing it live and I still prefer it live to any of the 3,000 mixes that eventually came out. Then it was back to the new stuff with I'm A Fire. Now that's a song that I was a little burnt out on until I heard Donna do it live at the taping for the XM Artist Confidential broadcast. It really works well live and it looked to me like that's where the casual fans started warming up to the idea of new material. They weren't 100% there yet, but I think that's where it started. That song went on for awhile because the band and the dancers kept it going while Donna changed costumes. When she came back out, she took center stage, and accompanied by Randy Mitchell on acoustic guitar, she did Sand On My Feet. It's a beautiful song and (shameless plug here) the new single that was just sent to radio. (She didn't mention that, but I'm mentioning it now - call your local stations and ask for it!) On the LED screens behind her there was a picture of a sunset (or sunrise) on the beach that she said was taken from her window. I'm jealous - I'd have to actually get in my car and drive to take a picture like that. ;-) Then it was On The Radio with the entire audience singing back up, followed by Mr. Music and Crayons. If I'm A Fire started getting the casual
fans into the new stuff, then these two cemented that. Crayons in particular is just amazing live! The ironic thing is that when we first learned about the tracks on the album (back before we had heard any of them) I thought that would be the track I liked least because it's got a reggae flavor to it and I don't usually go for reggae. But when I heard the song on the album, it quickly became one of my (many LOL) favorites and I absolutely loved it in the live show. It's right up there with any of the classics... in fact I think I even prefer it to some of the classics. After another costume change, Donna was back to sing Enough Is Enough with her sister Mary Bernard. That was followed with MacArthur Park (with the bridge!) and then Be Myself Again. I've loved Be Myself Again since the first time I heard it weeks and weeks ago. In fact, I've told a few people that if Donna would have been in the room with me the first time I heard it, I would have hugged her right there and then. (And then I would have asked her just what the hell she was doing in my house at that hour with me not even dressed yet. LOL) So I was really happy to have a chance to hear it live. The only thing that marred the song was someone (PHIL) sent a text message to my phone (PHIL) even though that person knew I was at the show (PHIL) and I had to spend a minute fumbling with the phone to shut off the alert. (I'd get him back at one of the shows he's at but I'll be at the same shows too and I won't want to whip out my phone and send a random text message at the right time. LOL) Next up was Stamp Your Feet which just gets better every time Donna does it followed by another costume change while Mary introduced a very special guest for the evening... Hattie Mae Blanche Dubois (who bears a striking resemblance to Donna Summer in a big white hat. Go figure? ;-) ) She of course did Slide Over Backwards
which was received by the casual fans much better than I expected. That one is a fun one live. They use the LED screens to make the place look like Hattie Mae's Bar and Grill. My only minor complaint was that at about this time something happened to the sound mix. The balance between Donna's lead vocals and the backing vocalists was a bit off like somebody tweaked the wrong knob on the mixing board or something. I want that person fired. (Just teasing! LOL) Then it was Hattie Mae's turn to introduce the other special guest for the night - Mary Bernard. Mary sang the track Selah off her album, You Made It. (Another shameless plug - you can grab it on iTunes,
Amazon,
MaryBernard.com, or even some actual CD stores if the ones by you aren't as annoying as the ones by me. ;-) ) It's a beautiful song and Mary proved that she is more than capable of taking center stage any time she wants. Eliza Doolittle has graduated.+ After that, Donna Summer was back with a string of classics, She Works Hard For The Money, Hot Stuff
and Bad Girls which had the house partying as usual. (If you ever see a show where people don't get up for Bad Girls and Hot Stuff, it's time to call the coroner - those people are officially dead. LOL) Then it was another quick costume change and Donna came out for
Fame (The Game) with her dancers playing the part of paparazzi. That song kicks ass live! There is no other way to say it! :-) She could have kept it going for an hour and I wouldn't have gotten bored with it. And I apologize now to all of you who love Science Of Love, but having heard Fame live - I'd be thrilled if she kept it for all the shows I'm going to even if it means leaving Science
out. (Okay Science lovers - you can start throwing rotten tomatoes at me. LOL) And the best part about Fame is that it keeps the momentum from Hot Stuff and Bad Girls going so that people are still revved up for Last Dance. And of course Donna closed with Last Dance. By that time even the stubborn pocket of people in the front had finally relented and gotten to their feet. There was sort of a wide space between the stage and the first row of seats and I saw one or 2 couples use that space to dance with each other. It was a completely fabulous show and if I didn't have to work for a living I think I would just follow the tour from venue to venue all summer long. LOL Let me just wrap things up by saying that in the press release for the tour, Donna likened the show to a chocolate chip cookie with all the familiar hits being like the chocolate chips. Having eaten more than a few cookies in my time (STOP LOOKING AT MY WAISTLINE! ;-) ) I can tell you that while the chocolate is nice, you need to start with a good cookie first and then the chocolate just enhances that. Having seen the show the other night, I can say that Donna is welcome to make cookies for me any time she wants because she's obviously got the right recipe.
- Cathy from Website HQ
*From crayons to chocolate chip cookies...... this should be the "let's all have a second childhood" tour! LOL |