Last night the Sproules and the Bonks....
hit the third leg of their personal "Geezer Rock Tour" (Ringo Starr last October; Brian Wilson last month) when we went to see 1960's superstar/heart throb Tom Jones at the Benedum Center.
Tom Jones is 76 years old. You never quite know what to expect when you go to hear a guy in his seventies sing, but from the moment Jones sang the opening lines of his opening song, you realized that the Jones Pipes have lost nothing - nothing! - since the time you heard him for the first time, back when Lyndon Johnson was President.
First of all, Tom Jones has aged well:
Still a great looking guy who can belt out a song. Oh, he doesn't move and swivel like he did back in the day, but, as I said above, he can still belt out a song.
Jones was backed by a nine piece band that included a terrific brass section. The show was a mixture of new stuff, old stuff, rock and roll, gospel, blues. A polished and very professional Vegas-type show. The man is a Pro, no doubt about it.
Jones also gave the fans what they wanted, a handful of Jones classics - Delilah, What's New, Pussycat, Green Green Grass of Home, Thunderball, and, of course, It's Not Unusual. He sung What's New, Pussycat accompanied only by an accordion and a tuba! How often have you seen that at a rock concert? (Minor quibble: He did not sing Help Yourself, and that bummed me out a little bit.)
All in all, a great night out and a great show and performance from a guy who shows no signs at all of slowing down.
Let's close this post out with a view of a younger Tom Jones (from 1989) singing perhaps his most famous song:
(All photos, except the one of the Benedum marquee, courtesy of Dan Bonk.)
Thanks for the insightful review. We just returned from Vegas where we enjoyed the Lionel Ritchey show..a 67 year old who also can deliver a great performance. My only gripe is the rudeness of the audience who as soon as he appeared on stage felt compelled to stand up, waive their arms and lift their cell phone cameras so no one behind them (us) could see. I asked the woman in front of us to please sit, she respond NO WAY. An usher appeared and guess who he ragged on...ME. He told me to watch the video screens if I could not see, I responded with anger, "go get a boss and give us our $400 back." Never happened. I enjoy entertainment BUT the general uncivil behavior of my fellow concert goers is a source of annoyance to this old salt. Keep up the "geezer tour" -- I am done.
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