Tom Jones International

Baltimore Maryland is a two-hour drive from home for us, and we have made this trip many times. My daughter’s highlight was always the National Aquarium but, for me, a trip to the Cheesecake Factory in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor has been a must. This weekend with Tom Jones performing I had a little beefcake along with my swiss almond cheesecake.

Ok, that’s as clever a writer as I get, I’m no “Scoop.” I will however try to supply you with the nuts and bolts of the show, because as a fan I know that is what I am most interested in anyway.

Tower of Power warmed up the crowd in their usual high energy style, and Baltimore responded as if it was the band alone they had come to see. How cute is Doc when he “breaks it down?” Those guys really have a great time performing and it shows.

When Mr. Tom Jones took the stage, I must say that it seemed he had a extra bounce in his step from the beginning, and a broad smile that made you wonder if he had an amusing secret. He was in an extraordinarily good mood for the entire show. This was apparent even during the usually serious ballads when he made them seem more on the upbeat side.

He gave me the feeling that the audience had not come to see him but, rather, that he had come to see us and was happier to be there then we were. Happy to be there I was for so many obvious reasons, but most of all because I have never attended a show where Tom was so spontaneous.

He laughed, told stories, and introduced an old friend in the audience — Baltimore’s own Ronnie Dove who toured with Tom in 1965 with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars. He told stories of late-night poker games, and of a trip to his first pawn shop. Tom asked the shop owner to see a “flick knife,” which he explained is what they are called in Wales. He then explained, his friend Ronnie Dove had to pull him aside to tell him in America they are called switchblades.

There was a torrential thunder storm the entire three hours the of the show, but the evening was still very humid and the effects of this were, as always very obvious.

So the guy sweats. That’s no big news flash. To me it’s part of the Tom Jones experience, and always has been. He even commented that it works to his advantage because he said, “I can go to work, and lose weight at the same time.” I am sure it is far more uncomfortable to have to work under those conditions, then it is to witness it. Wet, dry, or in between. Who cares, as long as he still performs?

Close to the very end of the show, a women caught Tom’s attention with an album she wanted him to sign, and he was happy to do so. When she handed him the album, he discovered it was a double album that opened up to reveal a full length picture of himself in earlier days. He must have been proud of that picture, because he held it up for all to see and pointed to himself as if to say “Look how good I look on this one”. He even turned around to show the band. It was so great to see him having so much fun.

Before Tom left the stage, he lingered, and took bow after bow as if he really did not want to leave. I really think he could have done another hour or more.

As I walked out of the Lyric Opera House after the show, I shook my head, and silently thought to myself, “When God made Tom Jones, He was just showing off, on so many levels.”

—Audrey, PA

NOTE: We think this is the album cover Tom held up and, if it was, he’ll get no argument about how he looked from us. It’s from the 1979 disco album Rescue Me.