Show & Venue Reviews, What's New, Pussycat?
Please share your Tom Jones shows with other fans. Setlist? Audience? Energy? What was it like being there? We’d love to hear from you.
And, while you’re telling us about the shows, please let us know what you think of the venues where Tom plays. Clubs, theaters, casinos — Tom Jones performs in all of them. Which venue do you think is the best? The worst?
So that other fans will know what’s in store when they buy their tickets, please tell us a little bit about the venues you know. If possible, try to use the format below so others can tell at a glance what you think. The best venue will merit ****. More than one review of a venue is welcome.
2006 Wrap-Up: A Year Of Tom
Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
Tom onstage on December 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After that show he went to the premiere of Rocky Balboa, the new Stallone flick at the Aladdin-Planet Hollywood Hotel. Here they are at the premiere party with prop comic Carrot Top who has a regular show at Luxor. If you are willing to concede that not everyone feels about Tom the way you do, and you want a good laugh, check out popwatch’sposting of this photo. You gotta love it.
Tom closed 2006 as he opened it, with two weeks in Las Vegas that ended tonight.
In between the January and December stands there was so much that happened, we’d bet it was one of Tom’s best years ever.
First, of course, is his knighthood. And nothing could top it. That said, we applaud his achievement in reaching #1 on the UK dance charts with Stoned In Love, his collaboration with Chicane. And, too, we applaud his new show.
Having seen it more than once we do have a few additional comments. In no particular order:
•Some great new stuff — Git Me Some, Grandma’s Hands, The Reason — each wonderful and amazing.
•Some great old stuff — The standards are a nice addition. We love Here’s That Rainy Day. That performance showcases a fine singer at the top of his game. The other two? In our opinion, not so much. But, remember, we say that with the fact in mind that Tom Jones’ “not so much” is better than most performers’ very best. Of course, we’d prefer some more blues and R & B, but that’s a purely a personal preference.
•We love the new shirts and the suits. Tom looks great.
•Our vote for the most popular of the new tunes — based solely on audience reaction — is I Love the Way. Every audience we saw was into it immediately and fully. It’s just so much fun and Tom, too, really seems to have a good time doing it. We’re crazy about Git Me Some (who wouldn’t be?) but for the sheer energy of the audience response I Love the Way is in a class by itself. Everyone in the room — just watch the MGM ushers and waitstaff dancing in the aisles — has a ball.
•We repeat — the band and back-up singers are worth their weight in gold. It’s wonderful that Tom is acknowledging each of them by name.
Also a positive experience for us was the opportunity to put faces with names we see online and meet some wonderful fans we “know” from this site, from the forum on tj.com and from the yahoo list.
The biggest negative here in Las Vegas is the complete lack of merch. We understand that business decisions have to be made and we assume not selling anything is a business decision. But we believe the fans deserve more; someplace to buy merch without having to travel to another city, state or country. And, then, there are the too-old photo and video used as promos that date from the Cardiff Castle days. It’s time for a change.
Finally, we repeat our hope that this show is recorded for DVD release. It showcases the very best of Tom Jones.
It’s been a very good year and we are grateful.
—Ellen & Ursula
Fay came to Vegas, saw Tom and was conquered. Below is her review. Feel free to add one of your own.
Christmas came early this year with TJ delivering the goodies not once, not twice, but THREE times to this very satisfied lady. I heard that his “Vegas Show” was shorter, but it does not make it any less exciting. I last saw him in April and was really looking forward to his new show and hearing some awesome new songs. Tom tends to wear his heart on his sleeve when it comes to his singing, and it is obvious that he is really enjoying himself. It’s very hard for me not to gush, thrill and twitter. Those who know me will attest to the fact that I passionately and willingly offer myself up for sacrifice at the altar of the eminently sexy and peerless Sir Tom Jones every single day of the week. Someone say AMEN!
Don’t believe the billboards you see in Vegas that claim another entertainer as the “Best Magic Show” you’ll find there. I saw TJ perform on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and he looks and sounds absolutely fabulous. He is lean and toned, which just serves to accentuate his muscular and gorgeous self. He leaves his jacket on until late in the show, but manages to unwrap a “six pack” for us thirsty ladies that should have provided some serious quench, but it just fuelled the fire. I will share my impression of the show and songs in order of significance as I remember them, not as the setlist went…
The Reason. If he could only sing one song each night, this would be my choice. The lyrics are so powerful and he sings them beautifully. His voice verily embraces and soothingly caresses this song, forgiveness is his alone. It’s difficult to believe this song wasn’t written just for him.
Combine the depth of Brian Monroney’s guitar licks, a solid bass line and Tom’s playful vocals and you get some very, very sexy blues with Git Me Some. This song is perfectly presented, every angle polished until it shines - a true gem. To quote the song… “Let the truth be told, I only want to git me some.”… and once more, and again, if you please. Oh, and you will!
He hasn’t forgotten his beloved classics such as It’s Not Unusual, Green Green Grass of Home, She’s A Lady, and Delilah (although he does seem a bit weary by the second knife thrust LOL!), and is generous enough to sing them to an appreciative crowd.
Tom presents three standards Here’s That Rainy Day, Fly Me to the Moon and That Old Black Magic. The sincerity he exudes in the first song is nothing short of fantastic. Fly Me To The Moon is one of my all time favourite songs from the Tom Jones Definitive Collection — Disc 2, by the way — and it was a real treat to hear him sing it live. I think That Old Black Magic is probably most complementary to round out the trio of songs, but not necessarily perfect for Tom. Having said that, he sings them all beautifully and leaves you wanting to hear more of the Standards, (note the capital S), with his signature on them.
TJ has changed his banter, it is warmer and more personal. He told the audience that he has been Van Morrison’s friend since 1964, when they “both arrived in London” from Wales and Ireland, respectively. He has recorded a duet, Cry for Home, on Van’s new album, which, after hearing Tom sing it, I plan on buying.
He gets the crowd moving with the perennial favourite — Sexbomb, his techno-dance hit Stoned In Love and a slightly too-fast version of Resurrection Shuffle, which he might want to reconsider and do the old-fashioned way.
Tom takes time to introduce his band and back up singers individually, what a treat. They are individually very talented, and when you put them all together the results are amazing. The vocal harmonies on Grandma’s Hands are so wonderful and Sharon Hendrix’s voice lends a haunting and beautiful refrain to this already amazing song. As Tom says, the back up singers are “the best.”
His shows leave me breathless, excited and wanting more. Not a bad deal for $75, I’d say. It’s going to be a long, cold winter but it will leave me lots of time to figure out how to get back to Vegas in March when he will be working his magic again.
Fay
December 20th, 2006 at 10:17 pm
You go, Tom. Hope to see you in PA in 2007. Saw you twice this year. Great shows. — Cindy
December 21st, 2006 at 3:48 am
AMEN!! Thanks Fay, superb review, very articualte and you expressed all the feelings for Tom that we all share but perhaps are not very good in expressing on paper. Thanks Ursula and Ellen for your excellent critique. Loved it! Git Me Some and I Love the Way were my two favourites that evening. Thanks for all you do, ladies. I love this site and one day I hope to see Tom in Vegas and get to meet you all.
December 21st, 2006 at 4:24 am
VERY excellent review Fay! Thanks a bunch.
December 21st, 2006 at 7:52 am
What a year indeed I’ve been lucky enough to see Tom Jones shows 5 times this year and was lucky enough to meet him once.To me he is by far the best entertainer/singer of all time. He is also the most underating singer as well. No promoter no critics it was going to a Show in Rama July in 2005 that got me hooked and that was by chance and a spare of the momment thing. It was Tom that sold me no promoters. To anyone who has not seen his show GO GO GO. It is the best by far. To everyone at TJ International THANK YOU for keeping us the fans updated troughout the year and posting your reviews. Another year gone Merry Christmas to everyone and all the best for 2007 and Tom I’ll see you in Vegas in March. Cheers!
December 21st, 2006 at 9:30 am
Thanks Fay for your review and like Linda said, you have a way of expressing what we all feel but maybe can’t quite put down on paper the way you can! Thanks Ellen and Ursula for a great website! I always start and end my day here.
Wishing a Merry Christmas to Tom and his family and to all his beloved fans.
December 21st, 2006 at 11:14 am
Its been a wonderful year! I’ve been lucky to get to Vegas for each MGM gig. I can only say that TJ just gets better and better. The new show is to die for…I couldn’t review it any better than Fay and Ellen & Ursula. Thanks to TJI for their great job keeping the fans informed. I can’t wait to start off 2007 at the MGM in January with Sir Tom. Season Greetings and Happy New Year to all.
December 21st, 2006 at 12:47 pm
Yes, yet another marvellous year for our Sir Tom - he is truly a phenomenon! Thank you, Ellen and Ursula, for all you do for the fans and for this great website. Wishing you both a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2007.
December 22nd, 2006 at 11:55 am
Hi all, After reading my review, I realized I missed telling you all so much more, this show is AWESOMECOOL! I have been singing the chorus “I like the way you MOVE!” all week, love it!!! It’s a fun and sexy song, and TJ does it sooooooo well.
I want to thank Ellen and Ursula for providing us with this amazing website. It’s a pleasure to visit each and every day and see what’s going on. You ladies ROCK!
Happy Holidays to everyone and a very Happy New Year too! —Fay xo
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Happy Holidays to you, Ellen & Ursula, and thank you for having this super website which feeds my TJ habit. The info you provide, including general Las Vegas knowledge and other interesting fyi articles, is terrific. This site is beyond comparison to the tj.com, which is pretty useless considering most of it is still under contruction, and what’s there is usually old and hum-drum. Who runs that site, anyhow? For shame! Well, thanks for running the reviews of the new show. Can’t wait to see it in January!
December 23rd, 2006 at 10:31 am
Happy Holidays to all the visitors at TJI and especially to Ellen and Ursula who made my stay in Vegas much more then it would have been otherwise!!
I met a number of Tom’s fans and it was a pleasure.
I would personally like to see TJI sell Tom Jones merchandise. I believe that Ellen and Ursula could do a wonderful job and that there is a call and need for this. I haven’t seen any merchandise at all for a few years now. I would love to be able to buy a t shirt or replace my old key chain which was dropped one too many times.
Well, it’s December 23rd and like a lot of you I have a million things left to do. So, I will sign off but be back again tomorrow to read info and comments on my favourite web site.
December 23rd, 2006 at 1:12 pm
I too was in Vegas with Ellen, Cathy, Fay, Ursula, Linnie and Trish,Deb and Sue and what a great crowd. I got to see three awesome shows of TJ’s and as a long time fan I can only say he gets “betterer and betterer”!!!! I can back up Fay in everything she says so well, Git Me Some was terrific and also I Love The Way he had everyone “moving” in the theatre all three nights I was there, but Cry for Home has to be a favourite of mine too…. He really gave his all and he enjoys singing so much, no one could go away from his shows not feeling that he is the greatest, even if they weren’t a fan to begin with. I do wish that someone would make a video of the complete new show, they would make a fortune.!!!!! Thank you Ellen and Ursula for making this website such a great one and all the very best for Xmas and the New Year. Keep up the good work. “I luv you Tommy” and keep rocking…
Shirley
December 23rd, 2006 at 2:32 pm
I, too, want to thank Ellen and Ursula for this wonderful website. It is done with taste, elegance and focus on Tom Jones, the performer, and it is much appreciated. This is where I come to get my TJ news. As I have said before, ladies, Tom is lucky to have you. I was fortunate enough to see 5 shows last week and they were wonderful. The new setlist rocks and my favorite, by far, is I Like The Way. Tom has such fun with it, that you can’t help but join in. I must say that the expressions he makes during Git Me Some are priceless. I met some really wonderful fans from all the sites. All in all it was a memorable visit. 2006 was a great Tom Jones fan year for me personally, and I look forward to seeing more of The Man in 2007. A very Merry Christmas and Happy, Prosperous New Year to all of you, and in particular to Ellen and Ursula for their care and love for TJ and his fans.
December 23rd, 2006 at 9:40 pm
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.