Tom Jones International

Once again Devin Grant (see March 6 post below) reviews Tom after tonight’s show in Charleston, SC. We have a couple of factual notes: He says, “No one really knows how the tradition of throwing underwear at the singer was started” Well, we do. It started at the Copacabana in New York City in 1968. A woman at the show took off her panties and tossed ‘em at Tom. Thus began a tradition that for better or worse refuses to die. And, we wouldn’t say a Jimmy Buffett concert “with no nautical references” means a highly unusual show when, in fact, nautical references pale beside the Buffet concert ambiance. So, we’d say a Jimmy Buffett concert “with no ganga,” or, “reefer.” Oh, well, a positive review nonetheless and we agree with his conclusion about why Tom still performs. (The photo is from their paper’s website.)

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Tom Jones shows off his not unusual style

By Devin Grant/Special to The Post and Courier/Saturday, March 8, 2008

The North Charleston Performing Arts Center was transformed into a Las Vegas ballroom Friday night as legendary vocalist Tom Jones worked his unique brand of musical magic on a crowd of about 1,400.

It had been more than two years since the Welsh-born singer last stood on a Lowcountry stage, but if the squeals of delight from the women in the crowd were any indication, Jones’ popularity has not diminished a bit.

Wearing a black suit and sporting a goatee, Jones appeared to be in exceptional physical shape for a man who will turn 68 in June. Not surprising, Jones’ voice was as strong as ever.
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Here’s the crowd, some of the opening video and the great Tony Reynolds doing his intro of Tom. There’s also some audio of Burning Down The House and brief clips from his show now. Not great video by an means. But, Jared, Holly read your post and found this for you….and us. Enjoy! (To see the video, click on the link that says “read the rest of this entry” just below.)
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Laura W. sent along this review. We thank her.

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Here I am at the Strawberry Festival waiting for Tom Jones to take the stage. It is 7 pm and I am getting excited. Only 30 more minutes till show time!

The show started with a video that was shown on a large overhead screen that showed outer space scenes, and then zoomed in on earth. Then the words appear “Locating the Voice…..”

It was the start of a fantastic show.
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From the Charleston City Paper blog by music editor T. Ballard Lesemann. And, yes, we can tell him that Kiss is the grand finale of the show each night.

Tom Jones, the Welsh love machine, 3/7

With his own assured, sometimes over-the-top, macho/sexy swagger and baritone, the veteran entertainer Tom Jones, 67, is versatile enough to jump from one musical style to another — from loungy ’60s pop and show tunes to country to modern techno/dance.

Jones and his 11-piece backing band visit town this week for a concert on Fri. March 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $56.50 and $100.50.


His first smash hit, 1965’s “It’s Not Unusual,” became a number one hit in the U.K. and a top 10 hit in the U.S. Other big hits include the sultry “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” the silly-swingin’ What’s New Pussycat?, Help Yourself, The Green, Green Grass of Home,” and, of course, the Paul Anka-penned 1971 tune She’s a Lady. No word on whether his bold version of Prince’s Kiss (a top 10 hit in 1988) made it in the set list or not.

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On Friday night Tom and the gang will be in Charleston, South Carolina, a really beautiful city. This really nice preview of the show (with a photo and much of the information from Tom’s press kit) is by Devin Grant, from today’s Charleston Post and Courier. And we love the mentions of the stuff from Reload.

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Singer getting used to dodging undergarments

Often when performers begin to age, they run the risk of becoming a parody of themselves. For some reason, that has not seemed to happen with Tom Jones.

Sure, there are plenty of people out there who might think that the Welsh-born singer is all shtick and no substance. I’ll even go so far as to say that I had that very impression when I walked into The Plex in November 2005.

Jones was the headliner that night, and I went mainly out of curiosity. I figured it would be a hoot to see Mr. What’s New Pussycat vamp his way through a set of cheesy tunes.

Boy, did I have it all wrong.
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After tryouts in January at the MGM Grand, a new bass player has joined Tom’s band.

Ric Fierabracci is an accomplished musician who has played with some of the finest musicians around today including Ben E. King, Shakira, the Beach Boys, Ann Hampton Calloway, Chick Corea (and MD Brian Monroney).

His band, Hemispheres, has a new CD out. You can sample it on his website or on his myspace page.

The California resident describes himself as a “bassist/composer/producer” and he also teaches advanced bass students.

Ric lists his heroes as Homer, Winston Churchill and Shemp…..With that list, he’s got to be a good guy.

You can see some video of Ric at youtube.

Welcome, Ric.

March 4: Check out the first two photos in our flickr set, The Many Faces of Tom Onstage. They’re audience photos from New Zealand March 1.

Here, finally, is a review by a “real” music reviewer. He’s definitely opinionated (and, we think, pretty close-minded, unaware of Tom’s musical career and quite careless), but this was a different kind of event where the purpose was to party, not to listen to music. On the other hand, there was no mention of Git Me Some. Wonder how that slipped by? And, once again, “crooner.”

After you read this, please remember to respond to our Question of the Month below.

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The Dominion Post | Monday, 03 March 2008

Music reviewer Simon Sweetman takes in the booze-fest that is the Mission Estate show.

Tom Jones & Jimmy Barnes

It’s not unusual for the organisers of this annual party-masquerading-as-a-concert to pick the wrong act for a crowd more interested in consumption of alcohol than enjoyment of good music.

On paper, this year’s selection seemed perfect: an Aussie screamer opening for a Welsh crooner; lots of sing-along classics, an emphasis on fun over polish and a great night out to top off an afternoon drinking on a hill.

But those who perch on the bank are a fickle bunch when it comes to being entertained. They demand to know every single song.

Tom Jones and Jimmy Barnes (late replacements for John Mellencamp and Elvis Costello) did their best to put on entertaining sets, mixing old classics in with a few new and lesser-known songs. And, mostly, they did a great job.

Jones kicked off with plenty of oldies, With These Hands, some George Jones country and the most rousing song about murder and infidelity, Delilah.
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In advertising, a “tag line” is a slogan or a catchphrase identified with a product of individual. For example, AmEx says, “Don’t leave home without it.” Las Vegas has “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” The Yellow Pages advise us to “Let your fingers do the walking” and the the dairy industry asks simply, “Got milk?”

Last week, working with some of our clients — a group of entertainers — we were asked to come up with a tag line for their new ads. Of all the choices proposed*, the line we liked best was:

“The one-night stand you’ll remember forever.”

It is short, memorable (and easy to remember) and totally unsuitable for our group, but we of course thought of one entertainer for whom it is perfect.

So, our question of the month is:

If you had to write a tag line — a slogan — for Sir Tom, what would it be?

*Thanks to Jeanette, via Patricia.