Tom Jones International

Our dear friend Shirley — a Valley Girl from the Rhondda — called after tonight’s concert to file a report. We appreciate it so much and want to thank her and say “hi” to the other fans we know who were there. We missed being with them, but reading this it feels like we were there.

The Mountain View Winery is a beautiful venue, set high on a hill with a breathtaking view of the valley below. There are several levels of seating from that for season ticket holders to the GA seats on benches at the top of the hill. The stage was small — about half the size of the MGM — so the band and singers were kind of crowded.

There was a comedian on before Tom. His name was Mark Butler. He was very funny. He did an audience participation act and the audience responded really well.

Tom was absolutely great. It was the same set list as it’s been since 2006 and he didn’t talk to anyone from the stage but there were loads of panties thrown and lots of people calling out to him. That’s fine, but when he is singing a ballad, the audience should really be still and show some respect.

Other than remarking that there was a full moon, all of Tom’s patter between songs was as usual. But there was more hip-swinging than I’ve seen in a long time. He was really, as we Taffys say, “hepped up,” and his Welsh accent was very pronounced this evening.

He was wearing a navy blue suit — same shirt — instead of a red or white jacket. Those were probably too hot, as we read here he was sweating like crazy the last shows Sunday and Tuesday in San Diego and Orange County, respectively. (Editor’s Note: The photo above of Tom in San Diego was sent by Nancy. It clearly illustrates the point made in the review of that show.)

I was seated on an aisle but it was difficult to see when people came up front to dance. There was room by the seats to dance and security nicely made people go back. The audience, I must say, was of all ages. Lots of people in their 20s, especially up front.

I’ve seen this exact show probably more than two dozen times but what keeps me coming back is Tom Jones — his singing, his very presence. I’ve been seeing him since 1962 in Wales and, when I see him now, I am reminded of Tom as he was then. To me, he’ll always be that Tom Jones. And, tonight, when I listened to him, I was homesick. But I was also very happy.

On the way out of the car park, everyone was tooting their horns at me. I thought it was because they thought I was holding up traffic. But, when I rolled the window down to see what was causing the fuss, we realized the people were shouting and pointing because they were noticing my license plate (right, obviously).

—Shirley

We happily left Las Vegas for a quick trip to San Diego — comparatively cool weather, humidity, frizz and — oh, yes — Sir Tom Jones. If you were there, please let us know what you thought of the show and, please, if you see him this week in California or Reno, do so, too.

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You can easily see from the photo at left that Tom Jones was hot in San Diego — not just the unusually prodigious amount of sweat you can see in the photo and that was after he removed his red jacket, which was also soaked through. We felt really bad for him when he came out for his encore in the same shirt — it just looked so uncomfortable. Back in the day when he would sweat like that there was always a fresh shirt or (remember?) a fresh black t-shirt. We don’t think he should be Rod Stewart or Cher changing with every song but even Barry Manilow changes throughout he show and he doesn’t break a sweat.

No matter what, the crowd of 1,000+ was clearly — and vociferously — happy to be there. We found it a refreshing change from the shows we usually see in a casino because every single one of those people in the audience was there because they wanted to be. No casino comps to high rollers who were there because it was a free show. Here, women, men — all were standing, cheering, smiling, singing, dancing. And Sir Tom lapped it up, responding to the crowd with one of the most enthusiastic and joyous performances we’ve ever seen.

Then there was the venue. Humphrey’s By The Sea is, obviously, right next to the water. In fact. people who chose to dock their boats there got to see and hear the show for free from their boats. Performing outdoors on a beautiful night, Tom looked skyward, gestured and commented on the “beautiful moon.” And it was.

Unfortunately, the band and singers were level on the stage with Tom, rather than standing on the risers usually in place. That made them difficult to see for people sitting further back. And, because they’re so terrific, a good part of the audience missed out on a good part of the show.

We arrived early and got to meet some loyal and lovely fans who are regular visitors to this site and several who were new to Tom. For that we are very grateful. And, as we said, this is a beautiful venue and a lot of fun. Except….
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Marian, our good “Friend Through Tom,” sent us this review and photo of herself in Biloxi along with the photo of the venue and the marquee where, she tells us, that’s Tom’s picture in the middle. We are thrilled that she took the time to write such a careful, thoughtful review for us and do hope others who see him (or have seen him) on this southern swing do likewise. The newspapers don’t seem to be covering his shows and the only news fans get is from other fans. So, thanks to Marian and to the other fan who sent us the brief video clip at the end of this post. That fan didn’t want to write, but was pleased to share the clip. We wonder (but are not complaining) why all the video lately seems to be of Delilah. The video follows the review.

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Beau Rivage/Biloxi, MS/June 26, 2008

What Makes This Man Do What He Does???

I have always thought I can’t imagine why any man would do what Tom does, a lifetime of grueling touring and being onstage almost every night of his life. Why does he do it??

About to burst with anticipation and excitement, we arrived at the Beau Rivage Theatre about 40 minutes early, with only a sparse crowd. I tried to get better seats when we arrived at the hotel, but no luck. The theater is built so that the tier we were in wasn’t too bad after all. I had been told the show was sold out…and that it was!!! The latecomers filled even the “high-rollers” area. An audience of all ages seemed to be wound as tight as I was…waiting for the Man to come onstage. The well-known introduction with the outer space video, and Tony’s exuberant announcement, after the Tom Jones International video was familiar to me…but not sure if it was to many in the crowd. The sound of the video seemed muffled to me, so maybe it wasn’t clear to others. Tom was welcomed onstage, wearing a striking red jacket, (and I thought I heard a gasp from the crowd) with rapturous applause and cheers from the audience.

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Wednesday evening, June 11: One more blog report from Canada that’s kind of nice. And it links to Tom’s fabu version of The Reason. Check it out.

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Wednesday, June 11: Another review, this one from the Winnipeg Sun is more of the same. This time, Sir Tom is called an ” old crooner.” At the end of his piece, the reviewer allows, “We’re still not sure about the underwear, ladies, but we’re starting to understand what you see in this guy,” but it’s more of the same as below. Getting tiresome.

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OK. We get it. Not everyone is a Tom Jones fan. But, sometimes, the things they write are so — well — stupid. Now, Ellen will tell you from her own experience that it’s easier to write a negative, sarcastic review than a positive one. And we certainly don’t expect every reviewer to love the show. But, despite all experience to the contrary, we’re always surprised when a reviewer — allegedly a person who knows music — doesn’t get it at all. By the third sentence (”Tom Jones inner real-life monologue”) she’d lost us. Add to that the description of the audience and the panty count and saying his career is built on “nary more than a waggle of his hips,” along with a description of the show as “easy-going traditionalist.” Well, there’s nothing else to say, is there?

(Except — those of you who would criticize us for getting annoyed about this stuff — please bear in mind that we review shows and we never stoop to this level. Again, honest criticism is fair and often warranted. But this is dishonest. And, worst of all, it’s not even funny. And do not doubt for a minute that she was going for funny.)

The only question we have is: should we continue to post this such reviews? We probably will, because they’re out there and from legitimate sources. But, we’d like your opinion. Please advise. Thanks. (To make up for this miserable review, we’re posting two photos by Mike Wachniak that really have nothing to do with this post. Except they are from Canada. They were taken at the June 2 fundraiser Tom did in Vancouver. At the left is a videographer named Will, Sir Tom and Mike, the photographer. At right is Sir Tom and Jacqui Cohen, the event’s host. Love Tom’s diamond-studded tie, don’t you?)

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REVIEW: The ultimate ladies’ man

By: Melissa Martin/Updated: June 10 at 09:47 PM CDT/Winnipeg Free Press

There was a Saturday Night Live skit a few years back, where Tim Meadows played a silk-robed Lothario who sipped Courvoisier and took viewer calls on his public television show. Every time a woman called in, Meadows’ character would cock his eyebrow wickedly. “Ooooooh, it’s a lady,” he’d coo.

This, I’m pretty certain, is Tom Jones’ real life inner monologue.

For over 40 years, the Welsh singer has famously winked his way across the world, charming his mostly female audiences with nary more than a waggle of his hips and a catalogue of frankly sexual songs.
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When Tony introduces “The one….the only…SIR TOM JONES!!!” at 7:30 tonight in Winnipeg, it will be the last show in a tour that saw him in Portland, OR, Seattle and the all over the western third of Canada.

From all reports, the tour was highly successful — full houses, enthusiastic crowds. Here’s a review from Star Phoenix in Saskatoon, Sasketchewan (we just like writing that). Titled “Jones Still The Voice,” It’s a positive review, although she didn’t like the encore (we tend to think she didn’t get it) and every ounce of praise was tempered with criticism. But, it’s still a review and still recognition of the power of Sir Tom Jones.

He’s been in a part of the world he doesn’t visit too often so we’re sure the fans were ecstatic he was there.

As we know, June 7 was a great day for music. Here’s a belated birthday wish for Tom and two other greats born June 7. It has a photo we love and, for the record, The Reason as shown here was performed in Chile. Enjoy.

In the 16 days between tonight’s show and his opening in Biloxi, TJI.com is hoping to keep you amused with some stuff from the past you might not have seen before and, too, at least one return visit to a favorite Tom Jones moment. Stay tuned.

Photo: Richard Marjan/The Star Phoenix

From Willamette Week, a newspaper in Oregon, comes an article called The Housewife’s Choice, in which the writer lists “six reasons why the ladies love Tom Jones.” Those reasons are that he’s: romantic, playful, comfortable with his sexuality, versatile, honest and knows his own shortcomings. It’s fun fluff with a grain o’ truth. (We noticed they borrowed some photos from this site for the collage they did that is shown at left.)

One review of Tuesday night’s show from The Edmondton Sun is overall a good one and we do understand why there is almost always mention panties (except the reviewer here in Las Vegas who unfailingly reviews Tom Jones, singer). When people don’t see him often, audience-tossed items are an unusual occurrence that one tends only to see at a Tom Jones show and it naturally draws comment. When people see him frequently, they often get annoyed by the interruption or, sometimes, even guess what he’ll do with a particular item — ignore it, pick it up, comment on it, etc. Practiced fans know there are ways to forecast what will happen.

This guy explains his dwelling on the panties by saying “it’s interesting that Jones can deal with this potentially embarrassing phenomenon, indeed make it part of his act, and still manage not to look silly in his music.”

He also says, [Tom] “enjoys his gift. He’s having fun. He’s also a master of timing, of using his voice to highlight emotion, of restraint to give his big notes more meaning.” On the whole, a good review, right? The color photo, right, is by Robert Taylor, Sun Media.

The other photo is from a review in The Edmondton Journal. This reviewer loved the show, opening with, “As brilliant and high-concept as Kanye West’s recent concert was, the brooding, “I’m-so-misunderstood” hip-hop star was missing one important component from his live show.

“Fun.

“That point was brought crashing down to earth as the devilishly silly Tom Jones and his 2,500 fans clapped, sang and laughed during Tuesday’s love-in at the Jubilee Auditorium.” She found a few, very minor, issues with the performance but it is on the whole a terrific review. Enjoy!

The Red Deer Advocate had a preview the other day of tonight’s show. The writer did her research on this one.

The black and white photo is by Shaughn Butts, The Journal.

We’ve gotten two fan reviews from Vancouver so far (and it’s not even midnight here!). We’re looking for more and for the newspaper reviews. Here’s what we have so far:

From Sherry:

He was amazing. TJ dressed all in black with a red blazer. His voice was better than ever, didn’t miss a note. He’s still got the moves and the ladies were throwing their underpanties in droves.

He returned to do three more songs after singing for over 1 hour and the last three songs of the evening were fast paced rock and rolls songs. You would think he would be exhausted, his black shirt was soaking wet. During the song Sex Bomb, he lifted his shirt to reveal a six-pack, his body looked better than he has in years. He looks like he has been spending time in the gym.

The show was 1 1/2 hours of non-stop singing, some old, some new and some he hadn’t done in years. He sang songs from his TV show and his voice was stronger than ever.

Can’t wait until next time. His performance was Top of the Pops.

And a short one from “G Man,” with, hopefully, another after tomorrow’s show:

Saw him in Vancouver tonight… AMAZING. I’m seeing the show again tomorrow.. 3rd row… cannot wait for more TJ!

Thanks, guys! We love reading about the shows from a fan’s perspective.

Tom’s is not an “oldies” show. He sings his hits but does other stuff, too. This reviewer focused on the over-60 crowd and missed the point — that she had the privilege of watching a master entertainer with an amazing voice fully entertain 2,200 people. If you think it’s worth it, you may want to follow the link just below to the review and, on that page, scroll down and write her. But it’s probably not worth it. And, by the way, we don’t think everyone has to like Tom, or enjoy his show, but to treat his audience as if they’re a bunch of old ladies trying to recapture the past, is outright insulting. It’s just not funny.

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Crooner turns on wayback machine
Saturday, May 31, 2008/KRISTI TURNQUIST/ Oregonian

Sometimes a concert isn’t just a show. It’s a time machine, transporting you back to when life was less complicated, adulthood and its concerns were a distant spot on the horizon, and you could feel so happy it seemed like the sensation would never end.

For about 90 minutes Thursday night, Tom Jones took the crowd at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall expertly by the hand. He flirted. He teased. And he reminded them how it felt the first time they saw the Welsh sex bomb swivel his hips and lustily belt out It’s Not Unusual.

There were a few men in the audience, but it was mainly a sea of women — some young, most older, with their own reasons for turning out to see the veteran showman, who turns 68 on June 7.

Gayla Johnson, 61, has been a fan since the late ’60s. “This is my fifth concert of his,” the Vancouver resident said. “But I haven’t been to one of his shows for 30 years.”

As Johnson was talking, another woman leaned forward to say that her late mother liked Jones so much she carried a picture of the singer in her wallet: “She was a quiet, devout woman, mother of eight — but she loved Tom Jones.”
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SusannePDX was at the show last night in Portland. Her words and photos need no further comment. But we must say we love that marquee.

Tom Jones came to Portland tonight and left us filled with adrenaline. Its has been 2 years since his last show here. Portlanders of all ages were ready. (No merchandise was offered for sale. I’m sure it would have sold. I hope when his CD is out they will at least offer that.)

For fans familiar with the MGM Hollywood Theater, I’ll point out a few differences. The lighting was not as sophisticated. Although a majority of women, there were many many males and couples in the room. The “Schintz” holds 2,200+ seats and it was sold out. At 7:35pm the lights dimmed but there was not the usual video intro just the audio. Tony came out to introduce Sir Tom and the whole place rose to their feet, clapping and screaming. Tom bounced unto the stage to a standing ovation. The crowd went wild and TJ drank in the energy . He was on fire in his red coat. The voice was as fine as ever. His step was very lively–he danced up a storm.

The set was the same but it didn’t matter. Other than the usual comment about “happy to say I’m 200 lbs” there was no banter with the audience but his gestures were more pronounced.. The crowd especially like He Stopped Loving Her Today, 200 lbs, Git Me Some, and the standards went over very well — but when he got to She’s A Lady the whole audience was on their feet again dancing in their seats. Security was heavy, shewing people out of the aisles. People caught taking pictures were pounced upon. By the time the encore rolled around they couldn’t control the audience anymore. Tom stayed longer on stage taking his bows. No one wanted it to end.

It is no wonder this man loves to tour. We loved him and he loved us back.

OK: the newspapers in Portland were full of previews of Tom’s show there tonight. On the left is a very easy quiz with a nice photo of Tom waving to the crowd after he sang the Welsh anthem last month. On the right is a photo of a Tom Jones bust that we will tell you about when we have time. You can look at more photos and hear a song in this article in the Portland Mercury. The quiz is from The Oregonian.

We hope those of you who saw the show will send in reviews.