Last night a group of us went to the Tina Turner 50th Anniversary Concert at the HP Pavillion in San Jose. Even though some of our teenage sons wished us fun at our “fossil concert” and drove home the point by making fun of the 7:30 start time, we all had a rollicking good time.
Tina put on an amazing show. The show pulled every imaginable glitzy trick in the book. She had great musicians in her band and four sexy dancers, each a fraction of her age, who could duplicate every Tina Turner signature dance move with Tina’s signature attitude. I was very impressed how she can still belt out all the songs in tune and at full power at age 68. She used the two female singers wisely, allowing them to complete songs she kick started while she went back stage to change costumes and, I’m sure, to catch her breath. We went to a concert at the Mountain Winery a few weeks ago where the star was in denial about having lost most of the upper range of his voice. It was agonizing to hear him reach for notes that never materialized. We all would have been grateful had he allowed the back up singers to fill in the gaps. But I digress.
Tina's performance did not disappoint. She sang all the big, big hits like “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”, “Simply the Best”, “Mad Max” performed in full costume, and “Let’s Stay Together”. She gave every song her all while dancing, shimmying and strutting in five-inch stilettos. I also enjoyed a ballad version of The Beatles’ “Help!” and “Addicted to Love” performed in front of a large screen duplicate of the famed all-female band of Robert Palmer’s video. The "Proud Mary" finale was spectacular! I'm still new at this blogging business so I haven't figured out how to include videos in stream yet, so I'll just have to give you this link instead.
The other star of the show was the stage. It had the ability to morph into what seemed like endless combinations of stairs, hydraulic lifts, pyrotechnics, and scaffolding. Just when we thought we saw it all, she kept a surprise for us at the encore. Tina sang from a cherry-picker-style bucket that was at the end of a long arm that emerged from the stage and swung over the audience.
The biggest negative of the evening was the venue. HP Pavilion may be a great location for ice hockey, but the acoustics were deplorable. I vowed that I will never go to a concert there again unless I believe it is the last chance to see a great performer. The second, more unplugged set was more forgiving of the bad acoustics and therefore more enjoyable.
I just got an e-mail from Mor Mor Kris who wrote about last night’s performance:
“What a fun and most interesting concert last night. I can't wait 'till I am 68 to start climbing on slippery metal catwalks with 5 inch heels, dancing like I was 20 and just belting out soul 'till the cows come home! Amazing! (I want fire, too). So fun!”
Hear, hear! Thank you, Dakota Angel, for arranging a great evening!
