Tony Bennett delivers another memorable and fun night in Indiana!

We are lucky to have another special guest posting with a concert review. Bob Schewe has attended his fair share of Jazz concerts, and has even been known to play a little himself.  Enjoy - JMS

Tony Bennett at the Silver Creek Event Center at Four Winds Casino, New Buffalo MI, on August 23, 2013

Tony Bennett had been on my list of iconic performers to see live.  I’ve never regretted paying a great deal for a ticket to see Frank Sinatra in one of his last Las Vegas shows.  Even though his voice was far from vibrant, the style was still there.  But my enthusiasm and urgency to see Tony Bennett live was tempered by his over-exposure for the past ten years or so.  That is, until I heard him sing on television recently and read great reviews about his live performances.  His voice and stage presence remain distinctive and impressive, as they were on this night.

You had two very different options to see Tony in the Chicago area this summer:  outdoors at Ravinia in Highland Park IL, or the following evening at the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, MI.   Ravinia was fewer miles to drive, but we decided to make a weekend out of a trip to New Buffalo, and it was about the same time in the car (75 minutes) as driving to Ravinia.   The two venues couldn’t be more different, but suffice it to say we were willing to overlook the negatives of the Silver Creek Event Center  -- which is basically just a large multi-purpose meeting room with no elevations except for the last few rows -- to avoid the bigger drawbacks one faces with Ravinia traffic, parking, access, long walks to restrooms, and crowd size.

The experience at Silver Creek Event Center could be viewed in a couple of ways.  You could look at it as more appropriate for a keynote or inspirational speaker at a corporate convention.  Or you could look at it as an intimate setting for a special private concert for you and 1500 of Tony’s fans.  With Tony’s cabaret repertoire, a hint of tobacco smoke wafting in from the casino, and just a small on-stage ensemble, my frame of mind was definitely the latter.  The video projection was first-rate even if the sight lines to the stage weren’t, and the staff and bartenders were professional and seemed happy to serve the most reasonably-priced drinks you’ll find at a concert (one benefit of the casino).

Things kicked off on schedule at 9:00 PM with Antonia Bennett performing a 20 minute set that was light and breezy, not much more.  She introduced her father, and an hour of some very fine jazzy crooning began with Tony doing a couple of age-defying 360-degree twirls on stage.  Antonia returned mid-way through for a too-quick duet (Sondheim’s “Old Friends”) that was really fun to see.

The four musicians (piano, bass, drum, guitar) backing Tony were seasoned pros, and that’s an understatement.  Tony let them take their solo turns, as he took a breather (whether needed or not).  It was all just really tight and highly entertaining.  The pianist-conductor, Lee Musiker, was masterful, and I wanted his solos to go on even longer.

No one song stood out for me as better or more remarkable than another.  They were all crowd pleasers, and Tony seemed to avoid making any one of them into the evening’s climax.  He did one encore which ended with “Smile,” so we didn’t get the last two songs on the set list (see below)  Maybe we didn’t applaud Antonia enough?  But Tony’s and my mission was accomplished:  it was a memorable and fun night in the Silver Creek cabaret. -Bob Schewe

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Tony Bennett Set List

Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and Rozzi Crane rock Chicago

Seeing Maroon 5 was on my wife’s “bucket list” of bands she wanted to see live, so we took the  opportunity recently to go see “M5” at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater, in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park.  Kelly Clarkson and newcomer, Rozzi Crane were the opening acts on this leg of “The Honda Civic Tour.”  Kelly was actually listed as the “co-headliner” given her deep library of hits, which explains why this summer’s tour is being called one of the most successful since the tour began in 2001.

It was beautiful summer night and with the concert scheduled to start at 7pm, gates opening at 6pm and parking at 5pm, we arrived at venue’s parking lot around 5:45pm.  Getting INTO the lot was a breeze (while getting out was like swimming in concrete, but more on that later.)  There’s Gate 1, and if you miss that one, like we did, there’s another gate just down the road.   When you enter, they give you the option of paying an extra $30 for premium parking.  We didn’t do this, since we were plenty early.  It looks like it puts you a bit closer to the venue, but they also might make it easier for you to get out after the concert, and avoid swimming in concrete, but more on that later.  We opted for the general parking, a vast gravel landscape, since that cost was already included in the ticket price.  After taking note of where we parked, (when it’s dark after the concert, you’ll be glad you did) we walked towards the amphitheater.  Long lines had already formed, but moved quickly once they opened the gates at 6pm.

Right at 7pm, Rozzi Crane’s drummer dropped a beat, and the 21yr-old singer came on stage like she’s been doing this forever.  Rozzi was the first artist to be signed to Adam Levine’s newly formed “222 Records.”  Her musical style seems to blend R&B, Pop, Hip-Hop and, I guess, a bit Alternative too.   She sang her first single off her soon-to-be-released debut album (I can’t remember the title but we all liked it) , plus “Crazy Ass Bitch”, and then covering Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”, and Destiny’s Child “Say My Name.”  She gave a strong, entertaining 30 minute performance, despite the distraction of a still filling-in venue.

Kelly was up next and what can we say?  Kelly was Kelly.  She was so fantastic that I wasn’t sure how the fans in the “mosh pit” next to the stage could get any louder, and still make it through to M5!  (they did!)  Kelly has sold over 20m albums worldwide, with 84-number ones on the Billboard charts, with 11 number one singles worldwide, and she showed why tonight.   Using a little “AC/DC” for some prelim-intro music, Kelly brought the huge crowd up with songs such as, “Stronger”, “Catch My Breath”.   She even got caught-up in the moment a bit, with all the support coming from the 20k+ fans.   In between songs, she showed her sense of self-deprecating humor, talking about getting engaged recently, and about NOT being pregnant, but just carrying some holiday weight.   She vented on her critics through “Mr. Know It All,” displaying on the huge screen behind her, what I assume were all the negative comments she’s received over the years.  After seeing her live for the first time tonight, I find it hard to believe you could ever say anything negative about her singing and performing.   She knocked it out of the ballpark with her last song of the night, the Grammy winning “Since U Been Gone.”

After Kelly’s forceful performance, the crowd was stoked for even more and Maroon 5 delivered with the heights of Adam Levine’s vocals (and guitar playing too), the extremely talented and fast-fingered James Valentine on lead guitar, Matt Flynn’s pounding drums, Mickey Madden’s thumping bass, and the stand-out keyboards of PJ Morton.   They started with “One More Night” ”This Love” and then later “Harder to Breathe” before covering Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”  I admit that while I have enjoyed M5’s music for years when it comes on the radio, I’m not the kind of fan that knows all their songs by heart.  I usually knew the choruses, but that’s about it.  Apparently, I was in the small minority this night, as fans, mostly women, of all ages sang along with each song.  Adam was often able to pass the mic to his massive audience and let them carry-on.   The laser light show was also very effective, especially when reflecting off the huge beach balls Adam had kicked off the stage and were getting passed around.  Valentine’s incredible guitar was a perfect match Levine’s gymnast like vocals going onward and upward!

With it getting close to 11pm and the end of the concert, the band seemed to draw on the energy still flowing through the audience, and finished up with a flurry of hits “Moves Like Jagger” “Payphone” “She Will Be Loved” and “Daylight” , their hit number one single off their latest album “Overexposed.”  The crowd was spent and tired, but a good tired.  The moshers had been moshed.  We were all thoroughly entertained and stimulated beyond our expectations.

The concert was awesome.  If you get the opportunity to go see Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and/or Rozzi Crane live in concert, do it. The weather was perfect.  Getting into the venue was easy.  BUT leaving was a different story.  We got back to our car a little after 11pm.  We did not, and could not, move for 35 minutes, due to the back-up getting out.  We didn’t leave the parking lot till after midnight, AND then the route they gave us led us in the opposite direction of the way we needed to go.   Without GPS, we might still be driving around Tinley Park looking for way home.  I would suggest being prepared for this, as we will definitely look into alternative parking locations next time!

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