Sir Tom Jones Online

The new guys,  Bill Churchville is an outstanding musician, and while I will sincerely miss Pete, Bill fits in like a glove. He is playful and looks to the audience to see if we're into it.

The first Bass player,  a mystery man as Tena pointed out...who LOOKED the part of a MOUNTAIN with LOTS of stage presence.  No Name though. I wouldn't have minded if he'd stayed just to watch him since I couldn't hear him anyway!! 

 The permanent bass player is Rick, the Italian Stallian.  I didn't catch his last name when he politely shook my hand one night.  Sorry guys!!  Anyway..our seats at stageside are horrible for hearing the baseline.  But Rick has personality on stage.  As the days progressed and he got more comfortable with the music that guitar of his started to swing around.  IMHO, I think he will be fun to watch and listen to!

NOW...............TOM>>>>>>>>>>>

The VOICE IS IN TIP TOP SHAPE!!!!!!
Night one....Tom poured his heart out to a dead audience....but he had a secret...TONY CURTIS...yes the TONY Curtis was in the audience.  I think that is the first time I've seen the audience FORGET that TOM was onstage for a few seconds!!!  Curtis is now a cute little old man...but his EYES...are still piercing blue lasers that shine!!  It was a privilege I'll never forget!..and Tom came and got his cigars once he realized that the bouquet was not flowers!! Held together with only a pipe cleaner he had to take them right from my hand.....yep...the hand tingled!! hahaha

Night two.....was a blast....even though I failed to convince Joe's Gram to come to the show..everything worked for the best and Denise G got to sit ring side with us.

As Denise G mentioned, Herman and Tony both stopped by....OMG ...but at the same time.  Tony did his appearing out of nowhere and scare the bejesus out of ya thing..and Herman...well..he can't walk two feet without getting noticed 

We all had a blast being together.. TOM eyed Tena all night as she was just glowing and in TOM-ZONE!!  Dinner at Fiamma followed with the nicest friends a gal could ever ask for....  Thanks again Tena, Denise and Joe!!!  You are all really too much!

Night Three..OMG NIGHT THREE!!!! Tom's energizer bunny battery was stuck in mega high gear!!!  LORDY!!!!!!!!!  When it was time to do a little shake...he shook till till you thought your corneas were gonna burn!!   Everything was moving "if ya know what I mean!!!"  This went on the entire show.  ...and the voice was right there.  It was that super-show that comes once in a blue moon.  Now if I only had my camera going I'd SHOW you!!!!

Fastfard to my last night there..NIGHT 5  ..I was back at table 7A and Laura and a mutual friend Anna were able to get 8A the last minute.  I saw another buddy,Bebe, stuck at 2a and knew there was an open seat at my table so we got her to move...but just as I did one of the ushers called me.....and said she had a birthday present for me.  TABLE 5A  I asked if there was room for 2 ..but she said no.  HELL...you never saw a woman grab up two glasses of water..her ticket and her purse so fast....as the lights were going down.  OMG..OMG OMG!!! I thought I  died and went to heaven.  What A SHOW FROM THAT TABLE!!!!  PLEASE DON"T HATE ME!!! Everynight I asked at the ticket counter if there was something more centered than what I had...this night was No expection.  I felt wierd be-bopping alone..but heck I was in heaven.  The English couple at the table were looking at me like I was from Mars...but the wife eventually joined in the fun somewhat.  And I could see Anna ....  Laura..were did you put yourself...you were at the stage the moved back so I couldn't " talk" to you! Oh well girl!  Tom gave another great show...so I know I good time was had by all

Last night ....sitting at Fiamma....Kerry had the champagned poured before I was in my chair....as usual...what a guy!!!  Bebe and I had a light dinner and sat and talked...and who showed up!!! YES YES!!! TOM!!!  After dinner I said hello to Don...who must have been scouping the bar....He said Tom said over dinner that I had been at several shows this week!! (oh dear!) hahaha Anyway..they were about to join us at the bar when a loud group of folks TOM knew suddenly appeared.    Bebe and I couldn't believe our bad luck...neither could Kerry...he said Tom would be sitting right here with you if THAT had not happened!Oh well.

I decided to go ask TOM for my 50th birthday hug. No Details.!  Bebe didn't go over in spite of my proding...(Bebe..you ROCK!!!!).. it was rather intimidating with that group there.  It was interesting to hear Tom chat away as just one of the guys

Tom...next time I catch ya like that...........................................

Vegas was amazing!

TOM was amazing!

oxoxooxoxo..

till next time..Janet

Hi!
First of all, thanks a lot for your kind welcome messages as a new member, it was really nice to read you.
The show in Punta del Este yesterday night was great.  Please see some fotographs here:

http://lidiabriva.spaces.live.com

Sorry some are not clear, we were not very far from the stage but we used a manual zoom anyway.

The weather was awful, it rained from time to time and it was terribly windy and cold for a summer night, but the show was fantastic.  I do not know how to calculate the number of people in the audience, but it was quite full and I guess that the venue holds about 5.000 persons.

It started to rain just a few minutes before the beginning of the performance, but the audience was very nice and every one shared umbrellas, sang, laughed, danced and applauded a lot. 
I have a couple of videos (2.30 minutes of Leave Your Hat On and 3 minutes of Kiss) taken with our photo camera.  Maybe I can send them to your personal e-mail addresses, I have no experience in doing this, just tell me, maybe I can post them somewhere.

Tom sang all the songs I wanted to hear, classics as well as new.  Among the classics: Delilah, Pussycat, Help Yourself, Kiss, Sex Bomb, Green Green Grass of Home, If I Only Knew, It's Not Unusual, Leave Your Hat On.  He also sang The Reason and a lot of beautiful romantic songs.
He wore a light blue-gray suit and black shirt and shoes.  He moved and danced a lot on stage, it was so enjoyable to see! His voice? as beautiful as always, strong and clear.

The musicians were great too, I liked them very much.

He sang for 70 minutes, said good bye but came back immediately for a beautiful final section of 3 or 4 songs, the last of which was Kiss.

Great performance, fantastic.  I am so glad I had the chance to see him on stage.

Our local newspapers haven't published any review yet, but I soon as I read one, I'll post it here.

Best regards to all of you.
Lidia

Printed with permission....thank you Lidia!  ~J

WEMBLEY CONCERT 10/29/06

by Mika of Finland

Hi all, just got back from the U.K.
Tom's gig on Wembley at the 28th was wonderful! There were about 7500 - 8000 tickets sold for the event wich meant that there reamained some empty seats at the back. But I noticed that Wembley arena is built very fine for concert's and even if there remains a few empty seats it didn't really make any effect in there, and I felt it was acoustically very good place too.  Anyway there were a lot of people!

The crowd was so great, they couldn't sit on their seat anymore when Tom hit the stage and for most of the show we were all standing up and dancing. This did once again remind me about the electrifying atmosphere that you can only experience at a Tom Jones concert, he has the charisma that just stands out! Great to see that the magical thing is still there! The screaming and enthusiasm was so great when Tom sang the words "here I am" on Raise Your Hand.

There happened a funny thing during Delilah, Tom did drop his earmonitor transmitter from his back and the earplugs flew from his ears and left hangin on his back and he sung the rest of the song without them Then after Delilah Tom said "Ok we have to stop now for a minute because I drop my earplugs and singin without them is guessing" then some technician came to the stage and put the transmitter back on Tom's back and Tom did joke about it during it, then finally Brian Monroney had to help Tom to get the plugs back because Tom couldn't reach them from his back. Then Tom joked "It used to be so much easier singing in Pontypridd" we all laughed and then Tom continued for the next song.

My favourites were The Reason, it's just perfect. Fly Me To The Moon was also perfect, kept ringing in my head when my plane took off back to Finland. Stoned In Love was outstanding live. And the Resurrection Shuffle was a perfect encore song! I loved it, Brian had somekind of a mixing board he played on the song instead of the quitar.

Tom's voice was in good shape, I didn't notice anything wrong with it, just as good as ever! And maybe because Tom was on his home terrain, he seemed somehow very relaxed and happy onstage. During I Like The Way You Move Tom said "Have to be carefull now or the bloody thing fall off again" so he didn't jump around so much during the rest of the show.

I had the time of my life there and the British audience was a real cream for the cake. And talking about hospitality, after the concert I asked a couple elder ladies to take one picture of me in the front of Wembley and after we talked a bit they found my hotel was very near to the place they were living and the other lady's husband was just coming to pick them up from the arena, so they offered me a ride back to my hotel and I was more than thankfull for that So I didn't have to use the tube and buss for my return journey.

INSIDER COMMENTS FROM HERMAN MATTHEWS!!!

http://www.hermanmatthews.com/journal.php

Thanks Herman!

....and when your done..check out the rest of this very cool site!

Tom Jones @ M.E.N. Arena

SHOW-STOPPER: Tom Jones

THE atmosphere at a Tom Jones’ gig has to be seen to be believed. His audience may be wide in age range, but the one thing they have in common is they worship the man.

Some like the swivelling hips and others love the cheesiness of his lavish shows. The one thing that I realised though is that for all the flack this man gets, he has the best voice in the business and can sing absolutely anything, as he proved on Friday night during his brilliant show.

As the tanned one steps onto the stage oozing confidence the feel of the gig is Las Vegas; big, brash, full of atmosphere and the audience are just as wild. The backing singers are superb at complimenting this big voice and the band is as slick as you would expect.

“Love is like candy on a shelf…..” sings Mr Jones and the fans, recognising the opening line from 'Help Yourself' begin to dance, singing every line. More hits from the 1960's follow such as 'Delilah', which has them eating out of his hands.  

The audience are mainly here for the old stuff but for me and a few others, some of these hits like 'What’s New Pussycat' fail to test this man’s vocal range. But he knows he has to sing them in order to showcase more powerful tunes. Such as the soul classic 'Treat Her Right', which has the "hey hey hey hey" chorus hitting the rafters.

Standards like 'Fly Me To The Moon' and 'That Old Black Magic' show you that the great man can slow it down and still keep you enamoured.

Whereas, 'Mamma Told Me Not To Come' appeals to the younger audience members.

Versatility

Bill Withers' blues classic 'Grandma’s Hands' is absolutely stunning and again displays the man’s versatility.

Is there anything he cannot sing?

His recent hit with Chicane, 'Stoned In Love' confirms the fact that he is the father of reinvention. If anyone else his age sang this, they would be laughed at. But Tom has earned our respect so artistically can turn his hand at anything.

He throws some shapes for 'Leave Your Hat On' and 'Sex Bomb' and two pairs of knickers land at my feet, I presume they are for Mr Jones!

Moving like a man half his age, fully aware of what they want and how amusing it all is, he delivers with relish. Self-deprecation is the key here and Jones’ uses it to propel his voice and dance like his life depends on it.

Next is a track which could be written by the female contingent, a cover of The Bodyrockers’ 'I Like The Way You Move'.

It should be embarrassing but isn’t, as like much of this gig it's tongue in cheek and bloody brilliant.

The Welsh warbler finishes the show with the show stopping 'Kiss' as the crowd file out of the arena, knowing that this is a Friday night to savour. Jonesy certainly burned down the house and then some!

© Copyright 2006 Manchester Evening News. If you wish to use this article for commercial purposes please contact our syndication department.

This first review is not by a fan, however the writer so captured the experience that it needed to be shared..

Tom Jones delivers it all live

By GREG HAYMES, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Saturday, February 25, 2006 ALBANY -- Frank Sinatra was The Voice. Elvis Presley was The King. Jackie Wilson was Mr. Excitement.

They're all gone now, but it seems as though Tom Jones is ready to take on each of their titles -- even at the age of 65.

At the Palace Theatre on Friday night, the powerhouse Welsh singer uncorked a flat-out blockbuster performance. Despite the fact that you won't find Jones anywhere on the pop record charts these days, the man certainly knows how to deliver the goods live.

For the record, the first item of women's unmentionables hit the stage at 9:05 p.m. in the middle of the towering ballad, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," and by my count, the final underwear total was four -- with three more launched during the prowling oom-pah of "What's New, Pussycat?"

But the whole feminine-undergarments-as-flying-missiles-of- adoration thing has always served only to undermine Jones' true talents as both a vocalist and an entertainer.

That's not to say that he isn't still a mighty sexy guy. Gyrating in the spotlight during the high-kicking "Delilah," the hip-swiveling braggadocio of "She's a Lady" and the flashy footwork of the final encore, Prince's uber-sexy "Kiss," Jones was every bit the sex symbol that he was 40 years ago when he won the Grammy Award as the best new artist of the year.

His booming, brassy baritone sounds as powerful as ever, as he romped through his oldies from the '60s (like growling "It's Not Unusual" and the country-gospel wail of "Green, Green Grass of Home"), more recent dance-floor hits ( the disco detonation of "Sex Bomb") and a welcome batch of old blues tunes (the jazzy barrelhouse of "St. James Infirmary Blues" and a swaggering sashay through Willie Dixon's "200 Pounds of Heavenly Joy").

He was at his best, however, when he managed to meld all three of those elements together. He perfectly blended the old with the new on his scorching cover of Rise Robots Rise's "If I Only Knew," unleashing a hell-bent scream alongside a punchy R&B horn figure from the four-piece horn section. Heck, he even pulled off a bit of rap with a sly, self-aware sense of humor.

Dressed all in black and sporting a goatee, Jones made it work on a pair of funky Randy Newman covers -- "Mama Told Me Not to Come" and "You Can Leave Your Hat On," which has never sounded as brash and bawdy. And he made it work on the more subtle finger-snapping country soul of Charlie Rich's "Who Will the Next Fool Be?," too.

While the eight-piece band and trio of backing vocalists served him well, he didn't really need them, as he proved during the pared down blues of "What Am I Living For?," his robust voice backed only by Brian Monroney's acoustic guitar and saxophonist Kenny Anderson. The old Kittie Kallen ballad, "Love Letters," was also given maximum impact by honing the focus of Jones' heart wrenching vocals.

Tom Jones has still got it. No question about it.

Greg Haymes can be reached 454-5742 or by e-mail at ghaymes@timesunion.com.

MUSIC REVIEW

TOM JONES

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: The Palace Theatre, 19 Clinton Ave., Albany

The crowd: A crowd of approximately 2,600 made the show a near sell-out.

Highlights: The swaggering "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and the razor-sharp "If I Only Knew"

Length: 85 minutes

Panty total: 4

Review
The 9:30 Club
Washington, DC
November 9, 2005

Dear Gang
I¹m back from a FANTASTIC trip which began with the 9-hour drive straight to
the Tom Venue - the 9:30 Club in DC. When we pulled up to the smallish,
funky rock club, both tour buses and the equipment semi were already parked
at the curb. There was a small crowd milling around, lining up for the 7:30
door opening. Right away you can feel the excitement in the air - people are
smiling and it turns into one big family. There were a LOT of guys in this
crowd, of all ages. There was a totally punked-out couple behind us in line
- she a vision in black everything and he with bright red hair and a gold
lame dinner jacket. They were as friendly as anyone else and pumped up to
see Tom.

This is a standing-only venue, so some of the older fans went up in the
balconies where it is possible to sort of 'sit.' We OF COURSE wanted to be
right beneath the stage even if our creaky knees and backs would suffer.
Anything to be close to Tom. The venue is great if you can stand, and even
if you can't there's not a bad view anywhere. It's smallish, about the size
of half a basketball court? The bad news is there's an iron railing/fence
that keeps us about 2 1/2 feet from a waist-high stage. Lots of things were
tossed up, but it's too dangerous for Tom to really reach down across the
'abyss.'

However, the height of the stage gives a perfect view of the entire
package!!!!!! (especially Tom's 'package'...which was quite evident at this
concert :-o! (Tom is a leftie alright...like Gail's picture!!....sorry for
the X-rated comment...hide the kids!!). The stage is MUCH shallower than
previous ones I've seen....so the BAND is much closer. K. Anthony is
awesome. The man has a body and an energy that just won't quit. I'd never
seen him so close before. The girls are completely gorgeous as always and
Tom was flirting with Darelle like he does and both girls were vamping it
up. The entire band was friskier than ever before. It was as if they'd been
partying hard before they came on. They played their souls out...Les was
boogeying all over, Brian really laid into a solo with  his whole body,
Frank looked like he was out of this world and stood for his keyboard riffs
- he and Tom mugging at each other, the horn line-up was doing a LOT more
moves (which I adore) and goofing around with each other. AND then there was
OUR Herman. The man is a dynamo. He drives that band like the powerhouse he
is, with those muscular arms and the intense face. Herman could tear apart
several telephone books without breaking a sweat!

The entire band is the perfect match for Tom's unbelievable energy and high
spirits. They all seem to be having a ball. My friend is a trained musician
and noticed all the subtle cues between them and how Brian orchestrates it
all. She thought they were fantastic too. Everybody was in basic black
shirts and pants EXCEPT Les, who had his own funky patterned long-sleeve
shirt!! And of course Herman has his own gorgeous arms out there.

There is NO describing that feeling the moment Tom hits the stage and rolls
right into the music. He's grinning and mugging and dancing and wailing and
we all just melt in ecstasy. The entire crowd rises up and falls into the
palms of his hands - the ones with the huge diamond rings and the watch on
them. I love watching those expressive hands as he sings - they curl my
toes! I liked the touch of grey in the Atlantic City pics too, but it seems
to be gone from his beard. I¹d love it too if he'd let the grey creep into
his hair and beard, but you know......ANY way we can get him, we'll take
it!!!! It's such a high to just let yourself go and get swept into Tom's
personality and those blue eyes and that grin and that powerful sexy body
with the great moves that are entirely  his own. Nobody else dances quite
like Tom. He was full of spit and fire and raunchy teasing moves...most of
the ones we've seen, but a few new ones too. He lifted his shirt and
pretended to unzip his pants at one point. Oh baby! Everybody went crazy of
course.

After the third song (same playlist - no ŒPoke Salad Annie¹) he talked a bit
to the front rows and the girls on the right yelled that they couldn't hear
him. He grinned and said "Well why didn't you say so EARLIER? Here I am up
here singing me cobblers off and you can't hear me! NOW can you hear me?
Alright...thank goodness for THAT." Then he walked back to his little table
muttering into the mic, "Yes...I'm singing me cobblers off!" He sipped water
throughout the show as always, but was also grabbing little white lozenges
from the table. They must have dissolved IMMEDIATELY because he would sing
as soon as he took one! A little later he remarked to the band "We're just
on the edge of feedback...JUST on the edge" because they had turned up the
vocal to max.

He was sweating hard almost immediately  - that black silk shirt sticks to
his body and looks so great. It's Tom's version of the wet t-shirt!

He seemed to focus on one girl to the left of us...hard to say which one it
was. At the end, a blonde passed up a tiny bottle (of Dom?) which he very
carefully reached down and took. A few towels were thrown. He picked up the
first one and wiped himself all over and tossed it back.

THE UNDERWEAR  SECTION
Panties were flying the whole time. He wiped his face and neck and chest
inside his shirt (the crowd went nuts) but didn't toss it back. He wrapped
one pair around the mic for a while. One girl a few rows back was holding up
a big sign that said Make Love to Me Tom. He saw that and pointed and
grinned. Another girl in front held a photo up toward him. He said "What
have you got there?" It was an early pic - "That's an oldie and a goodie,"
he said.

At one point a big chunk of white fabric landed on the stage. He finally
came over and picked it up - "What have we got here?" It was three ladies¹
white Hanes sewn together with a message in Welsh written across it. "Well,
you see this is Welsh here..." He started to read, then stopped (he doesn't
speak Welsh, does he?).
END OF THE UNDERWEAR  SECTION

The entire show was full of energy and fun and silliness and Tom's charm and
personality and the great music as always. The whole place was stomping and
cheering by the end, as always. The man is irresistable. The noise was
deafening the whole time. The guys around us were having a ball, enjoying
all Tom's antics and getting a kick out of the power he has  - Tom is such a
man's man as well as a female-magnet that they can't help but love him too.
My friend said it's all just so much FUN, so much energy, such great music
and such a great show!!! She didn't fall in love with Tom (yet)  like I am,
but she had a great time and felt his huge magnetism and charm!!!!!! No
wonder Tom has maintained such a loyal and enthusiastic following all these
years.

I'm still floating on the great vibes. It's worth every penny and all the
miles to get this pure energy high.

THANK YOU TOM & ALL THE GROUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
K. Anthony, Darelle, Sharon, Brian, Les, Frank, Kenny, Peter, Kevin, Mike,
and Herman

Printed with permission of the author.

I saw Tom Jones for the second time at MGM in Las Vegas on May
5,2005. The first time I saw Tom I tossed a little tiger at him when he
sang  Help Yourself my favoirte song. He picked up the tiger and put on
his  special table and smiled. 

So the next time one year later when I saw Tom I brought another  tiger with me. The MGM is one great place to see a Tom Jones Show.
It  is my favorite place. I like the idea that it holds about 750
people  and has an intimate setting. Well anyway. I had this tiger with me.When Tom began to sing Help Yourself I tossed the tiger on stage.
It landed near Tom's feet. He laughed and danced around the tiger as
he sang Help Yourself. 

Then Tom picked up the tiger and said..Who threw this tiger on stage at me???  Who he kept asking and he asked the audience. I was seated  about 7 rows back and he did not see when I tossed the tiger.

I was laughing to myself. Tom called out come here who ever tossed this  tiger. So I went to the stage and he took my hand. He held it tightly and  said Thank you Sweetheart, this was so nice of you. I think I am going to sleep with this tiger. It is so soft. He held the tiger as  he talked to me and held my hand. I said to him,I was brave..Where is my Kiss. He could not reach me the stage is high at the Grand . He  was laughing and the audience was hollering. So Tom made a big kiss  face to me. I blew him a kiss. Then Tom kept smiling and he said I  was so nice and he loved the tiger.

The wonderful part is Tom waited till I sat down I had to walk back to my seat before he started to  sing. He is so considerate. Thank you for letting and asking me to
share my moment with Tom..

by Floreann C

Printed with permission