Early Reviews:
Conductor: John Mario Di Costanza
Orchestra: ?
Phoenix set list:
1. Orchestra: Cavalleria Rusticana
2. When You Wish Upon A Star
3. Some Enchanted Evening
4. Ombra Mai Fu
5. Orchestra: Medley: Pirates Of The Caribbean
6. What A Wonderful World
7. Angel
8. The Lords Prayer
Intermission
9. Lovers
10. My Heart Will Go On
11. Imaginer
12. Can You Feel The Love Tonight
13. Orchestra: John Mario on Piano-Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody
14. The Impossible Dream
15. Encore 1: O Mio Babbino Caro
16. Encore 2: Music Of The Night
This from J Seyer at Amazon: Saw Jackie tonight. She is growing up fast and how strikingly beautiful she is becoming. Took my 23 and 16 y.o. non-fan daughters who were so taken by how beautiful she is and lovely voice and even rated their experience a 4 and 3.75 (from a scale 1-5) respectively. Crowd is predominantly gray but a decent percentage of young girls and teen boys present too. Both said 50-up age group seem to be at around 85% of the crowd. More women than men and younger boys and girls 8-17 seem to be at 3-5 % of attendees. It seems all the the higher range seats immediately around the revolving stage were occupied and quite a number of empty seats in the upper or cheapest section-maybe in the 500-600 range. We bought our tickets just before the show started at $57 (cheapest)each and about-55 ft from the stage. Jackie sang 13 songs if my memory serves me right, including the 2-encores.She started with WYWUAS, When I Fall in Love, Ombra Mai Fu. Break. Came back with WAWW, Angel, Imaginer and Intermission, For the second set, she started with Lovers, followed by song from TiTanic, CYFTLT The Lord's Prayer and Impossible Dream which elicited a full house standing O. OMBC for the first encore followed by MOTN. Have videos I will try to upload soon.
This from Charles Hoff at Amazon: Great turnout of 60 at the Stockyards restaurant, along with excellent food and service. Forced to sit in the front row at the Celebrity Theater, but I got some great pictures of Jackie anyway. The orchestra was also on the revolving stage with Jackie, and did an excellent job with the music. Jackie was radiant and on her game, with nary a hiccup all evening that I could hear from being so close. When she was in front of me, I could hear her singing into the mic. 'Sounded a lot like it did from the p.a. The sound system was well balanced, and they had an IMAG screen with at least two cameras following her as the stage rotated. All in all, one of the best Jackie concerts/appearances that I've attended (of fifteen or so). Debra Crosby was great to sit and talk with in the restaurant, as well as being two seats away from me and also in the front row. No strange front-row behaviors noted other than flowers being handed to Jackie and a couple of early s.o.'s that were soon followed by much of the rest of the audience. Good crowd, with only the back couple of rows empty, and a very few scattered through the rest of the audience.
From blackandgold on Proboards:This was one incredible concert by the incomparable Jackie Evancho. She was stunningly beautiful both in physical appearance and demeanor. The power, clarity, resonance, and emotion in her voice was unworldly.
I had a front row seat near the walkway to the rotating stage, which changed direction several times. When directly in front of me, Jackie was about four feet away! I believe Jackie truly enjoyed the atmosphere at Celebrity Theatre and the rotating stage. There was one moment where the stage had come to a stop, a little to the left of me at the end of one of the songs, and when it came time for the next song, Jackie was caught just a little off guard as the stage started its rotation again. Jackie had the slightest loss of balance and quickly recovered with an adorable smile and giggle... it was very endearing. There were at least two fairly large screens that one could watch Jackie from when she was on the other side of the stage. I earnestly hope that Jackie will wish to come back to Celebrity Theatre.
Prior to the start of the concert, we were advised that still shots without flash were allowed. But then after intermission there was an announcement that NO photos of any kind were permitted. Huh? I am sad to say that due to the lighting and the location of my seat, all of the pictures I attempted with my Android phone were washed out to the point of being unusable. If there is a next time, I am going to bring an actual camera, that may have the ability to compensate for such conditions.
Thank you to all of the organizers of the pre-concert gathering and bus and post-concert gathering. It was all first class and by the way, the weather was great too. Hope all of those who came from out of town enjoyed the Valley Of The Sun.
Wayne
P.S. The orchestra's rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody was exceptional and drew a long standing ovation.
From hiturbine on Proboards:This is Part 3. The other parts are pre and post concert.
Phoenix, January 18, 2014 - Part 3
So, there we were, riding the magic bus to the Celebrity Theater – sharing Jackie lore, while above us on the video monitors was Jackie’s angelic presence … Er, no … Rather we were seeing Marylyn Streep, in her imitation of Julia Child – the French Chef … but I would have preferred Jackie singing French.
We arrive, the anticipation is palpable. Down to the box office I go, not knowing where fate has me seated – Ugh! Four seats in B ring, row 20, the nosebleed section – or so I thought. Let’s make a deal! Jack Buckeye has a few “extra” front row seats in the A ring … In fact, he handed me two, requesting that I find a deserving fan, and bestow one of these gems. I hopped back down the concrete steps to the box office concourse, said to myself “eeny-meeny-miney-mo,” and made some dude’s day – or evening, as it were. I handed him a ticket for Row A-5 - I kept A-1. That was not in my best interest!
So, there I was, seated less than two feet from where our beautiful angelic muse would soon revolve past. Oh, the excitement! Across the narrow aisle from me was a gentleman who grew up with Mike Evancho’s first cousin. This was a good omen, thought I. Meanwhile, Stephen is preparing his button cache for distribution. All the while the orchestra is tuning up in a cacophony of disjointed scales.
Now, the first thing that got my immediate attention was a steerable bank of blinding blue lights – suspended high above from the circumferential catwalk – and which would from time to time shine directly into my eyes … OK, small distraction – I’ll deal with it. Then, slowly but insistently, came this profound realization: I am sitting eye level with the stage … For half of the time it is doing its whirly gig, I shall have a spectacular view – of the orchestra members’ butts … OK, I can deal with this too – I think.
The orchestra settles down, the promoter steps on stage to give us his thoughts on Jackie, and then the opening
Interlude begins - pretty well done. The piece ends, and Maestro John Mario takes to the stage to a rousing applause. Time stops for a moment, as the first notes of
When You Wish upon a Star come to life … Down the sloping ramp on my far right glides Jackie, a graceful swan in a flowing sky-blue couture, her soft golden curls catching the lights, her eyes beaming like gems, and a smile that Helen of Troy would envy. Your heart skips a beat, the soprano begins her delivery – and the magic once again commands all to attention. The stage starts its slow rotation – ¼ revolutions per minute … lovely while Jackie stands before your eyes, and agonizingly slow when she passes out of sight. It is torture.
High above, and directly behind, is a large viewing screen, which captures the menagerie in a bird’s eye view. I turn and strain to see Jackie upon the screen each time she is out of direct sight. A second screen hangs directly across the arena in front of me – but, from my vantage point, it is often blocked by the passing members of the orchestra.
In the interim period while waiting on Jackie, I am subjected to the direct blast of the brass section – two French horns assault my ears like cannonade – they drown out Jackie’s sweet voice, and occasionally one of the players mangles a note … Then along comes the drummer – bang, boom, crash – Oh, God help me endure this. Jackie, where are you! OK, she’s almost coming around again – camera at the ready - steady … steady … WHAT!? Now the stage stops – and reverses direction! ARGUH! NOOOOO! Jackie, come back! Make it stop! Oh, I’m going to die from this cruel game before the night is over! So it went.
I saw Jackie for about 40 percent of the time. However, when she came into my quadrant, she stood less than 3 feet before me – and, for those precious few moments, I was in Heaven. Nothing else mattered. I studied her intently, so to take in all that was humanly possible for my senses to gather. She was as beautiful as the Morning Star. Her voice was rich in tone, she resonated like fine crystal – her highs sent shivers through me, her lows were as butter. Her vibrato was exact, perfectly controlled – Jackie was in her mastery.
In between songs, she would banter with the audience, still proving herself a young adolescent - bubbly, giggling, and perhaps a little nervous. Jackie told of how much she loved her fans, and dedicated to us her song,
Imaginer. To my pleasant astonishment, Jackie sang
Lovers,
Angel,
Can You Feel the Love Tonight, and
What a Wonderful World – none of which I had ever seen her perform live. Despite the visual issues, this performance was proving itself a delicious treat.
During the Intermission, I considered changing my seat in the front row to the more elevated position that my own tickets would provide; but alas, I could not discern a clear path to the location, and did not want to chance leaving the theater so to enter from the opposite side. In hindsight, as later video footage proved, I should have made the attempt. After Intermission, John Mario kicked up the tempo with his rendition of Queen’s
Bohemian Rhapsody – and the orchestra matched him quite well. Jackie's conductor really kicked butt on this piece, and thus received a standing ovation for his effort.
Then back to the stage walked Jackie, wearing her now familiar, yet still stunning mocha dress, with its gold-sequined sheer panel cinched mid torso in a black bodice. The stage lights danced off Jackie in a display of dazzling scintillation – like fiery bullets darting to and fro – the shards of light would shoot forth, sometimes incendiary red, and still others icy blue. While Jackie sang, the totality of her presence radiated with such splendor that one could believe she walked straight out of a dream.
For those fans fortunate to be seated along the stage ramp, there was the special favor of receiving Jackie’s high fives, and her autograph upon whatever item her patrons could manage to offer up to the enchanting muse. I much envied them.
On three occasions, Jackie was presented with a bouquet of flowers - the third time occurred less then one foot from me ... an older gentleman, perhaps in his late 80's or early 90's extended to Jackie a bouquet of pink roses. While she accepted them, the old man then reached out with his right hand and clasped Jackie's left forearm - this did not appear to startle Jackie in the least - but it sure gave me a shock. I reckon the security people thought the man to frail to do any harm, and so they neither intervened nor said anything to him - and, as I saw the moment, the old fellow seemed quite pleased with his bold move.
Finally, the evening was drawing to a close, and Jackie sang the last song of her second set –
The Impossible Dream, which she dedicated to her mother - and then, in a rather comical moment, Jackie thanked her mom for giving birth to her in the first place! At the finish of this song, the standing ovation was so thunderous that I feared the 50 year-old steel girders supporting the roof might fail from the resonance. Jackie departed the stage, but soon reemerged for the first of her two encores –
O, Mio Babbino Caro. The crowd was ecstatic, and following this song they applauded all the louder. However, the stage was not in the correct position for Jackie to again exit, so she remained there for her second encore – before which, and in response to our overwhelming applause, she replied “Oh, you guys!” She loved the moment as much as we.
So, then came her last song of the evening –
Music of the Night. In every performance I have attended, Jackie, always finds the interior strength to take the bar one notch higher – and tonight was no exception. If only we could keep her, and take her home with us – you simply do not want to let the moment go. C’est si bon! If the eternity of Heaven is like this, then I can hardly wait to get there. For now, I am resigned to the fact that I have no choice in the matter – Jackie returns home to her family in Pittsburgh, and I go back home to Nebraska. We have but memories of something indescribably beautiful … C’est la vie.
Now it is time for sharing by way of the after-concert gathering - and my final entry to this narrative is forthcoming …
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