Sunday, April 8, 2018

Michael Bolton Concert Reviews - And Our Next Free Ticket Offer!


Hey Kent – 
Are you going to review last night's "Scum Of The Earth" (WKRP) Concert for Forgotten Hits? 
Frank B.
Nope … sorry, I missed it …
In fact, I missed the Michael Bolton concert at The Arcada Theatre, too … but fortunately we had a few readers who were there and have filed these reports …

(Thanks again to Ron Onesti for the FH Ticket Give-Away ... and to Luciano Bilotti for sending us these awesome shots!)


Kent,
Here is my review of the Michael Bolton show.
I have included a couple of pictures also ... Michael said that they only had one rule at his concert ... take as many pictures as you wanted ... so I got a few.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this concert. I have not heard any Michael Bolton new music for quite a while. I was cautiously optimistic.
The show started promptly at 7:30. There was an older fellow with a couple of guitars who came out to warm up the audience. He did a fine job of getting us ready for Michael. He played for about 30 minutes. Then nothing for 40 minutes. Michael and his group finally came out at 8:40. No explanation for this. 
Anyway, I must say that he has not lost any of his soulful voice. He sounded great. He played all of his hits and some older songs which I and the audience loved. He left the stage about half way thru the show, at which time his musicians entertained the audience … and they were awesome.
Then he came back out in the audience (very surprised) and, fortunately for me, it was close to where I was sitting. He sang When A Man Loves A Woman and it was flawless. Very Cool!
He sang some duets with one of his back-up singers, Sam Fry, who has a glorious voice.
They played for about 90 minutes ... then came back out and did a couple of songs for an encore.
After all was said and done, it was a very good experience. I must mention that having not seen Michael Bolton in concert before, he looked very stiff and tight on stage. I really think he was having some type of physical issue (possibly a bad back) that he did not mention. It however did not hinder his vocal performance. He did not come out after the show for any meet and greet, all the more reason I think he was not physically up to it.
Let me just say Thanks to Kent Kotal for giving me this opportunity to see this show.
Art Walicki

Above two photos by Art Walicki

We all enjoyed the Michael Bolton concert last night. He still has a great voice. The sax player was fantastic.  I was just a little disappointed  that he didn't sing more of his own songs ... we came to hear his songs ... but still it was a great night.
Deborah Zoerink


Michael Bolton sounded really good the other night, but you know his set is filled with mostly slow tunes ... and there was no meet and greet like last year.  
Lou
One of my coworkers was complaining last week about how she didn't get any sleep at all the night before ... I suggested picking up a couple of the free tickets we had to give away to the Michael Bolton show, knowing that nothing would put me to sleep faster than listening to Bolton drone on, slow song after slow song after slow song ... but somebody else told me that he picked up the tempo several times throughout the show ... and that he had a KILLER back-up band that he showcased during a three song break.  Guess it all depends on your listening perspective.
I put Michael Bolton's Greatest Hits CD in the car on Thursday and found most of it to be very listenable.  In fact, his version of one of my all-time favorite songs, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale," was quite impressive.  (This is a song that I have always believed shouldn't be and didn't need to be redone by ANYBODY because NOTHING could ever improve on the original.  That being said, Michael did a VERY credible version, which I had never heard before, so it was a real eye-opener (ear-opener?) for me.  (kk)  

Thank you again so much for the Michael Bolton tickets. 
I have to admit I went into the concert with some reservations.  I had tickets in the 90's for his show on New Year's Eve, at the height of his popularity.  That concert was a disappointment to say the least.  Michael sang for 50 minutes and ended his show at 11:30, leaving all his fans grumbling in the parking lot at the stroke of midnight.  Sooooo, I feel that these free tickets were a vindication for me!   And something that was owed!   Thank you for that. 
As it turned out, I really liked the show at the Arcada Wednesday night. And I like Michael Bolton again ... almost as much as he likes himself.  He was backed by a terrific band and he gave them a three-song chance to show off their stuff.  Very generous.  He had wonderful backup singers and did some duets with one of them.  Outstanding.  Great song choices and diversity and all his hits.  No complaints at all.  The sound was perfect and the crowd was very into it.  All in all, a great evening of music.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but ended up having a wonderful time.  
Thanks again,
Janet


Michael Bolton’s Ten Biggest Hits:  

1.    How Am I Supposed To Live Without You (#1, 1990) 
2.    When A Man Loves A Woman (#1, 1991) 
3.    Missing You Now  (#2, 1992) 
4.    Love Is A Wonderful Thing (#3, 1991) 
5.    Time, Love And Tenderness (#3, 1991) 
6.    How Can We Be Lovers  (#3, 1990) 
7.    Said I Love You … But I Lied  (#5, 1994) 
8.    When I’m Back On My Feet Again  (#7, 1990) 
9.    To Love Somebody  (#9, 1992) 
10.         The Dock Of The Bay  (#11, 1988)  
One of the people I talked to after the show said his encore of “Soul Provider” was outstanding and got the whole place up on their feet.  That one went to #17 in 1989. 
But another complaint was that much of his act was spent singing songs from “The Great American Songbook,” kinda like what Bobby Rydell did when he played The Arcada a couple of years ago.  People come to a Michael Bolton concert to hear him sing HIS songs … not songs made famous by Frank Sinatra!  (Now in all fairness, a good number of Michael’s biggest hits were his interpretations of popular songs from yesteryear … new imaginings and updating of this classic material … but it seems to me that by this point he’s already done enough of those to fill a whole hour of his OWN hit music … and leave the audience satisfied that they got what they came from.  Sure, stick in a surprise or two … but folks came to hear the hits.  (kk) 

REMINDER:  Speaking of Bobby Rydell … remember that he has cancelled his Arcada appearance for April 15th due to a broken hip.  Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals will take his place and now team with Lou Christie for next Sunday’s 3:00 Matinee Concert.  This should be a blast!!!
******

And the good times continue …

We have just been given three pair of tickets to give away to our Forgotten Hits Readers for The Ides Of March show Thursday Night, May 3rd, at The City Winery!  (And these tickets came from Jim Peterik personally!)

Wanna go?  Then drop me a note STAT and we’ll throw your name in the hat.   (All entries must come via email to kk@forgottenhits.com)

Now what would make this REALLY special is if we could find three people who have never seen The Ides before and take THEM to the show …
(As you know, we’ve been raving about The Ides Of March for YEARS now as being one of the best live bands you will ever see … so let us PROVE it to you!!!  You’ll be blown away!)

If somehow, someway you have never seen The Ides Of March perform in concert before, please note this on your email entry … as we would LOVE to have you join us for the show.  And if you HAVE seen The Ides Of March before … (‘cause I mean, you know, who hasn’t?!?!) … you’ve still got a shot, too … our ticket drawing will remain fair and impartial.

And if you STILL don’t win tickets to the show, then hop on over to The City Winery Website Box Office and grab your tickets NOW before they’re all gone!  (This show will likely sell out)
kk