|
Post by Albator on May 2, 2017 2:48:28 GMT
Review from 1976. An Evening With Diana Ross
Just to remind us the prejudice Diana Ross endured for years by those, blacks or whites, claiming she wasn't pure black enough, or that her voice was not big enough. Those are things we still heard for Withney, but for Beyonce, Rihanna, I think we're done with that. Certainly Diana is not a big voiced singer, but her spirit, her aura is much bigger than any voice.
September 30, 1976 Independent from Long Beach, California Diana was ready for L.A. Dynamic Diana did it with dynamite at the Amhanson Tuesday night kicking off a two-week run in Los Angeles. Diana Ross, cool, sexy, suave and foxy, has style. Even before she walked out on stage, the energy level in the usually sedate Ahmanson Theater was crackling. On the road with the show for the past six months, Diana Ross has been trashed in the media for forgetting "her roots." For the very same show for which New York's Village Voice labeled her the "last of the white black girls," Los Angeles heaped on the ovations. Leading off with "Do You Know," the show was presented like a movie script with the various depicting parts of her life. It was dear from the start that she knew exactly where she was going. Charisma got here there. At the beginning of her two-hour gig, two mimes enrolled part of her white dress (there were seven costume changes during the first half of the show) and used it as a screen to flash parts of her life. With even-thing she offered, the audience "Love Hangover," a current disco hit from her latest Motown album, got them moving and shaking. "On your feet, " she ordered. And they did dressed in their fancy tux jackets with frilly shirts and their long gowns with Frye boots and very smart jackets. Diana beamed. Dug in her heels and turned in one of the best performances of her career. Later, she told interviewers that she "was ready" for Los Angeles. Diana Ross has grown up. We knew she had class and talent, but we didn’t know she was capable of conjuring up brew-moving moods. . , While the second half of the show presented the obligatory "Motown Review of Supreme biggies," it was clearly the first hour that worked magic for Diana. Moving in and out of the personas of Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters -- the "Dark Divas" with ease and ability, Diana was all flair and excitement Unlike her Amphitheater performances in the summer of 1974, Diana had her all signs of nervousness under control. Her ability to work an audience was flawless. She gathered up her 15 years of experience and turned them loose.
|
|
|
Post by peacenharmony on May 2, 2017 2:49:25 GMT
I saw this show at the Palace Theatre in NYC; it was, and remains, one of the best shows ever, a precursor to the 'production concerts' that are de rigieur nows-a-days. And 41 years later, as witnessed by 11,000+ sell-out fans in NYC last week, the lady's still got it! And remember, Billie Holiday did not have a 'big voice' either; many can bellow; few can sing.
|
|
|
Post by reese on May 2, 2017 2:50:42 GMT
I saw this show in February 1977. It was the first secular concert that I ever went to and I thought it was the best thing I'd ever seen. That is, until I saw Diana in 1979. :-)
|
|
|
Post by Albator on May 2, 2017 2:51:25 GMT
a precursor to the 'production concerts' that are de rigieur nows-a-days That' very true, but who really started those kind of concert. Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Ann Margret? ?
|
|
|
Post by reese on May 2, 2017 2:52:02 GMT
When I saw the show, one of the local papers said Diana's show was the latest in the line of one-woman shows done by Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Shirley Maclaine, and I think, Marlene Dietrich.
|
|
|
Post by peacenharmony on May 2, 2017 2:53:53 GMT
HA! I can concur - I (along with almost 6,000 other cheering fans) nearly had a heart attack during the ANMHE voice-over and the through-the-screen reveal!
|
|
|
Post by sansradio on May 2, 2017 2:55:06 GMT
I would definitely add Josephine Baker to that pantheon.
|
|
|
Post by captainjames on May 2, 2017 2:55:57 GMT
I remember this concert so well. Diana was in rare form and the best of the best.
|
|
|
Post by mpn1jco on May 2, 2017 4:07:25 GMT
I saw this show at the Palace Theatre in NYC; it was, and remains, one of the best shows ever, a precursor to the 'production concerts' that are de rigieur nows-a-days. And 41 years later, as witnessed by 11,000+ sell-out fans in NYC last week, the lady's still got it! And remember, Billie Holiday did not have a 'big voice' either; many can bellow; few can sing. www.yahoo.com/news/m/df08b875-4fde-3f94-8269-8291f71770e0/ss_janet-jackson-bringing-tour.html
Janet Jackson is coming to the Wells Fargo in Philadelphia and will play to an audience of 19,500. Be careful of what you read. Ross cannot even get booked at even Radio City Music Hall anymore because she has to rely on repeat performance -2,000 fans X 5 nights equals 10,000. 11,000 people are not going to sell out the same show you have been on the road doing for 10 years.
|
|
|
Post by hector on May 2, 2017 5:20:41 GMT
I saw this show at the Palace Theatre in NYC; it was, and remains, one of the best shows ever, a precursor to the 'production concerts' that are de rigieur nows-a-days. And 41 years later, as witnessed by 11,000+ sell-out fans in NYC last week, the lady's still got it! And remember, Billie Holiday did not have a 'big voice' either; many can bellow; few can sing. www.yahoo.com/news/m/df08b875-4fde-3f94-8269-8291f71770e0/ss_janet-jackson-bringing-tour.html
Janet Jackson is coming to the Wells Fargo in Philadelphia and will play to an audience of 19,500. Be careful of what you read. Ross cannot even get booked at even Radio City Music Hall anymore because she has to rely on repeat performance -2,000 fans X 5 nights equals 10,000. 11,000 people are not going to sell out the same show you have been on the road doing for 10 years.
Diana Ross couldn't even qualify as an opening act for Janet now. What I find pathetic is that Ross fans have to dig back 41 years to talked about a review she got for her shows last century. Just pathetic. They really are torturing themselves. Those too young to have witness Diane during her glory days have to accept that they just missed it. Those that were old enough need to just move on. She's not doing anything special these days.
|
|
|
Post by mpn1jco on May 3, 2017 0:23:30 GMT
www.yahoo.com/news/m/df08b875-4fde-3f94-8269-8291f71770e0/ss_janet-jackson-bringing-tour.html
Janet Jackson is coming to the Wells Fargo in Philadelphia and will play to an audience of 19,500. Be careful of what you read. Ross cannot even get booked at even Radio City Music Hall anymore because she has to rely on repeat performance -2,000 fans X 5 nights equals 10,000. 11,000 people are not going to sell out the same show you have been on the road doing for 10 years.
Diana Ross couldn't even qualify as an opening act for Janet now. What I find pathetic is that Ross fans have to dig back 41 years to talked about a review she got for her shows last century. Just pathetic. They really are torturing themselves. Those too young to have witness Diane during her glory days have to accept that they just missed it. Those that were old enough need to just move on. She's not doing anything special these days. When I read reviews of her old shows and the touring schedule for 30 - 40 years ago, I am amazed at how low she has dropped.
Ross fans live in a bubble. In this bubble Ross is a top touring act, selling out nationwide. She regularly turns downs lucrative recording and other deals because she doesn't want to tour, and has never been on a psych ward in a drug rehab in her life.
|
|
|
Post by hector on May 3, 2017 1:18:34 GMT
Diana Ross couldn't even qualify as an opening act for Janet now. What I find pathetic is that Ross fans have to dig back 41 years to talked about a review she got for her shows last century. Just pathetic. They really are torturing themselves. Those too young to have witness Diane during her glory days have to accept that they just missed it. Those that were old enough need to just move on. She's not doing anything special these days. When I read reviews of her old shows and the touring schedule for 30 - 40 years ago, I am amazed at how low she has dropped.
Ross fans live in a bubble. In this bubble Ross is a top touring act, selling out nationwide. She regularly turns downs lucrative recording and other deals because she doesn't want to tour, and has never been on a psych ward in a drug rehab in her life.
It is almost like they are under mass hypnosis or living in a severe state of denial. Heck, I was a Sophomore in High School when Diane was doing this show in 1976 and even then it wasn't that big of a deal. It seems to me that her current fans wallow in what they believe to be Diana Ross' glorious past and then try to recreate it in false postings regarding her present. It does not make sense to me in the least. Diana Ross in reality has not been a top, mass market act since 1980. She has not been a top touring act in decades. This did not just happen in recent years. Recently SNL did a skit, a parody of Family Feud with two groups of stars. One group was stars from 2017, the other was a group that were stars in 1977. Diana Ross was included in the 1977 group and rightfully so!
|
|
|
Post by chainreaction on May 6, 2017 2:01:17 GMT
When I read reviews of her old shows and the touring schedule for 30 - 40 years ago, I am amazed at how low she has dropped.
Ross fans live in a bubble. In this bubble Ross is a top touring act, selling out nationwide. She regularly turns downs lucrative recording and other deals because she doesn't want to tour, and has never been on a psych ward in a drug rehab in her life.
It is almost like they are under mass hypnosis or living in a severe state of denial. Heck, I was a Sophomore in High School when Diane was doing this show in 1976 and even then it wasn't that big of a deal. It seems to me that her current fans wallow in what they believe to be Diana Ross' glorious past and then try to recreate it in false postings regarding her present. It does not make sense to me in the least. Diana Ross in reality has not been a top, mass market act since 1980. She has not been a top touring act in decades. This did not just happen in recent years. Recently SNL did a skit, a parody of Family Feud with two groups of stars. One group was stars from 2017, the other was a group that were stars in 1977. Diana Ross was included in the 1977 group and rightfully so! Can you imagine Janet or Barbra or Mariah playing the Hard Rock Cafe in Northfield, Ohio? Diane is on hard times.
|
|
|
Post by hector on May 6, 2017 19:23:43 GMT
It is almost like they are under mass hypnosis or living in a severe state of denial. Heck, I was a Sophomore in High School when Diane was doing this show in 1976 and even then it wasn't that big of a deal. It seems to me that her current fans wallow in what they believe to be Diana Ross' glorious past and then try to recreate it in false postings regarding her present. It does not make sense to me in the least. Diana Ross in reality has not been a top, mass market act since 1980. She has not been a top touring act in decades. This did not just happen in recent years. Recently SNL did a skit, a parody of Family Feud with two groups of stars. One group was stars from 2017, the other was a group that were stars in 1977. Diana Ross was included in the 1977 group and rightfully so! Can you imagine Janet or Barbra or Mariah playing the Hard Rock Cafe in Northfield, Ohio? Diane is on hard times. You have to be kidding? For real? LOL! No I cannot imagine it. First of all their audiences are just too substantial for a venue that small and remote. Secondly, they still can pick and choose where they perform...................Diane cannot!
|
|
|
Post by Magical Froggy on May 12, 2017 19:01:00 GMT
I liked the Supremes as child, but I didn't care for Diana Ross when she became a solo act and a big star. You cannot treat people the way that she did and not expect some sort of backlash. Like Bill Cosby or a C-LO Green her epitaph will be one of controversy, I will pass on her latest show.
|
|