Seeing Diana Ross soon.....What to expect?

[daviddesper]

I have seen but never read various threads on here about Diana appearing here and there. Well now she is appearing in my area and much to my surprise I was able to get tickets. So I thought I would ask you guys what kind of show to expect.

The thing that surprises me the most about her show is that she will be appearing in a relatively small city [[Charlottesville, VA) and in an intimate older theater as opposed to an arena. I would guess the place seats between 1,200 and 1,500 people, whereas I would have guessed that she still commands larger venues than that.

As I said, I was even surprised when my contact was able to get us tickets. This is one of those places where "members only" get first dibs before the tickets go on sale to the public. Then my friend was not able to go to the box office until about 1:30 on the first day they went on sale, but still got us decent orchestra seats.

So to get to my main questions....how long a show can we expect? Does she do an hour or so, then an intermission, and then a second half; or will it be just one continuous show and that will be it? One of her contemporaries whom I will not name appeared at this same venue once, performed for just a shade over an hour and that was it. No encore, no second half, no matter how much the crowd begged for it, and we all felt snubbed.

How elaborate will her set be? This place does not have what I would call a huge stage, so I would not see room for a full orchestra, back-up singers, etc. So is it possible that she will only have a small five or six piece band backing her as opposed to something grander?

I guess all my questions are inter-related. I am just curious because I know this venue and it just doesn't seem like it will be big enough for a star of her caliber. Also I have never pictured her doing an intimate set but rather I think of her show as being an all-out extravaganza. What are the thoughts from those of you who have seen her frequently or recently? Thanks for any info.

[thomas96]

I saw her August of 2013... I believe it lasted about 1.5 to 2 hours with no intermission. I also saw her at a smaller theatre and I don't remember exactly what her band was but I think it was a basic rhythm section, a horn section, and maybe backup singers [[not sure though). Her set consisted of a medley of Supremes songs, some LSTB stuff, mostly her solo hits. She was pretty good but not great, in my opinion. Worth seeing but I probably wouldn't see her again now.

[vgalindo]

Just recently saw her a few moths ago at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and she was on fire. Her show was just a little over an hour. No intermission. One encore "Endless Love" She was beautiful and thin and her voice was so strong and clear. The show was fabulous. I have seen Diana more times than I can remember. Her Arena tours from the eighties always had an intermission and were sometimes over 2 hours. How I miss those days... It should be a great show..

[supremester]

I've see her a few times and can say that her standard show is around 75 minutes, 9-10 pc band, 3-4 bg singers, a great set with lighting effects, great sound and costumes. If you are a Diana Ross fan, you will not be disappointed in her performance. She has never been one for skimpy shows - so, at 70, there could be many reasons that she sticks to approx 75 minutes and I respect that as I've seen her many times when she ran overtime and venues complained. I'm just glad she's working and well, yes, I'd like a 2 hour show where I design the set list, but, when I think of faves like Flo, Marvin, Janis, David, paul, Eddie etc that are gone - I'm not gonna be too picky. I hope you enjoy the show.
This is a much smaller venue than usual for her. There may be a fundraiser involved for the theatre as it is a non-profit, or maybe she's doing a gratis deal to support the venue. There are all kinds of codes and levels of ability to buy tix, so it's not the norm in many respects. I have buds that paid a lot for 2nd row seats from the venue and they had to know someone to get them. Usually in the US, she plays 2500-4500 seat venues. She does arenas in Europe and most other countries. Her arena gigs in Singapore and Tokyo this week sold fast at a high scale. I think she likes supporting these old theatres as she's doing a lot of them in recent years - and it's wonderful to see the restoratations. I wish I could go to the Kings gig next month - 92 million restoration job - yikes.

You can expect full versions of half a dozen Supremes songs and many of her solo hits. Not too many artists give to 10 pop #1's and only do about half of them.

[milven]

She must have a love of old movie theaters. She will soon be opening the refurbished Kings in Brooklyn. I've seen her at the Count Basie in Red Bank, which holds 1500 people. She appeared there while they were refurbishing the outside. The inside was beautiful. Her set was about eighty minutes, no intermission, many gown changes. There was very little conversation. All singing. It was originally a movie theatre.

Also saw her at Bergen Englewood PAC which was also a former movie theater. Before the show, an announcer came on stage and mentioned some kind of charity and fund raiser for the theater [[ I don't remember what it was, but they said that Diana was participating in it).
I loved that show. Great seats close up, no skimping on anything and she had strings on stage. I loved it.

I've also seen her in large venues like Radio City Music Hall, but the place is so big and I sat so far back, it wasn't as enjoyable as seeing it in these smaller theaters

If you like DIana, you will not be disappointed. She still sounds great in person, looks terrific and loves to love and be loved by her audience. The connection to her audience is magnetic. Enjoy

[RobertZ]

I last saw Diana in the Summer of 2013 at the NJPAC; it was my first Miss Ross concert after a 15 or so year layoff and I was in 7th heaven! The band with the horn section was red-hot and the background singers were excellent. The staging was minimal; the emphisis was on Diana and her voice, which was superb! The show ran about 75 intermission-less minutes, which I felt was fine for a later-life performer. The costume changes were quick and the shows pacing was excellent. Diana seemed happier and more comfortable than I'd ever seen her. The audience was on its feet throughout the show; Diana asked several times "Why are you all so happy"? It was wonderful - have a great time!

[milven]

I last saw Diana in the Summer of 2013 at the NJPAC; it was my first Miss Ross concert after a 15 or so year layoff and I was in 7th heaven! The band with the horn section was red-hot and the background singers were excellent. The staging was minimal; the emphisis was on Diana and her voice, which was superb! The show ran about 75 intermission-less minutes, which I felt was fine for a later-life performer. The costume changes were quick and the shows pacing was excellent. Diana seemed happier and more comfortable than I'd ever seen her. The audience was on its feet throughout the show; Diana asked several times "Why are you all so happy"? It was wonderful - have a great time!

I loved that show. It was Aug 16th. I got the seats late and was at first disappointed about the seating but it worked out well. We were in some sort of box seats right by the stage and it was like watching two shows, Diana on the stage , and the audience below us on their feet, smiling and singing along. Again, the connection with Diana and the audience was so enjoyable.

And of course, at the end of the show, Diana surprised everyone and introduced Newark home town girl, Gloria Gaynor to the audience and then sang I WILL SURVIVE with her.UNBELIEVABLE. The audience went wild.

[jobeterob]

I saw an interview with Aretha Franklin a couple days ago that said her Rolling in the Deep went to #1 Dance [[although the album died) and she said Diana was her homegirl and she could not leave her out of the album so fired on Ain't No Mountain High Enough on her album.

Diana's show will be great. The reviews are all great. If you've seen the show 5 or 6 times, for the superfan, it gets a bit repetitive, unless Gloria Gaynor shows up or she put in a song like Reflections or Come See About Me or Lovely Day or something like that.

[smark21]

If you're attending Ross' concert in hopes of seeing twerking and stripper pole choreography , you'll be disappointed.

[helga]

I saw an interview with Aretha Franklin a couple days ago that said her Rolling in the Deep went to #1 Dance [[although the album died) and she said Diana was her homegirl and she could not leave her out of the album so fired on Ain't No Mountain High Enough on her album.


I hope Aretha invites Diana to sing with her on her tour...

[johnjeb]

DON'T BE LATE!!! She starts on time - no matter what.

I've ALWAYS arrived early so that I could be seated in plenty of time to take-in the crowd and the atmosphere.

However, the last time I saw her here in Boston, in 2013, there had been heavy rain and a serious accident on a major highway leading into the city. There were major tie-ups on all roads and public transportation. I was about an hour early but a friend arrived with only minutes to spare. Being in our early 60s we needed to use the men's room and wanted a bottle of water to quench our thirst. As we headed for our seats the lights went out and we were in darkness. Diana started singing and scores of us were waiting to be escorted to our seats, barely able to see. I think she was into her third song before I was seated. I was annoyed that the show wasn't delayed due to the weather and traffic. I fault theater management for not anticipating that there would be more than the usual number of late arrivals.

As for the show, it was my second time seeing her in 3 years, the last time before that was 1997. It was enjoyable but not like the spectacular shows from the 70s - she spoiled us back then. I saw The Supremes [[with Diana) about a dozen times, once with Flo; and solo Diana even more than that.

It was nice to hear her sing The Supremes hits in full, however, during these songs, I missed seeing Mary and Cindy do their thing alongside Diana. She sounded good and she is an icon. It's always fun watching the audience LOVE her.

[daviddesper]

Thanks guys for such incredible detail. I am really looking forward to the show. She is by far the biggest name star I have ever seen in concert and we will be fortunate to have her here in our area. Of course it will be in February and we will have to hope for cooperation from the weather. It can be nasty here that time of the year and there is a mountain between my town and the show.

[rovereab]

What To Expect? I'd say:

Legendary performance - superb vocals and from the backup singers and band
Quality and style
Audience engagement
Appreciation from both Diana and the audience
A selection of songs from all key stages of her long career

Just about everything you'd expect from an enduring and much loved superstar!