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View Full Version : Diana Ross didn’t fill up Verizon Theatre, but she sure made it sparkle....


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marv2
02-28-2015, 11:21 AM
http://popcultureblog.dallasnews.com/2015/02/diana-ross-didnt-fill-up-verizon-theatre-but-she-sure-made-it-sparkle.html/

Diana Ross probably owns sparkly gowns in every color known to man. She rocked three of them during her concert at Verizon Theatre earlier this evening — hypnotizing, flowy things in pinkish red, silver and yellow. And each gown made its entrance under its own poofy wrap, the second one featuring enough yellow feathers to warrant a side eye from Big Bird.

Ross’ getups alone were worth the price of admission to the “In the Name of Love Tour,” which also offered a large, classy band backing her for an hour and a half of monster hits. But only a few thousand turned up to witness the spectacle, not nearly enough to pack the house.

I mean, I know the place is in Grand Prairie and all, but it’s downright lame that more didn’t show up to see a musical legend who still performs with elegance and precision at 70. At least the packed front sections danced with hands in the air throughout.

Ross appeared on stage just after 8 p.m. to the tune of “I’m Coming Out,” naturally, joining a four-man horn section, two drummers, a guitarist, a bassist, a keyboardist and three backing vocalists. From the start, she gave us Diana, the icon, stretching her arms out as if she wanted to hug the entire audience. She stayed right in the pocket on Spiral Staircase’s “More Today Than Yesterday,” making us forget that the song wasn’t hers to begin with.

And then came the Supremes song-a-thon, which made every occupied section spring to life as soon as the opening notes of “Come See About Me” were heard. “It’s memory time!” Ross shouted as she moved into “My World Is Empty Without You.” Then “Baby Love,” then “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Finally, “Love Child.” On all those simply brilliant l-word blockbusters, Ross sang in the chirpy, radio-ready voice that made her a star in the ’60s and helped shape the sound of pop for years to come.

After the Motown nostalgia ended, it was time for Ross to do a quick change and give us some of her grown and sexy solo hits. She had a lot of fun doing the disco stuff — “The Boss,” “Upside Down” and “Love Hangover” found her flirting with and pointing to audience members, telling them to dance with more conviction. They finally matched her rhythm and energy when she did a speedy take on “Ease on Down the Road” from The Wiz.

As much as those upbeat tunes pleased the audience, Ross’ vocals were at their most effervescent during the slower, more tender selections. She stood still and belted both “Touch Me in the Morning” and “Theme from Mahogany [[Do You Know Where You’re Going To).” And Ross absolutely slayed vocally on Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain” — a reminder of her brilliance in Lady Sings the Blues.

Ross kept the pacing just right by introducing different band members during songs and letting them do short solos, all while she cooled herself off with a large folding fan — ever the friendly diva.

She seemed genuinely appreciative of her crowd: “I love seeing your faces … Truth is, I come to see you,” she told them.

The only thing that nearly wiped the permasmile from her face were a few balloons being tossed around in the front section near the end of the show. Halfway through her cover of “I Will Survive,” she asked that the balloons be put away. Away they went.

After all, Ms. Ross is still the boss. It’s just a shame more of her employees didn’t show up for their night shift.

carole cucumber
02-28-2015, 04:10 PM
Thank you, Marv, for posting that sparkling review of Diana. So many who have seen her show recently are still singing her praises. It's good to see that you agree with their assessment of her ageless talent and durability.

stephanie
02-28-2015, 04:27 PM
Im shocked she didnt fill this place interesting. Good review though and yes her voice is still up to par its better than it was a few years ago.

detmotownguy
02-28-2015, 04:30 PM
Im shocked she didnt fill this place interesting. Good review though and yes her voice is still up to par its better than it was a few years ago.

Yikes beach balls at a DR concert. Now that must be a first!

stephanie
02-28-2015, 05:02 PM
Im so used to seeing beachballs at a Rod Stewart concert I mean soccer balls.

jobeterob
02-28-2015, 05:05 PM
There is a wicked endless love duet with a former Phil Collins background singer named Lamont from this concert!

imnokid
02-28-2015, 06:07 PM
Carole, it was obvious to me that Marv did not write that review, he merely posted it in full. Click the link for the writer's name.

marv2
02-28-2015, 06:10 PM
Carole, it was obvious to me that Marv did not write that review, he merely posted it in full. Click the link for the writer's name.

Thank you Kev!

rod_rick
02-28-2015, 06:55 PM
Im shocked she didnt fill this place interesting. Good review though and yes her voice is still up to par its better than it was a few years ago.

Maybe the weather had something to do with the attendance. Full or not it sounds like the audience got a very good show.

carole cucumber
02-28-2015, 07:21 PM
Carole, it was obvious to me that Marv did not write that review, he merely posted it in full. Click the link for the writer's name.

And it's obvious to me and everyone else. Please read again mar.. oops I mean imnokid.
I thanked Marv for posting the review here at SDF, not for writing it.

supremester
02-28-2015, 07:49 PM
I'm shocked she's selling as well as she is in Florida & texas - most of which have been sellouts. She's playing the same venues every year now - Dallas every year since 2007 so this half of a house doesn't surprise me. We were in Sarasota this year - same show, same venue every year - sold out every year lol.


Maybe the weather had something to do with the attendance. Full or not it sounds like the audience got a very good show.

Roberta75
02-28-2015, 07:57 PM
Real nice review. it seem like Diane is getting great reviews for years.

Roberta

imnokid
02-28-2015, 09:03 PM
Carole,
You did thank Marv, and then you said "It's good to see that you agree with their assessment of her ageless talent and durability." I didn't see where he said he agreed with it. He just posted it for the members to read.

rrussi
03-01-2015, 06:19 PM
She played the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center in Orlando on Feb. 11th. It was pretty much a sold out performance. The seating capacity is 2,700.

supremester
03-01-2015, 06:27 PM
I was at Orlando - Miss Ross was in A+++++ form - what a great show. It was totally sold out, unless some seats got released at the last minute. I had several buds looking for tix that week - even Stubhub was sold out. Amazing theater - beautiful with perfect acoustics. Very friendly staff.

midnightman
03-01-2015, 08:36 PM
The Verizon Theater there doesn't seem like a popular venue lol

I just love to hear about Motown legends still doing it no matter how old they are.

Bokiluis
03-02-2015, 01:45 PM
Dallas is not the best market for her as far as sellouts. When she played here in 2011[[?), the theater was about 2/3rd full. But in Austin and Houston, it is a different story. She sells out. It's never been one of my favorite cities, this underscores it.

rrussi
03-04-2015, 07:58 AM
supremester, I was there [[Orlando) on row K in orchestra section. Yes, that place is a great theatre, my first visit there, which I think it only opened about 6 or 7 months ago.

supremester
03-04-2015, 08:34 AM
Wow - we were right by each other- I was on the first landing - probably right behind you. We had such a good time - I loved that place.

supremester
03-04-2015, 08:38 AM
I'm trying to think when I've seen her there if it was sold out or not. Can't recall. There was one time at a newer place that was very full, I saw Dionne's road manager there. How did RTL do in DAllas?


Dallas is not the best market for her as far as sellouts. When she played here in 2011[[?), the theater was about 2/3rd full. But in Austin and Houston, it is a different story. She sells out. It's never been one of my favorite cities, this underscores it.

JohnnyB
03-04-2015, 09:37 AM
I'm trying to think when I've seen her there if it was sold out or not. Can't recall. There was one time at a newer place that was very full, I saw Dionne's road manager there. How did RTL do in DAllas?

RTL sold between 6 and 8 thousand seats according to estimates I read. The show was in a 19,000-seat arena, so these numbers were considered disappointing.

I think the problem with last week's Verizon show is Diana has overplayed this market. Trust me; I celebrate whenever Miss Ross comes to my home, but she's been here quite often with her greatest hits show:
2011 - Dallas Majestic Theatre - According to the promoter, this was close to a sell out by show time, but a slower box office initially. Not sure of seating capacity, but I'd estimate 3000.
2011 - Winstar Casino - Sellout, 3500 seating capacity. This casino is in Oklahoma, one mile across the Texas border and pulls primarily from the Dallas market.
2013 - Winstar Casino - Sellout.
2013 - Winspear Opera House, Sellout, Dallas, 2300 seating capacity.
2014 - Choctaw Casino, Sellout, 5500 seating capacity, another Oklahoma casino one mile across the Texas border that pulls the Dallas crowd.
2014 - Meyerson Symphony Center - Sellout, Dallas, 2300 seating capacity.

The Verizon Theatre has a seating capacity of 6,250, but is often set to 3500 by closing the balcony sections. Diana's show was configured at 3500. I was [[happily) surprised she'd return to the Dallas market again so soon. I worried that ticket sales would be slow. The final blow to ticket sales for this show came at the beginning of last week when Dallas experienced snow and icy weather conditions. This killed any last-minute ticket sales as the Dallas metroplex comes to a halt during icy weather.

A long answer to your question Supremester...

milven
03-05-2015, 09:17 AM
Supremester, your long explanation clarified something for me. The theater has two configurations. Hers was set at 3500 with the rear section curtained off. I read a review about this concert last week that said:

GRAND PRAIRIE-- Watching Diana Ross perform at Verizon Theatre Thursday was to see the neglect of a national treasure transpire in real time.

The 70-year-old Detroit native and Motown icon took the stage on a blustery cold winter’s night before a criminally small audience, one barely filling half of the 6,350-capacity venue.


If she filled barely half of the 6350 capacity while it was configured for 3500, she did extremely well.

The reviewers should be as aware as you are that some of these venues can be configured differently and just because they see a portion of the venue sectioned off, that does not mean that the concert is not a success. Diana's concert was a success for the 3500 seat configuration. Reviewers saying things like "neglect of a national treasure" and "lame that more people didn't show up" will cause non Diana Ross fans to risk posting a stunning review here simply because it says that it was not a sell out.

supremester
03-05-2015, 02:05 PM
I must have been at the 2011 Majestic theater show because I know it wasn't a casino, but I thought it was 2010. It was a new place with a restaurant attached to the left of it. The line at the box office was so long and confusing. I know Dionne Warwick[[e)s road manager and we walked in together - he's a sweetheart.

I don't think it matters much to me if shows sell out or not. Yes, it sounds good but it's all subjective. Had RTL been booked into sheds 50% of the time, it would have been a smashing success. If this tour had been booked into arenas, it would not have been a bunch of sellouts. Trash bags [[who I think rarely get laid) like to find fault with others whose fun they cannot relate to. Sadly, it annoys them. What does matter to me is the quality of the show, and she's just in A Game mode which keeps me coming back for more. It's nice being an old codger and still be able to dig the show and be in the energy of a packed house with everyone feeling the same way - including her. I would post an interesting review even if it was poorly attended.