Patti Labelle to Hit Charlottesville Sunday Night

[daviddesper]

Two friends and I have tickets to see Miss Patti Sunday night at an intimate downtown theater [[the Paramount) that only seats about 1,000. We have previously seen Dionne, Bettye, and Diana at this same venue.

It will be the first time ever for any of us seeing Patti live, so I guess we will go into it with an open mind. I will try to have a report afterwards.

[detmotownguy]

Two friends and I have tickets to see Miss Patti Sunday night at an intimate downtown theater [[the Paramount) that only seats about 1,000. We have previously seen Dionne, Bettye, and Diana at this same venue.

It will be the first time ever for any of us seeing Patti live, so I guess we will go into it with an open mind. I will try to have a report afterwards.. Can’t wait for the report. She puts on a great show.

[daviddesper]

Well Miss Patti is probably snoozing by now and she deserves a good night's sleep after the superb show she put on tonight. Easily one of the best I have seen in Charlottesville's historic Paramount Theater.

However, I do have to admit that she had us a little worried in the early going. She came out in an elaborate silver outfit and some VERY high heels. Almost immediately you could tell that she was not very comfortable.

After just one song, she commented on how hot it was, how the shoes were killing her, and she had to have an assistant come on stage and help adjust the gown. In addition to that, I noticed that as she moved across the stage, she needed to hold on to speakers or whatever was available for support.

I had noticed prior to the show that there was a piece of furniture in the middle of the stage that I would call a fainting couch. So I wondered if maybe it was put there in case she had to sit down for parts of the show. But I also noticed that there were several other pairs of heels on stage, and she did change her shoes and kick them off altogether a few times, so maybe the whole shoe bit is a regular part of her show.

But she did seem a bit unsteady in the early going and when she started whispering to bandmates and back up singers after only about 4 or 5 songs, I was worried that she was going to be unable to continue due to the heat. Shortly after that, she left the stage and the three back-up singers [[two ladies and one man) filled in for her for about 10 minutes. I have seen other singers, Diana for example, do that as a break in the show.

But then Patti re-appeared in a shimmering red outfit that looked much more comfortable and for the rest of the show she increased her energy level and gave one heck of a performance.

I certainly cannot remember every song but she did a few cuts from Bel Hommage, and also On My Own, If Only You Knew, Love and Need and Want You, If You Don't Know Me By Now, and of course her standard Over the Rainbow. She then closed with a tender ballad accompanied only by her musical director on piano. I did not recognize the song......it could have been another cut from Bel Hommage, which I have only listened to once.

Toward the end she gave an extended treatment of You are My Friend and while she sang, a lengthy In Memoriam tribute played on a screen showing MANY of our departed entertainment figures. It was much longer than the features you see on the Emmys or Oscars and among the people that would mean the most to us on here were Etta James, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, our beloved Phyllis Hyman, Nick Ashford, Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, and Natalie Cole. It also included some members of her own family, since Patti has had more than her share of personal heartache.

Although he was not featured in the video, she updated her show to include a tribute to Bunny Sigler and sang one of her songs that she said he wrote. I am so sorry that I cannot remember which song was his.

She was big on audience rapport and participation and in one sequence, she invited about six people up on stage to show their stuff. She said it was all unrehearsed, but I don't know, one guy with a Patti shirt on unleashed a booming voice doing Yo Mister and Patti even joined him with it. That would have been pretty hard to ad lib.

So all in all it was a wonderful show. It ran about 1:40 with no intermission, which was more generous than some shows in that theater. She seemed to genuinely enjoy herself as much as the audience did and once we got over that initial concern about her comfort level, she was the consummate professional on stage. I would highly recommend that anyone see her when you have the chance.

[carlo]

Thanks for the great review, David! Glad you enjoyed. She does put on a great show. Just curious if the fan who ad libbed Yo Mister was a young white man with dark hair? If so, he follows Patti around. She has a few fans that attend dozens of her shows a year, just like Diana. She invites some of these same super fans onstage from time to time, along with other fans from the audience, and they have attended the show many times and know how to "bring it". They're basically part of the travelling team, on their own expense lol.

[marv2]

I 've haven't seen her in a while, but the shows I've been to were always very good.

[luke]

One Patti show I saw in The 80s was the most dynamic show I’ve ever seen. She also seemed shaky when I saw her first reunion show at the Apollo with Nona and Sara. She sat down a lot and fanned herself. I’m guessing it was her diabetes. She is the consummate entertainer.

[daviddesper]

The young fellow that did Yo Mister was a strapping young black man with a football player's build. But she did spend a lot of time chatting with a slender white guy down in the front row and then when the time came for people to come up on stage, that guy's husband was one of the ones who joined her. She did not seem to know them, but it was obvious they were huge fans and had seen her plenty of times before.

[reese]

Good to hear that you had a nice time at the concert. I have seen Patti many times over the years and have never been disappointed. Your review is making me even more stoked, as I am seeing her again in a few weeks.

[midnightman]

Glad to hear Patti still giving 110% at her shows. I wonder if she was singing "Somebody Loves You Baby" as a tribute to Bunny? Bunny also wrote "I'm in Love Again" and "Love, Need & Want You" so maybe IILA was what she performed?

[daviddesper]

I am pretty sure it was Somebody Loves You Baby.