What the World Needs Now is More Burt Bacharach
There was no introduction and no entrance music last night when the legendary songwriter behind standards like, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," "I Say a Little Prayer," and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" walked onstage at the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. I doubt anyone would have heard the music anyway. The moment Mr.
stepped onstage, a theater full of adoring fans leaped to their feet, cheered and two-finger whistled as if the Beatles had just flown in from London. General screams of delight were punctuated with shouts of, "We love you!" and "You're the man, Burt!"
Ladies and gentlemen, Burt Bacharach is still the man.
Dressed in a simple black suit with no tie, the six-time Grammy winner and three-time Oscar winner graciously smiled and waved to us for a few moments before walking over to the grand piano at center stage. At his cue, the entire 50-piece orchestra behind him sprang to life and at once, we were plunged into an irresistible medley crammed with hit after hit-- the only way he could fit enough of his beloved songs into one concert. Every song transition was met with an enthusiastic wave of applause, as two thousand heartbeats happily quickened with recognition. Scores of normally dignified adults simultaneously turned into teenagers who unashamedly gushed aloud, "Gahh!!! I love this song!!!"
My favorite parts were the few songs where the orchestra dropped out and it was just him playing the piano and singing. His raspy voice was a little quiet and subdued, giving the songs--
his
songs-- much more poignancy. He took on "Alfie," "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head," and the super sexy "The Look of Love" by himself, only having the orchestra and his singers come in towards the end.
Mr. Bacharach has the energy and agility of a man much younger than his 85 years. He would stand up at the piano in mid-song, still playing with his left hand while giving a cue to the horn section or signaling the violins to come in. He would jump from the grand piano to an electric keyboard facing the audience, then back to the piano again. He also got up to introduce each song or to tell us a quick story about his early days collaborating with his longtime lyricist, Hal David.
At the end, he joked that he had to dismiss the full orchestra because he didn't want to keep them overtime, but he said he wanted to stay and play a few more songs for us with just his band-- if we didn't mind. Of course, we didn't. He played a couple of his newer songs and some Christmas stuff too. He closed by asking us to sing along with him to a reprisal of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head." A group of fans afterward rushed the stage and he stayed until he shook hands with every single one of them. A living legend and a true gent.
They said no photos, but I couldn't resist.
