Concert #543 - Randy Newman at the Royce Hall (February 19, 2010)

Would you believe that I went home from Randy Newman's concert at the Royce Hall with a distinct sense of disappointment? Hard to believe, but absolutely true. First, the Friday night traffic was atrocious. Second, I only had a so-so seat, about fourteen rows back. But the main reason for my unhappiness was Randy Newman himself - he messed up a few piano chords and forgot some lyrics as well, even though he was playing his best known-songs, the ones he had been playing for decades.

Toward the end of the show, Randy apologized for his slip-ups. He explained that he had been working all day on music for the not-yet-released "Toy Story 3", all this while nursing a bad cold. Still, the crowd seemed to be in a forgiving mood and rewarded him with a standing ovation at the end of the show - this prompted Randy to quip "I must have built up some good-will over the years"

Otherwise, it was a typical Randy Newman concert, with the stage holding nothing but Randy's piano and stool and plenty of intellectual types in the audience. He played most of his "greatest hits", with some emphasis on "Harps And Angels", his most recent album. His voice was maybe a tiny bit weaker than before, but that was to be expected and I don't think it bothered anyone, certainly not me.

Would I want to see him again? Absolutely!

Partial setlist

Louisiana 1927

Political Science

I Love LA

Short People

My Life Is Good

Marie

I Think It's Gonna Rain Today

I'm Dead (But I Don't Know It)

A Few Words In Defense Of Our Country

Down In New Orleans

Mama Told Me Not To Come

Birmingham

Dixie Flyer

Living Without You

Last Night I Had A Dream

Feels Like Home

You Can Keep Your Hat On

 Laugh And Be Happy

Rednecks

You've Got A Friend In Me

Concert #580 - Randy Newman's Harps And Angels at the Mark Taper Forum (December 22, 2010)

My first time at the Mark Taper Forum. What an excellent show! A talented cast of six artists delivered a highly entertaining revue of thirty five of Randy's best known songs, accompanied by a great band that remained hidden throughout the show. With music that good, there was no need for special effects, nor for a fancy stage production. The songs did the talking, and they kept coming, one after the other, it was great.

Among the performers, there were two I knew quite well: Michael McKean and Katey Sagal. That's Michael and Katey of "Spinal Tap" and "Married With Children" fame, respectively. I wasn't familiar with the other four performers, but they were all very good, especially Broadway artist Adriane Lenox and the gorgeous Storm Large, whose rendition of "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" will be hard to forget.

 
My Better Half and I had front row seats, almost at the center of the round stage. The whole show felt like a private performance, it was so intimate. The sound was very good and, better yet, we were left alone, as the artists did not bother anyone, they just minded their music. 

 From rear left, clockwise: Ryder Bach, Storm Large, Michael McKean, Katey Sagal, Matthew Saldivar, Adriane Lenox

 

 

Concert #53 - Randy Newman at the Universal Amphitheater (August 26, 1989)

Somebody screwed up royally when they booked Randy Newman to play the Universal Amphitheater. Being one of the very best in the music business and selling tickets are two different things. Around 2,500 fans show up to see Randy live, which left about 3,700 seats unoccupied. Randy himself quipped "I see a lot of people out there dressed as empty seats". Later he joked about his "light show", which he compared to that of Pink Floyd's.

I went to the show with my better half, we had front row seats in the balcony, but were "upgraded" to sit downstairs, closer to the stage.

Randy played his best known songs, which he always does ... "Lonely At The Top" ... "Political Science" ... "I Thinks It's Gonna Rain Today" ... "I Love LA" ... "Sail Away" ... "Short People" ... one just cannot get tired of his songs. He had no guests. All-in-all, it was an excellent show that made me want to see him again, which I did more than once.

There was no opening act.

How often have you heard Randy Newman doing songs he hasn't written himself? Take a look at this: