David Foster & Friends Concert Review
Rosement Theatre - 10/21/09
Review By: Dennis M. Kelly
On a most remarkable night here in Rosemont, IL, some of the world’s most talented performers gathered under one roof, to celebrate the works of David Foster. If the name David Foster does not ring a bell, he is a songwriter and producer responsible for countless hits spanning 30 years. Some songs to his credit are Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart”, Earth Wind and Fire’s “After the Love has Gone” and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”, to literally name but a few.
Tonight marked the opening night of the “ten shows in ten cities” tour which includes New York, Newark, Boston, Atlanta, Tampa, Hollywood (Florida), Los Angels, San Jose and Vancouver. This, being opening night, did see some sound problems at various times through the show, but nothing severe overall.
The star-studded line-up included: Philip Bailey, Peter Cetera, Michael Johns, Ruben Studdard, the Canadian Tenors, Deborah Cox and seventeen year old, and Charice. Which included additional appearances by: Richard Marx, Kathy Sledge, eighteen year old Cody Carey and Lisa Smith who used sign language on two of the songs.
It was an inspirational night that started off with a video presentation of career highlights of David Foster’s hit songs. Upon completion, the love theme from St. Elmo’s Fire, got the audience started with its beautiful arrangements and flowing melodies.
David then greeted the audience and explained that not only was this the first night of the ten night tour, but also that this is his first tour ever, candidly adding a few last minute items he neglected prior to tonight. It was his candor that played a major hit with the audience as he shared insightful backgrounds to many of the songs we’ve all known and loved.
Accompanying David in making the music was: Nathan East on bass (www.nathaneast.com), John Robinson on drums (www.johnjrrobinson.com), Tarigh Akoni on guitar (www.tariqh.com), Randy Waldman on keyboard (www.jazzpilot.com), Boh Cooper also on keyboards (www.bohcooper.com). Also featured, the lovely Kelly Levesque (www.myspace.com/kellylevesque), Anna Marie Boskovich and Jewl (www.jewlamusic.com) on backing vocals. Each of these musicians have an impressive resume and credits all their own and I highly recommend you take a look at their websites and learn more about them.
Michael Johns was the first guest, singing “She’s a Beauty” originally performed by The Tubes and “Man in Motion” originally sung by John Parr. Michael’s stage presence was excellent, involving the audience as much as possible and delivering a very energetic performance overall.
Deborah Cox was brought on next, dressed in a glittery and elegant dress, singing “Through the Fire“ originally sung by Chaka Kahn. David complimented her on this song because he had changed the arrangement on her at the last minute and she had adapted superbly!
After Deborah Cox’s songs, David talked about ‘Hitman” and said that he came to realize he has become successful one day while shopping at Home Depot for a toilet. A couple of guys were heard to say “Dude, it’s the Hitman”. There were a lot of lighthearted and fun moments shared like this through the night which gave the night a VH1 Storytellers feel. It made the whole night feel much more personable than your average concert.
In addition to the great music, there were an awful lot of Canadian performers too, (Deborah Cox being one of them) and The Canadian Tenors followed suit singing Leonard Cohen’s “Halleluiah”. The Canadian Tenors debut album is being released this week in the States, so be on the lookout as these four gentlemen have truly been gifted with amazing voices.
Philip Bailey was up next and brought the energy level of the room back up again and invoked some audience participation; dividing the room up into different clapping patterns and as Chicago audiences go, WE ROCKED!
“After the Love is Gone” came off a little rocky with the timing of the song off for some reason, which was a shame, it definitely is a personal favorite of mine. However “September” (another personal favorite) was pristine and as thoroughly enjoyable as I’ve always known it to sound.
“When you’re wrong, be wrong in a big way”, that is the lesson David shared concerning the “Titanic Song” as he referred to it as, by Celine Dion. It seems the song had come to his attention as a project to work on and he turned it down. Now, the rest is history and also "his story" to share with us.
A former intern of David’s performed next, he is a Chicagoan and he interned with David for two years. He was the first to arrive and last to leave the office every day. This performer went on to sell fifty million copies of his albums and this performer’s name is? Richard Marx. A lot of stories and friendly ribbing between one another that stemmed from a 25 year friendship “and the worst part is Richard Marx doesn’t look any older” said David.
At this point, David discussed the contest that is being presented by www.namedrop.com in which a singer can submit a video of themselves for consideration to perform in their city. Hand picked by David himself, the two finalists get to perform 90 seconds of a song at their city's venue. If chosen from there, they would go on to Vancouver to battle against the winners of each of the 9 other cities. David introduced the first of the two finalists, a sixteen year old boy by the name of Jacob Dow, who, while noticeably nervous, did a phenomenal job singing “Come Fly With Me” complete with pointing at David while David pointed right back.
Erika Rodger performed “And I am Telling You I’m Not Going” and did an amazing job of commanding the Rosemont Theater’s attention. Vocals that soared into the farthest reaches of the venue with a power and confidence that was truly inspiring.
David confessed that now “according to the rules of the contest” he had to pick the winner, but he opted for the audience’s response to decide. To my surprise, the audience was overwhelmingly for Jacob though it did not take long for many in the audience to yell for both to be the winners. David relented that he’ll need to think about having two winners for Chicago…. I hope they both were able to win!
A surprise guest who happened to be in Chicago, Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge, arrived on stage and sang “Got to be Real” and “We Are Family”, filled with positive vibes and high energy Kathy kept the crowd highly entertained.
Then, the “Paul McCartney of the band, Chicago”, Peter Cetera, came on to perform “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” and at this point of the show and at varying times throughout the remainder of the show, feedback kept rearing its ugly head into the mix of the wonderful music. Not sure if it was the sound techs or the equipment at Rosemont Theater, but I suspect they will have it nailed down before the next shows. “You’re the Inspiration” was performed and sung smoothly and featured photos of Chicago on the video screens behind them which was stunning. Michael Johns returned to the stage to join Peter in singing “Hard Habit to Break”, their vocals complimented one another well. Chicago were awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 by NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) and we were there to cover the event. But until tonight, I had never seen any member of Chicago perform. It felt like a historic moment that was happening right on stage, right then. In fact, with all the performers singing these classic songs, it was just amazing to learn that David Foster was the one responsible for influencing my musical interests long before I knew anything about him.
Ruben Studdard, of American Idol fame, was brought on stage next and performed “I Swear”, and he had almost the entire audience doing “the wave”. David described Ruben as having more talent in his pinky than most people have in their body and Ruben sure proved that point.
The last remaining guest of the night was clearly the one most of the audience was excited to see. Prior to the show, I overheard a gentleman mentioning to the people behind me that he came all the way from Texas to see this last guest, her name is Charice. I had never heard of her prior to the announcement of this show, but words cannot describe the shear talent that this seventeen year old girl has. Not only does she “bring it” with powerhouse vocals that can knock you right over, but she also has the sweetest, soft tones that can move you to tears. Combine this with the song “A Note to God” that she performed and you have an emotional whirlwind leaving you speechless. The icing on the cake was when Charice brought her friend, Lisa Smith out on stage to perform with her. Lisa had performed the song in sign language and it was very moving to see, giving it much deeper meaning and emotional power.
The final song of the evening was entitled, “America’s Song”, and had all the guests returning to the stage in small groups at a time, each of them singing different verses as they came on stage. First, was John Michaels, Lisa Smith, Deborah Cox and Philip Bailey, then, Charice, Ruben Studdard and Cody Carey and lastly Kathy Sledge, the Canadian Tenors and backup singers, Kelly, Anna and Jewl.
The show ended at 10:30, roughly three hours that covered approximately thirty years of historic, Grammy winning hits. While I was not up there singing, I left Rosemont Theater feeling pretty drained, nostalgic, thoroughly entertained and even a little wiser having learned more about the music I love. While the majority of the audience was 30+, I would recommend bringing your teenage children to this show. If they’ve ever displayed any sincere appreciation to music and music history, it is a great way to connect them to some very beautiful music and share in the power of music together.
The remaining dates of this tour are as follows:
23-OctNew York, NY
WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden
24-Oct
Newark, NJ
Prudential Center
25-Oct
Boston, MA
Agganis Arena
28-Oct
Atlanta, GA
Fox Theatre
30-Oct
Tampa, FL
St. Pete Times Forum
1-Nov
Hollywood, FL
Hard Rock Live
5-Nov
Los Angeles, CA
Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City Walk
6-Nov
San Jose, CA
HP Pavilion
8-Nov
Vancouver, BC
General Motors Place
You can find out more about David Foster and Friends at: http://www.davidfoster.com
Additional Links:
NameDrop.com www.namedrop.com
Tarigh Akoni's Official Website
www.tariqh.com
Philip Bailey's Official Website
www.philipbailey.com
Canadian Tenor's Official Website
www.canadiantenors.com
Peter Cetera's Official Website
www.petercetera.com
Charice's Official Website
www.charicepempengco.com
Boh Cooper's Official Website
www.bohcooper.com
Deborah Cox's Official Website
www.deborahcox.com
Nathan East's Official Website
www.nathaneast.com
Jewl's Official Website
www.jewlamusic.com
Michael John's Myspace Page
www.myspace.com/michaeljohnsmusic
Kelly Levesque's Myspace Page
www.myspace.com/kellylevesque
John Robinson's Official Website
www.johnjrrobinson.com
Kathy Sledge's Official Website
www.kathysledge.com
Ruben Studdard's Official Website
www.rubenstuddard.com
Randy Waldman's Official Website
www.jazzpilot.com