(With apologies for the blurred photos)
This is truly a once in a lifetime event. Miss Diana Ross has made herself scarce after the failure of her Return to Love "Supremes Reunion" tour and subsequent brushes with the law and alcohol. She did release an album last year featuring a cover of the song "More Today Than Yesterday".
The last time she performed at the Hollywood Bowl was in 1967. Needless to say, the anticipation and expectations were high.
And Miss Ross did not disappoint!
Miss Ross made her appearance after the LA Philharmonic did the requisite opening act with two pieces that she helped choose. The pieces were "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" (Rodgers) and "Harlem" (Ellington). An intermission was necessary to set-up the stage for Miss Ross' appearance. There was room for a ten piece band, back up singers, stairs and a landing.
The opening strains for "I'm Coming Out" started and the crowd goes wild. Then we hear Miss Ross' disembodied voice floating through the amphitheatre. Where is she? She appears in what seems to be a red, strapless Bob Mackie gown with an enormous wing-like tulle boa and an abbreviated and bouncy version of "that hair" - and we have takeoff!
Her voice, if a little smokey with age, was still pleasant to hear. She started with some hits from Supremes which she delivers one after the other, seemingly without exhaustion, and prodding the audience to sing along with her, which they did.
First costume change was this sequin bathrobe for the hits of the 70's like "The Boss" and "Endless Love":
Second costume change was this 30's camellia gown for the "Lady Sings The Blues" segment:
Then she re-appears with the Big Bird Yellow dress for the finale and greatest iconic hits like "Theme from Mahogany" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough":
She returns for the encore/finale and sings "I Will Survive" in yet another gown. This time it's a lime green dolman sleeve number with a matching enormous tulle boa (not pictured):
It wasn't very long ago when I wished I could see Diana Ross perform live and now I have! Be careful what you wish for!
Here's a short clip from this most memorable evening:
2 comments:
Hi, not sure by the "be careful what you wish for" comment. Are you sorry you got to see her?
On the other hand, I was THRILLED to see Diana! I guess what I meant was "Wishes do come true!"
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