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Whitewater Royal Purple (Univ. of Wisconsin)
September 15, 1970
Stadium dedication features Diamond
By Dale Reich
A somewhat chilled but thoroughly delighted audience of some 7,000 persons saw Neil Diamond perform Friday night at Warhawk Stadium to kick off a long line of weekend activities.
After an entertaining comedy routine by Fred Smoot and a short intermission, the New York native dashed into his long line of recorded hits. Opening his performance with the hard-driving rock tune “Lordy,’ and “Sweet Caroline,” his voice ranged from the gentle lyrics of “Both Sides Now” (a Joni Mitchell tune) to the deep-throated feelings he managed to put into the emotional “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show.”
Between each number Diamond showed his audience a good sense of humor and talked casually about his career, own life and toward the end of his performance he even did the very soft “Brooklyn Roads,” which he says is autobiographical.
The concert was backed musically by Eddie Rubin on drums, Randy Sterling on bass, and Carol Hunter on guitar. Miss Hunter’s work was especially noteworthy and added much to the overall performance both instrumentally and vocally. Diamond himself led the way with his own rhythm guitar and did as much moving around on stage as any musical performer ever did.
Noted for his stage work as well as his recording, Diamond showed all the charisma necessary to hold the attention of such a large gathering under anything but ideal conditions. It was obvious from the beginning that he enjoyed his efforts to entertain and the unique pleasure of playing before a live audience.
After finishing his regular schedule of songs he received enthusiastic applause and came back with two more hits, including “Brother Love” to complete the show. He then left the stage and walked to his dressing room with the entire audience standing for a well-deserved two-minute ovation.
Whitewater
I was there that night, I net Neil Diamond that night it was a great concert. It great stadium too