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Suzanne B
The show was AWESOME!!!
Sat Nov 24 01:59:50 2001
My son and I had seats on the 3rd row, center section on the aisle and we were DIRECTLY in front of King so we had a great view. My son kept the binoculars trained on King most of the night (except when I looked at Neil–wow–I like the view through the binoculars–it reminded me of the old days when I use to take my telephoto lens on my 35mm camera (except that I don’t have any photos to help remind me of the evening–we were too close to security).
Neil wore the blue shirt like the one in the photo with the piano on Joe’s page. He looked GREAT!! (and I definitely could not find any face lift scars with the binoculars)
When he asked for a hanky, I was prepared to give him a towel with Oklahoma on it, but a lady in a wheelchair went up to the stage to give him the hanky and did not have any problem getting past the security. During Girl, a lady from the 5th row pushed her way past and ran up to the stage. Two security guards grabbed her and almost made her leave until Neil held out his hand to her and a third security guard told them it was ok (but he stayed right there with her!)
My son had fun–I danced most of the evening and he joined in the dancing and clapping too. (But he still says he was there to see King–but I saw him looking at Neil, too!)
The only disappointment was that we were not able to speak with King (and that the show was NOT LONG ENOUGH!!) I want more!!!! (but it is kind of sobering to realize how much time and money I spent on such fleeting enjoyment–so I probably will not take off work to go to Austin or Houston in the middle of the week).
I sure wish I could travel from city to city and photograph the show . . .
I was a little surprised that there was no Christmas music but I was glad not to have missed any of the songs that he did play.
Debbie B.
Just got back from Okla City Concert…
Sun Nov 25 17:43:10 2001
….Neil was in top form on Friday night! There were a few times that his voice cracked and sounded a bit hoarse…but, overall, he sounded great! From what I saw, the arena was sold out, it did take the Oklahomans till 8:30pm to ‘finally’ get seated…but, once seated, there was not an empty seat in the place. Neil did sing “Play Me”…which was quite a treat, as he didn’t sing this in Omaha. Neil wore a blue sparkly shirt. The crowd was very polite and applauded loudly after each song, however, Neil worked very very hard to ‘try’ to get people to get out of there seats throughout the show…the only time the people stood up was when Neil asked them to ‘help out’ with a song (such as Sweet Caroline & ‘Stand up for America”). This was very disappointing to me as the Omaha concert was incredible compared to the Oklahoma City crowd. As I stated, the crowd was polite, but..not really into it.
Another low point came when Neil asked for a hanky (before he sang “Play Me” …and, someone (I assume a gal) shot up a pair of ladys underwear from the front of the floor!! Neil picked it up and the crowd chuckled a bit..then, Neil threw it over his shoulder behind the stage and didn’t make any comments and began to sign!! A testament to the class Mr. Diamond has!!
It was really good to hear Neil sing again….I just love his voice and performance!
I met and spoke with an elderly lady before the show who explained that her granddaughter is married to Neils son (she didn’t say which one)…she also stated that “Elijah’s Song” was written for her greatgrandson (her granddaughters child)…this lady had a VIP pass around her neck. We saw where she was sitting in the arena and we saw her granddaughter, Neils son and Elijah!! That was pretty cool!
Now, its on to Las Vegas, where I’m sure the crowd will be enthusiastic and ‘into’ Neil!!
THE OKLAHOMAN REVIEW
Sun Nov 25 08:14:17 2001
Concert Review: Diamond dazzles Myriad
2001-11-25
Neil Diamond is, above all, an entertainer. He proved that Friday night when he played to a packed house at the Myriad Convention Center.
With an enormous American flag suspended above center stage, the 60-year-old singer- songwriter from Brooklyn, N.Y., opened the concert with “America” from his 1980 movie “The Jazz Singer.” From there, he launched into “Solitary Man” and two solid hours of music. Most of his songs were old favorites, to the delight of his fans.
Among the crowd-pleasers were “Red Red Wine,” “Play Me,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” “Sweet Caroline,” “Holly Holy” and “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon,” which he crooned to a pretty blonde girl from the audience. At the end of the song, he added a touch of humor by kissing the young lady and feigning a swoon. When he rose to his feet, he joked, “Phew, anybody got a cigarette?”
Diamond then offered a medley from his new CD “Three Chord Opera.”
A solemn note was reached when Diamond introduced “Captain Sunshine” in tribute to Vince Charles, a percussionist and steel drum virtuoso who played in the band for many years and died last summer.
Another tribute was dedicated to “our heroes, policemen, firefighters and the armed forces who are, as we speak, fighting for our freedom.” The song was “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.”
The most poignant moment of the evening came when Linda Press joined Diamond for the tender ballad “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” Diamond’s deep baritone was like the scratchy- smooth sensation of warm sand sifting through one’s fingers. Press’ crystal-clear soprano was a perfect complement to that quality.
For his encore, Diamond offered two high-energy numbers, “Cracklin’ Rosie” and “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” both of which were received enthusiastically.
Throughout the evening, Diamond appeared to enjoy the concert as much as the fans did. One of his hallmarks is an obvious respect for his audience. That respect was more than appreciated by his Oklahoma City audience, and returned in kind. He left knowing they loved him.