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Randy Newman in Concert
Randy Newman came to Kansas City over the weekend and played to a packed but modestly sized theater of fans. My wife surprised me with tickets so we got to see him. Gotta say, the guy's fantastic! Here's a review that sums it up pretty well:
Review | Randy Newman covers array of emotional topics for apprciative audience
By TIMOTHY FINN
The Kansas City Star
Saturday night at the Folly Theater, Randy Newman unleashed his world upon a crowd of about 800 people.
And what a world it is. No one does what he does the way he does it: sing and comment with humor, sadness, anger and regret about everything from world history, politics, religion and socio-economics to love, death, sex and parenthood.
He would perform nearly three dozen songs in about two hours (not counting the intermission). And he’d deliver about two dozen one-liners or stories with punchlines, some of them dropped in the middle of a song.
Newman’s voice isn’t exactly shot, but if you described it to someone and told them to go find it, they might come back with one of William Burroughs’ shotgun paintings — a slab of plywood riddled with holes.
Most of the time it serves his music well. Most of the time. After agreeing to sing “Simon Smith,” he warned that he wasn’t sure he could reach the high notes at the very end. He was right.
But during his more plaintive ballads, his voice conveys the every-man sadness or ragged longing in his lyrics. That was especially true during “I Miss You,” a gorgeous song he wrote “for my first wife while I was married to my second wife.” The theater was deathly quiet and still during that one, down to the last note that dripped from his piano.
This was an ideal crowd; it knew when to listen and when to jump in, as it did spontaneously during “I Love L.A.” Newman orchestrated a sing-and-response for “I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It),” a song about rock stars not knowing when to call it a career. (They keep on going on, Newman said, because “no one is applauding at home.”) Newman asked his audience to chant “He’s dead, he’s dead” on cue. It did, in unison and loudly, “like you’re on a Queen record,” Newman joked.
He didn’t specifically address the U.S. election or the world and its precarious economy, but he did let some of his songs do some talking for him. He opened with “It’s Money that I Love,” and when it was over, he cracked: “I like to start with a spiritual.”
He opened his second set with “Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man),” which is loaded with lines like, “I know it may sound funny / But people everywhere are runnin’ out of money…” And he sang “Baltimore,” a song about tough times in the big city: “The city’s dyin’ and they don’t know why ... Man, it’s hard just to live.”
He told stories, too. Before “Korean Parents,” he talked about having his sons before having a daughter and the difference between the two: “If I’d had a daughter first, I’d have thought the boys were retarded.” And he recalled an incident at a restaurant when his 15-year-old daughter advised him he didn’t need to sit with his back to the room because “you’re not that famous.”
The setup was Spartan, like a standup comedy show with a piano. Newman performed in front of a huge screen that changed colors every so often. Every once in a while, a stage light caught something — his watch? — and little balls of light danced on the screen.
Other than that, and his change of shirt during intermission, the visuals were static, and rightfully so. The focus this evening was on Newman, his songs and a crowd that deeply appreciated both.
His daughter is only half-right. He may not be a five-star celebrity, but Newman is the most popular guy in a little galaxy all his own.
SETLIST
It’s Money that I Love; My Life Is Good; Marie; Short People; Birmingham; Bad News From Home; Korean Parents; I Miss You; Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear; A Few Words In Defense of Our Country; Laugh And Be Happy; Losing You; You Can Leave Your Hat On; I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It); Political Science. Intermission. Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man); Great Nations of Europe; Potholes; In Germany Before the War; Baltimore; Only A Girl; Love Story (You and Me); She’s A Real Emotional Girl; You’ve Got A Friend In Me; Harps & Angels; Dixie Flyer; Louisiana 1927; Guilty; I Love L.A.; That’s Why I Love Mankind; A Piece of the Pie; I Think It’s Going To Rain Today. Encore: It’s Lonely At The Top; It Feels Like Home.
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