Tom Jones International

As the lights went low April 5 at the American Music Theatre in anticipation of the start of the show Tony stepped up to the mic, and his introduction went something like this…”Just back from England after being knighted last week….ladies and gentleman SIR TOM JONES!”

That he was introduced as “Sir Tom” was no surprise, however, it was kind of surprising that the introduction was the last time the knighthood was mentioned the entire evening. Tom did his usual high energy-show, but did not share any of last week’s royal event. Also not mentioned was the up-coming release of Stoned in Love.

The song list remained pretty much the same as he has been doing along with St. James Infirmary Blues, Glory of Love,and Love Letters. The audience seemed mesmerized as he sang Love Letters and other ballads. The quiet in the room was as if everyone realized
they were witnessing a master performing his craft, and, during the ballads, all remained quiet and respectful only erupting with appreication as he finished.

This was the fifth time I have seen Tom so I do have the experience of previous shows to compare. Let me just say this: Don’t we all know the feeling of going back to work after a wonderful vacation? It takes us a while to get back into the routine. Seems to me Tom is no different. The show up to this point was business as usual, and took him a bit to get warmed up. We started seeing the tiger wake up during 200 Pounds. Then, as the first few notes of You Can Leave Your Hat On played, he took his jacket off with a “ready to rumble” attitude and he threw the show from drive into turbo boost.

The next three numbers were hot and the crowd responded accordingly. Up to this point security was all business asking anyone who approached the stage to go back to their seats. Flash photography was not permitted and that prohibition was strictly enforced with a visit from security if anyone tried.

When Sir Tom returned to the stage to finish the show with the oldies set, things got interesting. Fans were permitted to swarm the stage area for an up-close-and-personal view of what was to come.

What came was Tom whipping the fans into a rock ‘n roll frenzy of a great time not soon to be forgotten. When he concluded with Kiss he treated us all to a larger and longer peek at his abs then I had ever seen previously. WOW!

A great time was had by all, but I got a special treat above and beyond any expectation. If you visit TJI.com regularly you may recall the story of the little girl who became a Tom Jones fan through being an Elvis fan. Yep, I was that girl, and I took the magazine from 1968 along just in case I got be lucky enough to get a signature, and that’s just what happened. I stood about four-people deep from the stage and caught Tom’s attention. He acknowledged me with a wink, but I was not close enough for him to do anything about it.

As he left the stage someone got him to sign an album cover, so I pushed up front and waved again and he doubled back to sign it for me. This magazine of Elvis and Tom has always been a special keepsake to me but now it’s priceless.

Thanks Tom, what a KNIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

—Audrey