Tom Jones International

After he left Las Vegas last week, Tom played at Chumash Casino, in Stockton and in San Diego. We got some fan reviews from the two latter dates and some photos from Chumash.

In Stockton long-time, devoted fans Shirley and Lalla, along with Laura, really enjoyed the concert and in San Diego Nancy had a great time. Their reviews are below.

The photos from Chumash are copyright by Dwight McCann, whose website has lots of great photos of Tom and scads of other performers. The rest of his shots from that night are on our Many Faces of Tom flickr set.







Shirley: Well, I am back from seeing Tommy last night in Stockton, he was terrific, playing to a sold out house. He was so relaxed and playing the crowd up to new heights with his naughty boy act and his twinkling eyes when he sang Git Me Some. His voice gets “betterer” and “betterer” each time I see him.

The set list was the same as all the other ones I have seen many times before, and I can actually quote him word for word these days, but last night he seemed a lot more relaxed than he does in Vegas. Of course, that could have to do with the screams of the women in the crowd, he loved it. These were all his fans and in Vegas it seems as though people just go to see him so they can say they have been to a Vegas show…….

Same old shirt and suit, although he did have a new pair of patent leather boots on, on seeing these, I may have to make that space under my bed a little bigger these days

I did notice that he seem to drink a lot more water and take more of his lozenges, almost after every song. He looked terrific but I thought he had put on a little weight since I saw him in August, his suit fit him better. We made a video of him and, if it’s any good, I’ll send it along.

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Lalla: Tom’s show in Stockton was wonderful. The audience was on their feet to greet him as he came out on the stage. They have an excellent sound system and it is beautiful restored theater. He looked and sounded outstanding — full of energy and very animated. My husband and I had a great time. The theater was sold out and the audience on their feet for a standing ovation at the end of the show as well.

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Laura: Driving to Stockton from the Silicon Valley, where I live, was a bear….but well worth the aggravation. Tom was spectacular. He looked like a man truly comfortable in his own skin. I was sitting next to a TJ virgin, a middle aged male who had wanted to see Tom for most of his adult life, and he was so impressed that he was just beside himself. The setlist was the same as in Vegas, but I was with a friend who had not seen Tom in a few years and she could not get over some of the new offerings. She loved it. The theater was intimate and quite pleasant, but I found the security a bit overbearing as they did not allow dancing of any kind, whatsoever, and seemed to almost take pleasure in turning people away. Weird. I was four rows back from the stage, so could see what was transpiring most of the time. The band was superior and the back-up singers were outstanding as usual.

After the show, my friend and I ran into some of the band members and we shared some drinks and good conversation. I must say that Tom is lucky to be surrounded by such an articulate and classy group of men. It was a great evening!!

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Nancy: This is an outside venue on Shelter Island in San Diego. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the crowd was ready for a good time. The best band and back-up singers were on the stage, and Tom came out looking great in in purple suit w/ striped trousers and a black shirt with stand-up collar. His beard and hair were trimmed short and looked great. He appeared very relaxed and happy from the get-go.

He opened with Raise Your Hand and things just took off. I must say that Tom seemed especially “in tune” with the audience of about 1,200, and we provided him with lots of encouragement, to which he responded with great warmth and smiles. Many of us were on our feet and/or applauding, cheering each fabulous song. Unfortunately the security at Humphreys did try to keep everyone out of the aisles and away from the stage- but a few of us did manage to get our traditional lingerie offerings up to the great man early in the show, which definitely did add to the audience’s level of fun.
Tom went through his regular song list including three mellow standards. The crowd did seem to like Old Black Magic — into which Tom puts al little extra “oomph” — the best of these.

After that, the energy of Sir Tom, the band, the singers, and his faithful just exploded like dynamite! Git Me Some just brought down the house. Most of the audience were on their feet, and towards the end of the regular program, Tom encouraged the “ladies” to come on down to the stage, which we did! The security just gave up, because Sir Tom and the fans took over!

Tom did an incredibly fabulous encore of three songs, including Kiss and Resurrection Shuffle, and sang and danced right into the hearts of the many stage front ladies gyrating and screaming with his every move. Several times Tom came to the front of the stage and grabbed the hands offered to him, and even stopped to sign an album. To me, this was a true sign of his connection with the audience at tonight’s show.

After the show ended, many folks just sat in their seats and smiled. It looked as if they had all been through a mind-bending experience! And we had…the man was absolutely magnetic and had the audience in the palm of his hands!

Thank you, Sir Tom Jones!