Show & Venue Reviews, What's New, Pussycat?
Please share your Tom Jones shows with other fans. Setlist? Audience? Energy? What was it like being there? We’d love to hear from you.
And, while you’re telling us about the shows, please let us know what you think of the venues where Tom plays. Clubs, theaters, casinos — Tom Jones performs in all of them. Which venue do you think is the best? The worst?
So that other fans will know what’s in store when they buy their tickets, please tell us a little bit about the venues you know. If possible, try to use the format below so others can tell at a glance what you think. The best venue will merit ****. More than one review of a venue is welcome.
El Paso: “Mix…Sinatra, James Brown and…Iglesias together, then add a bolt of lightning, and you have it.”
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008Here’s a preview of Tom at the Paragon Casino in Louisiana.
Booming baritone cuts loose at Plaza
By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times/Article Launched: 02/13/2008 12:00:00 AM MST
Tom Jones swaggered with the best of them Tuesday night at the Plaza Theatre, moving provocatively at times on the stage, and finally letting loose when he peeled off his jacket.
Help Yourself, the second song he performed, was familiar. Then, as he promised, he went on to sing newer and older favorites.
His audience included people of all ages, and especially adoring women who cheered at his every mischievous gesture.
And yes, besides the requisite gifts of flowers, at least one woman managed to toss a pair of underwear onto the stage.
Jones, filling the place with the rich, booming baritone voice he’s famous for, belted out hit after hit from his vast repertoire of music.
He was supported by an 11-member band of musicians and backup singers.
The audience yelled with appreciation when he sang She’s a Lady, Delilah, Black Magic, Fly Me to the Moon, SexBomb and What’s New Pussycat?
“The show was spectacular,” said Penny Andersen, a lawyer and longtime Jones fan.
“This was my first time seeing him in person. I think my favorite song of his is She’s a Lady.”
The Jones concert had sold out when Andersen tried to buy a ticket, but because of the heavy demand, the Plaza was able to make more seats available.
Besides his raw and passionate delivery, Jones is noted for his ability to sing with soul.
Evidence of that are songs such as Green, Green Grass of Home, I’ll Never Fall in Love Again and I Like the Way You Move.
Joy Riley, 87, kept an earlier vow to get to the concert. She saw Jones the first and only other time he performed in El Paso, decades ago.
“I really enjoyed the show. He was wonderful,” said Riley, a former secretary to four University of Texas at El Paso presidents.
During Tuesday night’s show, Riley wore a silver-colored jacket and approached the stage as near the entertainer as the ushers would allow.
She was pleased when he came onstage for an encore after closing with his first hit, It’s Not Unusual.
How best to describe the Tom Jones concert? Mix Frank Sinatra, James Brown and Julio Iglesias together, then add a bolt of lightning, and you have it.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Great review! I love the last sentence.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Personally I’m not keen on the reference to Julio Iglesias and I really hate it when people describe Tom ‘s voice as “booming” which is just wrong: it’s powerful but controlled. Otherwise it’s good; really positive. I am so picky……
February 13th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I like the Bolt Of Lightening and BOOMING is what I feel when I hear TOM’s VOICE
– but no Julio Iglesias please 
February 13th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I wouldn’t compare Tom to Julio Iglesias. Tom is Tom.I prefer to call Tom’s voice powerful and strong, not booming.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Tom”s voice is great.Fan of tom.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Julio Iglesias? PLEASE!! There is no comparison voice wise. Maybe she was trying to compare them in sexual magnetism? Even that’s a stretch in my opinion. Tom is an orginal.
February 14th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I thought the Paragon review was great, also.
February 14th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Hi, All: You know, we think that sometimes ya gotta take these reviews for what they’re worth. Maybe this reviewer believes that Julio is the best-looking, finest singer extant. So, comparing Tom to him is a major compliment. As for adjectives to describe Tom’s voice, it really doesn’t matter. All that matters is that no one has said his voice is bad or weak. Other than that, we’ve gotta read these things in the spirit in which they are written. Otherwise, reading them can make a fan nuts.
February 15th, 2008 at 3:15 am
What a fab review. Love the lightening effect.