Comments on: Tom In West Palm Beach Last Thursday & A Reporter Stuck In the Last Century

By: Carol

Carol — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:26:57 +0000

At the terminal 5 show in NYC a husband and wife seemed to be having a tense few minutes during the show. He said something like “Just do it already”. Then “Do it. You know you want to, so do it already”. This went on several times during the show. at the end he said “If you don’t do it now, I’ll do it for you”. And she threw her panties and they missed the stage, falling into the pit in front of me. It was funny. Just because women are magnetically attracted to Tom and have this tradition of throwing panties at him, it doesn’t cheapen his talent or what he has produced iin his lifetime. That’s what these writers should put in their articles. This tour and new CD set out what it was meant to do. Showed Tom IS a major talent, which has been forgotten by many in the US, is a great songwriter,
and has gotten him a whole new set of fans. I definitely see him in a different light, and play his music when I train people (exercise) so they can be exposed to it.

By: Donna Smith

Donna Smith — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:21:15 +0000

It has always been part of the show and the tradition seems to have been passed down from generation to generation of fans. Many of the women I saw tossing pantied or slingshotting thongs on stage were in their 20′s or 30′s. Heck, I admit I even did it 20 years ago in a ruse to get Tom to call us down on stage in Latham. The problem is that the panties landed in the orchestra pit and the Blossoms nearly wound up with a hair net! They tossed them out on stage for Tom to pick up. He joked with the crowd that they might employ the Cinderella story to see who they belonged to! Alas, he never saw the keys attached with our names on them!

By: gieret

gieret — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:15:27 +0000

You’re right, The panty thing will never go away because even if Tom could no longer sing (God, that was horrible even to type!!) women would still throw panties at him.

By: Moderator

Moderator — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:22:40 +0000

Good point, Jeremy.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:17:11 +0000

I don’t think this review is all that bad. The main thing is that she stated that Tom still had it. As silly of a topic as it seems, the whole “panties” debate is a problem. The problem is that this was a big part of Tom’s show for many years. Women got accustomed to being able to have fun with this aspect of the show. I can understand Tom/his son/etc wanting to move past it…this isn’t the 70′s anymore and it is hard to be taken seriously as an artist when you are wiping your brow on a thong. True fans respect Tom on this and the crowds in Vegas seem to get it too. But, out on tour across America, they seem to be out of the loop! The thing that everyone including Tom and his management need to understand is that the panties and discussion of panties in reviews are never going away. With that in mind I think that instead of trying to ignore them altogether, Tom would have been better off if he had simply decided to play the whole thing down some instead of of ignoring them altogether…it seems unnatural to pretend they aren’t there and go about walking on them. If I were Tom I would briefly and playfully acknowledge them and have someone clear them a time or two during the show. Don’t get upset when girls throw the panties or reviewers talk about them – maybe they just didn’t get the memo. For better or worse the fact remains that Tom and all of us will be long gone from this earth and he will still be known for two things – his powerful voice and panties thrown onstage.

By: Moderator

Moderator — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:02:37 +0000

Carol: The issue, I think, is the need to drag in underwear and not give any credit for an amazing ever-evolving career. Tom Jones is not a oldies act or a nostalgia trip. But, like it or not, this woman took the easy way out and treated it as such. She's out of tune with the times.

By: Carol

Carol — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:47:36 +0000

It still seems that she liked the show and recognized Tom’s talent, according to her last paragraph, She obviously has mixed feelings from the tone of her article. It’s almost as if she was expected to review the show as a dinosaur and uncool. I only recently became a full-fledged fan, after attending the terminal 5 show. I’m 53 years young. I can’t wait for the next 2 shows I’m going to at The Beacon theater (no one would go with me) and Westbury, Capital One Theater. I am making my 27 year old son come with me. He does not want to come, but I told him that if he never sees Tom live he will always regret it. He works in the music industry, has five TV music Channels that he programs. I hope this will wipe those preconcieved notions out of his mind and maybe he’ll put Tom’s Music on some of those channels or other people’s channels at work. I’ve gone to his shows with him, such as Metallica, so now it is his turn.

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:51:52 +0000

I can understand why this reporter is writing for the exhaulted Palm Beach Post and not a more respectable publication that actually carries some weight, guess she will be stuck at the Palm Beach Post for some time,unless she decides to look at things with a more open mind

By: Moderator

Moderator — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:05:55 +0000

Sharon: From what I've seen since 24 Hours came out, a good chunk of the music press — the more powerful press, at any rate — do get it. Tom's got credibility among writers in the northeast and in California fromBillboard and lots of alternative pubs. I want believe the rest will catch up. (Don't mean to denigrate the rest of the 50, but that seems to be how trends go.)

By: Sharon

Sharon — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:43:52 +0000

I think the writer is trying to place herself beyond the mere mortals who would attend a Tom Jones concert. But in the end she admits “he’s still got it.”

This is another good example of how Tom has been sabotaged since the 70’s. The media, once again tries to embarrass, or make you feel un-cool about enjoying Tom’s music.