Tom Jones International

Later, or tomorrow, we’ll have fan reviews, photos, maybe a bit of video.

For now, here’s Tom singing Mama Told Me Not to Come. It gives you a great sense of the ambiance and probably makes you, like I do, wish you’d been there. (For example, if they’d bought the weather it couldn’t have been more perfect.)

First up from Consequence of Sound is this.

Moderator’s Note: I hope that Tom, his musicians, singers and management (the latter with him at the Festival) all see this particular review and the one from MTV below. This one, particularly, speaks to the talent of all involved and to the entire issue of Las Vegas which, today, is not what it was. Today Las Vegas is a place where the very best entertainment has to offer will play. “Las Vegas entertainer” is today an honor. Please note all the stuff in bold type (my bolding, for emphasis). But why is that guy in the photo at right pawing through the dainties?

Tom Jones: Sutro: 6:50-7:50 p.m.

“Tom Jones is too bad ass to sign anything.” “Tom Jones gets poon everyday.” Two fan written facts well-established 15 minutes before the Welsh legend graced the stage. For reasons unknown, organizers pitted the poor guy against the Seattle headliners and even worse…on the smaller Sutro stage, tucked away in the Lindley Meadow. At the time, it was questionable how many fans would show up, save for the dedicated many. “I still have no regrets waiting up here,” protested one fan. “We want you, Tom!” That’s precisely what happened five minutes later: Sir Tom Jones strutted across the stage, carrying a grin, a swanky chain, and some hefty soul.

For photos, great reviews (and one not-so-great)
“I’m alive,” he announced, and that’s the song he sang. Backed by three singers, a horn section, one hell of a percussionist, a lanky bassist, and his music director Brian Monroney, Jones surrounds himself with good company. The band pummels away, and in such a tight, concise manner, that it’s hard to believe it’s live and not on record. Let it be said these are professional entertainers, with one hell of a frontman — the knighted Las Vegas showman himself. Talented? Understatement. Sexy? Underwhelming description? Beyond comprehension? Close. Fact or fiction, Sir Tom Jones is entertainment.

“Are we alright,” Jones asked. He then staved off the hits for a bit, and opted for some future hits off of his latest record, last year’s 24 Hours. Give a Little Love grooved about, especially the chorus that had him playing alongside his backup singers. He didn’t stray too far, however, and he soon dug out past oldies like 1968’s Green Green Grass of Home. Throughout the slow waltz, dozens of fans — both male and female — tossed bras, panties, and boxers on-stage. This continued and escalated as the set rolled on, especially during the four hit punch of She’s a Lady, What’s New, Pussycat?, Sex Bomb and the all-time favorite, alien-slaying, hip-hugging, fever inducing, jaw dropping hit, It’s Not Unusual.Fans refused to leave, despite Pearl Jam’s set starting nearby, and the musical knight strolled back to nail a rousing cover of Prince’s Kiss. Here’s one truth, Outside Lands found its secret weapon, and all they had to do was look to Vegas. Priceless. -M.R.

But the grooviest — and perhaps most surprising — tunes from Friday came from old-school sex-bomb Tom Jones, who turned in a unique hour of hits and shoulder shakes. The 69-year-old silver fox with matching goatee was assisted by a solid band that included a horn section and backup singers who helped Sir Tom make the most of hits like What’s New Pussycat, She’s A Lady, and of course It’s Not Unusual. But he saved the best for last: a show-closing cover of Prince’s Kiss, aided by Jones’ decision to take the “think I better dance now” line quite literally. Jones’ performance — as well as those of Pearl Jam, Incubus, Silversun Pickups and Built to Spill — captured the free-spiritedness of San Francisco that Ouside Lands tries so harness. So far, so good.

“…I mean, if you’re gonna be cheesy, your name should be Tom Jones. That man still does the fromage in style. The Welsch [sic] entertainer didn’t get too deep into his set list before panties of every shade of pastel were flying on to the stage. Jones gave fans his schmaltzy, Vegas-friendly versions of Hard to Handle, You Can Leave Your Hat On, and Mama Told Me Not To Come. He delivered these tunes with lots of butt wiggling and crowd thanking. The audience seemed to dig him too. Even the ones who kept their undies that evening were commenting “Tom Jones nailed it!” and “He kicks ass!” appreciatively. The best moments were when everyone sang along, as during Delilah, What’s New Pussycat, and other mom-beloved classics.

The one bummer–Jones saved the biggest crowd pleaser for last, belting out It’s Not Unusual right when the hordes were streaming out to see Pearl Jam, booked to start at the exact minute the tanned and greying lady charmer waltzed off stage. Ah well.

The best part of the blog post below is the part about Green Green Grass. The Welsh people in Tom’s audience always treat the song as if it is their own, written (personally by Sir Tom) specifically about Wales. Of course, that is nonsense. What isn’t nonsense is that the songwriter, Curly Putman, wrote a song that is universally appealing; a song that could be about any hometown (except for that execution stuff which everyone seems to totally ignore — just like the murder stuff in Delilah is usually ignored).

Didn’t see any knickers being thrown at Mr. Jones. But didn’t stick around for the whole set, so maybe panties are flying as I right [sic] this. A huge crowd, which included my former college girlfriend (hi Kirstin!), turned out to see the legendary Welsh performer. I thought he sounded pretty good, but others I talked to disagreed. The best part was when a Welsh fan turned to me and, with much passion and certainty, described how Jones wrote the song Green Grass of Home about the, umm, green grass in Wales. (The song was actually written by Claude “Curly” Putman Jr and originally made popular by Porter Waggoner.) I love it when people grab “facts” out of thin air. Indeed, I used to do all the time. =)