Tom Jones International

After his Dallas show the local paper reports tat Tom dined on curry. When he was last in Dallas he at the also-mentioned Club at the Centrum.Curry favor: Sunday evening, hip-swinging Welshman Tom Jones put in a visit to Charlie Palmer at the Joule hotel. He made the visit after his show at the Meyerson Symphony Center to get his favorite prawn curry and mutton curry from maitre d’ Enam Chowdhury. Their curry tradition began when Enam used to run the Club in the Centrum and Jones would stop by to see him there. Pushing 70, the What’s New, Pussycat? singer posed for pictures with other diners.

Below is a fan review from Bonnie in Dallas and we should be getting another in the next day or so. Bonnie did say she didn’t remember if Tom sang It’s Not Unusual, but as that seems impossible and I checked with someone else who said he did. Bonnie’s comments about the band and, especially, the singers are interesting. Her “frat house” analogy made her point perfectly! I am very grateful she took the time and trouble to share her experience with us. What do y’all think of her review?

We got into our seats on the front row very excited to get to hear Tom Jones again. The concert started a few minutes late – maybe 10 minutes. The band came out and started to play some very rhythmic music. This went on for a little bit and then Tom came out. The review from the Dallas newspaper posted earlier described his clothing. He looked fantastic.

Tom sang Sugar Daddy first and it had a very different beat than on the CD. It was much improved in my view. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had the set list that posted on TJI – didn’t want to pull it out and check it but I know there was some change. Before he got to the Green Green Grass section he said, “We will be singing three country songs.” He did Green Green Grass, Save the Last Dance For Me and added He’ll Have To Go. He continued on with Give A Little Love, Thunderball, In Style and Rhythm, If He Should Ever Leave You, Delilah, Mama Told Me Not To Come, Hard to Handle (one of my favorites), Too Many Lovers, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, Green Green Grass of Home, Save The Last Dance For Me, He’ll Have To Go, What’s New Pussycat, She’s A Lady, You Can Leave Your Hat On, If I Only Knew Sex Bomb and It’s Not Unusual. The encore was Kiss and Take Me Back To The Party. If someone was there and has a different order – they are right. I was trying to remember what was on the set list printout in my pocket and could be wrong.

Tom truthfully was sounding amazing. When he did Hard to Handle and Too Many Lovers – wow! He put his heart into it. The entire night was just a concert of a man singing. He was feeling it.

After Sex Bomb he walked off the stage – did not sing It’s Not Unusual. I am sure he didn’t sing it because I always hate to hear that song start. It signals we are near the end. I would love to hear from someone else who was there to see if I am wrong about this. He came back for the encore and did Kiss and closed with Take Me Back to the Party.

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My opinion is he has something good going for him with the new band. He has a party vibe that I am not sure he could have had with the other band as they were too polished and professional — excellent musicians with years of experience. These kids look like Tom dropped in at their frat house and they are having a blast partying with him. They are good musicians but don’t look like they have done this for years. It looks new and exciting to them so it works out well for all. I miss seeing the people who were part of the TJ family but I think they have achieved revamping Tom yet again.

Now, the new backup singers are another story. I thought hey were bad. They just aren’t Tom Jones quality and were very distracting — waving their arms on and on during the show as they moved like they were dancing. There are certain places where Sharon, Darelle and Tony would have a part that stood out. They added so much to the sound. This concert lacked that — it would be a big help if he had better singers backing him up. Having heard quality behind him in the past, the change was quite noticeable to me.

As the review in the Dallas newspaper states the lighting was off. Being in the first row it wasn’t noticeable. If I had been further back I believe it would have been very frustrating. During one song a spotlight kept going on shining on the front row. I had the impression someone was looking for the right switch and kept getting the wrong one. And yes there was constant movement of ushers fussing about cell phones and cameras. Again, being in the front row I hadn’t thought about how annoying this must have been. I saw them frequently in the balcony and they would come to the front and stand to watch the crowd and then take off to nab someone with a phone.

There was someone from overseas sitting front row who seemed to know a band member. They had a girl about 6 years old and Tom waved at her several times. Near the end of the show he let them lift her up on stage and he kneeled next to her while they took a picture. It was very sweet to watch how dear he is with children.

OK, that is a description of what I saw. How was the concert? One big party. The crowd in the symphony center was LOUD. People cheered and cheered. Panties flew. Even a mink coat got thrown from the balcony (after the show they were calling down at us from the balcony for us to throw it back.) Prior I would have said you must go see Tom Jones because his voice is amazing. His voice is even more amazing now as he is doing more blues and songs that showcase that deep full sound. But now I will say you must go see Tom because his voice is amazing and the concert is so much fun. It truthfully is a party rather than a show. Everyone stayed on their feet through the encore so we were all dancing to the party song. Tom also had a section of the party song where he held the mike out to the audience for us to sing take me back to the party. We did that for a while and it seemed like the entire place was with it singing and dancing. Really, really fun! The show ended with everyone smiling and participating not just watching a great singer.

At the end of the show, Tom said they had had a great time also. He repeated “really” they did. He sounded quite sincere as though for him this was just as much party fun for him and the band as it was for us.