No more results on this page
An engaging performance by a singer who can still carry it off after all these years. One for the memory stack and another performer on the bucket list checked off. If there was any downside it was the relative brevity of the show, particularly since it was in part only Aretha's band.
With a legacy of being one of the legendary voices in music, I found this performance lacking. The band was amazing, the horn section, the percussion, the drummer, the guitars, and piano, and backup vocals. However there wasn't enough of Aretha in the final mix making her performance weak, I blame this squarely on the sound engineering team. It gets better when she sings while playing on the piano, and also when she gets onto the power gospel pieces.
A classy lady, who can still hit the high notes. She showed a lot of R E S P E C T to the paying customers. She didn't treat us like a CHAIN OF FOOLS.
I think Aretha has passes the best by date. I suppose I can say I saw her in concert but I wish it had been 20 years ago.
Lovely, gracious, beautiful, insightful. Her talent goes without saying. Aretha is a magical gift. She tells a good joke too! I left feeling on a higher vibration. I feel blessed to have been in the same room with Aretha Franklin. I have been a fan since her beginning.
I have always wanted to see Aretha Franklin as I have enjoyed her music from early Motown days to present day. To see her live was a real thrill. She came on stage at Caesar's Palace in Vegas and this was very exciting for those anticipating a great show. She had a glamorous white and red dress on, but it was evident she was having problems with her dress and shoes, they seemed ill fitting and her conductor was attempting to put her shoe back on her foot while she sang her opening number. She barked out instructions over her mike during her first couple songs about the cool air blowing on stage, threatening to walk off. A little surprising, but knowing she has health issues and is old, I guess this might be expected. She does still have the chops though, and her voice is excellent and this was very thrilling to watch. She did some songs which were recognizable, such as "Chain of Fools" and "The House That Jack Built", but there were identifiable gaps in her repertoire. Those hit songs such as "Respect" or "Whose Zoomin' Who" were noticeably absent, and I think the audience was restlessly waiting to hear some of her greatest hits. She sang about 4 or 5 songs and then went offstage abruptly. In the end, it was to change her dress and shoes. During her 'intermission" a corny bunch of Brazilian dancers came out into the brightly lit audience and attempted to get a cheesy conga line going. Not sure what this was about, but it didn't jive with the show, at all. Ms. Franklin has a very good orchestra, they could have easily filled in with some instrumentals during her impromptu break. When she came back, she sang a tribute to Whitney Houston which was very touching, however she showed the same pictures of Whitney over and over on the big screen. Most were studio shots mixed in with a few of her with friends and family. She then sang a couple more unknown numbers, told a joke, and worked towards an ad-libbed gospel number at the end, which was reminiscent of being in a Baptist church with a choir going at it full blast. I am not sure why she did this, it wasn't recognizable, but it did show her great voice. All in all, she sang only about 8 or 9 songs in the entire show, a lot of her hits were not included, the entire thing was only an hour long, and she started a half an hour late which was very annoying for a restless crowd. I waited a long time to see her, and sadly, I expected something different. Anyway, if you are a fan, she is worth seeing just to hear that voice. I felt a bit taken at 200$ per ticket for a one hour show with a 15 minute break in between. Over all show- thumbs down. Seeing her live in person- thumbs up.
Like Rolling Stones magazine sez. The greatest singer EVER. What a great night of music and stories. She sounded amazing, even at 70! She played for 90 mins. and had a 21 piece band backing her up. They also were awesome musician's. She opened with Your Love Keeps Lifting Me higher, And then literally kicked her high heals off and belted out "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You," In between she told jokes, Paid tribute to Whitney Houston and told stories of herself, family and friends. Also in between a short break, Vegas show girls came out started a conga line in the caesars palace colosseum. Just writing this review is giving me goose bumps. So glad I finally got to see her in concert. The night in Vegas will not be soon forgotten.
Aretha Franklin is the undisputed Queen of Soul. On Friday, she delivered a mixture of soul, gospel and revival. The show was very interesting because unlike other artists who show up and play all of their hits sounding like a jukebox, Aretha did something very different. Her encore "Respect" was solid, but she could have done more than one song. Whatever shortcomings about the show, she remains the Queen of Soul.
Aretha recently underwent some surgery due to a health issue. As a result, she lost a considerable amount of weight and looks fantastic. From the very beginning of the concert, she told the stage hands to turn off the air conditioning. This helps her voice. She does this at almost all of her shows, so be prepared. Half way through, she left the stage for a 10 minute break. This gave her fantastic band an opportunity to show off. She sang quite a few covers and some songs from her new album. I was a little disappointed that she didn't sing some of her biggest hits, including "Respect" and "(You Make Me Feel) Like A Natural Woman". When she left the stage after 90 minutes, the audience was on its feet for a long time. Her band was expecting her to come back for an encore, but she did not. The bottom line is...if you want to see and experience a true legend in concert, then I recommend you go see Aretha in concert.
I forgot that Aretha is into jazz/blues/gospel, and I really wanted to hear her soul songs. Her gowns were horrible, way too much make-up and a scary wig.
I was so excited at first but, after seeing her live in concert I was extremely disappointed in not only her singing but, she had no back up singers. Perhaps she might have given the illusion of a better concert if she had some help on stage.
Having grown up in the 60's I love Motown and anything Motown! Aretha was marvelous, still has a great strong voice and can engage the audience. She received several standing ovations during the performance. Love her and would definately go again.
started lated..poor songs..couldn't sing high notes...costumes not flattering... took too long for a dress change..15mins....too long... concert was very disappointing.
First of all let me say that I have been to many many concerts at Casino Rama and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Rama has one of the most superb sound systems that I have ever heard. Now, that being said, I thought that the sound was terrible for Aretha. It just seemed that they couldn't get her mike's volume and the orchestra's volume in sinc. Another disappointment (and it had nothing at all to do with Rama) was that she actually only did 4 of her best known songs - Respect, Chain Chain Chain, Think and Pink Cadillac and she dragged out the endings of her songs forever. At the end of every song she turned the house lights on to either see who, or make sure that everyone was clapping. Diva or insecurity - don't know! She had a touch of laryngitis (no biggie it happens) and she definitely let us know when it would affect her, which was fine. All in all I thought it was a very poor representation of a very talented lady!
As soon as she spoke, it was undeniably that distinct, unique Aretha voice. First song, right off, she hits you with Respect and every one goes wild! Her choice of songs was classic and great for the older audiance.
We were so looking forward to this show and we were VERY disappointed! First of all, the show started over 20 minutes late. Aretha did not sing many of her big hits; most of the songs we never heard before. She was one of my very favourite singers of all times and to be very honest, I would not go to see another one of her shows!
Really enjoyed the show. The Queen of Soul in the flesh - was a dream come true.
She does her best with her vocal, even when she cannot hit the high notes; it did not stop her from singing the songs she loves - that's gutsey. My husband was a drummer at "the Scene" hotel in New York where Jimi Hendrix and other then "unknown" artists would drop in and pick up instruments to simply relax. On one of those evenings, an unknown Aretha (with one too many drinks), stumbled up to the stage and with her R&B vocal sway to the "I knoooow, it's only rock & roll" for a whole 20 mins...... He said she's still Aretha!
For a 68-year-old, who has had health issues, she brings energy and skill.
This was the third time I have seen Aretha Franklin in concert. Just to sit and listen to her sing for 90 minutes is always incredibly awesome. She truly is a legend and proved it once again the other night. The only criticism is that for the last 30 minutes of the show, her voice was not quite as in tact as usual because of air blowing on the stage - bizarre! Otherwise, it was an excellent show and seats at Casino Rama are all decent!
