Randy Newman Tickets

Like a mellow Napoleon, Newman continues to please using nothing more sophisticated as a Steinway and his golden voice. Now a living legend (almost) he is as compelling a draw now as when we first saw him in Toronto with Jim Croce as his opening act in a little place on south Jarvis Street in 1972. He loves Convocation Hall, but it could love him a bit more. Nothing wrong with this cosy venue that some acoustical improvements would not improve. Fortunately, Randy's big musical hugs for the audience render the Hall's shortcomings little more than a brief irritant in an overwhelmingly enjoyable evening. We hope he makes Toronto one of his regular (or even irregular) stops as long as he continues to take his genius on the road.

It was such a great pleasure to finnaly have a chance to meet and hear the man who wrote so many great songs. The way Randy Newman simply delivers most of his career highlights is what i would like every songwriters's performance to be. Honest , heartwarming and and most of all great voice and piano playing. Thanks to Randy and the great Convocation hall team.

Fantastic show. Randy played many of his best songs. Very funny, and entertaining.A winner.

I'm a career-long fan of Randy Newman and his songwriting, yet I hadn't seen him until his show last Saturday night at Toronto's Convocation Hall...What a show! Just Randy Newman and his piano, his uncommon but strong voice, and his wonderful mix of musical styles. What's not to like?...a collection of brilliant songs...performed brilliantly...to a roomful of devoted fans ...Fuhgedaboudit! The audio was clear without overpowering, so you had no problem hearing his lyrics, which any fan will tell you are vivid and sharply perceptive, and written with economy and wit. And man, can he play keyboard. A lot of music to be coming from just his voice and piano! The evening felt quite intimate...thankfully Convocation Hall isn't too big to feel intimate, and I had the sense that Mr. Newman enjoyed the evening as much as we did. One of my favourite songwriters of all time...I felt privileged to have been there.

Like so many other singer-songwriters from the 70s and 80s doing the concert circuit these days, one had to wonder whether Newman's concert would be packaged nostalgia or something that still packed a punch. The answer came quickly as Newman addressed the question directly, inviting us to join him in song aimed at pops stars with walkers. The chorus was "he's dead" (repeated 3x by the audience) completed by Newman, "...but he don't know it!". Newman was anything but dead, with his self-deprecating but biting wit on display. Convocation hall, filled mostly with grey-haired fans in their 60s, was almost the perfect venue as Newman delivered his often heart-wrenching ballads covering a vast array of human conditions from acute loneliness to xenophobic chauvinism. Playing often in a blues style, one could easily imagine an intimate blues club atmosphere as the ultimate setting. Though much of his recognition has come in the form of feel-good film scores, it is the dark, textured and personal voices in his songs that make him, in my opinion, one of America's greatest and perhaps most under-appreciated singer-songwriters. This is what made the irony of his encore "Lonely at the Top" all the more delicious.

Mr. Newman packs more songs into a concert than any other performer. Although less patter than usual, his asides and intros make his live performances an enjoyable experience, ever since his first appearance in Toronto in 1973 at Grumbles. Bob Rae was in attendance.