The Five Blind Boys of Alabama Tickets

I went to this concert looking forward to the amazing music and voice of Ruthie Foster. The Blind Boys I'd heard of but had not seen before. My thoughts after a stellar performance by Ruthie Foster was that The Blind Boys were in for a tough night. Who could possibly follow that act, was what I was really thinking. I had no idea what to expect but when I saw these three gentleman on stage, one appearing to be quite frail and well on in years, my fears were confirmed. Surely these guys made a mistake in having Ruthie start out their show. However......after a bit of a slow start they had Ruthie come out and join them for one song and the show just took off from there. The man in the middle who appeared to be just hanging on while the other two sang the first couple of songs came forth with a power in his voice that seemed to be coming from somewhere else. The energy that Ruthie appeared to have brought to the stage was not only sustained for the remainder of the show it grew to a boisterous climax with people clapping and jumping up and down while the "man in the middle" made his way up and down the aisles of the the theatre, singing his heart out. Although I did not rush to by a Blind Boys CD, as it is not my kind of music, I did enjoy what they brought to the show that night.

The whole show from beginning to end was really good. Both acts had something to offer to everyone there. The Blind Boys were just as good as the last time they were here in Winnipeg. Their voices are just simply amazing and surely inspiring. What a show.

We truly enjoyed the concert. We went to see Ruthie Foster and was not disappointed at all. Her voice was amazing and the musicians were great. We didn't know the Blind Boys of Alabama and surprised at how good they were. I would not recommend seeing them but I would certainly go again.

Ruthie Foster was excellent. Blind Boys did too much talking and not enough rocking!

I've seen the Blind Boys before in New Orleans, and they reliably put on a great show, but one thing they do extremely well is choose outstanding acts to tour with. Ruthie Foster as the opener was worth the price of admission - the Blind Boys were all gravy!

I am a huge Ruthie Foster fan, and her part in this concert was wonderful. She had terrific interplay with her band, and it was a very laid-back, feel good performance. I wasn't so familiar with the Blind Boys of Alabama music, but I also enjoyed it very much. There was one point where it seemed one of the "Boys" guides forgot to show up and the guitarist grudgingly stepped in, but the concert went on. They had one number that was very repetitious, but it was almost hypnotic and you kind of wanted it to go on and on - very powerful spiritual stuff. I was disappointed that they had so few CD's available for purchase after the concert. Overall, I was glad I got a babysitter and headed out for the concert.

The concert was excellent! This is the second time I have seen the Blind Boys live and they were great both times. Ruthie Foster brought the house down as an opening act.

What is most apparent about the Blind Boys of Alabama as soon as they take the stage (besides their musical talent) is their love of music. It's infectious, and it will have you on your feet . All the songs - some gospel standards and some bluesy modern renditions from their newest album - were preformed with such warmth and a joie de vivre that you couldn't help but sing along. It's as if they know they have this special musical gift, and they can't wait for you to feel it in your spirit right down to your very soul and soles of your shoes. These boys shimmy to the music with smiles so wide they seem to will you out of your seats to dance along. They say music speaks to the masses, and judging by the standing ovation these Boys received in Edmonton, the masses in that Edmonton audience can hardly wait for the Blind Boys to come back for another song and dance!

This was a good show. I like Pantages Theatre much better than the MTS centre. Sound was good. Although they were slow in bring up volumes on the Drumer Voicals and slow getting the base solo volume right. Sad but you could not take pictures during the concert. Good Night of Music...

For the unknowing or cynical, the Blind Boys are, yes, blind. Their manager walked them out to their places on the stage where they immediately solicited support for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. The show began with deep, moving blues that might have made a few cowboys in the Calgary crowd take their hats off. Talk about working the crowd, toward the end of the show, the manager walked Ben Moore up and down the aisles of Jubilee Auditorium with the audience on its feet clapping in time with the heavy soul beat. A gorgeous moment, and I suspect a moment of spiritual release for every person in the crowd. Ruthie Foster? She's come a long way baby - can't wait to hear her voice at 50. In the meantime, more professional arrangements could do wonders for her act.

My wife and I saw Ruthie Foster at the New Orleans Jazz and World Music Festival two years ago. A great event and Ruthie's moving set and wild audience appreciation lingered with us and spoke to the wonderful city and resilient people of New Orleans. When Ms. Foster's appearance in Vancouver was first announced I pounced on the local ticket outlet and ordered four tickets as we definitely wanted to share Ms. Foster with close friends. For us the Blind Boys of Alabama were an afterthought. But, wow, they were fabulous and as expected Ms. Foster was stellar. We only wished that the great artists would have united for a few songs near the end of the concert. But still we left the Centre for the Performing Arts content, music and imageries floating in our heads. We are constantly playing Ruthie's CD's and now, happily, have added the Blind Boys of Alabama to our playlist.

We are huge fans of Ruthie Foster and have seen her in concert before and love her; however we have never seen the Blind Boys so were looking forward to seeing them for the first time. Once again we were not disappointed with Ruthie she is amazing, just an incredible talent, will see her every time she comes to town. The Blind Boys I must say were a bit of a disappointment, we had heard rave reviews from other people so we went expecting big things and they didn't deliver. The bit where the Lead guy goes into the audience lasted way too long about 20 minutes too long. Ruthie made the evening worthwhile!!

Zero stars. The Blind Boys were terrible. Way past their prime, terrible voices and just loud, off-key, boring, mechanical yelling. If I wasn't sitting in the middle I would have walked out. Five stars plus. Ruthie Foster was unbelievable and made up for all the bad before. She is one of the best blues singers around and even better in person. Can't recommend strongly enough.

Foster is one of those artists with a great voice, but a limited repertoire. Some of her songs were excellent, but the same number were average or forgettable. I'd recommend her just for those few good moments, though. The Blind Boys were excellent at points, but would have liked to have heard a couple more gospel standards that they're famous for. They spent too much time trying to sell their new CD, which grew tiring. I don't remember as much of that from a previous show that I'd seen. Still, the vocal variety and little schticks of the singers were overall enjoyable.

This was the third time we have seen the Blind Boys - and we enjoyed them but probably would not go to see them again - the last two times were exactly the same. Ruthie Foster on the other hand blew us away and we are now looking forward to her next visit to Alberta. We would certainly go to see her again. We would recommend the Blind Boys to anyone who has not seen them before. It was a high energy performance and my only regret was that they only brought Ruthie out for one song. The concert was in aid of a a good cause.

Ruthie Foster is an amazing performer. She connects with the audience with her soulful, playful personality. Her vocal range is diverse and powerful. I would see her again anytime!! The Blind Boys from Alabama were funny, energetic and enigmatic. I hope that they too, return to our city.

We took our whole family and my elderly Mom (who flew from NB) to see the Blind Boys and Ruthie Foster. My Mom loves the BB and enjoyed her evening. I really enjoyed Ruthie Foster and her group - what a powerful singer.

The line up to pick up tickets for the show (ordered WAY in advance) was so long that even having arrived early for the concert, we missed 20 minutes of Ruthie. I won't ever go that route again. Ruthie was amazing - I will for sure go back and see her again. The Blind Boys surprised me, but I found it repetitive after awhile and did not stay for the encore. I don't think I would go back to see them.

In all honesty, Ruthie Foster should have been the headliner, and the Boys could have opened for her. Simply put, Ruthie Foster was pure dynamic energy, while in contrast, the Blind Boys were at best manufactured. The tone and difference was between the two was palpable.

Ruthie Foster was great. The Blind Boys were great. The person(s) running the spotlights didn't have a clue. When a singer was singing, or a musician was performing a solo, it often took 30 seconds to a minute before the spotlight finally caught up with them. Dreadful technical performance by the lighting crew. The sound crew was also off. There is nothing worse than watching a singer with a great voice going through the motions of belting out a tune and it's clear that the microphone is nowhere near loud enough. Great singing, great music, lousy technical support.