Dionne Warwick in Concert
Royal Theatre, Canberra
May 17, 1994
by Graham McDonald
RATHER dreading a past-her-use-by-date pop singer, dutifully plodding through a succession of 30 year old pop songs, this concert proved to be an un-expected delight.
We certainly heard all the big hits, but these were deftly packaged together in a medley right at the start of the show. For the rest of the evening, we were treated to a section of mostly Brazilian material.
Warwick now lives in Brazil, so we got sambas, a short medley of songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim and a lengthy production of a song called 10,000 Words by American songwriter Brenda Russell with a definite South American flavour.
Her backing band did everything expected of it and the trio was sparingly but effectively used. Warwick’s voice has lost the top few notes with the passing years, but she works around that with arrangements and phrasing.
She finished the show with the audience on their feet demanding, but not getting and encore.
The opening act by local singer Ra Khahn, charmed the audience with a set that was well thought out, ably assisted by Tony Magee and piano. Khahn showed poise and confidence on stage.
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