Concert report

Report on "A Celebration of Paul Newman's Dream" Hosted by Joanne Woodward Newman

Avery Fisher Hall, April 2, 2012

This was a concert to benefit seriousfunnetwork.org  aka @SeriousFunCamps on twitter

This group was founded by Paul Newman to allow seriously ill children, children who require continual care by a doctor or nurse, to attend a summer camp and have the sorts of fun that healthy children have at summer camp.  They used to be called "Hole in the Wall Camps," but the name has been changed.  There are now 28 camps located in many countries and they are continuing to grow.  These camps also serve as a respite for families who are caring for sick kids.

I went to this concert, because I am a Grobanite and because Josh Groban was performing there.

This was a truly great concert. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and, frankly, I don't usually enjoy concerts -- not even all Josh concerts.

The program alternated between celebs and the campers. 

The celebs have been mentioned in the press a lot, but some of these kids were really talented. There was a little person named Josh -- introduced by Josh Groban -- who was *so* funny and articulate, even though confined to a motorized wheelchair and on oxygen, that he got a standing ovation.  The audience literally leapt to its collective feet.  He was amazing.

There was also a young woman who sang a very moving song accompanying herself on the piano.  Plus they had some testimonials and some choral numbers. I guess some of these kids have recovered somewhat, as most of them seemed ok on stage, though one talked of a friend of his who had died since camp.

There was a video appearance by Bill Clinton. Joanne Woodward and one of Paul Newman's daughters spoke.

To me, though, NaTasha Yvette Williams really stole the show with her rendition of "Firework" at the end. She just totally killed this song. I had never liked it all that well before tonight, but she really sang it the way it should be sung & now I love it. She's not a huge star, apparently -- doesn't seem to be on twitter -- but *so* talented.  I know Katy Perry is a friend of Josh Groban, who is my celebrity obsession, but I've never liked her singing much.

I was very impressed by Elvis Costello. He sings beautifully, and used only the 4 strings players as a sort of classical quartet in the background.  

The complete band had about 13 members, including the conductor, of which only two women, and no non-whites.  I have been noticing this about the supporting crews in the entertainment industry.  While the celebs are becoming more diverse, the backup people are not necessarily following suit.  I've noticed on Josh Groban's albums that most of the people listed in small print are men, as well.

Josh sang beautifully -- as always. His piano playing on "Changing Colors" came through much more clearly in Avery Fisher Hall, which has excellent acoustics, than it came through in the other concerts I have heard. That was particularly exquisite. He also sang "Smile."  He has sung both of these songs many times before, but it's always a treat to hear him sing, because his voice is so beautiful.  "Changing Colors" is about learning to relate to people who are different.  "Smile" is about persevering through adversity.  I actually don't like "Smile," which both Josh and Michael Jackson have said is their favorite song, as I believe it encourages false cheerfulness.  I think people should be able to be honest about they are really feeling.  Honesty about feelings is extremely important to good mental health.

Paul Simon's guitar playing was excellent. He changed the tunes to the vocals on some old chestnuts, though, which I wasn't so wild about.  Someone I was with speculated that he changed the tunes because of deterioration in his singing voice.  I don't know if that is true or not.  

Jimmy Fallon did a hilarious bit with one of the campers. The kid was up there nominally as an assistant, handing Jimmy cue cards, but also sort of hamming it up -- and then the cue cards started going off topic & praising the kid, which was very cute. It was also in keeping with the theme of the camp which is that seriously ill kids should be able to "kick back and raise a little hell" -- words of Paul Newman.

Tina Fey read a letter from a mom discussing her experience dropping off her very sick kid, which was very funny.

Jake Gyllenhaal was unfortunately limited to giving a fairly straightforward speech, which was not really exploiting his substantial acting talents, though it was good to see him.

Trisha Yearwood did a very nice job and was very good with the kids.  She did a particularly moving rendition of Mylie Cyrus's "The Climb" with the kids.

Christian Hebel, who was on Josh Groban's last tour, played on almost every number. He was very friendly to us on the way out. I hadn't had a chance to meet him before. He's much more handsome in person -- incredibly handsome really -- and looked *so* dashing with his violin slung over his back. re: little Josh -- Oh, and when I say "standing ovation" I mean that the audience literally leapt to their feet. I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing that guy on stage in the future. 

i really liked when Elvis Costello left the mike and went over to the other side of the stage, which really showed that the acoustics there were adequate without mikes. I thought he sounded better unamplified and I was in the 3rd tier. 

This reminded me of when Josh once put aside the mike in a concert in Germany, which I saw on a video on YouTube. I doubt Josh needed to be miked at Avery Fisher Hall. He's a powerful singer.  It would have been nice to hear his natural voice.

Outside, when Josh was signing autographs, one of the back stage people came up to me and said "I'm new here. Who is that?" 

I told him. He said he would look Josh up .... 

I still have a hard time with people who have not heard of Josh Groban, but, I had to ask who Trisha Yearwood was, so I guess I should not complain.