Today's post is from Peter Zimmerman.
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I’ve seen the Queen of Soul seven times at Wolf Trap alone, and last night’s performance was hands down the best Aretha Franklin show I’ve ever seen! Vocally she was spot on, and even with a broken toe, she commanded the stage. Her 19-piece band and her four back-up singers were, as usual, top notch. But it was more than that – her connection to the audience and her stories made the performance an evening to put in the record books for Wolf Trap patrons.
Below is the set list that was provided to us before the show. If you were here, you know she did not follow this, she went where her mood took her. You may have noticed Ms. Franklin’s false exit in the middle of her performance. What she was really doing was changing out of her lilac chiffon dress and scarf into a beautiful, green, sleeveless, floor length gown with pink flower accents which she paired with a soft rose bolero jacket. What didn’t she change out of? The blue boot cast she was wearing following her Jimmy Choo shoe incident.
Below is the set list that was provided to us before the show. If you were here, you know she did not follow this, she went where her mood took her. You may have noticed Ms. Franklin’s false exit in the middle of her performance. What she was really doing was changing out of her lilac chiffon dress and scarf into a beautiful, green, sleeveless, floor length gown with pink flower accents which she paired with a soft rose bolero jacket. What didn’t she change out of? The blue boot cast she was wearing following her Jimmy Choo shoe incident.
We were on the scene to capture her opening number, "(Your Love Keeps Lifting) Me Higher and Higher." Can't think of a better way for her to greet her legions of Wolf Trap fans.
Here's the set list...
She changed the program - she never sang Chain of fools which was a bummer since we had hoped she would play that as well as other classics. I know she's been doing this for many many years but people want to hear the songs that made them famous intermittantly within the sets...that's how they BECAME famous!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. We heard from some other patrons who were disappointed that Ms. Franklin didn’t perform some of her hits- even those that made their way onto the set list. There is certainly something to be said for the tried-and-true classics. But we also know Ms. Franklin is touring in support of a new album, and those songs only become hits after the audience hears them and falls in love with them.
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