The Nathan Jones Allstars Big Band Sinatra Spectacular

Yesterday Mr Robot and I had a fantastic night watching the Nathan Jones Allstars Big Band show 'Sinatra Spectacular'. I'm afraid photos weren't permitted, so I have no pictures for you, but rest assured it was great. The show doesn't recreate the look of Sinatra, rather it takes you on a musical journey through Sinatra's career, starting in the 1930s and coming right up to ol' Blue Eyes' last years.

Before each song, vocalist Vic Clements would talk a little about its history. It really was remarkable how many of the great songs were written in the 1930s. I found the talks fascinating, and it helped make the show so much more than the usual 'lookalikes' sort of artist-based production. This wasn't about faking a night with the man himself, it was about celebrating his music in a genuine and faithful fashion. The musicians were excellent. I listen to Sinatra a lot (part of my Friday iPod playlist) and I was very impressed with how they played the classic arrangements of the songs. When I first saw the instruments set out, I wondered if they really would need five saxophones. Yes, they did!

I'm definitely a fan of the first half of Sinatra's career, up until about the mid-1960s. The reaction of the other audience members suggested they preferred the later Sinatra; one lady behind us was happily singing along to 'My Way' and 'New York, New York' (which will always make me think of Gremlins 2...) The only duff note to me was the song they ended on, which is a great song, and one I love, but it's one that will forever be associated with another artist, and I wished they'd ended on one more purely Frankie, even if it had meant playing with the timeline a little.

My one other gripe has nothing to do with the show at all - it's that the theatre was half-empty. This show is selling out much larger venues in other parts of the county. TROWBRIDGE, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? It drives me nuts. People moan about how there's nothing going on, there's nothing to do in the town, but when they have the chance to see something excellent, they ignore it. And sooner or later the excellent things will stop coming to the town. THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS. Wherever you are, if something nice is happening near you, do go along if you can. And if you're in Chippenham, you'll get the chance to see this excellent show for yourself on the 10th of September.

Comments

  1. I was just singing Volare to the bemusement of my Indian family.
    I prefer Mr Sinatra's music up to the 60's too!
    Sounds like it was a fab show!

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    1. I must admit, I prefer Dino to Sinatra. (Mr Robot and I profoundly disagree on this matter.)

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  2. Right about having nice things. Our small city has an opera company, but people complain about the price of tickets, and don't go. I'm terrified we'll end up losing it if we can't somehow convince people in the value of having a local opera company.

    The show sounds like a good evening.

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    1. And the people who don't realise they need to use it or lose it will be the first to complain that there's nothing to do when they *do* lose it.

      I hope your opera company thrives.

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  3. I love early Sinatra too ... What a pity the theatre was half-empty, though. xxx

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    1. It's ridiculous. The same show sold out in Swindon. I think a lot of people in my town are just apathetic.

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  4. This is why we can't have nice things! šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚ :D Sounds like a top night out. You've made me want to stick a Frankie CD on. What did you wear?! Xxx

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    1. I didn't wear anything very interesting - cream pussybow blouse, mid-calf pink and grey tartan skirt and black velvet jacket, plus my new-to-me 60s fake-snake evening bag (which I thought I had no use for, just goes to show it's a good idea to pick things up in the chazza when you see them). I had thought of dressing up properly, but the weather was atrocious.

      THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS is one of my constant refrains. (The others are NOT FOR CATS and I SEE STUPID PEOPLE.)

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  5. I adore early Sinatra. I like looking around Hoboken NJ and seeing places he visited theres a cheese steak shop he supposedly loved

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    1. I have to have some cheese steak one day. It's something we don't have over here. 'Eat cheese steak from a proper cheese steak' list is up there with 'visit a proper diner'. (I know, other people want to see the Grand Canyon. Culture, schmulture, I wanna visit a diner!)

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  6. That is a shame about the turn out. I went to a couple of gigs years ago and the turn out was shocking, one there was less than twenty people and the other, The Divine Comedy, they were dragging people in to plump up the numbers somewhat!

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    1. I think people nowadays expect to be entertained to the point where they won't even make the effort to go out. It's so sad.

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  7. I know the feeling, everyone moans that there's nothing going on in Walsall and when there is nobody can be arsed to go. Grrr!
    Quite enjoy a bit of Sinatra but did prefer My Way by the Pistols. xxx

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    1. I dislike My Way, but that's probably because my mum's abominable ex-fiance loved it. Took me years to get round to appreciating Elvis because that tosspot was such a fan.

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  8. That sounds like a really wonderful show. I adore that they wove some history into the mix. Had I been there, I might very well have been taking notes to put to good use on a future edition of my "History of a Vintage Song" post series. :)

    Big hugs & many thanks for your wonderful recent blog comments,
    ♥ Jessica

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    1. It was fascinating. Apparently 'Call Me Irresponsible' was originally written for Judy Garland, as a knowing nod at the gossip about her unreliability in the 50s/60s.

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