Natalie Cole: A Living Legend!
Natalie Cole's November 10, 2006 Concert
Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street
Located in the heart of Harlem (New York, NY)
Scheduled Show time: 8:00 P.M.
Song List :
1. Day Dreaming
2. Criminal
3. Love Letter
4. I've Got Love On My Mind
5. Mr. Melody
6. Inseparable
7. Annie Mae
8. Whipping Post
9. Leavin'
10. Old Man
11. Lovin' Arms
12. 5 Minutes Away
13. Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time For Love)
14. Our Love
15. This Will Be
16. I'm Catching Hell
17. Unforgettable
THE CONCERT:
Well, what was supposed to be a 2 1/2 hour trip to New York ended up being a 4 hour trip
due to three accidents along the way which caused some serious traffic jams.
However, I learned that I wasn't really that late. "Day Dreaming" was the
first song of the night. How awesome is that?!
The following are highlights of the show:
I came in during "Day Dreaming." Actually, you could hear Natalie singing once you pass the Box Office and enter the world famous Apollo venue. By the time I was able to get to my seat, Natalie had the audience going with "Criminal." Natalie and her band created so much energy; you could feel it in the air! She was ready! Use your mind's eye: Natalie had on black, sharp, very dressy caprees (with black satin on them), a white blouse with black (satin) around the mid section of it, silver hanging earrings, and funky black boots with silver designs on the sides. Her hair was down and around her ears. She was sharp and looked beautiful. (We were told not to take pictures.) Next, she sang "Love Letter." How awesome, once again, there was just so much excitement and energy. The band was so tight. Natalie's voice sounded rich and so great! Oh my goodness, then the band started playing "I've Got Love On My Mind" and folks were already screaming. They just screamed some more! People kept yelling "We love you, Natalie" throughout the show. At one point, she said "It's good to be back" and a gentleman somewhere behind me said "It's good to have you back, Natalie!" Wow, there was so much excitement in the air! Natalie sounded better than ever! Marcellina Hawthorne and Traci Brown sang background. They tore up! It reminded me of Natalie Live...! It was awesome and just so hard to explain because the night was just that amazing! Natalie showed up and showed out! I mean that too! She sho' nough' sang! There was a pause before the band started playing "Mr. Melody." Natalie sort of teased and the audience laughed because it was so cute! Everyone knew the song before they struck the first chord! As her funky band began to play "Inseparable," Natalie said something like "You can just about sing this for me." There were so many screams for Natalie and folks were yelling "Sing it Natalie!" The Apollo audience did indeed sing "Inseparable" right along with her. It sounded so good! She blew me away with the next song which she wrote entitled "Annie Mae." I love the way she sounded when she sang it. It was something about her voice, so rich, so beautiful, even in the way she sang the name "Annie Mae." I can't stop thinking of that song! She really got me with that one...I absolutely loved it! I'm telling you, Natalie was in high gear, her voice was golden! She took us all the way to the top! Now, I'm not familiar with the next tune. I was told that the title is "Whipping Post." (Thanks Kevin E.T.) There were screams on that one too. Apollo loved Natalie; we all love her!
She sang "Leavin' next. The audience loved her intro where she talks. You could really envision her walking out on a brotha! smile She said she admitted that her album was sort of eclectic as she moved into "Old Man." All you could hear is her voice begining the song without music "Old man look at my life..." I love that song! There were cheers again and again when she finished. What a night! On "Lovin' Arms," she sang about the arms of Jesus towards the end, "there's nothing like the arms of Jesus, there's nothing like the arms of the Lord." The Apollo audience loved it. She took us to church. Folks were yelling "Alright! Wooh!" Then there was "5 Minutes Away." That's my jam! Okay, I have a lot of jams on the album! LOL! She mentioned that it's an original and that she helped write it. You couldn't help but move right along with her because the song is really all that! She asked for help from the Apollo audience and got plenty of laughs when she showed the men their part. She was like a choir director and it worked out so well. It was impressive because the guys did a great job. She showed them where to cut it off at so they wouldn't over sing the "five" part. She told us women that our part was easy with the "Love, love, love, minutes away" and she was so right. It sounded so good, especially when she had everybody put it all together. I loved the energy in the place. As she began singing "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time For Love)," folks were screaming and singing along.
Then she sang "Our Love" and thanked Apollo and asked "Are you still with me?" Of course there were screams of "yeah!" Actually, I couldn't even hear her sing "Our Love" because a woman next to me was drowning Natalie out with her singing and screaming! I at least wanted the woman to get the words right! The woman changed the words: "I've got love right on time..." What?! Darn! LOL! Unfortunately for me, it was like that on and off, but that was okay because I could see that she loved Natalie too. Natalie introduced her 7 band members and also has her son, Rob, who plays drums. They also brought along Will Scruggs (saxophone), Wes Funderburk (trombone), and Ken Watters (trumpet) who are known as the Funderhorns. They're all awesome! "This Will Be" was as incredible as always; she had everyone on their feet and singing along. There were screams and more screams when she finished the song! She went off stage and came back on to sing "I'm Catching Hell" and tore it up too! I can't explain how high the energy was at the Apollo Theater. Natalie was on another level! She really sung her heart out! The place was full of people, and the screaming, cheering, and yelling for Natalie was awesome. I loved it! She took time to talk about the passing of Gerald Levert. Natalie told everyone to make the most of their time. She spoke of one more song that would be a dedication to the Levert family and to her twin sisters as well who were in the audience. There were screams and applause as the music to "Unforgettable" began to play. There was no screen to show her famous, legendary father, Nat King Cole, but she didn't need one. You could envision it. It got kind of quiet as Nat began to sing because it was such a beautiful experience. Then Natalie began her part and the silence continued (except of course for the woman who was singing loudly next to me. LOL!). Everyone was on their feet screaming when it was over. What a magical, amazing night of song from this awesome, legendary Songbird and her great team who helps to make it all work so well together!