*Who said a 78-year-old man couldn’t woo an audience? Certainly not I, nor anyone else in attendance at Aaron Neville’s recent concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall, brought to us courtesy of UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA).
The Aaron Neville Duo (Michael Goods on Piano) gave the robust racially mixed crowd, a mainly laid back, relaxed, chill, calm and peaceful evening, as they performed song after song.
The evening began with Michael Goods performing on the piano, sans Aaron Neville. After a few minutes, Mr. Neville came onstage and the show was off to a solid start, leading off with “Stand By Me,” with a collage of “Cupid (Draw Back Your Bow”) and other songs mixed in. They then went into “Bird on a Wire” and “This Magic Moment.”
Michael Goods performed a couple of piano solos, which were well received and a very nice touch to the evening. Although Mr. Neville’s voice is not as strong as it once was, he still sings like an angel. His voice was crisp and clear, as it echoed through the 1,700 seat venue.
I love seeing older artists perform because they are the true singers/performers. Many of them still have wonderful voices and their songs actually have meaning. With each song he sang, whether it was an Aaron Neville song, a Neville Brothers song or he was covering someone else’s song, Aaron Neville showed we shouldn’t sleep on the older artists. He pulled off singing, “I Don’t Know Much,” his duet with Linda Ronstadt, without Linda or any other female singer’s help, which was impressive. Mr. Neville did acknowledge Ms. Ronstadt, saying, “Linda said tell you “hi”.”
‘THIS IS US’ STAR (SUSAN KELECHI WATSON) WANTS SADE BIOPIC
Mr. Neville covered a litany of songs, including, “Killing Me Softly,” “I Love You Just the Way You Are,” “Sweet Caroline,” “Use Me,” “Fire and Rain,” “Someone to Love,” and “Down by the River Side.” He also shared a song he wrote during his prison stay and at what I thought was the end of the show, he performed the Mickey Mouse Club theme song. Talk about giving the folks a chuckle. Showing his love for his hometown (and current city), New Orleans, we were treated to “When the Saints Go Marching In’ and “Who Dat Say They Gon Beat Them Saints?” Of course, he performed his signature song, “Tell It Like It Is,” which brought the house down and resulted in a three-song encore, which included “Goodnight Sweetheart” and then it was REALLY time to leave.
Although the evening was mostly laid back and chill, there was also clapping, a little dancing and I promise you the man behind me was playing the harmonica. I kid you not! It was a little distracting, but since he was not awful, he got a pass.
I have attended a few CAP UCLA performances and have yet to be disappointed. If you ever decide to attend one of their performances, know you will get a quality performance, by talented performers. Go and check out one of their performances. Pssst., Avery Sunshine will be at the Theater at Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles this Saturday, November 23, courtesy of CAP UCLA. Get more info here: https://cap.ucla.edu/calendar/details/averysunshine
Marilyn Smith is a Los Angeles based writer/reviewer. Contact her via [email protected].
Photo credit: Reed Hutchinson and CAP UCLA
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
