Tom Jones
6th April 2024
McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand
Review by Rob Harbers, with photography by Ian Cooper.
Living legends are hard to come by. By the time they get to this status, they can be disturbingly close to the end of their days! But one legendary figure indeed is that of Sir Tom Jones, stopping off on his Ages and Stages tour to grace the beleaguered region of Te-Matau-A-Maui with Aotearoa’s only date. And a legendary night was duly had!
First of the three acts in this lineup were the Magnificent 7. Much like the characters in the movie that provides their name, this is a troupe that comes from a variety of backgrounds. All of them, though, deeply rooted in much of the iconic sounds of Aotearoa’s last 40+ years. Vocalists Peter Urlich and Jordan Luck, along with keyboard player Eddie Rayner, represent three of the biggest acts between them (Th’ Dudes, Exponents and Split Enz) – pure gold right there! Along with bassist Dave Gent, (Exponents), guitarists Bryan Bell (Dead Flowers) and Brett Adams (Mockers) and drummer Pat Kuhtze (almost everybody!), they delivered a set stacked with classics, all well-known and lapped up by the audience, setting the event off to a great start. And their MC had a Natural Glow all of her own!
Following on from them was the effervescent Gin Wigmore, with a crowd-pleasing set delivered with high energy, that was truly equal to the challenge of such a high-profile gig as this. With lyrics often at odds with the sheer bounce and pace of the music, this is an artist with hidden depth, slipping in some heavy messages! The murder ballad ‘Hey Ho’ best exemplified this. Slowing things down and stripping them right back to just her and her guitar (“the true test of being any good” in her words) for an ode to the ups and downs of love and connection, she demonstrated that, yeah, she is pretty damn good!
Winding up with a spirited ‘Oh My’, the crowd’s appetite was well and truly whetted for what was to come – perfectly primed by an artist of true international calibre.
With anticipation almost reaching fever pitch, a single spotlight picked out the figure of the night’s star, accompanied only by piano as he sang the poignant ‘I’m Growing Old’ an acknowledgement of the progress of time – a theme which infused the night, and continued through a rendition of Bob Dylan’s ‘Not Dark Yet’. A brace of songs which between them neither shy away from mortality nor give time for it just yet – there’s still life to be lived!
With this tour carrying the title of “Ages and Stages”, jumps across time are to be expected, and the first of these was right back to the start, to single number one (and first chart #1), ‘It’s Not Unusual’. This song was recorded 60 years ago this year, and this performance showed that the powerful voice behind it still remains. Following on was single number two,(written by a couple of minor composers by the names of Burt Bacharach and Hal David!), ‘What’s New Pussycat?’. The enthusiastic reception given these two songs showed that Sir Tom could put together a show made up just of songs such as these, an exercise in pure nostalgia, and it’s of immense credit to him that he chooses not to, but to continue seeking out new expressions.
Having mentioned the fact that his most recent album “Surrounded by Time” hit the top of the UK charts, making him the oldest artist (so far) to achieve this feat, he then sang ‘Windmills Of Your Mind’ from the album, turning the Dusty Springfield tune into a reflective soliloquy on life itself. Then we lurched back 25 years to another crowd favourite, ‘Sexbomb’, played loud and dirty by the band.
Continuing the theme of looking back was Cat Stevens’ ‘Pop Star’, delivered with a deliciously ironic optimism, as if this was all still ahead, with its line “I’m coming home now” feeling like a simultaneous look both forward and back. Pairing this with ‘The Green Grass of Home’ , with its considerably different take on the means of “coming home” was a deft touch, the subtlety of which was inspiring.
Acknowledgement of mortality was again addressed in Ry Cooder’s ‘Across the Borderline’ originally performed by the band at Willie Nelson’s 90th(!) birthday concert (a milestone Tom admitted to being both inspired and a little intimidated by, being a relatively young 83 by comparison!). This paired well with Dylan’s ‘One More Cup of Coffee’, both sharing a similar sentiment, being that of “not dead yet, but aware of the shadow”.
‘Talking Reality Television Blues’ took no prisoners, skewering no less worthy a target than 45 himself, the Cheeto combover that was President.
‘I Won’t Crumble When You Fall’ was sombre and brooding, leading in to Leonard Cohen’s ‘Tower Of Song’ a piece that Tom mused could have been written for and about him!
A question of “Are you ready?” led in to a rousing ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On’ that got them dancing in the aisles, followed by an “Are you still ready?“, the mood being maintained by a driving ‘If I Only Knew’, an interjected scream showing that the voice is still all there!
In tribute to “the late great Prince”, ‘Kiss’ sidled in from left field, it’s delivery somewhere closer to the original than in the 1988 cover version. This was the final song of the main set, leading to huge demand for the encore.
Coming back on with a cry of “Are we still having a good time?”, Tom introduced ‘One Hell of a Life’, a song that he truly made his own, imbuing it’s lyrics with all of the emotion of a career spanning seven decades. Another poignant moment, showing the strength and subtlety of That Voice!
Reaching back to a song from before he was even born(!), the venerable spiritual ‘Strange Things Happening Every Day’, there was no sign of any diminishment of either energy or enthusiasm on anyone’s part. Just as well, considering that the next, and final, song was Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B Goode”, played with all the power and pace of the original, sending the night out on a high, accompanied by the ultimate name-drop when relating that Elvis said to him that Chuck Berry was the true king of rock’n’roll!
This was a presentation that was nothing if not touchingly honest. Tom Jones has always been an interpreter of other people’s songs, and in its careful curation this setlist was a perfect encapsulation of the theme of “Ages and Stages”, reaching across time, extracting full value from time on earth. As referred to above, it is a great reflection on the man that, where he could present shows that wallow in the past, reliving moments of glory and taking in the cash, he instead chooses to continue to explore new directions, reminiscent of the late-career bloomings of others such as Johnny Cash or Leonard Cohen. Similarly seeking not to go gentle into their good night, but to rage (hard) against the dying light. Accepting that if death must come, they’re ready for it – although stripped of the element of the race against time endured by the other-named artists, with their bodies shutting down around them!
While it remains a fervent hope that he may be performing for some time yet, if this be the last time around, this tour will serve as a worthy testament to a career of many highs, one that eschewed the easy options, to take on greater challenges. A remarkable show from a true living legend!
Tom Jones:
Gin Wigmore:
The Magnificent 7:
Were you there at McLean Park for this magnificent show? Or have you seen Tom Jones perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- I’m Growing Old
- It’s Not Dark Yet
- It’s Not Unusual
- What’s New Pussycat
- Windmills Of Your Mind
- Sexbomb
- Pop Star
- Green Grass of Home
- Across the Borderline
- One More Cup of Coffee
- Talking Reality Television Blues
- I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall
- Tower Of Song
- Delilah
- Lazarus Man
- You Can Leave Your Hat On
- If I Only Knew
- Kiss
- One Hell Of A Life
- Strange Things Happening Every Day
- Johnny B Goode
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission.
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.
This concert did not have enough sound equipment. There was only stage stacks of speakers and no ancillary stacks further back. It was almost impossible to hear the first band and although we could just hear Gin Wigmores voice her band sound was almost non existant. Tom Jones was coming through ok but once again his band not so much. And no, I do not wear a hearing aid and could not afford up front seats. I would not return to this venue for a future concert.
On arrival there was confusion to many, as to which lane to be in to enter the event, this was due to the crowd and no view of the signage until you were close to the bag checkers.
We were told General admission lane was ok, yet they forgot to give is our seated area wristband passes, that caused a half hour delay to get some.
The concert went well, we really enjoyed Tom Jones and the Magnificent 7, not so much Gin Wigmore, that is when we could see them on stage.
Yes, the usual arrogant selfish and a lot of drunk people decided to stand right in front of many of the upfront seated viewers, in any clear walk space.
They were moved on several times by security, only to return seconds after security left, patrons seated started yelling at them to sit down, “we can’t see”, only to receive abuse back with “get up and dance” and “who do you think you are”and worse.
Well we and most others paid for the more expensive seats, why? to see the artist on stage, not a big screen, We would have paid for the back row for that.
So after discussion with other friends in the same upfront areas, it looks like we should not pay the higher seating prices, but buy tickets near the back, then walk up near the front closer to the stage when you want to dance and block other’s view.
Friends seated very near the front, had 4 women turn up in front of them as the main act started, they realised after hearing their discussion, they had not paid for the seats. They then told my friends what you do is, note the seats not sold just before sales close, go and check they are empty, then grab them.
If you are challenged by security, just say oh sorry our mistake,we never read our tickets properly, apparently they and others do it all the time to get a FREE upfront seat.
ORGANISERS need to address issues and note on the tickets,
*Higher easier to see signage for entry points, and wristbands available at all points, perhaps colour coded bands for each seated area.
*Security to be seated in clear areas, watching to maintain them free of standers or dancers.
*Security to and will check whos sitting in unsold areas.
*Security to maintain, and tell people you can’t dance where you will block others seated view.
*If you want to be close to the stage, pay for the expensive upfront seated areas, and remain seated, or go to an area
reserved for dancing and socialising.
*Stop serving Drunks more booze, this is a safety issue, there was a hell of alot of them there, and they could not bring it in with them,
they are a danger to behaving patrons and security staff.
We know its not a perfect world, but the majority don’t need to put up and pay up for the arrogant non respectful that turn up to these events, primed with alcohol or anything else, it could all easily turn nastie with a few hundred seated.
So for us, $352.00 spent for a night to remember or a night to become a non-member to concert events?