Gig review: Harry Connick Jr in Auckland
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The impossibly young looking Harry Connick Jr performed to a full house in Auckland last night. Gail Selkirk went along.
Harry Connick Jr
Where: The Civic, Auckland
When: Saturday March 13
The show started out in a quiet, almost bashful way with We Are in Love but in a very short time he had the audience enthralled.
The show was a mixture of earlier tunes with a generous sprinkling from his latest CD Your Songs including Smile, All the Way, Besame Mucho and Mona Lisa.
Connick clearly loves to interact with the audience.
Since hitting town two days ago, he revealed that he and daughter Kate and fellow band member and friend Lucien Barbarin had thrown themselves off the Sky Tower.
Something his wife Jill, who is back home in the US, was not pleased about.
Kate came onstage briefly and told the audience that all her friends refer to her dad's songs as 'grandpa music'.
Connick responded that she, and all of us, probably wanted to be down the road at the Lady Gaga show at Auckland's Vector Arena.
But nobody wanted to be there, they had come to the Civic Theatre to see a master at his craft.
Connick prides himself on tailoring his show for the audience, when someone requested he sing Hear Me in The Harmony he was only too happy to oblige.
The audience knew their jazz and St James Infirmary and Muskrat Rumble were well received, as were the great solo pieces throughout the show by Lucien Barbarin, Jerry Weldon and Neal Caine.
Nobody left the theatre wishing they had gone to see Lady Gaga instead.
*Where you at the show? What did you think? Post your comments below.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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Connick Jr is a total fraud. He's not from New Orleans. He's from Weston, CT, where he attended public school from 1970-1982. In addition, his real father was never the DA of New Orleans. Connick Sr is or was one of the presidents of Sony Music and a stockholder in Sony Pictures. Check out Connick Sr in 'Let's Make Love' with Y. Motand and M. Monroe. He's the guy who loses his part in the show to Montand.
Class is permanent, "Harry" is pure class. Lady Gaga? We'll have to wait and see where she is in 5 years time... Harry, thanks for giving me a night to remember.
My son shouted me to Harry's concert for my birthday. He is a 26 year old tattooist with a tattooed face,a huge passion for music and a harsh critic of all music genres that are not up to his standards. He has been to many concerts including 'The Pixies' that played the night before and said that this was the best one he'd ever been to. We both thoroughly enjoyed the brilliant music, Harry's fantastic voice and his interaction with the audience. So good to meet someone so famous and yet so down to earth. Lady Ga who????
harry connick jr is a fantastic performer! best concert i've ever been to (:
Harry was amazing!! The show, the showman and the venue - nothing could be faulted. Great music and wonderful acoustics - we had a ball. And then on Sunday we went to "the other show" - such a disappointment. The sound quality was revolting - compensating for bad acoustics using volume is not the way to go - it was painful! And what is the point of having a warm up band if the audience then has a whole hour to cool off before the set is replaced. Thank goodness I have the Saturday show to remember Come back soon!
I have never been to a gig where the entertainer enjoyed being there as much as Harry did, loved every minute of it and the only sad bit was when it finished, brilliant!
We have just returned from the Wellington concert, (we live in Nelson). It was fantastic, one of the best concerts I have ever been too. The musicianship of Harry himself, the trombonist Lucien, Gerry Weldon and the big band was just amazing. Harry is a great entertainer and I was impressed he was on stage from 8pm until 10pm without an intermission.
Was just out of hospital did not think I would make it BUT so pleased I did! Absolutely one of the best concerts. The CIVIC was the perfect setting for the music and the fantastic talent of Harry Connick Jr., his great band and a seemingly delightful daughter -
Having been raised on this music with a dad who was drummer in a band,it does ones heart good to hear it sung and played again with such wonderful talent. Hope to catch one of the US concerts later this year. That concert was "SWEET AS BRO" and thanks.
What an entertainer, he is a master in his own right, an amazing musician & a down to earth gentleman.
Great show.
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Harry Connick Jr. will be touring in 2011. I'll be going with my husband to see him perform @ Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton, FL! I'm excited...I know Harry Connick Jr. puts on a good show everytime FYI...for great seats visit this link... :) http://tinyurl.com/3pohxl8