James in "First of the Mohegans", with Tony Orlando!
Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 8:03 am
Hello friends:
It's 7:15 Sunday morning as I write this, and I plan on only writing it once because to write it over in 12 different places would be stupid, lol. I had the pleasure of seeing Tony Orlando live and in-person last night and he was absolutely amazing. Just incredible. If he puts HALF the effort into next year's MDA Telethon that he did in this rousing performance,I can guarantee you, we're going to crack $7 million in pledges in New York City.
First, the drive up...Took us 90 minutes to get there, but hey, that's what we expected. Getting to the casino was another story, we had to stop at two gas stations to make sure our Mapquest directions were correct. But we got there. Mohegan Sun is HUGE. Tony played the cabaret room (as usual), which seats about 300, compared to the Arena which holds 10,000...There's no real downside to that, as the place was packed and even from my seat way in the back of the room, I could see him and the band clearly.
I forget what specific carol he started the show with, and I don't remember the exact playlist, but it was basically - Opening number - all his big hits (Tie A Yellow Ribbon, Candida, Knock Three Times, Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose) along with Coming to America, which he did for the veterans in attendance...Really moving, he even hand the band stop playing and had a moment of silence "for those who will never return home". After the song, he noted that Rita Cosby from MSNBC was in attendance and brought the house lights up to acknowledge her. He continued with Happy Together / My Little Runaway and had Kerry Cole, his lead vocalist play some country - his Willie Nelson impersonations were dead on (Always On My Mind) and then Toni Wine did "Sugar Sugar" from the Archies...
Okay, I should back up and make two points before going any further, fans of Tony have probably heard this story more than once, but he told how he put out "Yellow Ribbon" in 1973, and who should hear it but Bob Hope. So Bob calls him one day, and Tony doesn't believe it's Bob, but it is. Bob said to him "You know, I'd like for you to sing that song at the Cotton Bowl; we have a lot of POW's coming home soon and we're having a big thing for them, would you mind coming?" So of course Tony said it would be an honor. He shows up at the Cotton Bowl with 70,000 people including hundreds of POW's sitting right on the fifty yard line, sings the song, but he notices one soldier, who, the entire show, wasn't smiling, wasn't clapping their hands and having a great time like everyone else. So Tony tracked him down after the show and asked him why he was so unresponsive. And the POW replied, well, I loved the song, you couldn't see but I was tapping my foot to it because my shoulders got dislocated in Vietnam. And Tony asked the POW for his name. It was John McCain. Yes, the guy who just tried to run for president. Tony said "no matter how you voted, I think he's a great American", which brought cheers from the audience. The other thing was, somewhere in all this, a man who looked just like Santa was plucked out of the crowd and claimed to be Santa Claus. He insisted he was, and he was going to prove it.
Well after some more Christmas carols, the band completely ignored Tony, played "Santa's Fanfare" (his words, not mine, lol), and here comes, well, Santa! Okay, good enough. But then he proves to Tony that he is Santa by naming Christmas Gifts with the years Tony got them, and even had this exchange:
Tony: What did I get in 1961, Santa?
Santa: Oh, that's easy Tony, that was your first big hit, Halfway To Paradise! (Santa mentioned the serial number and the record label)
Tony: Yeah, it was a big hit, only my mother bought that thing! (Crowd laughter)
So then Santa sings a bit (yes, he sang) and then the big finale, besides the closing number which I'm sure Tony's fans would know, was Tony doing, I kid you not, a hip hop version of "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" after Santa complained he "wasn't current enough". This was hilarious. Santa even rapped. Then Tony told us to think about the true meaning of Christmas and the little kids inside of us, it was a very moving speech to close the show.
After the show, Tony signed autographs and posed for pictures, and I had a great idea. While we waited for him for 45 minutes, and then waited for him in the line for another 45, I said to myself - self! I should call Cody. Cody, for those who do not know, has muscular dystrophy and is one of the kids I help send to camp every year. So I had my cell phone with me, and called his mother at 10 PM as we were waiting in line. I called her back when I got close to Tony.
As we approached his table, Mike, the drummer recognized me from the telethon, saying he knew he saw us before, but couldn't pinpoint us. Which led to Tony spotting me, and induced the jaw-dropping moment of the night. "Hey James! How are you! Listen, I gotta tell you, Jerry called me after the telethon and said, 'that kid has a heart of gold'". Then I put Cody's mom on the phone with him. He was shocked I got her number, and had to apologize not talking to her longer because of the people waiting in back of us, but he signed a Christmas ornament for Cody and instructed me to give it to him, which I will. I gave him my letter and newspaper article about the camp fund, posed for a photo, got a kiss from Mr. O with a promise to keep in touch, and left for the slots.
Now some of you know my plan was to spend 20 bucks on the slots, and that was it. Dad spent 15 of his own money, and I won more than that twice. However, I should've stopped when Pat and Vanna told me I had won $34.20. Instead, I pushed on for the jackpot cause I was having fun, and ended up cashing out with a voucher for 20 cents. (Hey, at least we have a reason to come back!)
One Ben and Jerry's Super Fudge Chunk with Hot Fudge sundae later, we called it a night. And it was really, really worth it. Thank you to Tony for providing us with the tickets; dad had a wonderful birthday thanks to him. Also, thank you Denise and your friend, sorry I forgot her name, you were a pleasure to meet, I hope we do so again before next years' telethon.
I'll put up the photo of Tony and me when I can.
James
It's 7:15 Sunday morning as I write this, and I plan on only writing it once because to write it over in 12 different places would be stupid, lol. I had the pleasure of seeing Tony Orlando live and in-person last night and he was absolutely amazing. Just incredible. If he puts HALF the effort into next year's MDA Telethon that he did in this rousing performance,I can guarantee you, we're going to crack $7 million in pledges in New York City.
First, the drive up...Took us 90 minutes to get there, but hey, that's what we expected. Getting to the casino was another story, we had to stop at two gas stations to make sure our Mapquest directions were correct. But we got there. Mohegan Sun is HUGE. Tony played the cabaret room (as usual), which seats about 300, compared to the Arena which holds 10,000...There's no real downside to that, as the place was packed and even from my seat way in the back of the room, I could see him and the band clearly.
I forget what specific carol he started the show with, and I don't remember the exact playlist, but it was basically - Opening number - all his big hits (Tie A Yellow Ribbon, Candida, Knock Three Times, Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose) along with Coming to America, which he did for the veterans in attendance...Really moving, he even hand the band stop playing and had a moment of silence "for those who will never return home". After the song, he noted that Rita Cosby from MSNBC was in attendance and brought the house lights up to acknowledge her. He continued with Happy Together / My Little Runaway and had Kerry Cole, his lead vocalist play some country - his Willie Nelson impersonations were dead on (Always On My Mind) and then Toni Wine did "Sugar Sugar" from the Archies...
Okay, I should back up and make two points before going any further, fans of Tony have probably heard this story more than once, but he told how he put out "Yellow Ribbon" in 1973, and who should hear it but Bob Hope. So Bob calls him one day, and Tony doesn't believe it's Bob, but it is. Bob said to him "You know, I'd like for you to sing that song at the Cotton Bowl; we have a lot of POW's coming home soon and we're having a big thing for them, would you mind coming?" So of course Tony said it would be an honor. He shows up at the Cotton Bowl with 70,000 people including hundreds of POW's sitting right on the fifty yard line, sings the song, but he notices one soldier, who, the entire show, wasn't smiling, wasn't clapping their hands and having a great time like everyone else. So Tony tracked him down after the show and asked him why he was so unresponsive. And the POW replied, well, I loved the song, you couldn't see but I was tapping my foot to it because my shoulders got dislocated in Vietnam. And Tony asked the POW for his name. It was John McCain. Yes, the guy who just tried to run for president. Tony said "no matter how you voted, I think he's a great American", which brought cheers from the audience. The other thing was, somewhere in all this, a man who looked just like Santa was plucked out of the crowd and claimed to be Santa Claus. He insisted he was, and he was going to prove it.
Well after some more Christmas carols, the band completely ignored Tony, played "Santa's Fanfare" (his words, not mine, lol), and here comes, well, Santa! Okay, good enough. But then he proves to Tony that he is Santa by naming Christmas Gifts with the years Tony got them, and even had this exchange:
Tony: What did I get in 1961, Santa?
Santa: Oh, that's easy Tony, that was your first big hit, Halfway To Paradise! (Santa mentioned the serial number and the record label)
Tony: Yeah, it was a big hit, only my mother bought that thing! (Crowd laughter)
So then Santa sings a bit (yes, he sang) and then the big finale, besides the closing number which I'm sure Tony's fans would know, was Tony doing, I kid you not, a hip hop version of "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" after Santa complained he "wasn't current enough". This was hilarious. Santa even rapped. Then Tony told us to think about the true meaning of Christmas and the little kids inside of us, it was a very moving speech to close the show.
After the show, Tony signed autographs and posed for pictures, and I had a great idea. While we waited for him for 45 minutes, and then waited for him in the line for another 45, I said to myself - self! I should call Cody. Cody, for those who do not know, has muscular dystrophy and is one of the kids I help send to camp every year. So I had my cell phone with me, and called his mother at 10 PM as we were waiting in line. I called her back when I got close to Tony.
As we approached his table, Mike, the drummer recognized me from the telethon, saying he knew he saw us before, but couldn't pinpoint us. Which led to Tony spotting me, and induced the jaw-dropping moment of the night. "Hey James! How are you! Listen, I gotta tell you, Jerry called me after the telethon and said, 'that kid has a heart of gold'". Then I put Cody's mom on the phone with him. He was shocked I got her number, and had to apologize not talking to her longer because of the people waiting in back of us, but he signed a Christmas ornament for Cody and instructed me to give it to him, which I will. I gave him my letter and newspaper article about the camp fund, posed for a photo, got a kiss from Mr. O with a promise to keep in touch, and left for the slots.
Now some of you know my plan was to spend 20 bucks on the slots, and that was it. Dad spent 15 of his own money, and I won more than that twice. However, I should've stopped when Pat and Vanna told me I had won $34.20. Instead, I pushed on for the jackpot cause I was having fun, and ended up cashing out with a voucher for 20 cents. (Hey, at least we have a reason to come back!)
One Ben and Jerry's Super Fudge Chunk with Hot Fudge sundae later, we called it a night. And it was really, really worth it. Thank you to Tony for providing us with the tickets; dad had a wonderful birthday thanks to him. Also, thank you Denise and your friend, sorry I forgot her name, you were a pleasure to meet, I hope we do so again before next years' telethon.
I'll put up the photo of Tony and me when I can.
James
