Billboard Live 2023

newvillefan

I Know My First Name Is Stephen
I’m reading today on Spotify that Richard is appearing in Osaka, Japan at the Billboard Live event in a few weeks’ time. Checked online and found further links including this one:

It’s Billboard Japan’s 15th anniversary and Richard Carpenter is helping them celebrate.

By TF Tribe on January 21, 2023

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The music of vocal brother-and-sister duo Richard and Karen Carpenter have, for more than 50 years, received acclaim from fans all over the world.

Even decades after Karen’s untimely death, their novel arrangements and musicality that shaped pop music in the 70s and 80s continue to be played on social media platforms and sung at karaoke bars in Japan.

Take a trip down memory lane and listen to Richard Carpenter live play the Carpenters’ Greatest Hits at the Billboard for the very first time.

He has received six Grammy nominations and Best Arrangement Award for his compositions. In October 2021, he released his first solo piano album in 23 years called “Piano Songbook”.


March 27, 2023 (Mon) Billboard Live Osaka
Open 16:00 Start 17:00 / Open 19:00 Start 20:00
Service area ¥ 20,000 –
Casual area ¥ 18,500 – (1 drink included)
April 1, 2023 (Sat) at the Billboard Live Tokyo
Open 16:00 Start 17:00 / Open 19:00 Start 20:00
Service area ¥ 20,000 –
casual area ¥ 18,500 – (1 drink included)


 
All we can hope is that a song will be used one day in a popular streaming series and give the Carpenters a wider audience. It always takes something to give it a push---be it "I Need to Be In Love" being used for that TV series in Japan and the wide push of "Love Songs" in the late 90s.
 
Richard is giving no less than 10 concerts in Japan next week:

“richard carpenter”の公演検索結果 - イープラス
(you can have the page translated by clicking the right mouse button in an empty area on the page)

If my personal circumstamces were better (lower airfare, being able to register online to buy a concert ticket, and no longCovid fatigue), I definitely would have gone to finally get a chance to see him play live :love:

I really do hope that Richard will consider performing elsewhere in the world after those lucky people in Japan will, without a doubt, have made him happy🤞🤞

Greg
 
I really do hope that Richard will consider performing elsewhere in the world after those lucky people in Japan will, without a doubt, have made him happy🤞🤞
I hope so, too. I was born way too late to see the Carps live, and I would love to see Richard perform immensely. I admire a lot of musicians, but he is by far one of the ones I admire most.

I mean, the idea has probably at least crossed his mind. I would think that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people in who would go to a RC concert if he were to tour America.
 
I too would love to see him perform in person - there are a number of excellent venues in the Central Pennsylvania area - not sure where I would max out on the ticket price though - but higher than for most artists who journey through the Hershey Region (and there are a lot of them).
 
10? I wonder to what end?
Almost seems as though it's for old time's sake, 2 shows per date, the way things often used to be in the 1960s/'70s :D

I must say I don't really care to what end, I'm just incredibly excited that all of a sudden Richard is back on the road doing the first multiple-date tour after 25 years. As far as I know it will be his first public live appearance since the induction of the Carpenters into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2010 (when Donna Summer sang "Superstar" with him)

Richard's past live performances
 
I’d like to see Richard play the NAC or Corel Center in Ottawa. I’m one of those that was born after Karen had died, and if Richard had toured Canada in the 80’s and 90’s I was waaay to young.
 
The following is apparently Richard's setlist from the concerts. It looks like a nice mix of the hits, with one pre-Carpenters selection in "I'll Be Yours." Since that song has that 60s girl group sound, it's fitting that his daughters sing it. It would be interesting to hear their rendition. I hope video and/or audio of this surfaces.

Setlist

Superstar / Rainy Days and Mondays / We've Only Just Begun
(snippets with short video)

Close to You
(Instrumental)

One Love
(Instrumental)

Superstar / Rainy Days and Mondays
(Instrumental)

I Need to Be in Love
(Instrumental)

Sing / Goodbye to Love / For All We Know
(Instrumental)

We've Only Just Begun
(Instrumental)

Intermission Question & Answer time
I'll Be Yours
(Richard's two elder daughters on vocals)

Top of the World
(Richard's two elder daughters on vocals)

Jambalaya
(Karaoke, Richard's three daughters on vocals)

Only Yesterday

Encore:
Yesterday Once More
(Instrumental)

(Richard Carpenter Setlist at Billboard Live TOKYO, Tokyo)
 
Way back in 1976 I had the chance to go to the Palladium concert in London, being only 14 years old I had no one to go with, if I knew then what I know now, that we would run out of time to see our favourite duo I would have gone, it would be amazing if Richard came to London and played the Royal Albert hall or somewhere similar, even a 30 minute show would be out of this world, please Richard finish the Xmas remix and come to London as a promo tour in December.
 
I’d jump at the chance to see Richard in concert. Even listening to him tinkle on a piano in a hotel foyer would be a life-changing experience.

I loved the elaborate style of the instrumental versions of Carpenters songs that he performed while promoting ‘Voice of the Heart’. Since then, he’s moved to a slightly more straightforward style.

I wonder what his demographic in Japan is. I wonder whether it’s mainly older people who were fans when Karen was alive or if there’s a fair swag from around the multi-million selling ‘22 Hits’ period, plus newer, younger fans.

I hope that the performances have gone well. I would have loved to be there!
 
I’d jump at the chance to see Richard in concert. Even listening to him tinkle on a piano in a hotel foyer would be a life-changing experience.

I loved the elaborate style of the instrumental versions of Carpenters songs that he performed while promoting ‘Voice of the Heart’. Since then, he’s moved to a slightly more straightforward style.

I wonder what his demographic in Japan is. I wonder whether it’s mainly older people who were fans when Karen was alive or if there’s a fair swag from around the multi-million selling ‘22 Hits’ period, plus newer, younger fans.

I hope that the performances have gone well. I would have loved to be there!
Even back in 1984 on the Christmas edition of “Solid Gold”, when he was promoting An Old-Fashioned Christmas he performed a different version of “Home For The Holidays”. He didn’t just lift Karen’s voice from the album track and sing the lyrics himself, he made an all-new recording from the ground up (it sort of sounds like Perry Como’s version). It’s surprising that that version hasn’t appeared on a compilation.

 
Well, he sounds fairly decent here, as he did when he sang "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" on the Como Special - is this live or lip-synced?

Just a damn shame he didn't have a better voice - the possibilities would have been incredible for them individually and as a duo - the drawback is that we might have had less of the solo Karen, a major loss indeed...
 
Well, he sounds fairly decent here, as he did when he sang "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" on the Como Special - is this live or lip-synced?

Just a damn shame he didn't have a better voice - the possibilities would have been incredible for them individually and as a duo - the drawback is that we might have had less of the solo Karen, a major loss indeed...

This won't be popular but he had Karen's voice is the only lead voice we should have heard. She was quite simply the greatest female Pop voice in music history IMHO. Richard can sound pleasant but he's just not really a lead vocalist. "Time" proves that in spades. Even if he were a good singer, we're talking about KAREN CARPENTER here. That's the only appropriate lead voice for this group. His is not a voice I ever needed to hear. It should only have been in the background. He blends beautifully with her and that's all he ever should have done, IMHO.

Ed
 
... She was quite simply the greatest female Pop voice in music history IMHO. Richard can sound pleasant but he's just not really a lead vocalist... Even if he were a good singer, we're talking about KAREN CARPENTER here. That's the only appropriate lead voice for this group...

Ed
Fellow choir member here Ed! No argument is necessary (or possible) with anything you said.

I did say "if he had had a better voice" - say on the order of David Gates or Matt Munro or Kenny Loggins. Then, with the right songs, it might have been quite enjoyable to hear some solos by Richard and definitely some duets with Karen on some album cuts...

"The greatest female pop voice in music history"? Just because her singing style or technique was absolutely perfect and because the mere gorgeous tone of her voice could stop a grown man in his tracks and bring him to tears? Beyond dispute!
 
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