CherryStreet
Member
Herb Alpert & Lani Hall Live At Vibrato Monday & Tuesday Night Oct 7 & 8, 2008
If anyone else like myself have been checking out the Vibrato October Calendar lately they would have seen that oddly after the “Closed” posting for Monday the 6th, Tuesday the 7th was marked “tba” and it just stayed that way, “To Be Announced”. Well, it should have read, “To Be Alpert”! Because that is what we lucky few got on both these wonderfully “warm” early October evenings here in Bel Air. When we walked up to Vibrato I noticed that all of the windows were covered in black cloth. Then at the front door, there was a sign posted that basically said, “We will be filming this evening for a live DVD. By entering you are allowing us to use your image”. Turns out that they were filming in HD with five cameras, including a “Flying Jimmy Jib” both nights! They told us before the show, that they were actually filming for three things, a TV Special, a Documentary and a DVD! Outside, in the back of Vibrato, it looked like they were going to be producing a NFL football game. Generators, equipment and a tent with a mixing consoles and monitors. This would be the real deal. They made sure that all dessert plates were cleared by 8:15 and they locked the front door at 8:30. The place never looked more grand and there was some gorgeous stage lighting through out the night. Got to say hello before the show once again to Lani, Hussain and Bill. Bill assured us that we would be hearing some new stuff! Spotted in the audience, James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Pat Senatore and “That Guy” from “Prison Break”, though I do not watch the show.
I was able once again to get Herb’s set list. So here’s what they played both nights.
FACINATING RHYTHYM – GREORGE & IRA GERSHWIN – What a nifty new opener. Lani and Herb were far more than fascinating. Herb has new mute. It’s black & red and looks like a small carburetor air filter.
PARARAIO – DJAVAN – Classic Lani vocal. Herb & band have come to play.
TROLLEY SONG (FROM MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS) – RALPH BLANE/HUGH MARTIN – Before starting someone last night shouted from the house about the delicious Vibrato food. Herb replied, “Thank you, Lani has been cooking all day”. “We are shooting this little five camera home movie, we wanted to have something for our grand kids….That’s a lie”, Herb went on to say. As Herb was introducing the first two songs, he told the crowd that we just recently found out what “Pararaio” meant, “It means ‘lightning rod’. It was a real shocker”. The producers asked Herb to stall after he introduced “The Trolley Song”. “Any questions?”, Herb asks us. “Can we come again tomorrow night?” “You might have to if this doesn’t work out”, Herb zinged. One of my favorite “new” tracks. Slippery. Hardly a “trolley”. More like a “Mag Lev” train.
WILD IS THE WIND – DIMITRI TOMPKIN/NED WASHINGTON – Lani’s vocals soared and Herb’s trumpet lines rode the jet stream. Sublime.
BERIMBAU – BADEN POWELL/VINICIUS DE MORAES – After finishing, Herb once again was asked to “stall”. Besides explaining how he and Lani met with a new twist, “She walked in with this short dress…But it was her voice……And even though I was married at the time, I must say I got a little buzzed to tell you the truth. Come December 16th we will have been married 35 years”. “Billy Dee Williams thought I said horny instead of corny”. Billy Dee then asked what was the difference between “horny” & “corny”? “Can I get back to you on that?”, asked Herb
ANYTHING GOES – COLE PORTER – Before starting Herb said, “Though it was written in 1934, just check out these lyrics. Very pertinent to today’s world”. Haunting slower piano intro by Bill followed by a smoldering Lani Hall.
PEACE IN THE VALLEY – CAROLE KING & TONI STERN – My favorite “new” track. In these tumultuous times, Herb’s ever so sweet horn lines and Lani’s voice brought some peace to this lucky soul as I sat in Bel Air above the Valley on a warm So Cal evening.
BESAME MUCHO – CONSUELO VELAZQUEZ – There was a debate going on last night. No, not that one. It was going onstage at Vibrato. Who could be cooler? Herb’s horn or Michael’s drums? Herb’s closing arguments settled that one.
ACC. TO YOUR FACE/THIS GUY – LERNER & LOWE – Best “This Guy” outro I have heard yet. Not only Herb’s horn but also Bill & Hussain took it to another level.
LET’S FACE THE MUSIC & DANCE – IRVING BERLIN – There may be more trouble ahead folks. But last night Herb & Lani let our hearts, minds, bodies & souls “dance” for a couple hours. Thank you.
MORNING COFFEE – BILL CANTOS – Before starting Herb asked if we have anymore questions? Some smart-ass asked, “What’s the capital of Nebraska?” Without missing a beat Herb replied, “I would like to phone a friend”. “What is the funniest or weirdest thing that you ever had when you were onstage?” “Well actually one of the funniest, if not the most profound was - We were playing at the World’s Fair in Minneapolis with the Supremes and we were in the middle of this huge field surrounded by thousands of people. It started to pour and there was a woman holding a baby and a chair over her head listening to our music…You had to be there.” “We were playing Evansville Indiana in this amphitheater at around dusk and a bat landed on the back of our second trumpet player." "At the Blossom Music Center outside of Cleveland..Akron, we were playing another amphitheater and they had this big flagpole we were playing the beginning of ‘Zorba The Greek’ – ‘da-dut-da-da’ and bam! This huge lightning bolt hit the flagpole. As if on cue. And it was right in time!”
DINORAH/MORNING – IVAN LINS / CLARE FISHER
OLD BLACK MAGIC – H. ARLEN / J. MERCER
PAPER MOON – HAROLD ARLEN – Herb brought out the “Mutant” twin belled Gemini. “Maybe this is what you were talking about Billy when you heard ‘horny’!” After explaining how it works he said, “And if you would like to have one it costs like only about $20,000 dollars.” Brother can you spare about 200,000 dimes. Another tune that got people through during “hard times”. Of course made famous again in the early seventies in Peter Bagdanovich’s famous Depression Era film of the same title. Herb blew some joy into our current economic depression era with a rousing take.
I’VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN – COLE PORTER -
NIGHT & DAY/WHAT NOW – C. PORTER/GILBERT BECOUD – And yet another set of Cole Porter tunes that easily could have been heard coming from Adie Pray’s radio or any other radio during troubled times. 70 some years later, Herb, Lani & band giving us new versions to chase our blues away. Like Herb said, “Most of these songs our older than I am. And I like it!”. Just goes to show that great songs are timeless.
LAURA – DAVID RASKIN – Such a “smoky” take! Bill was channeling the sprit of Duke Ellington. For a minute there I swore he was wearing a tux with tails.
ENCORE:
JOBIM MEDLEY – ANTONIA CARLOS JOBIM
XTRA SONGS: (NOT PLAYED)
A TASTE OF HONEY – BOBBY SCOTT/RIC MARLOW
HEAD/LOVER – FRED COOTS/HAVEN GILLESPIE / DORI CAYMMI/ALLAN & MARYLIN BERGMAN
HAPPY WOMAN – PETER CETERA
WHO ARE YOU – BILL CANTOS
WHEN SUNNY GETS BLUE – MARVIN FISHER / JACK SEGAL
WHOLE SONG PIANO & VOCAL – Why do you taunt us with this still unheard gem!!!!
Finally, besides Herb, Lani & the band I also would like to thank Eden Alpert & the incredible staff at Vibrato and all of those folks behind the scenes that made these shows happen. Looking forward to the DVD!
A HUGE thank you to the “ever-so-in-the-know” Steve Sidoruk for the “intel” last month. What a guy!
If anyone else like myself have been checking out the Vibrato October Calendar lately they would have seen that oddly after the “Closed” posting for Monday the 6th, Tuesday the 7th was marked “tba” and it just stayed that way, “To Be Announced”. Well, it should have read, “To Be Alpert”! Because that is what we lucky few got on both these wonderfully “warm” early October evenings here in Bel Air. When we walked up to Vibrato I noticed that all of the windows were covered in black cloth. Then at the front door, there was a sign posted that basically said, “We will be filming this evening for a live DVD. By entering you are allowing us to use your image”. Turns out that they were filming in HD with five cameras, including a “Flying Jimmy Jib” both nights! They told us before the show, that they were actually filming for three things, a TV Special, a Documentary and a DVD! Outside, in the back of Vibrato, it looked like they were going to be producing a NFL football game. Generators, equipment and a tent with a mixing consoles and monitors. This would be the real deal. They made sure that all dessert plates were cleared by 8:15 and they locked the front door at 8:30. The place never looked more grand and there was some gorgeous stage lighting through out the night. Got to say hello before the show once again to Lani, Hussain and Bill. Bill assured us that we would be hearing some new stuff! Spotted in the audience, James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Pat Senatore and “That Guy” from “Prison Break”, though I do not watch the show.
I was able once again to get Herb’s set list. So here’s what they played both nights.
FACINATING RHYTHYM – GREORGE & IRA GERSHWIN – What a nifty new opener. Lani and Herb were far more than fascinating. Herb has new mute. It’s black & red and looks like a small carburetor air filter.
PARARAIO – DJAVAN – Classic Lani vocal. Herb & band have come to play.
TROLLEY SONG (FROM MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS) – RALPH BLANE/HUGH MARTIN – Before starting someone last night shouted from the house about the delicious Vibrato food. Herb replied, “Thank you, Lani has been cooking all day”. “We are shooting this little five camera home movie, we wanted to have something for our grand kids….That’s a lie”, Herb went on to say. As Herb was introducing the first two songs, he told the crowd that we just recently found out what “Pararaio” meant, “It means ‘lightning rod’. It was a real shocker”. The producers asked Herb to stall after he introduced “The Trolley Song”. “Any questions?”, Herb asks us. “Can we come again tomorrow night?” “You might have to if this doesn’t work out”, Herb zinged. One of my favorite “new” tracks. Slippery. Hardly a “trolley”. More like a “Mag Lev” train.
WILD IS THE WIND – DIMITRI TOMPKIN/NED WASHINGTON – Lani’s vocals soared and Herb’s trumpet lines rode the jet stream. Sublime.
BERIMBAU – BADEN POWELL/VINICIUS DE MORAES – After finishing, Herb once again was asked to “stall”. Besides explaining how he and Lani met with a new twist, “She walked in with this short dress…But it was her voice……And even though I was married at the time, I must say I got a little buzzed to tell you the truth. Come December 16th we will have been married 35 years”. “Billy Dee Williams thought I said horny instead of corny”. Billy Dee then asked what was the difference between “horny” & “corny”? “Can I get back to you on that?”, asked Herb
ANYTHING GOES – COLE PORTER – Before starting Herb said, “Though it was written in 1934, just check out these lyrics. Very pertinent to today’s world”. Haunting slower piano intro by Bill followed by a smoldering Lani Hall.
PEACE IN THE VALLEY – CAROLE KING & TONI STERN – My favorite “new” track. In these tumultuous times, Herb’s ever so sweet horn lines and Lani’s voice brought some peace to this lucky soul as I sat in Bel Air above the Valley on a warm So Cal evening.
BESAME MUCHO – CONSUELO VELAZQUEZ – There was a debate going on last night. No, not that one. It was going onstage at Vibrato. Who could be cooler? Herb’s horn or Michael’s drums? Herb’s closing arguments settled that one.
ACC. TO YOUR FACE/THIS GUY – LERNER & LOWE – Best “This Guy” outro I have heard yet. Not only Herb’s horn but also Bill & Hussain took it to another level.
LET’S FACE THE MUSIC & DANCE – IRVING BERLIN – There may be more trouble ahead folks. But last night Herb & Lani let our hearts, minds, bodies & souls “dance” for a couple hours. Thank you.
MORNING COFFEE – BILL CANTOS – Before starting Herb asked if we have anymore questions? Some smart-ass asked, “What’s the capital of Nebraska?” Without missing a beat Herb replied, “I would like to phone a friend”. “What is the funniest or weirdest thing that you ever had when you were onstage?” “Well actually one of the funniest, if not the most profound was - We were playing at the World’s Fair in Minneapolis with the Supremes and we were in the middle of this huge field surrounded by thousands of people. It started to pour and there was a woman holding a baby and a chair over her head listening to our music…You had to be there.” “We were playing Evansville Indiana in this amphitheater at around dusk and a bat landed on the back of our second trumpet player." "At the Blossom Music Center outside of Cleveland..Akron, we were playing another amphitheater and they had this big flagpole we were playing the beginning of ‘Zorba The Greek’ – ‘da-dut-da-da’ and bam! This huge lightning bolt hit the flagpole. As if on cue. And it was right in time!”
DINORAH/MORNING – IVAN LINS / CLARE FISHER
OLD BLACK MAGIC – H. ARLEN / J. MERCER
PAPER MOON – HAROLD ARLEN – Herb brought out the “Mutant” twin belled Gemini. “Maybe this is what you were talking about Billy when you heard ‘horny’!” After explaining how it works he said, “And if you would like to have one it costs like only about $20,000 dollars.” Brother can you spare about 200,000 dimes. Another tune that got people through during “hard times”. Of course made famous again in the early seventies in Peter Bagdanovich’s famous Depression Era film of the same title. Herb blew some joy into our current economic depression era with a rousing take.
I’VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN – COLE PORTER -
NIGHT & DAY/WHAT NOW – C. PORTER/GILBERT BECOUD – And yet another set of Cole Porter tunes that easily could have been heard coming from Adie Pray’s radio or any other radio during troubled times. 70 some years later, Herb, Lani & band giving us new versions to chase our blues away. Like Herb said, “Most of these songs our older than I am. And I like it!”. Just goes to show that great songs are timeless.
LAURA – DAVID RASKIN – Such a “smoky” take! Bill was channeling the sprit of Duke Ellington. For a minute there I swore he was wearing a tux with tails.
ENCORE:
JOBIM MEDLEY – ANTONIA CARLOS JOBIM
XTRA SONGS: (NOT PLAYED)
A TASTE OF HONEY – BOBBY SCOTT/RIC MARLOW
HEAD/LOVER – FRED COOTS/HAVEN GILLESPIE / DORI CAYMMI/ALLAN & MARYLIN BERGMAN
HAPPY WOMAN – PETER CETERA
WHO ARE YOU – BILL CANTOS
WHEN SUNNY GETS BLUE – MARVIN FISHER / JACK SEGAL
WHOLE SONG PIANO & VOCAL – Why do you taunt us with this still unheard gem!!!!
Finally, besides Herb, Lani & the band I also would like to thank Eden Alpert & the incredible staff at Vibrato and all of those folks behind the scenes that made these shows happen. Looking forward to the DVD!
A HUGE thank you to the “ever-so-in-the-know” Steve Sidoruk for the “intel” last month. What a guy!
