Tom Jones 
Rotterdam AHOY',
Rotterdam Saturday, April 22, 2000 

Saturday April 22, finally! Time to go to Tom Jones. He's hot again all over the world. Since his album 'RELOAD', Tom can be seen on almost every TV-station in Europe. Lex and I decided to go to Rotterdam together (including our wives). Raymond and his wife were in Rotterdam in the afternoon. They first went shopping there, so we met in the concert hall. I bought a great concert book to add to my collection. Great pictures in it! Lucky for me I managed to get my photo camera into the concert hall, so I could take some pictures of Tom.

20.00 - The band started to play 'Turn On Your Love Light', of course, and then there was Tom. Black suit, black shirt. The lights were terrific. Good conditions for a great show. No doubts on Tom. He lost a few pounds, he seemed to be in top form. And he was! The second song was 'Burning Down The House'. His first hit single of RELOAD. Honestly, I like his new album. But I prefer the 60's stuff above everything. But hearing these new songs live it's quite a different experience. Really great, I can tell you! Even Raymond, who only likes the Tom Jones from 35 years ago, had to admit that this Tom Jones is terrific. 'With These Hands', a neglected song as Tom says, is always a favourite of us. We were delighted he did it. Next song was 'Delilah'. When I was in Wales, I heard the audience laugh loudly after Tom sang 'she stood there laughing'. In Holland I never heard the people do this, so we decided to introduce this. Tom heard us do this and he reacted with a smile on his face to our direction. Then Tom announced his eighth song of the night 'Sometimes We Cry'. In my opinion this was one of the highlights of the show. Three terrific female back-up singers made us forget Van Morrison. 'Motherless Child' was another highlight for us (again). This song was used in the '68 Comeback Special' of Elvis Presley. The moment Tom started this song I yelled 'Elvis' to him, which he replied with a big smile on his face. 'All Crapped Out Again', a song never released, new for us Dutch fans, but not for me. I heard it before in Cardiff. But now it had a different final.

Twenty minutes break. Good to have a drink with the guys and good talk about the concert so far. Some other friends were in the audience too. So we had much to talk about. We all agreed that Tom was wonderful.

After the break Tom started, of course, with 'Thunderball', followed by 'If I Only Knew'. A good start of the second half, I can tell you. 'Never Fall In Love Again' was again one of the highlights. During this song it's obvious that Tom deserves his nickname 'Jones The Voice'. It looked like he sings as easily as I can breath, or walk! The standing ovation lasted for minutes. The audience was yelling 'Ole Ole Ole', a typical Dutch. If we Dutch people do something like that, then it's good! Ok, I know it's a strange habit. But hey, don't blame me, I didn't introduce it! Then it's time for a great tribute to Elvis: 'Walking In Memphis'. You could feel that Tom sang this song with the deepest respect for 'The King'. 'You Can Leave Your Hat On' was received very well by the audience. During this song the lights went on, of course, which got a great reaction of the audience. Tom had some nasty movements with his belt, what surprised me a little. For Tom it's NOT hard to live up to an image. It's obvious that 'RELOAD' has been a big impulse for Tom. 'It's Not Unusual' is the signal for the end of the show. Ok, he always does two more songs. But then it's really over. Not this time! Tom wanted to sing 'Sexbomb' for the second time. More instrumental solos this time.

Deep respect for this man; almost 60 years old, in great shape, dancing like a teenager. Nobody can even come close to this Tom Jones in top form!

Set list:

The Dutch Newspaper 'De Volkskrant had the following review.  For a review of this negative newspaper (social, goat's wool socks newspaper)  it is pretty good, but they can't count ;-).

Jukebox with Unprecedentedly Vocal Power

 Tom Jones Ahoy’, Rotterdam, April 22 by Menno Pot

 And there Tom Jones made his only mistake of the evening: he song his recent sing-along hit Sexbomb a second time. Of course you should never do this, though has to be said that Jones asked the audience properly: “Shall we do Sexbomb again?” Of course, we wanted to. While it would have been nice when Jones sang, especially for Holland, Little Green Bag the George Baker hit he did with the Canadian Barenaked Ladies for his recent album Reload (1999).

Strange record by the way, this Reload. It is a pretty shameless cover album based on some guest appearances of contemporary artists. On Reload Tom Jones sings a song by Lenny Kravitz together with Robbie Williams and an Iggy Pop-classic with Pretenders leading lady Chrissie Hynde, for example.

Artificial, yet Reload gave Tom Jones a remarkable commercial second youth, and an almost completely filled Ahoy’, filled with – always good – a remarkable young audience.

It seems Tom Jones is cut out for just doing covers in a little cheap but comfortable way. The Rotterdam performance made clear that is nothing more than a singer who got together his oeuvre as a smart beachcomber. Even the upcoming songs that are known for his own version were written by others: Delilah, the James Bond hit Thunderball and What’s New Pussycat, for example.

In recent years Jones went much further and his main deeds were ready made successes by Randy Newman (You Can Leave Your Hat On) and Prince (Kiss). Add some of the Reload songs (Burning Down the House by the Talking Heads, Sometimes We Cry by Van Morrison) and the colourful palette is complete. Next June Tom Jones will turn sixty, and he cannot get enough of it. Over 35 years a world-famous jukebox.

It gives completely irrelevant shows, and as usual the sound in Ahoy’ wasn’t too good in the beginning (high tones were gone), but still it wasn’t embarrassing.

Jones and his six musicians and three background singers acted sober, so nothing could take away the attention from Jones’ vocal achievements. And those are worth mentioning: still not a scratch or even a little dust. His singing was unprecedented and powerful. Even the high registers were no problem for him.

The success of Sexbomb seems to have given Jones’ reputation of potent strapper a new impulse. When he started the song for the first time, in a glance the stage was filled with roses and of course panties, belonging to the appealing Welshman like Orange bitters to Queensday (esp. For the Dutch ;-)). We won’t tell that a large part of that was coming from some immature guys, that bought a bag ful of this stuff for the event.

A much better, certainly regarding the point of concert, the achievements of the 'star', is this review from our local newspaper, 'De Haagsche Courant':

Tom Jones still unequalled

While inside Tom Jones already started his show, many tickets are sold for exorbitant prices outside the gates of Ahoy'. But who bought a ticket on 'the Black-market Square' for about 250 guilders (!) (Jan: about $ 110), will not be sorry for this expensive emergency measure. Because what the singing Sexbomb from South Wales has in store this Saturday evening in Ahoy' is absolute top-class: an especially vocally impressing tour-de-force, with which he is constantly mocking at the 59 years his birth certificate shows.

Tom Jones is hot again, thanks to his musical rejuvenation cure, of which his recent (duets)album 'Reload' is the showcase. Just like his glory days in the mid sixties. Difference is that he is even a better performer. His body language became less exuberant, but the accents he,  plumper in the meanwhile, but still in shape, gives are more well-aimed.

In the prime of his third youth (after the second, starting in 1988 with his Prince-hit Kiss) Tom Jones wants to lean on his voice in the first place. That special instrument, with which he gives his own mark to any song, is remarkably strong and is used more wittingly than ever.

Born as Thomas James Woodward, the entertainer serves everything with the power of Mike Tyson and the carefulness of an eggshell-painter. Old or new, it doesn't matter to him on the waves of his current success. For classics like 'I'll Never Fall in Love Again' and 'Green Green Grass of Home', done by him thousands of times before, he reaches as deep as for the recently adapted songs like 'Burning Down the House' and 'Mama Told Me Not to Come'.

By the way: the pictures are made by myself.