Petula Clark put on a wonderful 75-minute show Sunday night, at the Mohegan Sun Cabaret!
The place was packed, and it was a truly magical show, with Petula looking her loveliest and performing her absolute best. What a consummate entertainer! Pet is a singer, a story teller, and even a poet. She has a full band touring with her, with horns, and they put out a super sound. I was very pleased to have 60’s Pop Music maven D.F. Rogers there with me, to share the fun of seeing Pet live for the first time.
I sneaked just a few seconds of video. We were sitting too far back for this to look like much, but here it is.
[flv:/Video/2008/MAY/PetulaMoheganSunCabaret.flv 440 330]
After the show there was a meet-and-greet signing with Petula at the Spin Street record store in Mohegan Sun. I grabbed a few moments of video from there, as well.
[flv:/Video/2008/MAY/PetulaMoheganSunSigning.flv 440 330]
That’s Petula’s stage manager, Victor Lukas, with her. Last year, having spotted my blog, Victor asked me to do a favor for him and Petula, and I was of course more than happy to oblige. I introduced myself, and Victor took this picture of me with the one and only Miss Petula Clark. Thank you, Victor!
Petula and I had a lovely little exchange, that went something like this:
Pet: “You’re all dressed up!”
Me: “Uh, yeah….”
Pet: “People don’t get dressed up anymore for shows.”
Me: “Well, it’s for, you know, the occasion.”
Pet: “I think you look very nice.”
You can imagine how I felt about that comment! I thanked Pet and Victor and, as Dennis can attest, I left Spin Street in a daze. I would have loved a longer chat with Pet, of course, but there were a lot of people waiting behind me. I wanted to ask how Thursday evening went at the Paley Center, with the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of her TV special featuring Harry Belafonte. I’m hoping there will be a write-up about it in the next issue of Petula & Company.
Thank you, Petula Clark, for a delightful evening that I shall always remember. Truly you are a superstar talent and the finest of ladies.
They were dressed like you are at work! 😉
How did you know? Were they wearing silk jackets and shirts with stayed collars? Cufflinks? 🙂
I’d never been in a place like Mohegan Sun. I was rather surprised, actually, by how many people there appeared to be rather down-and-out, and not likely to be able to afford any gambling losses. Petula’s show, in contrast, had a relatively well-heeled clientèle. The people sitting at the same table as my friend Dennis and I appeared to be out-and-out wealthy.
Hi Doug! I’m glad you enjoyed the Petula Clark concert! 🙂 She’s so talented and I’m so glad she’s still performing. I’ve seen commercials for Mohegan Sun on Boston and New York baseball games on channels on “MLB Extra Innings” and it looks like a fun place.Good picture of you and Pet too!
Glad you two “Fan BOYS” had such fun! Sorry it took me nearly a week to check in on how it went. Sounds like it was fabulous.
Hye! I just noticed something! When Dennis took that picture of you and Pet together, a woman to the far left is also taking a picture! Perhaps she thought you were somebody important! God! I’d love to have her photograph!
I’m sure that when you saw her shake her hair, Doug, it was in slo-mo, owing to your special Dog-Rat vision!
During the show Pet undid her hair and shook it out. She did that with quite a flourish, and it was fun to see.
Say, I wonder if Pet ever met Richard. I WILL say this about him; his FAMILY is nice. I put a comment on a blog by the Irish artist Tom Delohery two years ago and now we keep in touch all the time. He is good friends with Richard’s three sons, who “loved my comments” about the horrible Richard Harris statue that was erected in Limerick (NOT designed by Tom). I have been invited to Limerick to at least see the new pub called “Harris'” and maybe I will, someday. In the meanwhile, Tom keeps me abreast of all the happenings via letters from Limerick of his art shows, liberally sprinkled with photos of him and Jared, Jamie and Damien, as well as his siblings. Sadly, the last letter, which I received two weeks ago, contained obits for two more of Richard’s brothers, who looked nothing like him! I also have direct e-mail addresses for most of Richard’s families, but I’m too terrified to actually TRY them.
Oh, Dennis, thanks for the programme, as they’d say in England! Too bad I wasn’t there; I could have translated the French!
One thing I always notice about Petula close up Doug, is how absolutely fantastic her hair is. So beautiful, soft and golden… I guess that’s a bit of a sappy thing for a guy to say, but it is so fantastic that you can’t help but notice.
You look at her and think… “that hairdo cost more than my outfit…. by MILES”
Richard Harris never was a singer. So it’s not surprising that later he was even more not a singer.
Here is the Pet Set-list from my notes. The song selection wonderfully showcased the full breadth of Petula Clark’s talent. Singer, songwriter, stage and screen actress, poet, comedian, musician, story teller and more!
Petula Clark at “The Cabaret Theatre”, Mohegan Sun Casino, CT
05-11-2008
“Who Am I?”
“The 12th Of Never”
“Don’t Sleep In The Subway”
intro – Charlie Chaplin
“This Is My Song” (with some lyrics in French)
“I Know A Place”
intro – Fred Astaire and “Finian’s Rainbow”
“Look To The Rainbow”
“Colour My World”
“I Want To Hold Your Hand” – at the piano
“A Sign Of The Times”
A story and a poem about the meaning of “The Theater”
“Losing My Mind” from “Follies”
intro and set-up”With One Look” from “Sunset Boulevard”
intro and set-up”Tell Me It’s Not True” from “Blood Brothers”
“Kiss Me Goodbye”/”My Love” medley
“Losing My Heart To Memphis” – new song – at the piano
“Downtown”
“I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love”
I remember when I saw my old fave Richard Harris live in “Camelot” eons ago at the Wang Center in Boston, it was anticlimatic. I was bored through the whole thing! His singing really was atrocious. That’s what makes Pet so special; she really DOES have talent and stamina! And looks fabulous all the time!I have had the great fortune (or misfortune) of meeting so many famous people in my life, usually just by stupid, dumb look. The weirdest encounter was coming across Jon Lovitz at Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas! The closest I’ve ever coming to “feeling faint” was seeing Bill Clinton in the flesh last month. I was not expecting that reaction out of myself at all!
I don’t know if that’s my best tie, but it’s certainly my newest. That’s a silk jacket, by the way. I would say that Pet complimented my clothes, I think, and not my looks, per se. Must have been the collar stays. 😉 I’ll send e-mail to explain the favor I did.
Dave, I have to say that even with your words of preparation, I was still totally knocked out by Pet’s performance. What a show! She got two well-deserved standing ovations. And afterwards I did indeed somehow feel immediately comfortable talking with her.
Dreams DO come true! and to be complimented on your LOOKS! You must have been over the moon! Naturally, she looks incredible, and maybe only a year or two older than you, Dougie! Was that your best tie? Also, I love you Century 21 Real Estate Jacket! Please post the autograph, or is it … too personal? lol I bet your colleagues will wonder why you are floating into work today instead of walking normal. Say, just what WAS that favor you did for her manager, or are you not at liberty to divulge?
I knew you’d have the best time Doug. I’m so glad you got your photograph as a keepsake, although every meeting and every concert stays printed on your mind, photos or no photos.It’s typical of Petula that she’d much rather talk about you than about herself, and I’m not surprised that she commented on you looking smart (which you did). After you buying a new shirt specially too!! She has an amazing ability to put people at ease. I bet you drove home as if on a cushion of air!