Concert Review: Tony Bennett at the State Theatre

State Theatre marquee for Tony Bennett, May 10, 2018. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

The one and only Tony Bennett.

Last night I saw Tony Bennett at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. At the age of 91, Bennett still has a terrific voice and he can still powerfully belt out songs. Bennett is the only star I can think of from the pre-rock and roll era who is still out there touring and sounding great. 

Bennett was backed by just piano, guitar, bass, and drums and his vocals were superbly jazzy. This is clearly a man who still loves what he does. Bennett has always brought an exuberant energy to his performances, and last night was no exception. The passion on his face shone through, even from where I was sitting in the upper balcony. 

Bennett’s voice is lower and has more vibrato than it did it his younger years, but on songs like “This is All I Ask,” that vibrato just adds to the emotional content of the lyrics. And you can tell it’s still Tony Bennett after he sings two notes—there’s nobody who sounds quite like Tony does. Bennett reached all the way back to 1951 for his very first hit record, “Because of You,” which spent ten weeks at number one. 

The song “I’m Old Fashioned” might as well be Tony Bennett’s theme song. After achieving great success on the singles and album charts during the 1950’s and 1960’s, Bennett had a lower profile during the 1970’s, as the hits stopped coming. But rather than change with the times, Bennett relied on what worked for him—jazzy renditions of songs from the Great American Songbook. In the early 1990’s he mounted one of the most successful comebacks of any pre-rock vocalist. Bennett earned a gold record for his 1992 tribute to Frank Sinatra, Perfectly Frank, and a platinum record for 1994’s MTV Unplugged, which also won him a Grammy for Album of the Year. Bennett’s comeback with a new, younger generation was sealed. Additional success has followed, as 2011’s Duets II and 2014’s Cheek to Cheek, recorded with Lady Gaga, both reached number one on the Billboard album charts. That’s an astonishing achievement for an octogenarian jazz singer. 

Bennett didn’t make a lot of small talk during the concert, but he’s very demonstrative, throwing his arms open wide or hugging his arms as he basks in the applause after a song. He’s also supportive of his musicians, as he often walks over to them during a solo and offers exclamations of encouragement. 

For the final song of the evening, Bennett put his microphone down and offered up a lovely, and still very audible, version of “Fly Me to the Moon.” It was beautiful and heartfelt, and it also meant that the last words he sang to the audience were “I love you,” which seemed very fitting for this energetic entertainer.

Setlist:

Watch What Happens

They All Laughed

This is All I Ask

I Got Rhythm

Solitude

I’m Old Fashioned

It Amazes Me

Steppin’ Out with My Baby

But Beautiful

Our Love is Here to Stay

The Way You Look Tonight

Because of You/Cold, Cold Heart/Rags to Riches/Who Can I Turn to?

Just in Time

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

The Good Life

How Do You Keep the Music Playing?

The Shadow of Your Smile

One for My Baby (And One More For the Road)

For Once in My Life

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Who Cares (So Long as You Care For Me)

Fly Me to the Moon-last song