REVIEW:Compare the Difference-- Glen Campbell & Charo

Written by Jerm

[F]I recently attended the Glen Campbell/Charo show at Andy Williams Moon River Theater. While Andy was away recording a new album he invited Glen Campbell and Charo to perform in his theater in his stead. When I walked through the doors of the Moon River Theater the one word that instantly came to my mind was sophistication. Art lovers will be enthralled as they gaze upon Andy's collection of fine art. The art collection consists of art done in many different forms including Oriental robes, Indian blankets, and various paintings complete with dates. The box office staff was very friendly in helping in anyway they could to insure that you have a memorable evening with them. I really enjoyed being called "Sugar" and "Sweetie" from the ladies in the box office. I've found that you've got to take those compliments in any way you can get them :) The only thing that I noticed about the theater that would make it difficult for some of Andy's clientele is the amount of steps inside the theater itself.

It's show time and Charo starts the show off with a bang or should I say a "Cuchi-Cuchi". She surrounds the auditorium with total energy that only she can deliver. She came out wearing a red, sequined outfit that was specially made for her. She enlists the help of Andy's Moon River Orchestra to transport her audiences to another place, a different culture, back to her homeland, Spain. Her stage setting employs the use of white, flowing, billowing curtains suspended from the ceiling to give the audience an ethereal feeling that this is an once in a lifetime opportunity and that all eyes should be focused on Charo.

Some standout moments for me from her portion of the show included her singing a song from the movie, "Thumbelina" while a video clip of her "cartoon character" played in the background. She made a stunning green frog :) I also enjoyed watching her comedic side transfix the audience. There are some faces that only she can make and get away with it. Did you know that Charo and the group ABBA have something in common? Charo was actually a writer on two of their most memorable hits, "Fernando", and "Chiquitita". You may not see her name listed in the credits of the song because she used a different name. Watching her perform these two songs sure surprised a lot of people, including me. My favorite thing about Charo was her flamenco guitar playing. We are not talking about the sitting on your front porch pickin' variety but a type that tugs at your heart strings and makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. Some of my favorite guitar pieces that she performed were "Malaguena", and "Bolero". If I had to nit-pick at anything it would have to be her thick accent which was very difficult for this Missouri boy to understand. I felt that part of the comedy and lyrics to some of her Spanish songs were lost in the accent. She did however make every attempt to over pronounce words to try to ease this difficulty for the audience.
You may be asking yourself why a young 28-year-old male would be so giddy about Charo? Charo has been around for a while in television in shows like "The Love Boat" and most recently she appeared in a season of a popular reality show on VH1 called, " The Surreal Life". This show brings stars together that have ducked out of the lime light to live in a house together and their daily life is televised for all the world to see. This TV show's main demographic is young people much like MTV's "The Real World". Through this show is where I came to love and adore the fiery, Spanish bombshell, known as Charo. With all the youthful faces that made up a portion of the audience I could tell that I wasn't the only young Charo fan. Tidbit: Charo is getting ready to be a judge on an upcoming season of another reality show, "Dancing With The Stars". In the end, it was her character that I was most impressed with. She was very appreciative of where she was and how she got there. She thanked the audience several times for taking the time to come and see her. Charo even came off the stage to engage some male audience members in some dancing lessons which ALWAYS put big smiles on their faces and she encouraged their wives and girlfriends to take pictures of them. She talked about how Glen Campbell was one of her idols and made mention of him several times throughout her portion of the show.
After a much needed break it was time for Glen Campbell to take the stage. I was very surprised when the curtain opened to reveal a different stage setting for Glen. Glen had a more intimate, smaller stage area to work with. His backdrop of different heights of beams extending from the floor was moved closer to the edge of the stage. This left Glen and his band ample room to showcase their talent. Glen, sporting longer hair than I have ever seen him, took the stage to perform many hits that we expected from him like "Galveston", and "Rhinestone Cowboy" to name a few. Tidbit: Glen recently was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Glen has a very nice voice and like Charo, he can really get down and dirty on the guitar. His performance was a stark contrast to the upbeat; fun, lively show put on by Charo. He instead gave the audience an opportunity to sit very still and listen as this master singer, and guitar player cast his spell over the hushed audience. This allowed you to focus not on the man but on his craft. His guitar playing was one of his stand out moments for me from his portion of the show. Other moments included the gospel songs he incorporated into his set. I really appreciate when artists, that are well known for doing certain things, give their audiences something unexpected like Glen's gospel numbers. I also really enjoyed listening to his daughter, Debbie Campbell, perform. When she performed on her own she sang a medley of classic female country hits like, "Stand by Your Man" and "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue", just to name a few. She also performed a duet with her dad that was simply magnificent. Tidbit: Be watching for Debbie selling souvenirs before the show and during intermission in the theater itself. A nit-pick from Glen Campbell's portion of the show is his stage presence. For someone who has been in the music industry for so long I was a little confused with his demeanor on stage. He seemed at times disoriented and almost silly. In a few places his incredible band attempted to hide some of his flaws. He blamed monitor sound levels, and wrong song keys for his blunders. I was also a little surprised that he never mentioned Charo during his entire performance. She mentioned him several times during her set but no mention of her was ever made during his. If I were Charo I would have been a little put off by that.

The end of the show felt like getting off of a roller coaster at Silver Dollar City. There were highs, lows, and plateaus that culminated into an exciting ride!

"Cuchi-Coo" For Now,
:):)
Related Websites

www.andywilliams.com

www.charo.com

www.glencampbellshow.com
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