Concert Reviews
November 5, 2006
Mohegan Sun Wolf Den, Uncasville, CT
Review by Elena
Sunday night the line to get into the Wolf Den was actually light, probably because it was Sunday. It didn't get long until it got close to seating time. I saw a lot of women that have now become familiar faces. Two of the women in line behind me were from Germany and confirmed they came all the way to Connecticut to see him, and had done before. I don't know their names, but a big "hello" to them if they read this! Anyway, within a few minutes after they sat us down, I noticed a really cute blonde man being seated in the booth below me. And it dawned on me that it was Gunnar Nelson of the group Nelson (and the late great Ricky Nelson's son). So I'm all excited and telling the other people who were seated with me who he was but none of them knew. They didn't even know who Ricky Nelson was! I ended up doubting myself so I never asked for his autograph.
Finally it was time for the show to start. I noticed David is down to one keyboard player, Rob. Matt Sullivan and Frank Fabio are still playing with him as well as Teri Cote, the drummer.
He was in fine form. Seemed in a good mood, but was his sarcastic self making little 'off' comments as he talked. At one point he asked us to please refrain from talking on the cell phone while he sang because it was annoying. I guess from his point of view, he's probably thinking, why bother if people rather talk on the phone. He was all appreciative while he was telling us this and alluded to us only doing it so our friends on the other line could hear the show, but by the same token he commented taking a free show too far. (The show at Mohegan is free). There were no incidents of rude fans, which I was sooo grateful for, maybe we're finally learning! David did notice Lynn who was wearing her multicolored "PF Bus shirt". And he was like "Wow!" and pointed her out and asked her to turn around so everyone could see. She was beaming!
You can also tell that he really does recognize the women who keep coming back because he chats with them like he knows them. Somebody near where Gail and Jan from England were standing had pictures of themselves with him and he'd take them and look at them and make comments about it. He also took a couple of the old magazines handed to him and made the usual comments about "Who's this pretty girl on the cover?" and "Why do the keep putting my name next to her?" It's funny to the newcomers, but old hat to me as I've seen him at least 4 times now at Mohegan alone. And even though I practically know his act verbatim at this point, you know I'll still go see him every time!
Then he told us he had a special guest, which made me immediately realize, that I was, in fact, sitting next to Gunnar Nelson. Later as he started to introduce him, Gunnar casually comes out and tapes a piece of paper to David's microphone as he's talking. It wasn't meant to be funny, but I thought it was, the way Gunnar was trying to be inconspicuous. You knew they were lyrics. And David said they were later. So Gunnar came out and sat with what must have been David's acoustic guitar. David had done his solo portion with the electric guitar and it must have been so the tuning on the acoustic wouldn't get messed up. He started to explain why he had the electric and then got side tracked. Anyway, they sang Ricky Nelson's "Travelin Man" together - and it was GREAT. Teri was on the big congas for that song rather than the drums. It really sounded good. I wish they had done more than one song together. On a side note, I was so struck how much like Ricky Nelson Gunnar acted and looked on stage. Except for the blonde hair, you could have sworn it was Ricky!
I forget at what point he said this but he was over near where Lynn was and made some comment to someone in the audience and I can't remember, but it was something about him being happy, I think, even though he said he just "lost $55,000 at the track today". He said it as if he was talking to himself, and just kept on singing right after that. Wow - wonder if he gambled or if something happened to one of his horses!
I don't know if it's me, but David's shows feel shorter. He was on about an hour and a half, but it just seems too short. He didn't sing "I am a clown". During his solo he just sung the 2 Beatle's songs and I'll Meet You Halfway, which I must say, sounds absolutely wonderful that way. And we need to send him the correct lyrics to "You've Got to Hide You're Love Away" because he never ever sings it right. LOL!! I'm also glad he finally stopped trying to sing ITILY slow. It's the last song he did, and no encores. Must be why it feels shorter.
Lastly David was wearing his white tuxedo shirt and regular black pants. His shirt was hanging out but it's much shorter than he used to have it, but his cute buns are still covered. Must be why he now wears his shirts out. He must feel exposed. Believe me, when you're right in front of that stage looking up at him, the only reason you look at his face instead is because he's so beautiful (LOL!!). And he really does still look great, even though apparently he had a cold. His voice was fine, he's sung better, but he still sounded pretty much himself. The people sitting with me couldn't believe how old he is. They figured he was in his early 40's! Gosh, I'm dying to sit with someone who knows as much about him as I do! People ask me questions and they are just so amazed at how much I know and are amazed at what David had done/does! People who just remember him from PF go "Wow I never thought he did that!" So the show just ended with him singing ITILY and everyone hung around for a few minutes until the announcer had to say the show was over. I think everyone is getting real disappointed he's not doing encores. As I left I saw the German girls again and we said our goodbyes and I guess I'll see them next time!
