Concert Review
David Cassidy @ The J Scheidegger Center for the Arts, St. Charles, MO
December 8, 2012
By Kristi Paddock
Just put a big ol' check mark on my Christmas list, Santa. David Cassidy has already delivered the goods.
I was at the J. Scheidegger Center with my sister on September 28 for Cassidy's 5-minute need-to-reschedule speech. I was sorely disappointed, but I understood; and for me, the rescheduling just meant another flight from Cleveland, Ohio to visit my sister again in St. Louis.
So now it was December 8. This time, the theater was beautifully decorated for Christmas. This time, Mr. Bezemes came out on stage by himself - yes, I held my breath, thinking "déjà vu all over again" – but he just thanked us for attending/re-attending. And this time, there was a much happier ending, one that was better than I could have scripted.
David successfully walked a fine line between retaining his casual style and respecting the formal theater atmosphere. After the band got the audience to clap in time to "Hush" (the second song), we started to loosen up a bit, singing along and letting out some the normal cheers and screams. A couple times there was something shouted, in-between songs; David's response was, "hearing loss can be a GOOD thing!"
"Cherish" was the height of contrast between the casual and the formal. As he sang the song, David stepped to the edge of the stage to allow an audience member to hand him a "Cherish" single record sleeve, which he held up and showed to us. About a dozen other people from the audience then approached the stage, and he gently told them "go back to your seats, now". They did – except for one woman who lingered on the edge of the stage, as if in a trance. She eventually tossed something (sounded like pieces of hard candy) onstage, and walked away. Whatever she threw, David kicked it to the side (to avoid slipping on it) and kept singing, apparently both puzzled and amused by the bizarre behaviour. Seems he was "driving her out of her mind", as the song lyric goes…
The band's jam brought out a touch of Christmas spirit. Dave Robicheau (lead guitar) slid into "Joy to the World", and Craig J (keyboards) weaved in and out of a "Charlie Brown Christmas" version of "O Christmas Tree". David continued the evening with his standard Partridge Family songs. He didn't sing any Christmas songs. Not yet.
All too soon, there were the familiar introductory chords to "I Think I Love You". But David knows how to tease; he extended the intro and made up lyrics as he went along, much to the delight of the audience. He finally went into the full-blown song and told us "you'd better sing!" and we happily obliged. The song ended, and as the band continued to play, he said good night and left the stage. Eventually the band followed suit. But a small Christmas miracle was taking place…
The near-capacity crowd gave him a standing ovation. The band came back out, followed by David. He picked up a lyric sheet from the music stand, gave a brief introduction, and sang the song I was so hoping that he would sing: "My Christmas Card to You". And we all sang along. (Tony Romeo, if you can hear from heaven, thank you for this and so many other beautiful songs.) What an exchange of gifts.
Yes, Santa - your job here is quite finished.
