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November 29, 2008 01:14AM
Neil Diamond performed before a sold out crowd at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night.
REVIEW
By RAY KELLY
rkelly@repub.com
UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Fresh from recording his best work in decades, Neil Diamond is on tour mixing those new songs with his 24-karat catalog of golden hits.
Backed by an 11-piece band and three singers, Diamond was in superb voice when he kicked off a nearly two-hour concert before a capacity crowd at the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night.
Perhaps it is a testament to Diamond's magnetic hold over his fans or the strength of his recent work or both that allowed the 67-year-old singer-songwriter to perform three new songs in a row without driving much of the audience out to grab a beer or disrupting the flow of the concert.
Diamond kicked off his 22-song set with three of his biggest hits - "Holly Holy," Beautiful Noise" and "Love on the Rocks" - before working over the throng seated behind the stage.
"How did you get those seats? Did they tell you they were close to the stage?" he joked before walking to the rear of the stage to sing his 1972 hit "Play Me." He shook his head and muttered "terrible seats" before returning to center stage for a full-tilt jam of his first hit record, "Cherry Cherry" from 1966.
"That was yesterday and this is now," Diamond said before picking up his guitar and embarking on the title song from his critically acclaimed new album "Home Before Dark." He followed the pensive tune with two more up-tempo tracks from the album, "Don't Go There" and "Pretty Amazing Grace."
Recalling the opening of his phenomenal 1972 live album "Hot August Night," Diamond delivered fiery "Crunchy Granola Suite" and driving "Done Too Soon." His touring band was razor sharp, propelled by drummer Ron Tutt, who backed Elvis Presley on tour and in the studio for eight years.
Diamond played hit after hit throughout the night, including the crowd pleasing "Sweet Caroline" (twice), a duet of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" with singer Linda Press, and early favorites like "Solitary Man" and "I'm a Believer."
Before launching into "Man of God" from his 2005 disc "12 Songs," Diamond made a plea to assist survivors of Hurricane Ike in Texas. He announced that "every penny" of the souvenir and merchandise sales in the lobby would go to build homes, adding that he, the venue and promoters were donating their shares of the sales.
He ended with "Hell Yeah" from "12 Songs," before returning for a three-song encore: "Cracklin' Rosie," "America" and "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show."
(Neil Diamond will perform at the DCU Center in Worcester on Dec. 6)
http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/11/neil_diamond_concert_sparkles.html
3:16 AM
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