What a trip it is to head back down memory lane to the fun of the past and find it again!  That is one resounding theme I kept hearing over the three days in Vegas.  Yes, you can go back in time and wasn’t it all too much fun!  When I flew back Wednesday morning with only 1 hour sleep over the entire stay, it reminded me of the way it used to be in the old days—only I didn’t lose my voice this time.

Monday, with triple digit heat and thunderstorms predicted, I decided to head to the airport early and avoid late in the day delays by jumping on an earlier flight.  It turned out to be the smart thing to do as the flight I was originally scheduled to arrive on didn’t land until after 9:00 PM and we had a dinner planned for 8:00 that night.

The Bellagio is a lovely, but enormous hotel and I found my room in the Spa Tower to be quite a way away from everything, yet I didn’t have to trudge through the casino to get to my room.  My room was ready and I was able to check in early; something I always appreciate.  I actually had the afternoon to run some errands and shop before the others arrived in town and was glad for it.  It was the last amount of quiet time I would have.

We had a group dinner planned for 8:00 that night, but due to a missing gown, delayed flights, and other dramas that played out that day, it was delayed and delayed further.  By 11:00 when we were ready to finally go our group of 30 some odd people shrank down to 10 diehard and really really hungry people.  Oh and did I mention that we were hungry?

About the missing gown…Joyce had packed her gown and shoes for the performance in her carry on bag…only the carry on bag didn’t make it into the car or to the airport.  Fortunately, they discovered it before they boarded.  Joyce had to miss her flight and head back home to get it.  Pam and Ryanne came on ahead.

It turns out that my room had the choice view and during the course of the 2 days there, people were coming up to check out the view and have their photos taken in front of the windows.  It became a bit comical as there were people in the group being invited to my room that I didn't even know and they were having their picture taken too.  The background shot from the photo page was the view from my room and I also had a perfect view of the Bellagio Fountains.

Telma wasn’t able to fly in until Tuesday afternoon because of her TV show.  She worked until noon that day and had to be on an early morning flight Wednesday morning back to LA.

We all gathered in Pam’s room and some of us had never met before.  Introductions all around and we were one big happy family.  We all had a chance to look at their personal photo albums from CBS@75 and from the trip to the studio in Nashville for the Christmas sessions.  We also heard three of the songs from the new Christmas album—even though these were rough cuts they were fabulous!  We all sat in silence as we heard their versions of Christmas in New York, The Christmas Song and Ave Maria—and then the applause broke out.  Once the three songs were over there were lots of wonderful and exciting comments made.  Pam and Joyce were telling stories about things that happened during the sessions, talking about how wonderful it was working with Michael Omaritan. and what fabulous musicians were backing them in the studio.  It was apparent that this is going to be a first class CD. 

And did I mention how terrific Pam and Joyce look?  Pam has lost 50 pounds since the beginning of the year and Joyce has lost 20.  You’ll see in the pictures that I’ll post in a bit.  I have to go through the several hundred taken there and pull out some special ones.

Our group of 10 made our way down to the Café at the Bellagio thinking it would be 1) the quickest; 2) the least amount of wait time; and 3) the quickest.   Oh and did I say it would be the quickest?   Have you ever gone to a restaurant with a group of 10 or more?  It took a good 40 minutes before we were seated and ordered.  As Mario, our waiter, explained, he must put in all the orders at the same time so they come up at the same time.  Were we all relieved when he came up to the table with plates of Italian bread.  Finally, something to stave off the hunger!  Once our selections arrived, there was a hush of silence over the table.  It was the first time that night that no one was speaking; not a word.  We all laughed when someone pointed that out.  Soon when we were all feeling more satisfied by the food the chatting started around the table and lasted into the wee hours of the morning.  The evening ended with $2 bills being passed around and autographed to memorialize the evening.   Then it was off to the casino.  John and I were the winners that night. 

At one point during the night, we had discussed the need for water and I volunteered to make a water run for everyone the next day, since I had a car.  You should have seen the look on the bellman’s face when they opened the back of my rental SUV to see cases of water!  Priceless!  In the end the water got where it needed to be and we were saved from shriveling up into dust.

The “Magic Under the Stars” event where TOAD was performing was switched from outside to an inside ballroom due to weather—thunderstorms in particular.  When I heard that the performance was going to be outside, in July, I wondered to myself what person thought this would be a great idea?  I was prepared to deal with the temps and wore linen that night.  While on the water run I noticed the black skies and wondered when, not if, the downpour would start.  Finally, wiser heads prevailed and decided it would be a bad thing to hold the event outdoors and moved it into the Tower Ballroom.  I gave the girls a call to let them know and soundcheck was then set for 7:00 pm and the party started at 8:00 pm (although our pre-party started around 6:00).  We checked in and received our special guest passes—you’ll see them in the pictures and a couple of drink chits.  Our group made its way into the ballroom, staked out a table and headed to the bar.  Graeme made killer margaritas!  Other companies were passing out promotional items and we collected some pretty strange things.  Everyone in the ballroom was wearing silk leis that lit up with red, white and blue lights, so we were a pretty sparkly group.  They brought the pool theme indoors with beach chairs, hula hoops, and very large plastic balls.  The latter was a bad idea as it turned into extreme dodgeball, rather than a harmless beach ball bouncing around.  Fortunately, many of them were confiscated before too much damage was done. 

Before the concert they served excellent hot hors d'oeuvres--crabcakes and quesasdillas, which went well with the margaritas we were drinking.  There was also Haagen Daz Ice Cream bars available for the taking, but I didn't think they went well with the margaritas so I passed on those!

After the opening R&R band, we moved up to the reserved tables on the right side of the dance floor and settled in for the show, but once the Tony, Telma, Joyce and Pam came out, there was none of that—everyone walked right up to the stage and we stood, sang, and danced throughout the show.  It was the standard show Tony has been performing for years, however, the crowd was very different from the shows I have seen over the past 10 years or so.  There were men all around—young men—lots and lots of them!  They showed out in great numbers to see and hear the ladies!  Many tried their best to get kisses from Telma and Joyce throughout the performance.  It was very funny to watch and the girls were really enjoying it.  They would be calling out “I Love You” during the show and a couple of times Telma answered back with “I Love You Too Honey” and the men swooned! 

Concert:  Intro by Brandt
Yellow Ribbon (TOAD)
Candida (TOAD)
Knock Three Times (TOAD)
He Don’t Love You (TOAD)
Reach Out! (I’ll Be There)  (Kerry Cole)
Groovy Kind of Love (Toni Wine)
Sugar Sugar (Toni Wine/Tony)
Spanish Harlem (TOAD)
Stand By Me (TOAD)
Youngblood (Kerry Cole)
Whole Lotta Love (Kerry Cole)
If You Don’t Know Me By Now (Kerry Cole)
Fire and Rain (TOAD)
Purple Rain (TOAD)
Beatles Medley (Can’t Buy Me Love Something, Obla di Obla da, Hey Jude, Let It Be, The End  [Kerry Cole/Tony])
My Girl (Kerry Cole)
Giving It Up For Your Love (Kerry Cole)
America (TOAD)

The show ran 74 minutes from Brandt's intro to the end.

Overall it was a terrific show, although I along with many others were puzzled why, since the whole part of the performance was to promote the reunion of the group and the release of the television show on DVD, that the girls didn’t get to do one of their infamous duets they did on the TV show or when they performed live in the old days or were even featured performers.  I would have loved to hear them do a Motown medley, or maybe a Burt Bacharach medley, or a Anita Baker medley like they used to do.  I was looking forward to that and was sorely disappointed that it didn’t happen.  Many people in the audience commented on that after the show as well. 

It would also have been great to hear Pam sing Respect like she used to do in the live shows from the early 90s.  

Still, it was terribly exciting to see and hear them perform together.  It also was exciting to see the demographics of the audience change back to what it was in the old days, with people up on the feet through the whole show, singing, swaying, clapping along, dancing, giving a shout out, getting a shout out back.  Pictures are worth a thousand words and you can see the excitement, joy, silliness, camaraderie, friendship, and love shining through the photos. 

After the concert there was an after-party for invited guests.  By this time our feet were aching, we were parched from dancing and singing along and were on the lookout for a tall cool glass of water!  There was a beautiful marzipan cake with a sculpted yellow ribbon.  It was delicious!  The rest of the evening was spent chatting with Telma, Joyce, Pam, and Tony.  Lots of pictures taken, some signing of autographs, lots of hugs and kisses too. 

I ended up back in my room around 4:00 to finish up packing to head to the airport for my 6:15 AM flight.  It was the first time in a very long time I slept on a plane.  I think it was because that was the first time in 2 days that I sat still for more than a minute or two. 

Like I said, just like the old days, in 48 hours I had 1 hour sleep, total!  LOL!!!  I’m still not a fully functional human being and it has taken this long to put together my thoughts for the post.  Sorry it has taken so long because I know many of you were waiting to hear all about it, but this kind of schedule isn’t as easy to keep as it was 30+ years ago!  Enjoy the photos!

Oh and Brandt said the DVD is available for pre-order on Amazon.  I checked and it is there.

Photos are here!

Pat, thanks once again for taking us along on another wild ride of fun and adventure. Your reviews are always so detailed that for those of us who have never been to a TOAD concert, it feels as if we are right there! And I, myself, am thrilled to know that in 30 days, I will be! I will be attending my first TOAD concert on August 31st! I have been hoping for this day since I was 8 years old.

Let's just hope I don't forget my outfit. Poor Joyce! I'm sure she was thankful to have discovered it before they took off! Whew! And what a fun opportunity for you to hear parts of the Christmas CD before its release. Wow. And to look through their personal photos which most fans won't have the opportunity to see. That's wonderful and so special.

That is so funny about the men in the audience trying to get Telma and Joyce's attention. I can just hear Telma answering their "I love you's" Hahaha. She is so funny.

Hopefully by the August 31st show, TPTB will realize that the fans would really like to see a few duets by Telma and Joyce and perhaps give them more opportunities to shine. After all, being a reunion show, the audience is expecting to see the group that they originally admired do the performing.

Judging by the photos, it looks like they had a wonderful time, put on a wonderful show and gave their fans a very special treat. I hope there are many more shows and appearances to come! TOAD and Pat, I'll see you on August 31ST!

Toni having met Pam before quicky introduced her to the band and then Kerry and Pam got the three mikes set-they just had to get the mix now. It was really amazing. Toni said to Pam "just sing anything". Pam started singing something and the sound man futher adjust her mike. Then all of a sudden Pam broke into "Goin' to the Chapel". Toni joined her-then Kerry came in followed by Tracy and Michael-not only did that get the mix set in 5 minutes but it set the bond between them all. Pam was now a Lefty and a Dawn. The problem now was it was 7:20 and we got word that Tony, Telma, and Joyce were now to be escorted to the green room at 8pm. There was no way Pam could be ready by 8. I called to see if it was ok for Pam to go down with the band. We wanted to be sure Pam didn't get lost or left behind so Toni was to meet Pam on her floor at 8:30. Allen and I waited downstairs and escorted them to the showroom and green room. When we got to the showroom, it was already filling up and the Replicators were on stage. Entertainment Tonight was in the green room with Tony, Telma, and Joyce. After guiding Toni and Pam to the green room, Allen and I set about clearing the reserved tables for the family and friends.  Of course Frannie, Jenny Rose, Melanie, and David Brokaw were there. The "girls" had family there including Pam's daughter. Brant's parents were there. It was also good to see Pat, Charlene, John, and David there as well. Before we knew it show time was upon us---again all with no rehearsal or planning. There was only a very loose plan to show the rich music history behind Tony Orlando & Dawn. Telma literally arrived from taping "Half & Half: and had to be back on the set early the next morning. They were literally going "by ear" which became even more difficult as Tony, Telma, and Joyce lost their monitors very early into the show and they were out for the rest of the show--meaning they could only hear Tracy, Michael, and Jim.  They all totally wowed the crowd of vendors and retailers--often a tough crowd. I was able to stand right by the stage which was lucky as I had Jim's camcorder and my digital cam-my photo skills still leave much to be desired. I will share what ever good shots I got. They all did Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Candida/Knock Three Times, He Don't Love You, Groovy Kind of Love, Sugar Sugar, Spanish Harlem, Stand By Me, Reach out, I'll Be There, Youngblood, Whole Lotta Love, Fire and Rain/Purple Rain, If You Don't Know Me By Now, Beatles Medley, My Girl, Givin' It up for Your Love, and America. Over the course of the show, we had Tony and Dawn, Toni and Dawn, Tracy and Dawn, and Kerry and Dawn. The Motown songs were to pay tribute to the girls Motown days with Kerry taking the lead as the girls sang their parts from the records they were on with Telma, Joyce and Pam gathering around him . Kerry had been waiting YEARS to get to do that. They were all having such a great time together and the audience was so enthusiastic. I people were cheering them. People were getting on their cell phones to send pictures and were yelling "Guess who I'm seeing!! Tony Orlando & Dawn!! And they are awesome. They're better than ever!! Most of these cheering people were 20-somethings!! There were large balls as beach props-some started batting them toward the stage with Tony and the girls sending back-like a little volleyball while singing only with huge balls. I though some were taking the ball thing too far as a guy really wailed one in David and Jims direction. As they were coming near me, I was pushing them of to the side and out of range of play. Pam even caught one and showed off her dribbling skills. Allen caught one rebounding from the stage and removed it. Way to go Allen! Pam was positioned to start in between Kerry and Toni, but Tony called her forward along side Telma and Joyce. Again this was the first ever having Telma, Joyce, and Pam together on stage. In the 80s/90s, it was either Telma and Joyce or Pam and Joyce. Having the three of them with Toni Wine was also a first. A gathering of 4 of music's very important women and a slice of girl group history within the Tony Orlando & Dawn history. Sure this was a DVD convention, but many of the retailers-like us- handle both music and DVD so it was important to Tony to show off the music legacy of as he often says "the bench" or the family--especially with ALL the family gathered on one stage for the first time ever and it was clear they were all enjoying being together.  The Dawns were Leftys and the Leftys were Dawns.  Tony was proud to have his musical family all around him. There was an unintentional counter line happening during Stand By Me as the girls were used to a different arrangement. BUT the girls doing their thing along with the Leftys thing was really awesome. I hope they keep it that way so you all get to hear it sometime soon. The crowd was rightly impressed with the professionalism and musicianship they had before them. One 20-something was heard exclaiming to his friend "WOW they're really all singing LIVE!!" Another common comment was how great all the voices are-again better than ever was the most heard phrase. The show ran the 2 hours allotted which again considering the conditions before hand and Telma's tight schedule was amazing. The sudden change from outside to inside cost them rehearsal and planning time that would have been used to work up some more different material, but I'm very thankful that they did not have to perform in that heat! The only thing missing was having ALL the fans there-hopefully we can get that to happen ASAP!! There was a meet and greet after the show with lots of talking, picture taking, and cake. Tony and the girls are all the same--they don't stop til they see everyone. Telma had to have been exhausted and here flight was at 6am!! It was already 12:30a-1a, I told Telma she really should get some rest. She said good nights, but an hour later she was still talking and taking pictures and signing as was Joyce and Pam. Tony finally came over by Telma and said "Ok this girl needs to get to bed---Telma bedtime!" Telma finally went to rest. Everyone else said their good nights shortly after that. I went for a walk around the hotel and even outside for a bit. People were stopping me all over and telling me how great the show was and how wonderful Tony, the girls and the band were. It was a great feeling. The next day after seeing the band off, I settled up with my room, then headed up to the R2 suite. Nate and the rest of Brant and Johns team were watching clips from the DVD. I couldn't get over how much they were raving about how great the show is-there were all 20-somethings too seeing these clips for the first time. Tony, Joyce, and Pam came along for a meet and greet with the other vendors and retailers. They had fans from all over the world in line. It was also nice to have John and David come up for a little bit. It was nice to see them and I know Tony, Joyce, and Pam enjoyed seeing them too. Then it was downstairs to the press room for a PR conference. Tony and Joyce sat before the press. Pam stood in the back with me-don't know why. They were supposed to be talking about the CDs/DVDs but Tony and Joyce spent the first half raving about Kerry Cole. Tony spent the second half raving about Pam to the point that the PANEL turned around and said to Pam, "What are you doing back there? Get up front where you belong!!" Brant had to get back on the subject of the DVDs/CDS, and WE got to rave about Tony and the girls a bit. You know Tony Orlando & Dawn are one of three acts to have all their singles chart. The other two acts are NOT the Beatles, Elvis, or the Supremes. After the PR time, I said goodbye to Joyce and Pam. It was so nice having time with them-lots of laughs and even some singing. Then said goodbye to Tony and went up to say goodbye to the R2 staff. They are really doing a great job seeing that Tony and the girls are presented with all the love and respect they deserve, and the whole staff is really enthusiastic about it all. Hope you get to meet them too. That took me to time to head to the airport. As I was passing through the lobby, Tony, Frannie, Joyce, Pam, and the R2 staff were meeting with the Captain & Tennille to go see Elton John across the street. I lucked out the plane home actually boarded early and didn't feel like it was all that long a flight. Now if I could just get back on EST!!! Next up The Grove in LA--hope as many as possible can make it.

The girls looked beautiful in their concert gowns. I especially liked Joyce’s sparkling beaded headdress. It was great to see PAM perform on stage with Joyce, Telma, and Tony. Pam sang upfront and center stage when the group sang “My Girl” during the encore. It was a fun song and the crowd sang along with the group. As mentioned by Pat, I would have also liked to here the girls sing a couple of duets. That would have been the icing on the cake for an already outstanding performance.

I had the opportunity to see and here some selections from the soon to be released TOAD DVD and CD collections by R2 Entertainment. The picture and sound quality is superb. I can’t wait to see and here more. You must get them! You will not be disappointed. I also had the privilege to here a few selections from the Christmas Reunion CD. I heard Christmas In New York, The Christmas Song, and Ave Maria. Again, I can’t wait to here more. I will be one of the first to buy the CD when it is released in October. I can’t wait to here these songs on the radio this coming holiday season.

Overall, it was an experience I will not forget. Everything was good. The show’s energy and crowed involvement was unbelievable. I especially enjoyed meeting Joyce, Telma, Pam, and Tony and other die-hard fans, including Pat, Charlene, Julie, and Del.

I hope to see another performance soon. Wouldn’t it be great if they went on a concert tour!

On Monday night we first all met in Pam's room and met other friends and family.  It was nice meeting John and David for the first time for all of us. We started the night looking at CBS @ 75 photos and also the Nashville photos from the Christmas session. Joyce and Pam shared a few stories with us about both events which was very exciting. Then the moment came we were waiting for that night, it was a sneak preview of the Christmas CD. This is a FABULOUS CD! Everyone is going to fall in love with it. It is going to be a number1 CD this holiday season. We all had chills up and down our arms listening to it. After hearing the CD we all cannot wait for the holiday season to play the Christmas songs. We all said Christmas music will be playing early in our homes, as early as October as soon as the CD is released.

Finally Joyce said she was STARVING so we thought we better go for our late dinner before Joyce and Pam fell over from hunger. It took the food forever to get there, but we all had a great visit while waiting. We talked about the good times we had in the old days. I think Pat and I were the only ones at the dinner table that have been going to see TOAD since the early 70's besides the family. So we had a lot to say about the good times we used to have at the shows and the after show parties and get togethers with TOAD and the band members from the old days. We had so much to talk and joke about that we were there in the restaurant until the early morning hours and we all enjoyed every minute of it. You could not tell that most of us had not had much sleep the night before and the day of the dinner because we were all so lively. Then we finally all said our good nights and went our own ways. Most of us headed to the casino to play for a while.

Then came the big evening of the show. A lot of us gathered in Pat's room to start the pre-party. Pat and I got a kick out of John and David. They were so excited! This was a very special night for them since they had never been to a TOAD show before and then getting to meet all of them and take photos also was so exciting for them. Pat and I have been to so many shows we can not count all of them and Pat has been to more shows than I have been to. That is how I met Pat; back stage in the 80's. Then it was 8:00 PM and time to head down to the Ballroom for the party and show. At the party we met Del and also Brandt and John. Since we were special guests we were treated so special. We had reserved tables right up front but when the show began we all moved and stood right up front by the stage and sang and danced through the whole show. There was so much excitement and enthusiasm in the room and you could really feel and see everyone was so excited about this show. It was so great to see all three of the girls Joyce, Telma and Pam on stage with Tony. They were all having such a great time up on stage together and they were enjoying every minute they were together that night. One thing I did miss though was the girls doing a couple of songs together like they used to do in the old days. I kept waiting for the three of them to sing something but I guess that was not scheduled for them to do that. Tony was so happy that night being up on stage with his girls again. You could just see it all over his face. What a great show it was that night.

Then it was the after party for invited guest. There everyone talked with Tony, Telma, Joyce and Pam and their families. There were lots of picture taking and lots of hugs and kisses at the party. And what a beautiful cake they had for them with the big sculpted yellow ribbon on it. And the cake was delicious! Everyone there was having a great time.

I hope we will be seeing more of these concerts with Tony, Joyce, Telma and Pam performing together again. Maybe here in Northern California or Reno! I know they have many fans up in this area also.

  These are "solicitation" sheets that go out to retail buyers well in advance of the street date, so they can place orders and set up titles in their systems, etc. The SRP (suggested retail price) is the price given to a title, but does not mean it will sell at that price - and of course, retailers will vary. On some of the other R2 titles at the very same SRP, the pricing in stores has ranged from $29.99 (Costco) to $39.99 (Target) and as high as the $49.99 SRP (mall stores like Suncoast, Sam Goody, etc.)   Click on the image to display a full-size image.

This is an article from Video Business, an Industry trade magazine.  Click on image to display a full-size image.

The DVD image may not be completely final - but is close. Everything is still in the "subject to change" mode, but he doesn't anticipate any major changes. This is by far my personal favorite.  Look at how the DVDs are labelled!  Click on image to display a full-size image.

I also saw Tony Orlando on Carmen's TBN show the other night. Tony gave a personal testimony and shared some show biz and personal stories with Carmen. It was a nice surprise.

Here is a link with some video The Insider