Neil Diamond’s most riveting moments from his two hour set at the U.S. Airways Center Wednesday night came not from the radio hits, but in moments where his supporting band took a backseat, and the singer stood alone with his guitar on stage and hit notes with such overwhelming emotion that audience members could not help but cry.
Those said numbers played during the concert included, “Hello Again,” “Play Me,” “Glory Road” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” The singer’s vocals on these songs crept up on listeners and could have knocked them out with their affecting power.
Diamond ranks among a class of veteran rockers whose voice still sounds mostly unaffected by circumstances and time. At age 71, his voice exists in a weird bubble where you can only vaguely tell that it aged since circa 1966.
The tracks with the more overt pop sensibilities included a handful of hits from Diamond’s early successes, including “Cherry Cherry,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” “Red, Red Wine,” “Cracklin’ Rosie” and of course the FM frequent, “Sweet Caroline.”
The singer sung two versions of his song, “I’m A Believer” — which became a pop hit under The Monkees — one slow and the other fast. The slow tempo version of “Believer” took on a deeper dimension when he sang the familiar tune about a narrator whose glass-half-empty outlook flips when he meets the right woman. The version afterward sounded much closer in form to the version sung by the ‘60s pop group.
All were enormous fun to hear live, for no other reason than the energy they contained when a 25-year-old Diamond wrote them could still be heard even decades later.
Diamond is the type of singer to wear his emotions on his sleeve, and this comes through in his songs, as well as with his interactions with the audience and with his touring band.
He readily called them the greatest band in the world early in the concert, and it’s a claim not without some merit.
Most bands that tour with a legend never overcome the stigma of covering that artist’s work from his or her prime years. Without sounding like a covers band, the 14-piece group, for the most part, successfully recreated the magic heard on all of Diamond’s hits. Perhaps it was the size of the band that helped lend credulity.
The performers built up a steady array of momentum throughout the night, which culminated with the singer and his band playing several songs from his famous “Hot Summer Nights” album, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this month.
By the time of “Sweet Caroline,” Diamond, with little coaxing, got everyone in the audience out of their seats, waving their hands and singing the chorus.
The musician expressed humility and maintained a very friendly atmosphere all throughout the show. Before introducing “Glory Road,” he stated that one of his goals in life was to be worthy enough to be performing in front of crowds as large as the one at U.S. Airways, which was at capacity that night.
“I didn’t know much about glory, I was just a kid from Brooklyn,” Diamond said.
Later at several points, when the applause hit its apex, he extended both arms, as if humbled by the experience and fans.
The digital banners, surrounding the center, proclaimed it to be an “Evening with Neil Diamond,” which was fitting because the night felt as though it were a meeting with an old, familiar friend.
Reach the reporter at tccoste1@asu.edu
