Last night, a certain Mr. Tony Bennett decided to grace the undeserving town of Mount Pleasant with his magically sexphonic vocal stylings.
The romanticized lounge singer was accompanied with his new quintet, as opposed to his worn out trio. There were some old faces in the band – and some new – but together they brought forth a sound which filled the Soaring Eagle Casino so well that one would think that the Bingo room’s acoustics were originally tested to his music.
During the show, I found myself looking around the full house wondering why nobody was dancing, but my thoughts were soon sidetracked after he began singing “I Love Piano.”
Al Balch of Midland spoke of how happy he was to catch Mr. Bennett’s performance here in Mount Pleasant.
“He sang in ‘81 at Dow Gardens in Midland, but I had to miss him. 20 years later, I finally got to see him.”
Asked if he thought Tony Bennett still had it, Balch replied, “Oh yeah! He had this place … you could hear a pin drop.”
Sonja Baumgarth, of Mount Pleasant, stated, “it was a terrific show. He is seventy some years old now, and his voice is still strong and he can hold the notes.”
During the show, I thought how I wished that the performance would never end, and I just closed my eyes and devoured every note. That’s when I realized how immortal music is.

E-mail the author: Fabrizio CostantiniLIFE Photo Editor