Carpenters, Sedaka, give crowd money’s worth

by Craig Wilson, The Saratogian

Audiences usually have to sit through mediocre warm-up acts before they get to see the stars they came to see.

The crowd at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center last night did not have that problem.

Its problem was trying to figure out who was the warm-up act and who was the star attraction.

The Carpenters, Neil Sedaka and the comedy team of Skiles and Henderson put together a three-hour show which had no one calling for his money back and everyone calling for more.

The comedy team led off the show and the audience’s wariness of comedy teams soon disappeared as the duo had the crowd roaring with its noise imitations and musical take-offs.

And Sedaka, veteran singer-songwriter, was not about to disappoint anyone as he earned two encores and a standing ovation before the Carpenters could get the stage.

The crowd tapped its feet and clapped along as Sedaka went through his hit songs of today and yesterday.

Singing songs from his new album, “Sedaka is Back,” the songwriter proved to the crowd that he truly was. He included recent hits of “Laughter in the Rain,” “Love Will Keep Us Together”, and “There Was a Time When Strangers Were Welcome Here” in his performance and then led the crowd down memory lane with his oldie but goodie hits of “Calendar Girl,” “Happy Birthday Sweet 16,” and “Oh Carol.” For his encore he sang “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.”

Already having received its money’s worth, the crowd then settled in with “The Carpenters,” who sang hit after hit from their six-year career. A Burt Bacharach medley was included along with the standards of “Close to You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.”

The Carpenters also succumbed to the nostalgia trend sweeping America and put on a routine with some of the oldies being announced by a 1959 radio disc jockey, complete with his fast-talking style.

And just as the strains of “Johnny Angel,” “Leader of the Pack,” and “Please, Wait a Minute Mr. Postman” began to fade across the Spa Park and the crowd was readying to head home, Sedaka returned to join the brother-sister act for a few more of the oldies, which included “What’s your name?” and “I’m Living Right Next Door to an Angel.”

The Carpenters did not return for a much-begged-for encore, but the crowd could not complain. It had already received more than its money’s worth for one night.

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