Carpenters ‘Lawn’ Fans Loyal Despite Heavy Rain

by Bill Rice, The Troy Record, July 18, 1972

People who sit on the lawn at pops concerts at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center are always taking a beating in the newspapers. We are constantly condemning the “lawnies” for talking, throwing objects, shooting off fireworks and any number of other things readers have heard about often enough.

But the biggest round of applause in the Carpenters’ concert at Saratoga, Sunday evening, should perhaps go to those loyal fans, and there were many, who sat under umbrellas, pieces of plastic, or anything they could get their hands on, while the rain came pouring down.

The amphitheater was sold out, and there is no doubt the weather hurt lawn attendance, but it is a tribute to the appeal of the popular brother-sister duo that anybody was outside at all.

Second Concert

This was the second concert by the Carpenters at Saratoga, and if one were to find fault at all with this year’s, it would only be that so much of it was a repeat of last year’s show. But then, what would a Carpenters’ concert be without “We’ve Only Just Begun” (their encore), “Mr. Gooder,” “Close to You,” and “Rainy Day and Mondays,” to name just a few.

At many pop concerts, the star has two or three big songs which the audience waits all evening to hear. The Carpenters have had so many back-to-back successes over the past few years, they could probably fill an entire concert with million dollar songs.

But they didn’t. Karen introduced a new song, “Top of the World,” from their new album. It had a touch of country-western flavor in it, as did her floor length, blue and white dress.

They did the Burt Bacharach medley, with a couple of different songs added to it, namely, “Any Day Now,” and “Baby It’s You.”

Own Version

A real hit with the audience was their own version of a rock and roll revival, where they did such “golden oldies” as “Johnny Angel,” “Our Day Will Come,” “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes,” “And Then He Kissed Me” and a take-off on one of those old car crash songs, “Dead Man’s Curve.”

Besides an orchestra of local musicians backing the group, the Carpenters have six regular members who play a variety of instruments and sing harmony.

One thing nice about being as successful as the Carpenters, is you can hire the very best musicians to surround you, and this is exactly what they have done.

Last year we were not happy with the sound at the Carpenters concert. Mainly, it was just too loud. This year it was perfect, which, added to the fact that Karen Carpenter seems to have picked up some showmanship since last season, made for a very nice evening.

Richard still remains much better as a keyboard artist than a stage personality, though it was he who did most of the introductions to their songs.

Biggest Improvement

The biggest improvement of all over last year’s show came before the Carpenters even came on stage, during the first half entertainment.

Last year we were considerably annoyed, and said so, about a singer who occupied the first half and employed humor whích did not belong in a Carpenters’ concert, with many children and young teenagers in the audience.

This year the Carpenters are touring with the comedy team of Bill Skiles and Pete Henderson, and they complement the show beautifully.

You may have seen the duo on television, even though the names don’t ring a bell. Their TV bit generally has Skiles playing drums and Henderson playing string bass with the two working zany antics around their instruments.

In concert the two have many more routines, and in our book, are among the funniest and most talented in the business. May we have more first halves like theirs.