Dionne Warwick – Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre: January 21, 2025

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Dionne Warwick brought her One Last Time Tour to Auckland last night, treating fans to an evening of sophisticated, soulful songs, most of them written by Burt Bacharach.

At age 84, Dionne Warwick is winding down a career that reaches back into the 1950s. After singing gospel and backing other artists, she released her first record, Don’t Make Me Over, in 1962. Warwick had been “discovered” by songwriter Burt Bacharach and along with lyricist Hal David, they formed a team that landed a hugely impressive string of hits on the charts throughout the 1960s including Walk On By, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, I Say A Little Prayer and Do You Know The Way To San Jose.

Warwick’s understated style and sultry voice wrapped perfectly around the sophisticated melodies and clever lyrics of Bacharach and David.

Sixty-some years on and Dionne is still going strong…Bacharach died last year at age 94…David in 2012 at 91).

But the writing is on the wall and the voice isn’t quite what it used to be…still it has aged well, as has Warwick herself.

Georgia Lines

With the show starting at 7:00pm I was unable to catch Georgia’s set, although I had just seen her and her band on the previous Saturday at Aotea Square. Click here for the review. Fortunately, 13th Floor photographer Michael Jeong was on the scene to catch this solo set from Georgia.

Dionne Warwick

Dionne and her 4-piece band (piano/bass/drums/percussion) took the stage just after 8pm and Ms. Warwick immediately took command, greeting the audience and demanding an appropriately enthusiastic response.

With the crowd revved and ready she and her band launched into something akin to a medley after promising “something old, something new and some you might have heard by others”.

Taking a seat, Dionne treated us to 8 straight Bacharach/David classics…which would have been enough for any other artist, but Warwick was just getting started.

After a dramatic high note at the end of I Say A Little Prayer, she stopped to talk about duetting with Celia Cruz on a salsa-flavoured version of Do You Know The Way To San Jose, giving the musicians room to stretch out and giving the show a feel of something other than just a pedestrian run-through of the hits.

Two lesser-known songs also made an impression…If I Want To is a Burt Bacharach/Will Jennings song from 1998 and 99 Miles From L.A….a tune written by Albert Hammond and Hal David and originally recorded back in the mid-70s.

There was more banter during What The World Needs Now that included an impressive take-down of an annoying whistler. 60 years on the road will give you the tools you need to handle any knuckleheads in the audience.

And with that, the 70 minute set ended with That’s What Friends Are For, the 1985 hit written by Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager.

When it was over I realized how many more songs we could have heard…Make It Easy On Yourself, Don’t Make Me Over, Promises, Promises and my favourite of Dionne’s, Heartbreaker. But that’s why we have records.

It was a lovely evening….a chance to pay tribute to an enduring artist and hear some of pop music’s most enduring songs.

Marty Duda

Catch Dionne Warwick tonight in Christchurch

Wednesday 22 January
​Christchurch Town Hall | Christchurch, NZ
​Lic. All Ages
​ticketmaster.co.nz

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Jeong:

Dionne Warwick Setlist:

  1. Walk On By
  2. Anyone Who Had A Heart
  3. You’ll Never Get To Heaven
  4. I’ll Never Fall In Love Again
  5. Message To Michael
  6. This Girl’s In Love With You
  7. I Say A Little Prayer
  8. Alfie
  9. Do You Know The Way To San Jose
  10. If I Want To
  11. I’ll Never Love This Way Again
  12. 99 Miles From L.A.
  13. What The World Needs Now Is Love
  14. That’s What Friends Are For

 

Marty Duda
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