David Foster Gala review
Published September 9, 2007 in The Calgary Herald
The David Foster Foundation Charity Gala featuring Lionel Richie, Peter Cetera, Beverley Mahood and others at the Jack Singer Concert Hall Saturday night. This event was sold out.
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We had heard about the talent that had already been announced — Lionel Richie, Peter Cetera, Sinbad, Beverly Mahood — the night was all about waiting to see who David Foster’s surprise guest would be at his charity gala at the Jack Singer Concert Hall on Saturday night.
And the surprise eventually was that there was no surprise. Except for the announced musical guests whose names we had never put much stock in. Wouldn’t you know it, it was the names we’d never heard of before who almost stole the show from those we were eagerly waiting to see.
One such person was piano prodigy William Joseph, who Foster described as a “younger, better looking version of me.” Opening the show with Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir in great bombast, he then played a complex, energetic original piece on the grand piano that brought everyone to their feet.
“Wow, if I could do that, I’d have had a hell of a career,” Foster joked.
Next up were the winners of David Foster’s Calgary Star Search, 16-year-old Kayla Iovan and schoolteacher David van Enden, who performed Andrea Boccelli and Celine Dion’s The Prayer as strongly as the original singers. With Iovan’s soft voice contrast against van Enden’s deep pipes, they received a well-deserved standing ovation.
Beverly Mahood came out to sing Lace’s I Want A Man as Kalan Porter played violin, but they had a tough act to follow and couldn’t catch up to the momentum already created.
Eleven-year-old Jamia Nash was another stunner, a cute, pint-sized girl with the lungs of an old gospel singer. After a gorgeous version of The Jackson 5’s Who’s Loving You with Foster on piano, she followed with a great rendition of Aretha Franklin’s Respect.
Stand-up comedian Sinbad kept things rolling and was, frankly, far funnier than a number of us had expected in his first ever Calgary appearance.
“Calgary, I want to talk to you about your airport,” he boomed. “People, if you want us to visit you, you got to give us our luggage back.”
After this, Foster arranged to auction off the grand piano he’d been playing the entire night, which would be signed by all the night’s performers. He got an additional $300,000 for his charity, to add to the near $3 million already generated.
Next up was Peter Cetera, the former frontman for Chicago who’s best known in my household as the reason my dad bought the Karate Kid II soundtrack. And he sang a hair-raising version of that album’s gem, the Grammy nominated Glory Of Love (produced by Foster, of course, and created in Vancouver). Cetera also sang great versions of Chicago’s Hard To Say I’m Sorry, You’re The Inspiration and If You Leave Me Now, as Foster accompanied on piano.
Fifty-eight-year-old Lionel Richie, who has sold more than 50 million records as a solo artist and a member of The Commodores, is a guy you associate more for dancing on the ceiling than for his philanthropy. Yet he has personally helped raise $3.1 million for breast cancer research by performing at charity galas such as these, and it’s fantastic to see the man lend his time for another worthwhile cause, this one, specifically for families with children in need of organ transplants.
Not looking his years, Richie opened with The Commodore’s Easy, moved on to You Are The Sun, You Are The Rain, went back to The Commodores for Three Times A Lady and Brick House, and got the crowd singing along to Hello and dancing along to All Night Long.
Though the event ran 90 minutes late, it turned out to be one great show for one great cause.
