Olivia Sells Show Feb 14 1975 Shreveport
A crowd - estimated at 9,500 - jammed into Hirsch Memorial Coliseum last night to welcome Australian singer Olivia Newton-John to Shreveport.
THE BEAUTIFUL (I was sitting on the front row) Olivia was brought here by GFA Concerts and the Centenary College Alumni Association. Dave Loggins, noted for his hit “Please Come to Boston,” served as the warm-up act. Olivia Newton-John is probably the most popular female singer recording on the scene today and her show last night certainly gave evidence that she at least has a right to it.
SHE PLEASANTLY proved to be a competent performer and one who has a great deal of ease on the stage and rapport with her fans. And, she displays a good deal of versatility, tossing in upbeat songs with slow, throaty love songs and then a music hall turn or two.
She opened her part of the show with her first big seller, “Let Me Be There,” and the audience immediately responded with soaring applause and piercing whistles. Looking smashing in a free-flowing pant outfit, she belted out the number.
IT’S BEEN QUITE a while since a Hirsch audience has responded so well and enthusiastically to a performer. It’s a boon to the performer as well as an indication that Shreveporters, when they like something, really don’t mind showing it. And the mood was set for a nicely paced show with Olivia sounding better on every song.
She clowned around on a number called “Won’t You Please Come Home,” done in the old English music hall vein with kicking legs and a bump here and there and she didn’t ignore any of the listeners in those seats behind the stage and to the immediate sides.
ONE OF HER best numbers was The Hollies’ “The Air That I Breathe,” a love song that builds to an emotional climax and she did it superbly, as well as an earlier ballad entitled “Love Song.”
For those who remember the great Mills Brothers hit, “Nevertheless,” Olivia sang her version which proved that the good old love ballads are even better today. She followed that with a rousing ren–dition of “I’m Just a Country Girl.”
SHE DID WELL to keep her cool and smile as some members of the audience, like little water bugs, skittered to and fro in front of the stage snapping pictures which left one with spots in front of the eyes.
She got excellent response on an audience participation number “The River’s Too Wide” and followed it with an upbeat tune called “Brotherly Love.” Slowing the pace, she came back with “Changes,” a pretty and poignant song she wrote about a friend currently having some personal problems.
AGAIN THUNDEROUS applause erupted as she broke into “If You Love Me, Let Me Know,” another of her top-selling hits. And even more enthusiasm came with “Have You Never Been Mellow,” her latest single. The song was interrupted several times by pleased listeners.
All too soon the show comes to a close with her biggest hit, the breathy, beautiful “I Honestly Love You.” And this time the audience was quiet as she sang her now famous love song.
THE PACKED HOUSE was on its feet as she exited the stage.
Singer Dave Loggins did well with his numbers, especially on a song he wrote called “Pieces of April” and popularized by Three Dog Night. He is a singer in the same mold as the late Jim Croce, singing somewhere between folk and balladry. In fact, he does a tribute to Croce on “Operator.”
A HUMOROUS PAEN to laxatives - Satisfaction” “White Seat was certainly well received and, as tasteless’ as it may sound, it was still a clever bit of satire with an infectious refrain.
Naturally Loggins’ “Please Come to Boston” got him his best response. He has a pleasant enough voice and backs it with a medium tempo, some of the songs sounding pretty much alike. Others were “Take It Easy,” “It Pleases Me to Please You,” “Goodbye, Miss Sadness,” “Someday.”
There shouldn’t have been any disappointment in this show and, for my money, Olivia Newton-John can come back any time she wants.
The Shreveport Journal, Feb 15 1975 featured on front page.