Riviera Hotel
Las Vegas, Nevada
November 27—December 10, 1970
(Above: Menu with Streisand on the cover for the Riviera's Versailles Room, where she performed.)
Barbra Streisand signed a contract with the Riviera in 1963 and it took her until 1970 to honor it. Streisand returned to Vegas in November to perform at the Riviera once more.
(Above: Liza Minnelli played the Riviera—Pat Henry opened for her, too—in October 1970)
Streisand's opening act was comedian Pat Henry. Claus Ogerman (who produced the Classical Barbra album) arranged and conducted the orchestra. The Eddie Kendricks Singers sang backup and leant a hip 1970's feel to the arrangements.
After singing "My Man", Barbra performed her "Facing Fears" monologue, which was similar to the Live Concert at the Forum monologue where she pretends to smoke a joint in order to relax.
Streisand's Riviera Set List:
- Somebody Come And Play (from Sesame Street)
- I've Never Been A Woman Before
- Don't Rain On My Parade
- People *
- My Man *
- Let Me Go
- No Easy Way Down *
- I Don't Know Where I Stand *
- When the Sun Comes Out
- On A Clear Day
- Second Hand Rose
- A Good Man is Hard to Find / Some of These Days
- Somebody Come And Play / Someone to Watch Over Me
- Stoney End
- Happy Days / Oh Happy Day
* Barbra would alternate these songs at some performances, singing one instead of the other.
Program/Credits:
Pat Henry (Opening Comedy Act)
Jack Cathcart Orchestra
Claus Ogerman — Arranger & Conductor
Eddie Kendricks Singers
Ray Neapolitan — Bass Guitarist
Mark Stevens — drums
Variety Review, 1970
Barbra Streisand, with Ed Kendricks Singers (4); Pat Henry, Jack Cathcart Orch (32); $16.50 minimum
The third time really is the charm for Barbra Streisand. She is working out a Riviera Hotel contract from 1963, when she appeared in Vegas for the first time raising the curtain for Liberace. Last year, her lauded opening of the International was not the success d'estime it should have been. This time, however, the magic is all there and make no mistake about that. From her almost shy walk-on until the standing ovation tribute, opening nighters reveled in every nuance of the Streisand oeuvre. The voice is in perfect shape, taking her on some of the most difficult tune trips imaginable, but there's never a slip, crack or falter. There are many of the top faves among the 15 songs in her log, yet some of the most impassioned deliveries occur during several numbers not considered typical Streisand fare. There's a great gospel shout, "Let Me Go," with the potent Ed Kendricks Singers, a black quartet (three femmes and Kendricks), another belter in "When the Sun Comes Out," contrasted by a wistful, almost stream-of-consciousness whisper of "I Don't Know Where I Stand." Two rockers are included, wailed with a fine sense of the beat, and the ending of "Happy Days" and "Oh Happy Day" is a righteous, jumping paean that builds and keeps on socking the audience riff after riff. Most of the charts are by her 88er-conductor Claus Ogerman, and they are ne plus ultra examples of the craft. The Jack Cathcart musickers give excellent support as Ogerman guides them along the way, supported rhythmically by bass guitarist, Ray Neapolitan and the aide she refers to as her "drummist," Mark Stevens. In addenda to her overall performance, the interim talk sessions must be complimented. Miss Streisand has a kook humor that conveys itself quickly and definitely. From her confidential confession on nervousness in a brief tea-sipping monology on Las Vegas history and her love of old things, Miss Streisand has everyone palmed, but good.
Another review, from opening night:
... In her return Friday, she combined some of the expected (such songs as “People” and “On A Clear Day”) with the unexpected (“Oh Happy Day”) in a 60-minute performance.
When she walked on stage she seemed terribly nervous. During her last engagement at the International Hotel here, some had complained about a coldness in her opening night show. She later explained to Charles Champlin, the Times entertainment editor, that she had rediscovered a fear of live audiences in that engagement, her first night club appearance in six years. “I was in a state of shock,” she said. By the end of that engagement last year, however, she had regained a sense of balance and drew highly favorable reviews.
In the opening numbers Friday, there was something in her voice, a tightness in her manner. She was not, during the early part of the show, the outgoing, relaxed headliner one expects to see here.
After her fourth song, however, she worked in some comments about her nervousness into her monologue and seemed to gain confidence from it. The enthusiastic audience response to some surprisingly effective rock-flavored numbers (“Let Me Go” and “No Easy Way Down”) seemed to give her even greater confidence.
She had overcome the nervousness.
Besides that superb voice, she has the stamp of an origianl vocal interpreter. When she sings a song, it comes out with her own definite stamp. She seems more than anything else filled with a need to be different, to be someone special on stage. She doesn't just want to be acclaimed or popular, she wants to be a true artist.
There was a special emotional depth in her voice and projection on such songs as Jim Webb's “Didn't We?” She was now in full control of the situation.
Outside in the casino, the dice were rolling endlessly. There were some winners and losers. But there was no question that inside the Riviera showroom, Miss Streisand had defended her crown.
In a prize fight, they would have raised her hand in triumph after her show. As it was, she had to settle for a long, enthusiastic standing ovation.
She will be at the Riviera through Dec. 10, then will move over to the International Hotel for three weeks beginning Dec. 13. The unusual back-to-back engagements result from a long-standing contract commitment at the Riviera. She is now under long-term contract to the International.
—Rober Hilburn, LA Times
End.
[ top of page ]
Jump Menu Navigation ...
1960s Live Performances:
1970s & 1980s Live Performances:
1990s & 2000s Live Performances:
