The Rat Pack

Last weekend we went to see The Rat Pack - Live at the Sands.

Great, great show. The performers were quite convincing, but Erica and I disagreed on our rankings. When we spoke at intermission, Erica liked "Dean" the least, while I thought he was the best, by my "close your eyes" test. Erica thought "Sammy" was really good, and I liked him least. "Frank" was fantastic, and truly looked the part too.

The setlist:
Luck Be a Lady - Frank
The Lady is a Tramp - Frank
I've Got You Under My Skim - Frank
For Once in a Lifetime - Sammy
That Old Black Magic - Sammy
Mr. Bojangles* - Sammy
It Don't Mean a Thing - Burelli Sisters
That's Amore - Dean
Sway - Dean
Everybody Loves Somebody - Dean
Angel Eyes - Frank
Falling in Love Again - Sammy
Shall We Dance - Dean and Sammy
Style - Dean, Frank, and Sammy
New York, New York - Dean, Frank, and Sammy & the Burelli Sisters

intermission

When You're Drinking - Dean
Volare - Dean
An Evening in Roma - Dean
My Kind of Town - Frank
Fly Me to the Moon - Frank
Too Close for Comfort - Sammy
Me and My Shadow - Frank and Sammy, then Dean and Frank
What Kind of Fool Am I? - Sammy
Medley - Dean, Frank, and Sammy
I Can't Give You Anything but Love
Too Marvelous for Words
Pennies From Heaven
A Foggy Day
Birth of the Blues
Mack the Knife - Frank
That's Life - Dean, Frank, and Sammy & the Burelli Sisters
My Way - Frank

Hell of a show.

The banter was pitch-perfect too, which was quite interesting. I'd describe it as friendly ball-busting of a quite un-PC nature, with a couple of the one-liners even making me think "wow." Stuff that wouldn't have raised an eyebrow in the 60s and 70s, certainly, but a little jarring to hear today. Most of the crowd got it, as the laughter had a tinge of hesitance/discomfort to it, but of course there were a couple people who enjoyed jokes at Sammy's expense a little too much, if you know what I mean.

The band was amazing, and the sound at Proctor's is impressive. It doesn't have a reputation like Troy Savings Bank Music Hall does, but I found it to be quite warm, and perfect for this kind of music. The drums were crisp, the brass sparkled, and the bandleader's piano was mixed to the forefront just right.

A wonderful experience, overall.

*An otherwise touching song that has the laziest, stupidest, most ridiculously laughable line in the history of lyrics. I seriously hate this song because of 9 words. I almost laughed at the concert when "Sammy" sang the line, but managed to control myself. "The dog up and died, he up and died." Really? That's all you've got? It's supposed to be sad, but it comes out like a joke.