When I was ten or eleven years old we had a turntable, aka a “record player,” in the corner of the living room, along with my dad’s collection of records, which included what I suspect was everything Neil Diamond had recorded until that point. Many hours were spent playing those albums and singing along with them. In later years, when I met my husband, I think my knowledge of Neil Diamond music was a point in my favor, for he was an avid fan.

I didn’t follow Neil’s music much during later years, until a few years back when he did an entirely new collection with only Neil and his guitar, with no background orchestrations or accompanying singers. That made a nice gift for the husband.

Fast-forward to 2012: Neil Diamond is having his first Honolulu concert in thirty-five years. I was a bit skeptical–the man is seventy-one years old after all—how well could he still sing? Did he have the energy to give a strong concert? We attended last night’s show, and the answers to those questions are: Yes, the man can still sing, and yes, he had plenty of energy to last the entire night. I can only hope I’m doing as well if I reach seventy-one! The concert was fantastic, the evening thoroughly enjoyable, and I’m very glad we went.

Oh, and despite that I haven’t listened to most of those classic old songs in a long time, those days of singing along to my dad’s albums paid off, because I still know almost all the words.

Posted on: Sunday, February 19th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Categories: Hawaii, Music.
Tags: Honolulu concert, music, Neil Diamond