Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City 12-17-2011

[kari]

Casinos dress up for the holidays
Written by DAVID J. SPATZ 5:22 PM, Nov. 17, 2011



Tween vocal star Jackie Evancho sings holiday tunes at the Trump Taj Mahal on Dec. 17. / Photo provided

The holiday entertainment season is getting a youthful look this year.

Jackie Evancho, the 11-year-old singing prodigy who placed second on the 2010 edition of the TV showcase “America’s Got Talent,” brings her sparkling soprano to the Boardwalk for one night on Dec. 17.

Like just about every facet of the casino industry, shows that celebrate the holiday season have changed considerably over the years. Gone are the days when a seemingly endless array of top-name artists brought their seasonal productions to showroom stages.

But the gaming halls haven’t adopted a Scrooge-like attitude toward the year-end celebration. Instead, casinos that choose to book holiday programs have turned to fixed-cost revues and production shows to entertain both the audiences that come to see them and the numbers-crunchers who keep watchful eyes on the bottom line.

Here’s a summary of the holiday shows over the next six weeks:

• Jackie Evancho, Trump Taj Mahal, Dec. 17: Don’t let her lack of years fool you. Evancho has a rich, mature and disciplined neo-classical voice that could melt even the coldest heart. As a 10-year-old, she stunned the judges — not to mention millions of viewers — with her performances on “America’s Got Talent.” Her debut album in November 2010 — the holiday-themed “O Holy Night” — was the year’s best-selling debut recording and hit the top of Billboard’s classical music chart.

Figuring one good holiday album deserves another, Evancho’s fourth LP, “Heavenly Christmas,” was released earlier this month and entered the Billboard classical chart at No. 1.

In her Atlantic City debut, Evancho is expected to perform songs from both of her holiday albums, and probably throw in some of the classical magic that made her a bigger star than Michael Grimm, the singer who finished first on 2010’s “America’s Got Talent.”

Evancho, meanwhile, is also adding acting to her resume. She’s been cast as Robert Redford’s daughter in the new political thriller “The Company You Keep.”

Show time is 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $54.80 to $108.60, available through Ticketmaster.com or [phone].

Read full article (pages 2 & 3):
www.courierpostonline.com/article/20111118/ENT/311180005/Casinos-dress-up-holidays

[sylvester88]

Update from Alex @ JEFC:

Sempi Ternam said:
Posted Today, 06:34 AM

Ian and I arrived at Atlantic City last night around 10 PM (drove from Buffalo).

I checked out the Mark G Etess Arena location at the Taj around 1 AM. Although it was empty, the doors were unlocked. I went inside and took some photos with my phone. I’ll try to post a couple of them soon. The stage was already set up for the orchestra.

There are two entrances to the arena. The main entrance is outside the casino (but also accessible from inside the casino, down a hallway that begins just to the right of the poker room entrance.) If you are standing outside the main front entrance of the casino (at the top of the U-shaped drive entrance), and stand facing the casino entrance (sign in lights above the main doors says “Donald Trump Presents Taj Mahal”) – if you then turn 90 degrees to your right, you will be facing the arena main entrance. “Mark G Etess Arena” is on a sign above the entrance doors.

To get to the other smaller entrance to the arena, enter the main casino entrance and keep to your right (turn right to go past the escalators). Continue down the walkway that begins just to the left of the poker room. After a short distance you will reach the arena entrance on your right. The ticket office is just past this entrance. There is a lighted sign to the left of the arena entrance with Jackie’s “Heavenly Christmas” photo announcing her concert tonight.

THIS IS THE TICKET OFFICE WHERE THE M&G ADMISSION WILL TAKE PLACE (at 4 to 4:30 PM).

Directly across the walkway from the ticket office is a bar/lounge called “EGO”. Seating inside consists of small tables for four, and also seating at the bar. There are also some gaming tables inside the lounge. In the early morning hours, there was a singing/dancing stage show going on, called “Almost Angels”. Nothing at all like our real angel.

When I checked it out, EGO was loud, smoky, and noisy. I don’t know if it will be the same this afternoon, but if it is, I don’t think it’s amenable for a fan gathering – conversation will be a challenge. Unfortunately, after walking all around the casino floor, I could find no area that seemed suitable for a gathering.

Maybe if the stage show is not going on, EGO might be less-noisy enough to be the best available choice of what little choice there is. At least there is seating, and beverages.

I didn’t go up to the next higher level to see if there might be something on the second floor. I think there is a buffet on the second floor – not sure.

[sylvester88]

Jackie tweeted:

jackieevancho jackie evancho
Little r&r before showtime tonight twitpic.com/7ukmni
6 minutes ago

[sylvester88]

Sempi added some pics update at the area (11 pics):

www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.262192453837256.62313.100001395092176&type=1

[sylvester88]

Update an hour ago from Larry Sawyer posting:

Jackie sounded amazing at the sound check in Atlantic City, sang Imaginer. So nice in person,

[sylvester88]

from FB:

Stephen K. Fischer wrote:
I just got back to my hotel room in Atlantic City, after a magnificent performance by Jackie at the Trump Taj Mahal. Super-Superstar, totally in the zone, totally Jackie. I can't say "incredible" any more, because I believe.
13 minutes ago

[sylvester88]

From CCF:

Stephen K. Fischer wrote:
What a day! I'll put together a longer report later. For now, briefly: The rehearsal/sound check was really interesting. We got to watch for about 45 minutes. Mostly it was the orchestra, but Jackie came out and sang part of Imaginer. Even in the sound check her concentration and emotion were intense. The meet and greet itself was non-existent and very disappointing. Nothing was set up or arranged in advance. There was not even any place for her to sit. Basically, we each got a 10-second photo-op. She just came out onto the concrete arena floor, stayed standing in front of a black curtain, and posed for pictures with each of us. There was no chance to say anything to her. For the price of the VIP ticket, something should have been set up in advance. There were only about 40-45 people in the VIP group, so there would have been time for something organized.
The concert itself was out of this world. She's getting better by the day. I might not have these in exactly the right order, but here's the playlist - I assume it was the same as in Buffalo:

1. All I Ask of You
2. Imaginer - long version - new arrangement - beautiful
3. Chris Dallo singing O Solo Mio
4. Impossible Dream
5. Mi Mancherai - this alone was worth the price of the ticket
6. The Lord's Prayer - very intense - like Dallas
7. Chris Dallo again, singing "You Raise Me Up" (Josh Groban impersonation)
8. A Time for Us
9. Angel

Intermission

10. The First Noel
11. Believe - also worth the price of the ticket
12. Dallo again - Angels We Have Heard on High
13. I'll Be Home for Christmas
14. White Christmas
15. The Prayer - duet with Chris Dallo.

Encores:

16. O Holy Night
17. When You Wish Upon a Star

There's really no need to comment on the songs individually. Jackie was in complete control, owned every song, flawless as always, with no trace of the nervousness I saw in New York last month. She can do it all - power, finesse, emotional intensity, delicate phrasing, exquisite diction. She was at the top of her game - and she keeps raising that bar higher and higher.
6 minutes ago

[kari]

Jackie at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City photos in Andre E Samson's album:





more photos here: www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2329513119807&set=a.2304089244226.2107146.1309080410&type=3&theater

[sylvester88]

From jackiefans.net:

Today at 6:08 am
John wrote:

I have just returned from Jackie's concert in Atlantic City.
I - am - blown - away.

My wife and I had very good seats, center stage about 30 feet from the stage. As I sat waiting for the concert to begin, and watched the theatre fill up with people, I began to notice myself feeling nervous for Jackie, hoping that she would not, in her words, "mess up". I needn't have worried. I am beginning to think that this girl is incapable of making a mistake on stage.

Jackie was backed with an orchestra that appeared to have about 20 musicians. At 7:30 sharp, the lights dimmed and the orchestra played Rossini's overture to Barber of Seville. It was well played, and politely applauded, but I wanted to see Jackie ! Then the opening bars to "All I Ask of You" began to be played. Where is Jackie ?
My eyes scanned the stage. Then, I saw a small figure entering the stage from the left. Oh my goodness, it's HER ! She was wearing a black and white dress with a large white spiral design on her skirt. She began to sing ..."No more talk of darkness ..." The voice was strong, clear, vibrant. She walked slowly toward the center of the stage as she sang. She just OWNS the stage. She looks and sounds and acts thoroughly professional.

As good as "All I Ask of You" was, the next song, "Imaginer" was even better. Her French pronunciation, at least to me, sounded very fine, and the stirring notes at the end were delivered with power and a brilliant tone. I have heard people say "You must see Jackie live" . I know now exactly what they mean. I think I have seen all of Jackie's videos, the famous ones and the obscure ones, and her performance STILL amazed me. Oh, that voice. I feel very fortunate to be one of those who have seen first hand that this girl's talent is beyond belief. She continued on with Mi Mancherai, and again, I just soaked in the beautiful sounds.

Jackie had Christopher Dallo perform several songs during this concert, as he had done in Buffalo on Thursday. He was well received, and he sang with passion.
But I wanted to hear more Jackie ! She then delivered the powerful "Impossible Dream" Anyone who has seen the Atlanta video of her singing this knows that she now owns this song. She sings it as if it is hers, and she was just incredible. She followed with "A Time for Us" , equally impressive and got a very enthusiastic ovation.

When Jackie began "The Lord's Prayer", I kept waiting for that moment.. toward the end when she comes in with that ringing high note which I think is one of the highlights of DWM. She did not disappoint, rearing back and belting out high notes that I felt would blow the roof off ! Well maybe a slight exaggeration, but you get my point. It was stunning.

Jackie finished the first set with a song that she is always good with - "Angel". I'd also like to mention that most of the Jackie's songs were the "long" version.
"Imaginer" was longer than the DWM version, and "Angel" had the extra verse in the middle that is not always there when she sings it.

I also wanted to mention that after singing "All I Ask of You", Jackie spoke to the audience, thanking them for coming, and saying she was excited about the concert.
She sounded so professional ! I have heard it said that Jackie is seemingly growing up fast. It is true she is different from early AGT appearances, but there is
quite a bit of the little girl still there. It is very evident between songs. As many have observed, the instant transformation from little girl to polished singer and back again is startling.

There was a 20 minute intermission, and then the orchestra began the second half of the concert with three selections from "The Nutcracker".
Jackie then came on stage wearing the red dress she wore at the American Giving Awards show.. Many ooooh and aahhhhs from the audience when she appeared.
She started with "The First Noel", showing no signs of voice fatigue after seemingly giving it her "all" during the first set. The voice - as strong as ever - continued in "Believe". She roamed the stage, left to right, making sure everyone could see her face, as she positively beamed with excitement and enthusiasm singing this song.
Jackie did quite a bit of movement on stage, and it appeared effortless. Christopher Dallo reappeared to sing "Angels We Have Heard on High" and received a nice applause. Jackie came back with "White Christmas", sung with a lot of sensitivity. When the opening bars of "The Prayer" were heard (or as it was titled on DWM "A Mother's Prayer"), I was excited. I love how Jackie sings this song, and she did not disappoint., Christopher Dallo sang the Susan Boyle part, and they sounded great together. They both got a tremendous ovation.

Jackie concluded with "I'll be Home for Christmas" sung with a very emotional and sweet delivery. I knew there would be more , however. As Jackie left the stage, no one in the audience moved. She very quickly returned with the encore "O Holy Night" . It was a long version of this song, with an extra verse, and I could not detect any fatigue in Jackie's voice as she kept delivering those high notes with a clear strong tone. It was a thrilling experience.

She finished with "When You Wish Upon a Star" with a very long sustained last note. It was a bittersweet moment for me.. I wanted to listen to her all night.
The audience stood in appreciation and affection for Jackie. She gave the famous double wave as she exited.

As I returned home, I thought about this concert and what it meant to me. I have decided that of all the concerts I have attended, and I have been to quite a few, this is the one concert I could not do without. I HAD to see Jackie, and I had to see her NOW, at this age , if only to confirm to myself what I have thought for the last year and a half - that we are witinessing something truly extraordinary.

Thank you, Jackie Evancho, for sharing your unique talent with all of us, and giving me a night of singing that I will never forget.

[sylvester88]

From JEFC:

arussday, on 18 December 2011 - 08:03 AM, said:
It was my first concert. My wife and I were 5th row center and it was the same program as Buffalo.

But you know, her dress was too short, she did not sing Angel as good as she did on the Tonight Show and she had the nerve to hold the mic on most of the songs. Just kidding!!!!!





Jackie was spectacular!!! Jackie is the ninth or tenth wonder of the world. Not sure which one but she is one.

I was actually stunned. It was somewhat surreal.

After watching AGT, BGT, AGT again, the View, the Talk, the Today Show, the Tonight Show and a gazillion YT videos, the fundamental questions are still there.

How does she do it? How can it be? How can this big, beautiful, pure adult voice come from a tiny, cute, adorable, shy, giggly like girl of 11? Some famous guy said it was a miracle and I think he was right.

All the songs were just over the top and the emotion and passion were so evident throughout the concert. You can literally see the music in her as she performs. Imaginer, Mi Mancherai, the duet with Christopher Dallo The Prayer, A Time for Us, just beyond words.

Before I attended this first concert, everyone who had gone kept saying you have to go to a concert. And now do you know what I say, you have got to go to a concert.

You need to be close up front if at all possible. You have to be close enough to see the transition. It goes on and off, and on and off, and on and off. One minute a cute giggly little girl, the next a musical genius totally absorbed by the music and the song. You can see it in every movement and motion. She is ONE...............

Loved meeting some of the other fans there, especially Joe and Steve.

Russ.

[sylvester88]

From CCF:

Joe Merkt wrote:
In keeping with the tradition of posting the concert reviews on the "Fan Gathering" thread, here goes:

This concert experience was extrememly exciting for me. I had been anticipating it and getting ready, making flight and hotel arrangements, checking transportation from Philly to AC, deciding what to wear (yes, ladies, even men sometimes take time to decide! LOL), etc. Since I had the VIP ticket, I was also deciding how I was going to try to handle myself in Jackie's presence. I was in such a euphoric state when I met her in Pittsburgh, that It now seems almost like a dream. I wanted to stay more in the moment so I could remember better.

Some of you may know that I had an extra, very good ticket, to the concert. I finnaly found a home for it just a few days before the concert. I was excited that my extra ticket, and one that Ian Jz had, was going to a friend of Ian's and her young daughter. More on that later.

Since I was leaving on Friday after work, I got all packed on Thursday night. Three o'clock came on Friday and I was off the Nashville's airport. Everything went smoothly and I landed in Charlotte to change planes. Again, everything went smoothly and I landed in Philadelphia on time at about 9pm EST. I had also manged to make contact with my sister, who lives 20 miles west of Philly and arranged to meet her Sunday (today) for brunch. This was going to be a great trip.

I stayed at hotel near the airport to save money and to be able to go meet my sister more easily. I had intended to take the train to AC and back from Philly but return schedule just didn't work so I rented a car. During chit chat with the desk clerk at Hertz, I discovered that he had interest in classical music and even knew about crossover! After checking that he did not know Jackie's music and did not have her CD, he immediately got a copy of DWM frokm the stash I had brought!

Saturday dawned chilly and I contemplated the logistics of driving to AC (60 miles or so) and getting into my tux I chose the tux because Jackie deserves my best.and she is always dressed so beautifully. I wanted to complement that. I checked on changing to a room at in AC but it was pretty expensive so I figured out what I would do. Details are not necessary. SUffice it to say that I did end up wearing an unrumpled tux to the even. Pics will follow later.

The decision to rent a car rather than take the train turned out to result in an incredible experience. I got to the Taj Mahal around 2pm I think and parked on their garage. To exit, I had to dodge a lot of crazy drivers to get to the elevator so I just took a nearby staircase down two flights. No biggie except it dumped me out on the street behind the theater; a utility area for the theater, hotel, etc. with no access to the building. All the doors were for exit only. Great. I would have to walk all the way down to the boardwalk and then back through the casino to get to the ticket office. Oh, well, I needed the exercise. Off I went.

Shortly, I noticed a lone bus parked on the street. It looked familiar and, yes, it was the Evancho tour ... bus or its twin!. The driver was outside and was refilling the water tanks. As I passed the bus, there was one of those little recessed stairways down from the theater exits and I glanced to my left and ... well ... magic happened! There were Mike, and Lisa and Jackie, and Boo! Talk about your dreams coming true!

I stopped to say hello to Lisa and Jackie and shake hands with Mike. Jackie was wearing the same boots you saw in the twitpic, sweatpants, and a jacket over a long sweatertop and was crouched down with Boo. She said hello to my greeting. I did not get a chance to talk to talk to Lisa because she went back into the bus with Jackie almost immediately.But I did stand and talk with Mike for 5-10 minutes. When I had greeted him, he looked at me like he was trying to remember but, of course, there's no way he would remember me from Pittsburgh and I told him so. He notice my Jackie Evancho lapel pin and asked if I was attending the concert. And that's how the conversation went. It was just comfortable chit chat. He's very personalble and easy to talk to. And, no, I did not ply him with questions.

I noticed this at Pittsburgh and noticed it again. Jackie is a tiny little gril and I emphasize little girl. Outside of interviews and off the stage, she appears to be just like any other 11 yr-old and also a bit shy ... at least around strangers. You get no hint whatsoever of what lurks inside and what appears when she steps on the stage.

... more to come
26 minutes ago

[sylvester88]

From JEFC:

Andrew, Posted Today, 08:24 AM, said:

Just got home--- stayed the night at the Taj--- the concert was amazing !!!! Jackie sounded amazing !!!! Chris Dallo was great, and their duet was phenomenal !!! We were in the 7th row, and brought a co-worker, who looked like he was stunnned- He could not believe how great she sounded !!! (I dont know if it was the sound engineers, or the acoustics of the arena, but sounded much better than Lincoln Center-)

She looked incredible- The dress for the 2nd act was gorgeous ! My 6-yr old wanted it !!! Just an incredible evening !

Luv u, Jackie !!

[ssilvers]

Jackie was amazing in AC - the best performance I have heard or seen from her yet. The reports above capture it very well, and I look forward to the rest of Joe's wonderful report. I have one small correction to the postings here - the orchestra was at least 35 pieces, maybe 40, but it was not as good as the orchestra at Avery Fisher, which was world-class. I disagree with Andrew about the sound, however - the microphones were all 'way too hot, especially on the orchestra. This was more of a rock-concert setup. Jackie sang better in AC than in NY, and looked more confident and energetic, but the sound engineering was OTT, and the acoustics in the Etess Arena are not very good. Plus, the audience was talking all through the concert. At Avery Fisher, the audience was nice and quiet. Nevertheless, as everyone agreed, Jackie was FANTABULOSO!

[sylvester88]

From JEFC:

duckpoo, Posted Today, 06:03 PM, said:

Well I'll give my report on the Atlantic city show. This was my first time seeing Jackie in person so needless to say I was excited. I went with my parents. My mom who's in her late 70's hasn't been to a live show in probably 40 yrs and the last show my dad saw was Jim Reeves lol. I'll have to admit I was a little worried after reading all the voice debate the last couple of days as to what I was going to hear. We were in the 8th row on the side.

We live in the Philadelphia suburbs so it was a short 1hr and 45 min drive down the AC expressway. We arrived at 5:15 and had a nice dinner at Docks Oyster House. The food was excellent.

Now for the complaints. Believe it or not I've never been to the casinos or Atlantic city for that matter even though I live close, so I didn't no what to expect from the Venue. I'm thinking Trump Taj Mahal that speaks of opulence. Let's just say the atmosphere in the casino wasn't what you associate with Jackie and I'll leave it at that. The Etess wasn't what I thought was going to be either. Just a big open auditorium with a bunch of fold up chairs on the floor so close together that it felt like you were sitting in the other persons lap. Some people didn't even have seats. They had to stand there waiting almost to show time for the staff to scrounge up some seats. My parents being up there in age kept saying "it's freezing in here". People were arriving with mixed drinks and beers in hand and you had to bob and weave around heads just to get a view of the stage. We even had a women walking up and down the aisle with a mop looking for spills right in the middle of the show, brilliant. My Dad's complaining about how cold he is, I paid 300+ for these three seats this nights turning into a disaster.

But then the lights go down the orchestra starts to play and a little girl in a beautiful black and white dress strolls out on stage to save the night. She was fantastic, mesmerizing and everything everyone has described about seeing her live is right on the money. It was awesome to hear live what you have been watching on a computer screen this last year and half. No voice struggles on this night.

Highlights of the first set for us were "A Time For Us" powerful, "Imaginer" WOW she really is improving her pronunciation, "Angel" way better then any version I've seen on tv, and of course "The Lords Prayer" was as stunning and emotional as ever. It's amazing how Jackie throws herself into every song.

The second set was when Jackie really shined and the audiences appreciation for her started to build. She came out in her red Christmas dress and you could tell she really enjoyed singing the selections from Heavenly Christmas. "The First Noel", "Believe", "White Christmas", and then she said that this particular song was her favorite because it's were she wanted to be and she launched into "I'll Be Home For Christmas". The audience started to get more and more on their feet during the second set and her encore of "O Holy Night" with and additional verse added was as beautiful and soaring as ever.

However the absolute show stopper for us was Jackie's duet with Christopher Dallo on "The Prayer". This is one of my mom's favorite songs and she was soaking it all in. Chris was excellent in his own right throughout the show and was a perfect compliment to Jackie.

So yeah what was I complaining about in that second paragraph. I certainly couldn't remember as I was walking back to the car.

[pa1189]