REVIEW: Yanni Voices Rock! (seriously)
Remember your first concert?
I do. I remember the energized crowd, the intimidating auditorium and the thought that I was actually going to share the same air and room with my favorite singing star. I was pretty geeked!
The same excitement of a major musical event can be found on the new show and tour of “YANNI VOICES.” I know what you’re thinking. You had me (stop) at “Yanni,” right? Well, get past the feeling that you’re old and too new agey if you’re listening to Yanni. This is different. Way different.
First, being a marketer, I appreciate how Yanni has recreated himself. (Heck, Madonna does it all the time so why shouldn’t Yanni?!) He has had a huge international audience but hasn’t been mainstream in the U.S. for a while (IMHO). He initiated this project and found four ‘unknown’ singers and (this is what really impressed me) allowed these artists to write lyrics to Yanni’s instrumental music. I give Yanni a ton of credit for that – that he trusts THEM to express his music through their words. Pretty cool, IMHO.
Recently I was at Blissdom, a conference for 250 women bloggers. Disney Pearl, the production team for Yanni Voices, edited the show which will air on March 2nd on PBS just for us. (Pretty cool again – right?!) Well, it was and it was a powerful performance – very much with the enthusiasm and emotion of a live BIG concert.
And, that wasn’t all. After we viewed and cheered for the YANNI VOICES premiere, in walked the two male singers – Nathan Pacheco and Ender Thomas. Screams and hormones in the room erupted! (They’re pretty hot and dang talented.) They spent quite a bit of time with us answering questions – including if they have girlfriends/wives (both said they were relationships). And then they took time to take photos with Blissdom Bloggers (like this shot of my friend Carole Hicks from EverythingNorder.com).
Remember your first BIG concert?
Experience the enthusiasm and big production impressive-ness of a project that has taken two years to create and will go on a world tour for two years (at least). Check out YANNI VOICES preview concert on Monday, March 2 on PBS. Meet Ender, Nathan and the rest of these fabulous musicians. You’ll feel like you’ve got really good seats at a wonderful, sold-out concert.
And feel free to share your first concert memories in the comments! We’d love to hear your stories!!
Girlfriendology, the online community for women based on girlfriend inspiration, appreciation and celebration Tech Tags: yanni yanni+voices concert
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13 Comments
New voices, new faces but something feels really old about it.
I went to the Voices concert last night in Nashville.. Thanks to PBS donation, I had front row seat/center stage. That was nice since I think Cloe was a show in herself.
I liked everything but the sexy, on the piano bit with the girls…. kind of sleezy for this venue. I also did not like how they performed some of their songs with the transparent curtain down.
But overall, I give it an 8 out of 10. Glad I went.
My Sister and I went to see Yanni Voices at Radio City Music Hall on the 1st of May. The gymnastics period on the piano was kind of sleazy – The singers had wonderful voices – full of talent – but I like Yanni’s music as it is- no vocals. Nathan has a great voice but he always sounded like he was trying to catch up with the music. Yanni’s previous tours were so great, we would travel to catch a few shows – this one – once was enough.
My husband and I attended Yanni’s concert in Pittsburgh last night. What a disapointment. I felt as if I were at a nightclub act. It lacked the energy of the last three concerts we had attended. where is the talented flute player? Where are all of the other previous performers? My comment would be “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”!!!! Isn’t the sound or lack of applause an indication of the disapointment of the crowd. Give us back the Yanni that was so exceptional. And that piano act, YUCK! Was that dancing???
Have seen Yanni other concerts on DVD and saw Yanni Voices 2 days ago in Atlantic City. In my opinion, great concert but I do agree that voices are not needed. Having someone singing only 2-4 songs per concert is fine but it was much better with just amazing music and amazing musicians.
People cheered more when they’d hear that amazing violin guy from Armenia (what a character). You can see him live through his violin.
Being a musician myself (piano, vocal) and having played the trumpet for 2 year when I was a kid, I’ve never heard a trumpet make the sounds that I heard at the concert. Amazing.
Yanni …. if your marketing people are reading or if you’re actually reading this … do not fix what’s not broken. I’ll be at your next concert and hope to hear more music and less voices. Bring those amazing musicians. More lights, more sound, more virtuosos. Love that Russian guy on the violoncello. Sasha?
I saw the concert in Atlanta. I’ve been to 2 others and was hyper like a 6 year old on Christmas waiting for the show to come. I even hyped up the hubby with hours of watching on YouTube.
Then the night came. It was good, sure. If I had never seen Yanni and hadn’t been such a huge fan, it would have been AMAZING (sans the little piano thing). It REALLY hurts me to say that it just wasn’t that good.
Sure, there were a couple of the old favorites, there just wasn’t enough. A couple really great songs list all nuance with the voices over it and it made me (and everyone in my section) kind of sad.
If you’ve never seen Yanni, the concert probably was worth it. However, if you HAVE seen him, or at all a fan of the old work, skip this one
May next time will be better.
I saw Yanni/Voices in MGM theatre at Foxwoods last weekend and thought it was magnificent. Yanni wanted to branch out and change his act and the singers definitely help accomplish that. I agree that many of his song’s don’t require vocals but each of these performers were excellent and the use of projection screens behind and in front of the orchestra was very tasteful and creative. To me, the vocal songs made his great instrumentals stand out even more. All in all it was a fantastic show and I would recommend it highly.
I saw Yanni in St. Louis 6 years ago and LOVED it! Actually saw the concert TWICE. Then I saw Yanni Voices and really enjoyed it—but there wasnt as much energy to the show this time, despite all the dancing on stage. I was amazed to find out that Chloe is only 20 years old! Her voice is incredibly rich. I really didnt like the piano bit–I honestly felt uncomfortable watching it and I didnt think it was necessary, although the show was a little bland and maybe they thought they should kick it up a notch. All in all I’m glad I went, loved the bit with the screen, and I’m glad he finally came back to St. Louis!
I saw Yanni Voices last night in Cleveland. I have seen Yanni before and have loved his music for a long time. I felt like I was at a night club in Vegas with the lesbian-undertoned piano act. There was a woman with her 10 year old son sitting behind me and all I could think about was how she should be covering his eyes during that part. The singers had great voices, but they don’t come close to what Yanni is capabable of as a musician, so in that regard I was disappointed.
I have tickets for Yanni concert for tomorrow. Can someone tell me how long it lasted?
Hi Sowmya – I asked some girlfriends who went to Yanni last week and they said it lasted a couple hours. Hope you have fun! Give us a review of it too!
Thanks a lot. The concert did last for about 2 hours. It was fantabulous. Very nice.
Saw Yanni Voices in San Diego on June 20th and I have to say that I love, love, loved it! I’ve been a big fan since the early 90’s, my first CD being Live at the Acropolis. Yes, he’s changed his music a bit, but who hasn’t? Even Madonna has to change hers to reflect current times. In fact I love that he’s added voices to his songs, and even kicked a few new ones in there. Anyone remember Tribute? Lots of voices in there too, and let’s not forget Aria.
Great concert, great singing, great performance, and yes, Ender and Nathan are HOT! Cloe and Leslie, on the other hand, beautiful and beautiful voices, but I too could have done without the strip act on the piano. Yanni, your music is passionate and heartfelt, and sells itself. No need to sell anything else.