Concert date: 01/7/00 Atlantic City

Review of the show:
Whitney was wonderful! I wish I could say the same about the seats we received through the fan club. More on that later.

I took a bus from New York City to Atlantic City. After about three hours on the road, we pulled into AC and I was surprised at how the casinos are so packed together on the boardwalk. It was my first trip to AC, so I didn’t know what to expect.

After arriving, I set out to get my tickets right away. To my surprise, the tickets said “General Admission” on them, even though I had wrote to the fan club, and was told that we’d all have assigned seats, and that they’d be “excellent seats” at that. I knew that there wasn’t going to be a special section for fans, but now, at least I could be sure that we had assigned seats. [I wrote to them after finding that some fans had general admission tickets when they ordered them through Ticketmaster, and wanted to make sure we were going to get the treatment we were supposed to get.] But I noticed that the tickets said “P.S. General Admission,” which I thought meant “priority seating” or “preferred seating,” so I didn’t worry. After all, the fan club said we’d have assigned seats, so why wouldn’t we be made a priority? Besides, all the fans bought their tickets immediately and paid top dollar – over $200 a pair. That meant we’d be placed in the area closest to the stage, instead of the cheap seats that were sold for $85 each.

With my tickets in hand, I set out to look for the group of fans I was supposed to meet at the All Star Café. But for some reason, there was only a Planet Hollywood. So I asked for the location of the café, and was told it was at the Trump Taj Mahal (at the other end of the boardwalk). So I decided I was going to walk to the Taj in case any fans went there to meet anyone. But as luck would have it, when I arrived, a surly Taj employee told me that the All Star Café no longer exists! So then I had to walk all the way back to Caesar’s Palace. One thing we learned from this trip – the Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce doesn’t have its facts straight. They told us that the All Star Café was at Caesar’s, which is why we had planned to meet there in the first place.

By the time I got through walking back to Caesar’s, there was just enough time to get some lunch/dinner before the theater was supposed to open at 7:30. That done, I headed back into Caesar’s and waited on line outside theater. What I was thinking at the time: I was going to see our beloved Whitney in my little assigned seat, and I’d probably be seated near other fans, so we’d be able to meet after all. The line started to march in and I handed my tickets over.

We started walking down one level, then another, then another. Then we stopped. I thought, no this isn’t our level, we’re supposed to be down there with all those lucky people who are closer to the stage. Then the usher turned to us and said we had the option of sitting at this level in the center, or down one level over to the left side. Still with hope, I followed the usher down one level and to the side. But then we kept walking and walking until we were the second-to-last table on the fourth level, all the way on the left. I thought, no I bought my tickets through the fan club – the most expensive tickets, and I’m supposed to have an assigned seat. This isn’t an assigned seat, or an excellent one. We were on the fourth level, out of only eight levels, and the only other option was to sit in the center all the way in the fifth level, out of only eight levels! I wondered why we had to pay over $200 for these two seats, when fans who paid $85 per seat – a total of $170 – weren’t sitting too far from us, and probably some of them were sitting around us.

I surveyed the room. I could see a slew of tables that had “reserved” signs on them. There wasn’t such a sign on my table. These reserved tables remained empty for a long time. I looked around to find an usher so I could complain that there had been a mistake, and that we actually were supposed to be seated somewhere else. But then I noticed a guy giving out hats at a table nearby. I squinted and thought I saw the name “Alan.” I thought, it must be Alan M., who volunteered to make baseball caps for the online fans. So I ran up and identified myself. Alan then led me to another fan, Lopez, and we stood and chatted for about a half-hour. Lopez was seated in the fifth level, and I discovered that all the fan club members were in the same boat – we all had poor seats.

The word “disappointed” didn’t cover how I was feeling as I went back to my table and waited for the show to start. I knew the seats weren’t going to better than this. We had no options at all. The only good thing about the seats were that we were close to the exit door on the left, so I could see members of Whitney’s group enter and exit. Whitney’s brother, Gary, walked by wearing street clothes and carrying a garment bag. He went in through that door. Later, Whitney’s mother, Cissy, came out through that door and walked by our area. The people who were sitting closest to them as they walked by, sitting at better seats at “reserved” tables, didn’t even recognize them. It was no surprise. These people in the better seats got their tickets as complimentary gifts for being guests at the hotel. They weren’t even fans – certainly not the kind of people who buy every album, and every single, and make radio and video requests, and pay over $200 for the privilege of poor seats. The saddest part of all – Whitney later pointed to her mother in the crowd, and these same people with the special seats craned their necks to see her – when she had walked right past them before! At 9 p.m. a stand-up comedian opened the show. At 9:30, the real show started.

Whitney’s band started to play. I turned myself around as much as I could in my seat so I could see the stage as well as possible. Unfortunately, by sitting over to the left, I couldn’t see part of the stage and didn’t get the full effect of what everything looked like together. The opening of GIB started to play, so I knew when Whitney was going to enter. Next thing I knew she was out onstage! She was wearing a black dress with a cut out, mock turtleneck, so her shoulders were bare. The dress had a number of slits in the skirt, and there were a few sheaths of flowing, black material that appeared to be somewhat transparent around the shoulder area of the dress. At the collar of the mock turtleneck, and at the waist, were glittering silver bands. Here hair was in a flip, like in some of the pictures in the Greatest Hits CD. I was just far enough where I could manage to make out some of her facial expressions.

After GIB came IITYT. She took a softer tone for this song compared to the first one. I always marvel how she can make her voice sound different depending on a song’s lyrics. She followed the song with HH, and closed it with a bit of Michael Jackson’s version. This was a nice touch since she didn’t do that part when I saw her at her first show in New York City last year. She also danced a bit more for this and her rhythm was great. She moves with much more agility and confidence than she did when I first saw her live, in Madison Square Garden in 1988.

The set list was very similar to that of the MLIYL tour, except without the wonderful gospel set. Whitney followed HH with SAMLFY. When she sang “but no other MAN’S GONNA DOOOOOO,” it felt like her voice was going to blow the roof off the building! Whenever she used her voice at full power, it was like an impenetrable force that grabbed control of all the sound in the room and didn’t let go.

She then launched into UYCB, which was one of the highlights of the show for me. I felt every single word of that song as she sang it, especially after the bridge – “I won’t stop at nothing, I WON’T give you up, and you’ve GOT to feel something, I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, I will not love again until you come back to my arms.” And then she sang, “Until you come back … on Thursday.” Every one of us who knew and felt what she was talking about hollered at the top of our lungs. Then she sang, “On Thursday, 12:01. 12:01 on Thursday, 12:01.” We were cheering. And then she smiled and sang, “He comes home to meeeeeeeeee,” placing her hand on her chest. She was, of course, referring to her husband Bobby. Whitney said thank you and then went straight into ILFTB.

ILFTB was far superior to the Grammys , but not quite as good as Mannheim 1999, which really set the standard by which I judge that song whenever she performs it! But her adlibs, as usual, were wonderful. You never knew which way she was going to twist the songs. She then went into SBS to close the first half of the show. Whitney’s brother, Gary, then came out and performed “Change The World.” He introduced the guitarist, who’s name escaped me. He was particularly good. None of the other band members were introduced, and I was too far away to be able to identify any of them.

The band then performed a very funky R&B-styled version of IWDWS. It was at this point when I overheard one of the, ahem, ingrate “fans” at a reserved table, who appeared to be about 70 years old, shout that Whitney should get off the phone with Bobby and get back onstage. And mind you, Whitney was gone only long enough just to change her clothes and freshen up. The crowd, in general, was somewhat unresponsive because so many people were “complimentary” gambling guests of the hotel. This will be my last casino show for a long time, since I really couldn’t stand being around them. I am used to being in a New York crowd – the best in the world – where there is constant give and take between Whitney and the audience. In this show, there was less of that. Combine that with my distance from the stage, and the atmosphere was less intimate in comparison. I love New York! It was Whitney’s incredible talent and energy alone, coupled with the real fans in the audience, which gave the show the required spirit. The “complimentary” guests really didn’t belong there.

The funky beat of IWDWS was replaced with a more danceable version, ala the Arista 25th Anniversary, and Whitney came out wearing a floor length blue and black dress with a deep neckline. It appeared that it had a blue slip topped with a sheath of black material, but it was hard to tell from where I was sitting. She wore a transparent black coat made out of very light, flowing material that had a lengthy train. It was a wonder how she could walk so easily in that ensemble. She even turned to the side and did some extra dance moves in it. She changed one of the lines to “It’s the light of God that shows me how.” Whitney then launched into HWIK, and even the “complimentary” guests clapped loudly for that one.

She then did her love/movie medley of IBIYAM, which she sang to her Mom, followed by WDIHSB, “It Hurts Like Hell,” and a very brief bit of “The Glory of Love.” She really played with WDIHSB and IHLH, using her voice to sing with a crying/moaning sound. Of course, following these songs was IWALY – the ultimate crowd-pleaser. While she sang the words “I will always love you,” she pointed many times to the audience, and before the bridge she pointed to the ceiling. Even without the gospel set, she still made references to God. The IWALY saxophone was replaced with a guitar, which I’ve always preferred.

Before the song’s climax, Whitney took one of her usual dramatic breaks, asking for someone to take her chair away and bring her microphone stand. But I didn’t feel nervous at all for her. She dropped her handkerchief on the floor and launched into the high point without missing a note. She then finished the song and thanked us all for coming, and started waving goodbye. As she was starting to wave, most of the “complimentary” guests near us cleared out of the theater. As my sister aptly put it, it was like “cockroaches scattering as the lights go on.” Of course, the real fans in the audience knew there would be an encore, and we got a sweet one with Whitney’s “ultimate duet partner, Miss Kristina Brown.”

Whitney came back onstage and introduced her daughter like that. We cheered her on and little Bobbi Kristina walked out in a light-colored dress that appeared to be white. Her Mom scooped her up and hugged her, lifting her off the ground. She then told the audience, “This is our song. We always do it together.” She proceeded to sing the first line, “If tomorrow is judgment day,” and Bobbi Kris said, “Sing Mommy,” which of course drew a lot of “awwwws” from the audience. But Whitney wanted the music brought down and they did it again. This time, Bobbi Kristina came in louder. Whitney sang the entire first half of the song in a crouched position, looking up at Bobbi Kristina. You could hear catches in her voice as she sang the first verse and looked into her daughter’s eyes. They didn’t take their eyes off each other for well over a minute. Then Whitney stood up and hugged her as she sang. At the bridge, they did their little jumping dance together, which gets me every time. Toward the end, Whitney brought the music down and sang “If you’re with me baby,” and Bobbi Kris said, “Clap your hands” again and again and we were happy to oblige. Whitney started getting into a reggae vibe and brought Bobbi Kristina over to someone waiting at the side of the stage. She closed the song by herself with the line, “The record is never over.” She then thanked us again and walked off the stage to someone who wrapped a towel around her and walked her out.

Here is the complete set list:

1. Get It Back

2. If I Told You That

3. Heartbreak Hotel

4. Saving All My Love For You

5. Until You Come Back

6. I Learned From The Best

7. Change The World -- Gary Garland Houston

8. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

9. How Will I Know

10. I Believe In You And Me

11. Why Does It Hurt So Bad

12. It Hurts Like Hell

13. The Glory of Love

14. I Will Always Love You

15. My Love Is Your Love

The show was great, although I enjoyed seeing her in New York much more. Without the gospel set and a couple of other songs, the show ran for just under 90 minutes. I missed the gospel set, as Whitney’s performance of ILTL is awe-inspiring and brings me to tears. But her particular performances of UYCB and MLIYL, the most intimate performances, really set this show apart for me. She “wore her heart on her sleeve” for those songs. Whitney thanked us for our support several times during the show, which is the closest she came to making any reference to all the horrible stories of late.

Whitney made no mention of the Greatest Hits except for saying, “I know you’ve all heard I have a new duet partner,” and then pointed to Deborah Cox in the audience. She called Deborah, “A real singer. You know what I mean,” and mentioned the song SSDC. She also thanked Deborah for coming. They didn’t sing together. Whitney also pointed out David Gest, who was sitting with Deborah. He produced Whitney’s last big benefit for the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children. Whitney said he’s crazy and that he joked she should sing some songs that are very out-of-date. The name of one of the songs she mentioned escapes me at the moment, but it was really funny to try to imagine a cover of it at the time. I remember now -- it was "Mama's little baby loves shortening, shortening. Mama's little baby loves shortening bread!"

Whitney was in excellent form – she sang great and moved well. I’d say her voice was at about 90%, since there were some points where I heard rough edges to her singing, and a couple of points where she didn’t go for the highest notes. But that probably has to do with singing the night before, especially after reading some of the reviews for the Friday show. What really stood out were her energy and her adlibs. She could go from literally jumping up and down in HWIK to intricate adlibs in the love/movie medley without losing breath. And she looked wonderful, getting a “DAMN, you look good!” from a guy in the cheap seats. He got a “Thank you, baby” from Whitney for his trouble.

It was worth all that trouble just to see Whitney live, even though I paid over $200 for such poor seats. After the show, I was able to meet with some other fans and I stayed with them for a little while at Planet Hollywood until I had to leave to catch the bus back to New York. It was really great to finally see some of the people I talk to online! A number of them said they wouldn’t be renewing their fan club membership. Personally, I had wonderful seats last year, but this year, the seating was a huge disappointment to say the absolute least.