Bennett and Gaga Bring Back the Jazz Era to Ravinia

Jun 29, 2015 admin_bitlc Features, Music News, Reviews 0

I’ll admit that I was not a fan of Lady Gaga until after seeing her perform with Tony Bennett. Gaga’s interaction with Bennett on their duets was truly amazing in their 100 minute show at Ravinia on June 27.

Gaga initially connected with Bennett in 2011 when she was performing at a Robin Hood Foundation charity event. Tony heard Gaga sing “Orange Colored Sky” and then asked to meet her after the show. Soon after, they teamed up for “The Lady is a Tramp” on Tony’s 2011 album, Duets II. Their common love of Jazz Age music eventually lead to recording more songs which became the Cheek to Cheek album.

The song highlights of their duets were “Anything Goes”, “Cheek to Cheek”, “The Lady is a Tramp” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing” which is the song that they ended the show. Tony’s highlights were “Smile”, a song written by Charlie Chaplin, “When You’re Smilin” and “ I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. Tony dedicated “Chicago” to all of the fans that have seen him at Ravinia. He said, “ I’ve been playing Ravinia for the past 35 years, this venue is great, all of the Chicago fans that have come to see me are great, since all of my shows at Ravinia have been sold out.”

The highlights of Lady Gaga’s solo songs were “Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”, “Lush Life” which she dedicated to marriage equality and “LaVie En Rose” which she sang beautifully in French. In researching Lady Gaga before the show, I found out that her shows are very theatrical with several costume changes. During her show with Tony, she had seven costume changes, which are included in the setlist below.

Setlist:

Lady Gaga costume: Iridescent long-sleeved gown
1. Anything Goes (Cole Porter cover)
2. Cheek to Cheek (Irving Berlin cover)
3. They All Laughed (George Gershwin cover)
4. Stranger in Paradise (Robert Wright and George Forrest cover) Tony solo
5. Sing You Sinners, Tony solo

Lady Gaga costume: Crystal studded black gown with shawl
6. Nature Boy (Eden Ahbez cover)
7. Watch What Happens (Michel Legrand cover) Tony solo
8. The Good Life, Tony solo

Lady Gaga costume: Navy blue suit with red high-heeled boots
9. Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down), (Cher cover) Gaga solo
10. Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered (Richard Rodgers cover) Gaga solo
11. Firefly
12. Smile (Charlie Chaplin cover) Tony solo
13. When You’re Smiling (Seger Ellis cover) Tony solo
14. Steppin’ Out With My Baby, Tony solo
15. For Once in My Life (Jean DuShon cover) Tony solo

Lady Gaga costume: Black flapper dress with black gloves, feathery headpiece and feathery shoes
16. I Won’t Dance (Jerome Kern cover)
17. The Lady’s in Love With You (Frank Loesser cover) Tony solo
18. Solitude (Duke Ellington cover) Tony solo

Lady Gaga costume: Red mesh dress with a long red feather boa
19. I Can’t Give You Anything but Love, Baby (Dorothy Moore & Eddie Floyd cover)
20. Lush Life (Billy Strayhorn cover) Gaga solo
21. I’ve Got the World on a String (Cab Calloway cover) Tony solo
22 In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning (Frank Sinatra cover) Tony solo

Lady Gaga costume: Pink dress with a large bow
23. La Vie En Rose (Édith Piaf cover) Gaga solo
24. How Do You Keep the Music Playing? (Michel Legrand cover) Tony solo

Lady Gaga costume: Black shimmering sleeveless gown
25. Let’s Face the Music and Dance (Irving Berlin cover)
26. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (Cole Porter cover) Gaga solo
27. Who Cares? (George Gershwin cover) Tony solo
28. Fly Me to the Moon (Kaye Ballard cover) Tony solo
29. I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony solo

Lady Gaga costume: White glitter feather sheer gown with white feather boa
30. But Beautiful (Johnny Burke cover)
31. The Lady Is a Tramp (Richard Rodgers cover)
32. It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) (Duke Ellington cover)

Photo gallery of Lady Gaga’s Cheek to Cheek costumes