From:
L.F. Re: Adelaide, Festival theatre - Well what can I say that truly
reflects how it feels to sit in on the singer I have revered for most
of my life. I am only thirty years old and have been a fan of Dr Hook
and Dennis Locorriere since I was ten. I had the extreme good fortune
of having front row seats, and it was one of the most amazing experiences
of my life. Dennis Locorriere , to me, has the most amazing voice I have
ever had the good fortune of listening to. There is nothing better than
listening to music that has played a huge role in your past, but when
Dennis sang his new material I was completely and utterly blown away.
I now know that I can look forward to years of even greater listening
pleasure with songs like "Let me love you now" and "Shine Son". I could
go on and on and on, but I am sure that anyone who has been to see Dennis
perform live will know exactly how I feel. Thank you Dennis - you are
a star!!! From: N.K. Re: Townsville Civic Theatre - I grew up listening
to Dennis and Dr. Hook. In fact, I believe I may have been conceived listening
to DR. Hook. When my mother was seven months pregnant with me, she was
intent on attending the DR. HOok concert in Brisbane (in early 1978).
HOwever, my overprotective father, would not allow it. When I saw the
adverts for Dennis's tour and that it was coming to Townsville, I could
hardly believe my luck. Finally I was to see him in concert! My husband
came with me and though he walked in the foyer as a passive fan, he is
now as enthusiatic as I. Dennis absolutely blew my mind. I have never
before been so awed by a performer. I went through an aray of emotions.
Shock at his ability to maintain, if not improve his talent, wonder at
his incredible voice, that voice that brings back memories of childhood
summer barbeques spent listening to DR. HOok. Dennis and his performance
brought tears to my eyes, tears of joy and amazement. When the concert
was sadly over, my jaw ached. My husband told me it was because I had
had the most ridiculous, amazed grin on my face constantly, throughout
the performance. Later that night, when we arrived home, it was late.
I usually do not make phone calls after 8.30 pm, however this was a special
occasion. I rang every Dr. HOok fan I could think of, announcing the brilliance
of what I experienced that night. The ages of people I rang that night
ranged from 18-72, the latter belonging to my dear Nana, also an ardent
fan. It just displays the ability of Dennis and Dr. Hook to unite almost
seven decades of ages within the promise of beautiful music. Thank-you
Dennis. P.S I received Dennis's "Out of the Dark" CD for christmas and
it is an experience in itself, a remarkable experience. From: cappy
- Re: princess theatre launceston Tasmania - a must see show for die
hard dr hook fans like myself seen the show bought the cd do yourself
a favor for a good nite see the show meet the man From: Jan Millar
- Re: Burswood theatre - The show was simply fantastic.Only complaint
was that dennis didn't acknowledge letter I sent with requests.My 3 children
and their partners were also at the concert and they also loved it. Have
tried in vain to get new cd " Out Of Dark " with no luck at all. best
regards Jan Millar From: mary - Wow Wow Wow...fantastic reintroduction
to an old favourite.Where do i start, my favoutite track seems to be a
toss between, shine son. .awwwe to anyone who was ever or is a parent
of young children his heart pours out and makes us all think , "thats
just how i feel". well done dennis!.as a parent of 4 adult or almost adult
kids,..you made my eyes fill with tears from the first time i heard it
at your australian show in Yallah. there are so many great ones, but another
i love is,"The more i am" i cant describe how this song affeects me, for
many different meanings, its just one of those songs.and of course dennis
singing it, who could help but feel the warmth and love he coveys..i could
go through them all from the old favourite "years from now"..awwe the
memories that stirs. to the sexy "right off the top of my head" to "happy
ever after love". all i can say is....Dennis we missed you , and keep
them coming. But mostly thankyou for coming to Aus and wow.ing us all
over again, ..as those who know and love you from way back..you have changed..
i must agree, your even more appealing, sexy and wow the voice... can
it get any better,? come back soon...my seat is booked,...from a dr hook
fan from way back.. Mary..Albion Park From: Annette - Launceston, Australia
- I waited for 16 very long years to see Dennis in concert again. While
being excited at the prospect, I was also slightly apprehensive. Dr Hook
had never played in Launceston before & after 16 years would there be
enough fans to fill the theatre in our city (of only 70,000 people)? Then
again, what if he looked and/or sounded awful and all my memories were
ruined. Well, what a stupid thing to think!! Dennis was magnificent -
he sounded exactly like his recordings, the voice was as good, if not
better than ever!!! And he looked pretty darn good from the 3rd row!!!
He sang so many great Dr Hook songs, and we were introduced to 4 or 5
new songs, some that brought tears to my eyes. The 16 years of waiting
were worth it just to hear him sing "If Not You", after that everything
else was a bonus. It was disappointing not to be able to buy his CD on
the night & get it autographed, but I bought a copy the next day & between
my 8 year old daughter & I, it is nearly worn out!!! The album hasn't
got a bad song on it - only 1 good song after another. It deserves awards
& accolades galore. Thank you Dennis for sharing your talent with us again
after all these years. What a loss it would have been to never hear "Shine,
Son" or "The More I Am". Please, please, keep touring & recording. Your
talent makes the world (and my life) a better place. From D.M Re: Twin
Towns, Gold Coast After being a Dr.Hook fan for many years, I found
the concert by Dennis to be the most exciting and enjoyable concert I
have been to for many years. I was initially looked at in a strange way
for wanting to go to the concert by many of my friends and work mates,
but as the concert grew closer, I found many people who said "Gee I wish
I was coming with you" and I replied, too bad, your going to miss a great
night. AND THEY DID.. From S.G Re: I would like to thank Dennis
for a wonderful concert, it felt like a very private performance with
a friend. His interaction with the audience was great.The songs sounded
as good as they do on the albums, I enjoyed all the old hits, Only 16
and Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk are my favourite Dr Hook songs, but
I also enjoyed hearing some of his new songs, particularly Shine Son,
this gave my husband and I goosebumps.I was disappointed that more people
didn't take the opportunity to see such a great entertainer, I think that
this may be from the misconception that Ray Sawyer "was" Dr Hook. I thought
it was great that Dennis came out and met his fans, unfortuneately I missed
out as we had an hour & 1/2 drive home. It would have been wonderful to
tell him how much I enjoyed the show and wish him luck with his new album,
I certainly will be purchasing it. I hope Dennis gets to read this, good
luck and thankyou. We certainly will be going to his next concert if he
comes back. I have been a fan for a long time, I remember pinching my
older sisters Bankrupt cassette when I was 13 or so, every time she went
out, I knew that album from start to finish. Thanks and best wishes, Sandra.
From K Re: Perth Hi. Went to Dennis's concert at Burswood Convention
Centre, Friday 24th November and had a wonderful time. The guy is so talented
and still seems to enjoy his music. His performance was top notch and
it is refreshing to find an entertainer who sounds as good in person as
he does on CD!! All the Dr Hook songs brought back so many memories, but
I also loved his new releases. Kim From S & N.J Re: Rockhampton
As we expected the concert was wonderful, Dennis was a real entertainer
thoughout the concert our emotions changed it takes a real master to do
this to an audience, he really knows love, he expressed it so well, Dennis
knows what love is he could not fake true feeling by puttting his total
body and soul into performing such touching and beautiful love songs as
he did.If you were in love, before you went to see Dennis you were more
in love when you left.Romance Dennis, Dennis sings romance He played songs
from the new album it is outstanding we have just purchaced it,again songs
from the heart Naomi and I have just started to lobby the radio stations
to play his new alblum, Dennis please come back to Rocky you are welcome
always and thankyou it's wonderful to think in this day and age we got
more than our monies worth. From P & S. T Re: Perth, Burswood Theatre
The day started with a leisurely 415 kilometre drive from Albany to Perth
with the two children. We played "Out of the Dark" and Dr Hook "Collection"
all the way to Perth. We then dropped the children off with some friends
and headed to the Burswood Casino. We had a lovely meal there than sat
down ready for the show. We were a little disappointed that there was
no programs available, having been told how good they were in the UK.
I spoke to an usher asking him where was the most liekly place to catch
Dennis and the band after the show. He told me that he was heading for
the airport immediately after the completion of the show so the back door
was probably the best. With this news I went back to my seat and within
two minutes 8:05pm Dennis was on stage. He looked the same as ever and
commenced the show with "Better Love Next Time" followed by "I Don't Want
to be Alone Tonight". The band was warming up and so were the crowd. He
invited us to sing along on the next song "Only Sixteen" and I must admit
we sounded good, not in the same league as Dennis though. He followed
that with another track from the album "A Little Bit More" the song "More
Like the Movies" a great song, sung superbly. Dennis and the band than
played two tracks from the new album "The More I am" and "The Heat". Most
of the crowd were unfamiliar with these two tracks but they received wild
applause. Dennis was well and truly sweating by now and engrossed in putting
on a great show. Dennis talked about touring the world with Dr Hook and
visiting cities were they had recent chart success but how the next song
was succesful everywhere at the same time creating a happy dilemma. He
then played "When your in Love with a Beautiful Woman" which was a highlight
of the night. Dennis than spoke about how some songs are very personal
and hard to share and how it took time to share the next song with the
rest of the world. He than played "If not you" which sounded awesome.
He followed this with "Sleeping Late" which my wife had never heard before
but loved as she loves sleeping in. Dennis spoke about an Australian music
show called Countdown, which the audience identified with, and how the
teeny boppers swayed to the music. He remembered playing this next song
on that show "Sharing the Night Together". Next was "Sexy Eyes" which
got the ladies dancing and shouting "I love you". The band left, except
Mike on keyboards as he introduced and sang "Shine Son". The crowd listened
intently and more than a few tears were shed. Many wanted the new CD,
which is extremely hard to obtain in West Australia, and would have purchased
it on the spot after the show if it was available. The next song was introduced
as being banned because of questionable lyrics in parts of the world "A
Little Bit More". This was followed by a rocky version of "Queen of the
Silver Dollar" which highlighted the skills of all the band. I must say
here that the band were superb. Their musical skills and harmonies added
immensely to the enjoyment of the show. Dennis solo then sang "Wild Colonial
Boy" and everyone sang along. He encouraged us to sing our part on the
next song "Cover of the Rolling Stone" which raised the roof of the Theatre.
The band came back for "Hearts Like yours and Mine" showcasing his phenomenal
voice, and than said farewell and thanks for coming. One minute later
Dennis was back and sang "Sylvia's Mother". The show finished with an
excellent rendition of "Walk Right In". He left just under two hours from
the time he walked on stage. My wife and I than sprinted through the underground
carpark to the rear exit door. ............ ....The Hire bus was there
and within 30 seconds Pick Withers came out. He was a lovely gentleman
and spoke to us about the rush to get on a plane for the next show. He
was not a fan of Perth as a city, with which I agree, but he was very
friendly. My wife is a drummer and with all the excitement we missed an
opportunity for a photo with and autograph from Pick. Sorry Pick you are
a legend you know and if you read this an autographed photo from yourself
to Shaz would be greatly treasured. Then out came Benny, Mike and Rod
and lastly Dennis. They were all in a rush but obligingly Dennis singned
my two CD covers. My wife than went to get a photo of me with Dennis but
Rod kindly offered to take a photo of the three of us. I told Dennis how
great the Web site of Sam and Claires was and he told me to write you
and let you know about the show. I also said hi to Dennis from Judy who
emailed me and told me to send her greetings. He said hello to you Judy.
Two minutes later they were gone, headed for the airport and thousands
more lucky concert goers. We headed home thrilled to have met Dennis and
the band and thoroughly overjoyed by a fantastic concert. Thanks Dennis
for coming West, we know you were rushed but we appreciate you making
the effort. I understand that you cut the concert short to catch a plane
but I was a little disappointed not to hear "If I had a Nickel, Passion
Street, Lazy Day, Tossing and Turning, Happy Ever After Love, and Tough
Guy live in concert. I understand your newer songs were dropped for sake
of others who would not know them. It was still one of the best concerts
I have ever been to and I have been to over 100. Hurry back soon Dennis
and band you are legends. Peter and Shaz T From M Re: Festival Theatre,
Adelaide I really enjoyed his show Dennis is fantastic live and did
not disapoint his audience. I was a little disappointed that the venue
wasn't booked out Dennis deserved a full house. From S&C Re: Burswood,
Perth fantastic come back soon steve & clare From P.J.B Re: Adelaide
Festival Theatre Brilliant! What else could you say! Obviously in
a 2./.2.5hour show you can only sing so many songs and unfortunately many
, many of one's favourite songs are left out. However, so many of your
favourites are also performed. That was the case on Sunday night. As we
all know Dennis is the master and he certainly showed us this. His dialouge
with the audiance scattered amongst the songs was brilliant. He knows
just how to play them and to milk everything from them as far as getting
them involved with the evening. My highlights were his new sonds from
the new album, especially Shine Boy. Then there were the revised remditions
of Queen of the Silver Dollar and Hearts Like Yours and Mine.....BRILLIANT
TO SAY THE LEAST!!! Finally getting to talk to HIM after the show waS
A TREMENDOUS EXPERIENCE. Best wishes to all his fans for Christmas and
a big Hi to Keith Green in England ( I'll be in touch soon. ) Regards
PJB From T.G Re: Geelong Dennis, like a fine wine, you have improved
with age. What a fantastic night. The only complaint I have, I cried and
ruined my make-up. That was the first I heard 'Shine Son', I have since
bought the CD and nearly worn it out. You put so much meaning in your
songs, I'm sure Shel would have been proud. Can't wait for the next tour.
Teena From K.W Re: Regent Theatre, Melbourne:Dennis is so energetic
- totally amazing what a buzz. Couldn't believe how fantastic it was.
Denis makes you feel like he's singing to you and you can't help but become
truly absorbed in the moment. Real value for money and so entertaining.
Can't wait for him to come back!! KTW From: Archie Re: Sydney, Albury
& Melbourne I Waited until I had seen Dennis’s concerts before I would
write to you. What can I say that has not already been said? The first
concert I went to was is Sydney at the State Theatre, I was a little apprehensive
because you have to realize the last time I saw Dennis was away back in
the seventies, before I went to South Africa, and that was with the hook,
so even though I have every piece of music he ever released, listened
to it constantly and his new album, you never know what to expect. At
precisely 8:00pm on November 11th all my concerns were blown away. From
the opening bars of 'better love next time' I knew I was in for a special
evening. He is good if not better, and as his concert progressed he got
even better, his rapport with the audience is first class, and pretty
soon he had them eating out of his hand. My Favourites are mainly the
Shel songs and of course his new stuff, if you are not moved by 'Shine
Son' and 'Sylvia's Mother' then you aren't a true fan. Also the version
of 'hearts like yours and mine' was pretty special. Yes the man is truly
back and I for one am ecstatic. I can't forget his friends, the band,
what a bunch of brilliant musicians; I hope they stay together for a long
time. Three days have passed and I am now in Albury, I chose this venue
because I thought, with the smaller arena I would get a more intimate
concert and a good seat, and I wasn't wrong, 5 rows for the front and
dead centre. He blew me away, the acoustics were brill, and the shear
power off his voice, was Amazing. Same deal as in Sydney, standing ovation.
Onto Melbourne, my home city, Regent Theatre, if there ever was a place
for a star to reside for 2 nights, that was it. A more regal place you
couldn't find, first night a sell out, second night, a little less but
still as enthusiastic. Dennis had the joint rocking, great concerts, no
different from the first two, same emotion, passion and feeling in his
voice, in fact the thing that impressed me most, even though the audience
was smaller on Saturday night, Dennis still worked his socks off to the
same degree the did to full houses. Afterwards at every concert he took
time out to sign and be photographed, also he chatted for a while, a true
gentleman. As I've said before his voice and talents must rank with the
best in the business. A pity we didn't bump into each other, and then
I could have really thanked you for setting up this brill site. Big Arch
- Melbourne FROM: Sam & Claire Re: Australia 2000 - Ok, so did
we really fly to the other side of the world to see a few more Dennis
shows? Well yes and although we already knew how fabulous it would be,
nothing prepared us for the enthusiasm and atmosphere of the Australian
audiences. Must say gave us Brits a 'run for our money'! The first show
we saw, in fact the very first show of the tour; Empire Theatre, Toowoomba
- if we're honest, we wouldn't have cared if the show had just been Dennis
singing Wild Colonial Boy, alone with his guitar for 2 hours! A song we
only heard for the first time last year and never dreamt we'd experience
performed live, in the country it was borrowed from! The crowd sang along
with gusto and we had tears in our eyes - which is something we were to
get used to as the shows and the re-conquering of Australia continued....
Onto our next show at The Festival Hall Brisbane - ahem, a noisy and eager
crowd stacked out the auditorium and within minutes of the opening verse
of 'Better Love Next Time' there were people marching down towards the
stage to be up close and dance around. Everyone in the room felt the magic
instantly and not least Dennis himself as he danced and moved around the
stage like we've never seen before, he put on the show of a lifetime!
The excited crowd refused to sit down or stop moving even as they sang
along with 'More Like The Movies' and 'A Little Bit More'. Nobody needed
asking if they wanted to sing along, in fact Dennis encouraged them to
'listen to a quiet song' as he put them under the 'Shine Son' spell. As
'Queen Of The Silver Dollar' started up, that was it, no more photos or
people watching, down we went for a boogie ourselves! And of course the
song we hear about from so many of you, 'Hearts Like Yours & Mine', rounded
off the evening and completed the Locorriere hypnotic process. Long after
he had left the stage the crowd were still stomping, shouting, dancing
and smiling! Our third and final show was at the huge Twin Towns complex
on the Gold Coast...again packed and the most children we've seen at one
show before, the smiles said it all and the singing along was once again
loud and clear. It was quite something to see the joy in peoples faces
as they heard their old favourites and clapped and cheered just as loud
to the new songs. So not only did we get to see three fantastic performances,
we once again experienced the inexplicable atmosphere of the UK shows
in 1999 as the Australian fans were reacquainted with someone they had
missed so dearly and for so long. From S.W. RE: Yallah Woolshed:
I am still on a high after see one of the best and enjoyable shows I have
ever been to in my life. The intimate venue of the Yallah Woolshed made
it even better, Dennis' voice is still as good if not better that I remember
when I saw Dr Hook in the 70's in Sydney. Loved his past hits and his
new songs, some like Shine Sun brought a real tear to my eyes and his
love songs made me want to make love to my wonderful husband. His show
had everything great music, humour and best of all the feeling that money
cannot buy that I was 16 to 20 again, which was the age that I first fell
in love with Dr Hooks music. Thank you again for coming downunder and
please don't leave it 16 years to come back. Sandra Wesseling. From
S.H. Re Sydney :Saw the show on Saturday and have booked for another.
It was fabuous. Saw these guys in the seventies and they are still great
entertainers. In fact Dennis's voice is even better. Come back to Australia
again very soon please. Sandra Hoey From F.S. Re:Hills Centre Castle
Hill: The best concert I have ever been to. Dennis has the most incredible
voice! From J. Re: State Theatre, Sydney, Australia: Dennis over-ran
the State Theatre here in Sydney on Saturday night (Nov. 11). I don't
think that man could stand still to save his own life. We were honoured
with classic Hook love songs, a great rock version of "Queen Of The Silver
Dollar", "Wild Colonial Boy" (was that a hit anywhere besides Oz??), did
the audience participation / sing along to "Rolling Stone" and "Walk Right
In", and heard great new material such as "The More I Am", "If I Had A
Nickel", "I Think I'm In Love", and of course the touching "Shine, Son".
Somewhere in there was "Sylvia's Mother" - causing me to shed a couple
of tears. The theatre had an intermission policy (there had to be one),
which I don't think Dennis was too thrilled about, but, he told us to
go and pee while we had the chance!! Dennis did the "there's someone taking
photos of me - give me the camera and I'll take a photo of all of you"
gag, and told a couple of lively screamers up the back that *he* was the
attraction, though he realised they'd have a good time even if he left...
Someone asked how old he was - a guessing competition ensued - and he
admitted to being 51 and not in need of an ambulance yet. He still kicks,
prances and jumps about - ask Rod, who dodged a few of Dennis's manic
guitar romps. The show was to end at 10:30PM. Dennis was dooing encore
#2 at about 10:55... he then returned to sing "Years From Now" as a thank
you to the Sydney fans (couple of more tears shed here - it was obviously
the last song...). The old Hook songs were greeted with hoots and holler,
& applause of recognition, and received thunderous applause & more hollers
at their conclusion. The theatre was full, and we were rocking along.
I think we were making more noise than any young girlies at a pretty-boy
concert would have! Sydney loves this guy, and I think he kinda like us
too...
