Tony Orlando has been a regular performer at the Fallsview Casino since its inception 20 years ago. He is currently doing a 2 day stay there and we took in the matinee show on Tuesday. Orlando stated he has been at this for 64 years. At this show, he announced in 2024 he will be retiring as a performer. He is 79 years old and still will be in the entertainment business but doesn’t want to face the rigors of touring anymore. He stated that these shows (Tuesday and Wednesday at the Fallsview) will be his last at the Fallsview. He did remark, it’s one of the finest rooms to play anywhere (I tend to agree). The visual and sounds are always top notch.
Orlando took the stage and addressed the audience first, as I stated above. The other thing he mentioned that you may go see other artists, but I can guarantee you one thing, they won’t appreciate you like I do. The whole show was very emotional for Orlando. He got choked up at times and wore his emotions on his sleeve. Orlando did something you don’t see too often; he started the show with his biggest hits. That included “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree,” “Candida” and “Knock Three Times.” He gave so much to these songs, and they went over extremely well. This show was about his band and what a band he has. Most sang songs and each had solo spotlight. That included his longtime drummer Timothy Pope, who dazzled with his sticks and even played everything on stage including the floor and monitors. It was a unique solo for sure. His youngest member of his band who is 19 years of age (nicknamed the captain), sang the Paul Simon classic “You Can Call Me Al.” He sounded just like him and it was the best rendition I ever heard. Longtime keyboardist Kerry Cole did a bang-up job on a few numbers including showing his range on the Led Zeppelin cover “Whole Lotta Love” then the Sonny & Cher mega hit “I Got You Babe.” They added some fun tacks from the Beatles to close out the show including “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” which is always a crowd pleaser.
This show was both sad (for it being one of the last times Orlando will perform at the Fallsview) and happy, as he and his band put on a wonderful performance. Orlando should hang his head up high knowing he still can put on quality show at 79 years young.
Setlist:
Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (Tony Orlando & Dawn song)
Candida (Tony Orlando & Dawn song)/Knock Three Times (Tony Orlando & Dawn song)
He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You) (Tony Orlando & Dawn song)
Up on the Roof (The Drifters cover)
Spinning Wheel -snippet (Blood, Sweat & Tears cover)
Fire & Rain (James Taylor cover)
Purple Rain (Prince cover)
La Bamba (Ritchie Valens cover)/Twist and Shout (The Beatles cover)/Hang on Sloopy (The McCoys cover)/You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (The Righteous Brothers cover)/La Bamba (Ritchie Valens cover)
Black Magic Woman (Santana cover)
Oye Como Va (Santana cover)
You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon cover)/Drum solo
Baby Grand (Billy Joel cover)
Easy Like Sunday Morning (Commodores cover)
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (Rod Stewart cover)
Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)
I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher cover)
Little Help From my Friends (Joe Cocker cover)
You Are So Beautiful (Joe Cocker cover)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles cover)
Let It Be/Hey Jude (The Beatles covers)
The End (The Beatles cover)
We would like to thank Steven Cahill from the Fallsview Casino for the credentials to review the show.
